Alice Cooper - Gutter Cat VS The Jets

So much awesome. Alice Cooper doing West Side Story.

(Source: bed-of-nails, via onyoursscars)

ghouldilocks:

Alice Cooper - Public Animal #9

 ”She wanted an Einstein but she got a Frankenstein!”

One of my favorite songs from School’s Out and an underrated AC tune.

“Only Women Bleed” by Etta James

(Words/Music: Alice Cooper and Dick Wagner, Album: Heart of a Woman, Private Music 1999)

When it was announced that Alice Cooper would be among the 2011 Rock ‘n’ Roll Hall of Fame Inductees, I began poking around the internet for a potential post about him and his musical contributions. While I found a number of artists who have covered his songs, many of them were of the metal variety (i.e. Lita Ford covered this song, Krokus covered “School’s Out,” and Anthrax covered “I’m Eighteen”) and while that’s interesting, it’s hardly noteworthy. However, when a blues and jazz legend who herself is not only in the Rock ‘n’ Roll Hall of Fame, but the Blues Hall of Fame and the Grammy Hall of Fame, covers the song, then there is something to write about. 

While Cooper took some criticism for the song (the title of the single version was shortened to “Only Women”) which is about a woman in an abusive relationship, I feel it is quite telling that women seem to take to the song and produce wonderful and heartfelt renditions. I can’t help but think that perhaps it is becuase James, who herself has seen her share of hard times, feels that the song so accurately captures the thoughts and emotions of a woman in such a desperately powerless situation, but mostly what he captures is that the abuse never (or at least very rarely) goes the other way. Truly, it is only women who bleed and James, in a way only she can, expresses the innate truths which this “crazy shock rocker” wrote and in doing so, has taken the song from the metal ballad genre and re-worked it into a standard jazz/blues song. Now, I hope that everything comes full circle and she joins him on stage at the RnRHOF Concert to sing this song with him. 

More Etta Lames: AmazonMP3 - last.fm - AllMusic - eMusic

More Alice Cooper: AmazonMP3 - last.fm - AllMusic - eMusic

More Re-worked Thursday posts from shelterfromthenorm

“Horror-Teria: [a] Captain Howdy / [b] Street Justice” by Twisted Sister

(Words/Music: Dee Snider, Album: Stay Hungry, Atlantic Records 1984)

While the world was reveling at the new glam metal band Twisted Sister in their outrageous makeup and shredded colored ensembles and laughing along with their videos for “We’re Not Gonna Take It” and “I Wanna Rock” featuring the Neidermayer character from Animal House, there was lurking a much darker and socially conscious side of the band and frontman Dee Snider. Four songs in on their breakthrough album Stay Hungry was their shock rock homage to one of their musical and performance idols, Alice Cooper. “Horror-Teria,” consisting of two separate yet related songs, “Captain Howdy” and “Street Justice,” tells the story of a pedophile who lures young children into his house to commit unspeakable atrocities which are left to the imagination of the listeners. It is followed up by the subsequent search for this pedophile by the local townspeople after a trial during which Captain Howdy gets of “on a technicality.” 

Almost 15 years later, Snider would bring this Captain Howdy character and a version of the “Horror-Teria” story to the big screen in a movie he wrote and starred in, the disturbingly creepy Strangeland (<—links to my movie page). Not being a big fan of horror movies of the last 15 years or so (I just find that they tend to be exercises for interesting ways to kill people as opposed to actually being frightening or suspenseful), Strangeland is the last film during which I can remember covering my eyes and wishing it would end. While the original songs were a departure for the band from their bevy of teen “us against the world” anthems, it would have been interesting to hear them develop further in this musical style. Unfortunately, they wouldn’t get the chance, since they were soon out-shock-rocked by the likes of W.A.S.P. and, ironically, the return of Alice Cooper. Twisted Sister slid off the metal map into obscurity popping their heads up occasionally for reunion shows and nostalgia programs. But you know Captain Howdy is always lurking out there somewhere.

More Twisted Sister: AmazonMP3 - last.fm - AllMusic - eMusic

More Metal Monday posts from shelterfromthenorm