Ten Classic Rock Songs I Surprisingly Like: Go to Hell (#8)

Tweet

I'll be taking a nap after work before you get the scoop on the concert (wowsa, was it good), but before those things I'll let you in on another little secret to counteract the bubblegum songs I'm posting. This particular secret is a list of FM rock songs that you probably wouldn't ever think I'd like, given either my disdain for the group or the overplayed nature of the song. Today's song really doesn't fit into either category (I don't think I've heard it on the radio in 30 years), but this still might be a shocker for a hillbilly music fan to like. #8: Go to Hell - Alice Cooper This was the B-side of Alice Cooper's "power ballad" "I Never Cry," and in truth I bought the 45 for this song more than the hit. And I'll go further: I really like this song. At this point in his career Alice was starting to look inward at his own demons. "I Never Cry" was about his drinking problem (which he'd fully explore on the album Lace and Whiskey in 1977 [an album that has one of the most unexpected songs from Alice Cooper [superficially, anyway] in his career: "My God"]). In this one he mixes humor ("You'd gift wrap a leper and mail him to your Aunt Jane, you'd even force feed a diabetic a candy cane...you even make your grandma sick!") with some subtle warnings to himself ("for gambling and drinking alcohol constantly"). It's definitely typical Alice Cooper music...which makes it a little unusual to fall into my "like" category. Go to Hell Written by Alice Cooper, Dick Wagner, and Bob Ezrin Recorded by Alice Cooper From Alice Cooper Goes to Hell, 1976 For choosing to be a living obscenity: