Retro Video of the Week: "Poison" by Alice Cooper

Alice Cooper is fucking awesome.  He pioneered "shock rock" and brought theater and macabre to rock and roll shows, he was elected (far too late) to the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2011, and he's a scratch golfer.  If you ever get the chance to see him in concert, do it.  You won't be disappointed.  He also has a pretty good ear for rock and roll, and I say that based, not only on the music he has made, but also on many interviews I've seen with him over the past 5-10 years in which he discusses other musicians.

In a recent interview on Fuse, Cooper expressed his opinion The Lumineers and Mumford & Sons.  It's fantastic.  Here is a snippet:

"I just feel that this whole generation needs to all eat a steak. Maybe they just need to quit eating vegetarian food and get out there and get some blood pumping in their system. You know, I mean rock 'n' roll is not about 'Happy happy happy, everything's okay. We're The Lumineers, let's clog dance.' Hey, there's a place for that. If I wanted to see a great clog dancing band, I'd go see The Lumineers." 

"Mumford & Sons are great at what they do. But it's not rock 'n' roll. Don't call it rock 'n' roll. That's an offense to rock 'n' roll."

He's absolutely right -- and that's not a knock on The Lumineers or Mumford & Sons.  I like both of those bands, but they play folk rock, not rock and roll.

So, in honor of Alice, this week's Retro Video of the Week will be his 1989 #7 hit, "Poison" -- which tied "School's Out" for his highest-charting song.  One of my favorite lines in rock history is from this song:  "I wanna hurt you just to hear you screaming my name."  You're sure as shit not going to hear that in a Lumineers or Mumford & Sons song.