Alice Cooper Is Scared Shitless Of Reality

08/30/00 4:30pm

by Tim Melton (CHARTattack)

Alice Cooper is frightened, and this time not only for himself or his alter ego, Vincent Furnier, but also for the whole fuckin' planet.

On his latest release, Brutal Planet, Alice peels back the covers on a whole whack of scary shit that is influenced by real life events.

"This was the first time I was ever scared by reality," says the black clad Cooper in a Toronto hotel room. "I started writing direct from CNN... Kosovo, Rwanda, Columbine, and this stuff is scarier than anything living under the bed."

Surprisingly, this comes from a man who in the '70s shocked audiences with a guillotine prop during his live show.

Teaming up with executive producer Bob Ezrin again, Alice has once again pulled his music into the darkest of recesses.

"Lets shock 'em with their own reality," he says bluntly.

A reality that is quickly being driven to the sanctuary of email and the internet to escape the outside world like the character in the song "Sanctuary."

"There's an overload of expectations on young people to be de-virginized by the time they're 12 and to be computer savvy by the time they're 10."

Although Alice says he didn't watch it, he thinks he understands why Survivor was such a hit.

"Now I understand the theory of it — we're so connected to our devices that this is what happens to us when we don't have any devices."

Known for his extravagant lifestyle, the well-spoken Alice grins and relates how his only vices these days are his family, his beliefs, diet Coke and the ever-present TV. Cooper 2000 calls himself a "low maintenance rock star. How would you like it if Alice Cooper was your dad?"

He laughs, "My dad was hip, my dad liked rock 'n' roll!"

His father was a pastor and Alice recalls, "I could say O.K. Dad, Isaiah 3:15 and he'd recite it, but then I could say 'Who plays bass in The Animals?' and he'd say Chas Chandler!"

Imagine being Alice Cooper's father.

"My Dad said that he didn't have a problem with the music or the image, what he did have a problem with was the alcoholism, the sex and the drugs, and I agree," deadpans the Coop.

Brutal Planet stands as Cooper's heaviest, and darkest work in years.

"This is a more socially conscious record, and I feel that there's something in me crying out to warn people." Alice adds, "Maybe that's my job."

Tracks like the Columbine tinged "Blow Me A Kiss" and "Wicked Man" hint of the real-life evil that lurks in our suburbs, our backyards and even in homes thousands of miles away.

So what's Alice's take on Columbine?

"If you want to trace it down to its evil core then we're talking about spiritual sickness," he growls, then adds, "Possibly possession — that makes more sense to me."