Discord & Rhyme: An Album Podcast

Discord and Rhyme is a podcast where we discuss the albums we love, song by song.

051: Alice Cooper - Killer (1971)

“Just because I cut the heads off dolls doesn't mean I hate babies — I just hate dolls.”

—Alice Cooper

Kick off your shoes, take a seat in your comfiest electric chair, and join the Discord & Rhyme crew for a look at Alice Cooper’s 1971 shock-rock classic Killer. In this episode, Dan is joined by Mike, Phil, and Ben to discuss how there is much more to Alice Cooper than the elaborate stage show and persona. In particular, we break down what a great group of players the original Alice Cooper band was and how they managed to craft some of the most fun and exciting hard rock of the early ’70s. 

Miscellany

  • While “Halo of Flies” flirts with elements from James Bond, the band would actually go on to write and perform a would-be theme song for The Man with the Golden Gun. Unfortunately, the band lost out to Lulu, leaving the song as a random track on the band’s final album Muscle of Love.

  • While the influence of Alice Cooper can easily be traced to later shock rockers like Marilyn Manson and Rob Zombie, a less obvious fan is John Lydon who has named Killer his favorite rock album of all time.

  • The Milwaukee etymological history comes from George R. Stewart's Names on the Land: A Historical Account of Place Naming in the United States, which is a fascinating read.

  • During the post-production phase, Mike was alarmed to discover that in our discussion of what music in 1971 might have constituted “shock rock,” none of us thought to mention Arthur Brown, who was most certainly an influence on Alice Cooper and his onstage theatrics. We are very sorry, God of Hellfire. Please do not smite us. 

Other links 

Discord & Rhyme Roll Call 

  • Dan Watkins (host)

  • Mike DeFabio (moderator)

  • Phil Maddox

  • Ben Marlin

  • Rich Bunnell (unreliable DJ) 

Killer tracklist

  1. Under My Wheels

  2. Be My Lover

  3. Halo Of Flies

  4. Desperado

  5. You Drive Me Nervous

  6. Yeah, Yeah, Yeah

  7. Dead Babies

  8. Killer 

Other clips used 

Alice Cooper:

  • Feed My Frankenstein (Live in Columbus)

  • Thrill My Gorilla

  • No More Mr. Nice Guy

  • I’m Eighteen

  • Poison

  • Caught in a Dream

  • 10 Minutes Before the Worm

  • Ballad of Dwight Fry

  • Pass the Gun Around 

Others:

  • David Bowie - Suffragette City

  • The Rolling Stones - Rocks Off

  • La Bouche - Be My Lover

  • The Velvet Underground - Sweet Jane

  • Tommy James and the Shondells - Crimson and Clover

  • Electric Light Orchestra - Do Ya

  • The Jam - Innocent Man

  • J. Geils Band - Love Stinks

  • The Psychedelic Furs - Pretty in Pink

  • Cornershop - Brimful of Asha

  • The Wallflowers - Three Marlenas

  • Cake - Short Skirt/Long Jacket

  • Butthole Surfers - Dracula from Houston

  • Peter Gabriel - Modern Love

  • The Yeah Yeah Yeahs - Rich

  • John Lennon - Cold Turkey

  • Bloodrock - D.O.A.

  • The Killers - All These Things That I’ve Done

  • The Doors - The Soft Parade

Band/album personnel 

  • Alice Cooper – vocals, harmonica

  • Glen Buxton – lead guitar

  • Michael Bruce – rhythm guitar, keyboards, backing vocals

  • Dennis Dunaway – bass guitar, backing vocals

  • Neal Smith – drums, backing vocals

  • Bob Ezrin – keyboards

  • Rick Derringer – additional guitar (1, 6)

Credits

“Discord & Rhyme (theme),” composed by the Other Leading Brand, contains elements of: 

  • Duran Duran - Hungry Like the Wolf

  • Amon Düül II - Dehypnotized Toothpaste

  • The Dukes of Stratosphear - What in the World?? ...

  • Faith No More - Midlife Crisis

  • Herbie Hancock - Hornets

  • Kraftwerk - Autobahn

  • Talking Heads - Seen and Not Seen

  • Alice Cooper - Halo of Flies (this episode only)

You can buy or stream Killer and other albums by Alice Cooper at your local record store, or the usual suspects such as Spotify, Apple Music, YouTube, and Amazon. Follow Discord & Rhyme on Twitter @DiscordPod for news, updates, and other random stuff. Editing is by Rich, and special thanks to our own Mike DeFabio, the Other Leading Brand, for production and original music. See you next album, and be ever wonderful.

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