Hey Stoopid (Hey Stoopid, 1991)

This week’s post focuses on the title track from the Hey Stoopid album, released in 1991. This LP redirected Alice’s focus back to a heavier sound – a more ‘Alice’ feel and vibe. He admitted that he felt good about this album and the direction music was heading at that time.

“When I listen to Guns N’ Roses or Skid Row or Jane’s Addiction, I hear ‘70s-influenced bands. They’ve got it down – ‘70s rock was very experimental and guitar-oriented. I’m a guitar freak, and it’s my record; that’s why there are monster players like Satriani, Vai, Slash, Vinnie Moore, and Mick Mars on this record.” – Alice Cooper

The artwork on the LP immediately grabs your attention. The album cover features a grinning skull with protruding eyes and Alice’s signature makeup. Two arms are shown crossed beneath the skull with wads of cash, precious stones, spiders, hearts, and a snake wound around one of the arms.

During this time, Alice also found himself with a “whole new audience.” His role in the movie Wayne’s World propelled him into a new era with people everywhere bowing and chanting, “We’re not worthy, we’re not worthy,” as seen in the film. Alice amiably admits he told Mike Myers (Wayne) and Dana Carvey (Garth), “You stuck me with this for the rest of my life!”

The title track carries a light-hearted anthem about a much deeper issue. Like a few other tracks on this LP, this song tackles the subject of mental health. Specifically, the song “Hey Stoopid” focuses on addiction, depression, and suicide.

In this post, we will be drawing inspiration from two elements – a very brief 2-minute interview with Alice and “Hey Stoopid,” a song that features Slash and Joe Satriani on guitar with Ozzy Osbourne adding background vocals as well.

The interview talks about depression and the mental health of society, and the song continually questions the thoughts, actions, and motives of individuals struggling with addiction and suicidal thoughts.

This topic is not an easy one, especially with things as unsettling as they are in the world today. There’s a good deal of uncertainty, anxiety, and depression that is seeping its way into reality at this point. Still, while the circumstances may seem unique, they are nothing new to humanity.

Many say that “the Bible is ancient, and it has no bearing on life today,” but who can make such a claim after reading Psalms and Proverbs. The peaks and valleys of David’s faith found in the first few chapters of Psalms are applicable still today, and the wisdom of Solomon is as well. Those two books alone have so much to say about life and how we should live it.

So many verses, such as Psalms 37:23-24, bring clarity to us when things seem mirky or unsettling.

“23 The LORD makes firm the steps of the one who delights in him; 24 though he may stumble, he will not fall, for the LORD upholds him with his hand.”

In a nutshell, ‘life is hard, but as mishaps and blunders occur, keep your faith intact and focus on Him.” When struggling with just about anything in life – Psalms and Proverbs, more often than not, hold the answers to your questions and life’s struggles. QUICK NOTE: If you’re finding it hard to find peace and rest, try diving daily into the book of Psalms and the book of Proverbs. So much of who we are and need to be are found within them.

In the interview, Alice speaks about depression. He admits that while he’s only dealt with it once (and has no idea what brought it on), it was a horrible experience. But Alice used that encounter as inspiration. In turn, he wrote “Hey Stoopid” and addresses mental illness as a philanthropist and a man of faith.

We all have stories that contain hardships and temptations. In every struggle, there is a silver lining – something positive to learn or gain, and we must do our best to remember that while things seem dark and bleak. Your story, your struggle, your testimony, and your faith have meaning and purpose. They shape not only you but also those with which you share it.

A testament to “who God is” is found in our individual lives. He is found laced within our stories – the stories used to teach others and others to teach us about the character of our Lord. While I often try to keep these writings less personal and more generalized, it’s often necessary to share personal stories to convey the beauty and magnificence of our Father and His Love. So, I’ll take this time to share my short-lived bout with depression.

My wife and I are blessed to have five children – 2 sets of twins. Our first three children were born 13 months apart, and the first set of twins spent the first four weeks of their life in the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU). Needless to say, that time spent back and forth to the hospital, and the next few years were no picnic – but they were a blessing. I can honestly say that while the valley was long and dark at times, it’s the peaks during that period that shine the brightest.

