Alice Cooper interview with Pastor Greg Laurie

[Photon440]

Is he still making money from rock and roll and demonic imagery?

Rock and roll (along with other forms of modern music) is about sex and drugs, violence, pride.

These guys that make a speech once in a while about Christ but still make their living from this crap are like camp counselors just angling to seduce the youngsters.

He has said that there are some of his old songs that he doesn't perform any longer. And a lot of his music has meanings that go beyond what the shocking titles suggest.

'Dead Babies' for example, was a song showing the problem of child neglect. 'Poison' talked about the hazards of addiction, both to drugs and toxic relationships. 'Only Women Bleed' tackles abuse from a spouse or partner. 'Steven' displays problems with mental health, societies' pressures and blurred lines between reality and fantasy.

 

[SlingLow]

I thought that was a powerful message. Both Alice and the interviewer were surprisingly articulate.

Side story:
The 1st concert I ever went to was the Alice Cooper Killer tour. I believe it was 1972 and I was 12 years old. My cousin and I were into music (him-guitar, me-drums) and listened to that album over and over and over. Somehow, we talked our parents into buying our tickets and taking us to the Portland, OR coliseum for the show. The warm-up band was Eddie and the Phosphorescent Leeches (of Flo and Eddie fame). So this fat guy with no shirt, a little square guitar and a hat with a pink flamingo out the top came out and did a set. I remember being confused because he didn't look anything like Alice. When the lights came back on at the end of the set I thought, what a ripoff! I didn't know even one song that was performed. I want my (parents) $12 back. Then my more experienced cousin explained that that was just the warm-up band and Alice was coming next. The show was a fantastic sensory overload that I still remember to this day.

 

[Don Frelier]

I agree. Show me how it’s wrong.

Can you provide an example of one Rush song which glorifies sex, drugs or violence.

 

[padam]

Can you provide an example of one Rush song which glorifies sex, drugs or violence.

I don’t pretend to know the lyrics of every song or what they mean. My guess is that most listeners don’t know either.

The issue is the culture that’s promoted, and the emotional nature of the music and the performances.

We know a tree by it’s fruit, and the fruit of rock and roll is mostly sin.

I don’t see any connection to Christian principles.

 

[themechanic]

I don’t pretend to know the lyrics of every song or what they mean. My guess is that most listeners don’t know either.

The issue is the culture that’s promoted, and the emotional nature of the music and the performances.

We know a tree by it’s fruit, and the fruit of rock and roll is mostly sin.

I don’t see any connection to Christian principles.

Have a listen to Petra, my friend. Or Lynryd Skynyrd God and Guns.

 

[padam]

Have a listen to Petra, my friend. Or Lynryd Skynyrd God and Guns

I’ve never heard of Petra, and Skynard is party music to me.

I’m sure there is music that exists that is not about sin.

My point is that rock, country, rap, metal, disco, blues, etc AS GENRES, appeal to the base desires of humanity.

 

[Richard Cranium]

Can you provide an example of one Rush song which glorifies sex, drugs or violence.

As soon as one of their songs comes on the radio, I switch the channel. Their lyrics just sound like babbling to me.

 

[themechanic]

I’ve never heard of Petra, and Skynard is party music to me.

I’m sure there is music that exists that is not about sin.

My point is that rock, country, rap, metal, disco, blues, etc AS GENRES, appeal to the base desires of humanity.

I've learned to listen to the lyrics. There's no doubt that some songs have no place in a Christian's head. Likewise, a lot of the so-called worship music is devoid of doctrine, horrible and repetitive nonsense that neither glorifies God nor edifies the believers.

If it lifts up Jesus I'll listen. If it promotes family values and patriotism I'll listen. If it spotlights social ills of the day I'll listen.

God gives us the gift if discernment.

 

[themechanic]

Saturday in the Park by Chicago is an example of a good ole song with wholesome lyrics.



Saturday in the park
I think it was the Fourth of July
Saturday in the park
I think it was the Fourth of July
People talking, people laughing
A man selling ice cream
Singing Italian songs
Eh Cumpari, ci vo sunari
Can you dig it? (Yes, I can)
And I've been waiting such a long time
For Saturday yeah
Another day in the park
It looks just like the Fourth of July
Another day in the park
Look just like the Fourth of July
People dancing, really smiling
A man playing guitar (play the song, play the song, play on)
And singing for us all
Singing for us all
Will you help him change the world (thank you there)
Can you dig it? (Yes, I can)
And I've been waiting such a long time
For today
Slow motion riders fly the colors of the day
A bronze man still can tell stories his own way
Listen children, all is not lost
All is not lost, oh, no
Funny days in the park
Every day's the Fourth of July
Funny days in the park
Every day's the Fourth of July
People reaching, really touching
A real celebration
Waiting for us all
If you want it, really want it
Can you dig it? (Yes, I can)
And I've been waiting such a long time
For the day, yeah, woo

 

[padam]

Saturday in the Park by Chicago is an example of a good ole song with wholesome lyrics.



Saturday in the park
I think it was the Fourth of July
Saturday in the park
I think it was the Fourth of July
People talking, people laughing
A man selling ice cream
Singing Italian songs
Eh Cumpari, ci vo sunari
Can you dig it? (Yes, I can)
And I've been waiting such a long time
For Saturday yeah
Another day in the park
It looks just like the Fourth of July
Another day in the park
Look just like the Fourth of July
People dancing, really smiling
A man playing guitar (play the song, play the song, play on)
And singing for us all
Singing for us all
Will you help him change the world (thank you there)
Can you dig it? (Yes, I can)
And I've been waiting such a long time
For today
Slow motion riders fly the colors of the day
A bronze man still can tell stories his own way
Listen children, all is not lost
All is not lost, oh, no
Funny days in the park
Every day's the Fourth of July
Funny days in the park
Every day's the Fourth of July
People reaching, really touching
A real celebration
Waiting for us all
If you want it, really want it
Can you dig it? (Yes, I can)
And I've been waiting such a long time
For the day, yeah, woo

Gimme an effin break.

Hippie music for people that take drugs and screw total strangers.

 

[themechanic]

Gimme an effin break.

Hippie music for people that take drugs and screw total strangers.

Did you even read those lyrics?

 

[padam]

Did you even read those lyrics?

Yep, I can just see those hippies sitting around at a Chicago concert in the ‘70s, then going out and spending the rest of their lives feeding the poor

 

[themechanic]

Yep, I can just see those hippies sitting around at a Chicago concert in the ‘70s, then going out and spending the rest of their lives feeding the poor

Well, if it triggers bad memories, I won't listen to it either.

 

[padam]

Yep, I can just see those hippies sitting around at a Chicago concert in the ‘70s, then going out and spending the rest of their lives feeding the poor

Look, I’m sorry. I don’t mean to insult anyone. It’s always wrong to judge a group.

But my point is that modern music has had a negative overall influence on human behavior.

But you can’t convince me that a guy using demonic imagery and the power of rock music is promoting Christianity on a large scale.

In the beginning of the video he talks about his early hits with a lot of pride.
He didn’t say, “hey we were wrong to do that.” He didn’t seem sorry about his dead bandmates.

 

[themechanic]

Look, I’m sorry. I don’t mean to insult anyone. It’s always wrong to judge a group.

But my point is that modern music has had a negative overall influence on human behavior.

But you can’t convince me that a guy using demonic imagery and the power of rock music is promoting Christianity on a large scale.

In the beginning of the video he talks about his early hits with a lot of pride.
He didn’t say, “hey we were wrong to do that.” He didn’t seem sorry about his dead bandmates.

Alice has to answer to the same Lord you and I do. He's a baby Christian who needs time to mature. There are many examples of that. Mylon LeFever comes to mind.

 

[YY1]

Curious what you think about a car company that uses both a pentastar and a ram's head as brand imagery.

 

[padam]

Curious what you think about a car company that uses both a pentastar and a ram's head as brand imagery.

Pentastar never bothered me but the ram’s head, I don’t like it.

 

[padam]

Now get off my lawn!

 

[SlingLow]

Saturday in the Park by Chicago is an example of a good ole song with wholesome lyrics.



Saturday in the park
I think it was the Fourth of July
Saturday in the park
I think it was the Fourth of July
People talking, people laughing
A man selling ice cream
Singing Italian songs
Eh Cumpari, ci vo sunari
Can you dig it? (Yes, I can)
And I've been waiting such a long time
For Saturday yeah
Another day in the park
It looks just like the Fourth of July
Another day in the park
Look just like the Fourth of July
People dancing, really smiling
A man playing guitar (play the song, play the song, play on)
And singing for us all
Singing for us all
Will you help him change the world (thank you there)
Can you dig it? (Yes, I can)
And I've been waiting such a long time
For today
Slow motion riders fly the colors of the day
A bronze man still can tell stories his own way
Listen children, all is not lost
All is not lost, oh, no
Funny days in the park
Every day's the Fourth of July
Funny days in the park
Every day's the Fourth of July
People reaching, really touching
A real celebration
Waiting for us all
If you want it, really want it
Can you dig it? (Yes, I can)
And I've been waiting such a long time
For the day, yeah, woo

Oh the debauchery! A man selling ice cream AND singing Italian songs?

The 1st song I ever performed in public was Chicago's 25 or 6 to 4. That song was written by one of the band members in the middle of the night, hence the name (meaning 25 or 26 minutes before 4 am), so it wasn't all wholesome in Chicagoland.

 

[themechanic]

Curious what you think about a car company that uses both a pentastar and a ram's head as brand imagery.

The Pentastar logo is a blue pentagon with white stars at the tips of its points, and the Chrysler brand name in bold, black letters underneath. Robert Stanley of Lippincott & Margulies designed the logo in 1962, and it's meant to represent style, simplicity, and dynamism. The logo was used on vehicles until 2000, but Chrysler brought it back in 2011 to name its new V6 engine.

Not to be confused with the inverted pentagram used as a symbol in satanism.