Alice Cooper: 5 Songs I Wish I’d Written
For a 68-year-old, Alice Cooper remains surprisingly relevant. He opened for Mötley Crüe on their final tour last year, rocked the 2016 Grammys with Hollywood Vampires and appeared on Sunday's installment of Vinyl (an episode named after his classic 1973 LP Billion Dollar Babies). We caught up with the veteran shock-rock visionary to get his take on five songs he'd love to have written.
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Twisted Sister, “We’re Not Gonna Take It”
Image Credit: Ross Halfin This has the same melody as "O Come, All Ye Faithful." It was a bull's-eye for the PMRC thing that was happening then.
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Billy Talent, “Red Flag”
Image Credit: Ross Halfin These guys were Canada's Green Day. This song reminds me of "My Sharona." It's one of those hooks you can't explain.
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My Chemical Romance, “Teenagers”
Image Credit: Ross Halfin I looked at this band as the next Def Leppard. This song has a great message: "Teenagers are dangerous!"
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Aerosmith, “Dude (Looks Like
 a Lady)”
Image Credit: Ross Halfin They wrote this about Vince Neil. Mötley Crüe were a bunch of good-looking girls then. They aren't so cute anymore.
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Nirvana, “Smells Like Teen Spirit”
Image Credit: Ross Halfin Had I been born later, I could have written this. But when you're my age, you can't write for teens. When I first heard it, I was like, "Oh, yeah!"