Alice Cooper is a living legend of rock and roll and metal music. He has a vast catalog of music that stretches from the 60’s to today. He’s seen multiple changes to his style as his career went on. Starting with experimental sort of psychedelic rock, and transitioning into his own brand of shock rock, to the hybrid metal/rock styling he took on in the 80’s until now. Alice Cooper had a mega-hit album in 1989 with Trash. After the success of that album, Alice went back in the tank and got some more help from his vast array of friends. Hey Stoopid would be his next album to release in 1991.
The amount of people who guested on this album is staggering. Slash, Ozzy Osbourne, Vinnie Moore (of UFO), Joe Satriani, Steve Vai, Elvira Mistress of the Dark, Mick Mars, and Nikki Sixx would all add something to the album. The various guest helpers all add to the allure of this great Alice album. Hey Stoopid was less successful than Trash commercially and critically. I don’t usually give a crap about album sales though. If something is good to listen to, then it doesn’t matter how well it sold.
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Hey Stoopid Is Alice Cooper At His Best
Alice Cooper should ideally make you feel good listening to him. His 80’s/early 90’s work does that exactly. He should have the best parts of Marilyn Manson, Rob Zombie, and an edge. This album combines all of that with some killer singles like “Hey Stoopid” and “Feed My Frankenstein”. It also shows the softer side of Alice with songs like “Burning Our Bed” and “Die For You”. This album truly has it all for a fan of Alice Cooper.
“Hey Stoopid” Is More Inspirational Than You Think
“Hey Stoopid” tells about teenagers and at-risk people doing dangerous activities like suicide or drug use. It doesn’t preach about these, but it makes a great message about these things being impulsive and selfish. Depression and anxiety lead to temporary problems that can affect people their whole lives. Suicide is an impulsive solution to those issues.
The story goes that Alice got a letter from a 14 year old fan before the making of this record. It went on about how the fan was depressed, had a lot of bad shit going on in their life, and they wanted to commit suicide. Alice’s response wasn’t to say “oh god, don’t do it” but to have more of a message of “don’t be crazy, what are you trying to do?”. It’s a message that’s not as harsh and likely leads to permanent change instead of temporary relief. Why throw away your life for some asshole that broke up with you, it’ll get better and your world is just beginning.
I know that people suffer from these issues everyday, this writer included, but Alice tells a good story with this song. It’s better to work through these issues than “put that pistol to your head”. Get out, see your friends, you’re not alone, don’t let that one asshole ruin your whole day. It’s a song that contains a more powerful message than the one on the surface and I love it. Ozzy Osbourne and Slash guest on this song.
Some More Hits From Hey Stoopid
The classic Alice Cooper character of Steven makes his return on Hey Stoopid. “Wind-Up Toy” wasn’t a single from the album but it remains a fan favorite. Anytime a band tells a story like this over the course of their career, I.E. Iron Maiden and Charlotte the Harlot. The character started in “Welcome To My Nightmare” and is continued here in a heartbreaking and tragic song. There are a bunch of fan-theories surrounding the character of Steven and whether or not the on-stage persona of Alice Cooper is him. That’s for you to figure out, but “Wind-Up Toy” is one of the best tracks on the album and closes the whole thing out.
Hey Stoopid is a callback to Alice’s earlier style of Love It To Death, except it takes it to a new audience and era of the late 80’s early/90’s sound. It’s probably the most aggressive that Alice Cooper has sounded in his career. Hey Stoopid is worth a listen for fans of Alice Cooper, young and old, and people who are just finding out about Alice, it’ll give you a great starting off point.
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