Who's The Better Shock Rocker?

[NSL]

Alice Cooper

OR

Mariln Manson

Both were known for their insane stage antics, wild lyrics, and outlandish lifestyles. Alice Cooper reigned supreme in Shock Rock, and is considered the orignal shock rocker. Marilyn Manson became linked to everything from school shootings to suicides.



In my opinion, Marilyn Manson is no slouch in this category, but Alice Cooper still rules this roost. Manson was linked to horrible things, but I blame that more on the media, and the response of parents to these incidents. Without Alice Cooper, there is no Marilyn Manson. Alice Cooper is the one originally known for the freakshow on stage, and for riling up teens and young adults.

EDIT: I also want to add, that while Manson's career was rather remarkable as a shock rocker, everything Cooper did was at a time where it was viewed as a lot more than just shock rock. By the time Manson came along, he was loved for the "entertainment" he provided, not the shock value of anything he did.

 

[Dragonslayer]

My nod definitely goes to The Coop, without a shadow of a doubt. First off, I've never been a fan of Marilyn Manson from a musical point of view; and while Alice Cooper's voice also isn't exactly to my liking, I definitely like the music around it much more than Manson's... and I also think that Cooper's voice is definitely more remarkable in any case.

As far as "entertainment" or "shock" value are concerned... well of course Manson did a lot of provocative stuff... but c'mon, he started getting noticed in the media when, in the Mid-90ies? Oh please... Cooper has been doing this stuff since the 70ies, back in a time when people were a lot less used to sexual themes and also violence and provocation in music. Of course Manson went to more "extreme" lengths in his stuff, but that was just a product of his tim; no one would give a damn about him if he hadn't done that - simply because Cooper has already done it before. And that's exactly my point. Alice Cooper started making music and heading into that direction well before Manson was even born.

Manson came around in that post-Grunge-era where everyone was pissed and what not, and people were a lot more used to "extreme" stuff than back in Cooper's heyday. So I definitely pick him, as he not only paved the way for anything Manson did some twenty years later, but he also had a number of big hits (talking about things like Poison, School's Out, Feed My Frankenstein) that a lot of people know - however Manson's biggest hits were always covers if I remember correctly (Sweet Dreams, Tainted Love, Personal Jesus), and fewer big hits of his "own" (maybe Beautiful People, Disposable Teens, though I doubt those will stand the test of time like e.g. "Poison" did).

So, in closing, let me say that it is definitely interesting what Manson does - and although it has never been my kind of thing, I guess I can understand why people find him entertaining. Musically, most of his stuff doesn't appeal to me at all - ironically, it's usually his covers that I like best. But Alice Cooper definitely was a pioneer of that genre, and he did it in a whole different day and age. So he takes it, heh.

 

[Kasey]

Alice is just a mellow dude who like golf as of recent. Pretty much the flipside of Manson. Anyone who wants several hundred pages of proof to see how much of an egotistical cock-toker Manson is...just dig up a copy of his autobiography. There are some funny parts in there, but the funny part is that Marilyn actually thinks his music is good. Oh, and Alice is also good because he actually has some decent music to fall back on when he's not showing everyone where Jake Roberts got half his shtick from.