Fast forward to five years past the birth of our twins. At this point, my wife and I were business owners. Things were good, but they were busy. We approached the thoughts of having a fourth child. Pregnancy soon followed, and during the first ultrasound, we find yet again there are two small “buns in the oven.” I’ll admit, I was hesitant about us having a 4th child, but that was heightened by 10x with the thoughts of going through the “twin process” again.

During times of struggle, chaos, and uncertainty, we should look to His Word. Hope in Him renews our strength (Isaiah 40:31). Focusing on the negative brings attacks from the enemy (1 Peter 5:8). All things work together for good, through His Love (Romans 8:28). His spirit is with us as His plans unfold (John 14:26, Jeremiah 29:11). Had I focused on just those few verses mentioned above, I would have faired much better. But I didn’t.

Instead, I spun out of control. However, you would have never known it. I’m the type that buries my emotions. I tuck them away. I started to stew in fear, doubt, contempt, resentment, all sorts of feelings that looking back were so harmful to the process. Inwardly, I was raging – fighting a secret war, yet outwardly, I seemed content about everything going on.

There is so much more to the story, but I’ll condense it down to this. For the next 2-3 years, I allowed the enemy to sway my thoughts. All those bottled up emotions brought me to a depressive state. While I was going through the motions, working, caretaking, changing diapers, and running our business, I was slipping further and further into darkness and depression. But there’s a silver lining.

This nightmare became a blessing. I found myself on the floor in the fetal position crying out to my Heavenly Father. I found myself basked in His Light at one of the darkest moments of my life. My rebellion became submission to Him and His Word.

With that, came healing, freedom, love, and acceptance, all the things that I didn’t deserve – all the things His Grace, Mercy, and Love provide. As I began to see more of Him and less of me, it was as if the Holy Spirit was using a shovel to dig deep into my heart – pulling out pile after pile of dirt and replacing that mud with His fruit.

Do you see how twisted the enemy can make things seem? There I was with, now, five beautiful children. All precious gifts from our Lord – yet so many in this world struggle even to have one child. How selfish had I become? So focused on myself, my ambition, my wants, my “needs,” etc. instead of on what He had given me. Instead of the plans, He was laying out for me.

I created my own misery – my own prison. While I never became suicidal, it’s easy to see through experience what a slippery slope depression can be. The song’s lyrics shed truth and light onto a very dark subject.

It’s a war cry for us all to live by, a conversation we should be willing to have with anyone we know that is struggling, but sometimes it’s not someone else that needs to hear it. Sometimes it’s a discussion we should have with ourselves or one our Lord is trying to have with us.

Hey, hey, hey, hey, hey stoopid
What ya tryin’ to do

Your story ain’t so shocking
You know, I know

Wrapping this up, depression and mental instability do not discriminate. The circumstances surrounding such things are different for each person. They can affect all walks of life, all races, wealthy, poor, believers, non-believers, and so on.

Many come from horrible situations and dreadful acts of abuse, and others may not. Our ultimate goal must be to love and support those that are hurting but by doing so with no judgment – knowing that it could have just as easily been one of us.

By sharing and lifting one another, we find His Word revealed through our story. We see a better, clearer, eternal approach. From my situation, it was during those months that God was preparing me and transforming my heart.

Ocean Floor Web and Graphic Design Ministries, the founder of Fridays With Alice, was launched a few months after that ordeal. With help from a Christian counselor and mentoring that is sought daily, I was able to piece together a plan – His plan, and that is a beautiful narrative. A narrative that He wants for all of His people.

Every one of us is essential. We are the body. We are His Children. We are a family.

If anyone reading this post has any thoughts of self-harm or suicide…

Seek out help immediately, dial 911 or go to the nearest hospital…

There is help! Ask for it! You deserve it!

In conclusion, “Hey Stoopid” is a thoughtful discussion – one that Alice is not afraid to have with the listener. It’s “a monster hit-sounding record” with a message, yet it’s a conversation from an unexpected source.

“I would hate anyone to think that Alice is preaching. That’s why the line, “This ain’t your daddy talkin’” is in there….Hopefully, Alice saying suicide is stupid will get across to kids – “Alice says suicide is stupid.” Great, now we don’t have to do that.” – Alice Cooper

As Alice most often does, he “hit the nail on the head.” The message is clear, and it’s masterfully shared with not only his long-time fans but a new audience as well. A new generation of Alice fans was discovering him in part because of the Trash LP’s success, but also because of his appearance in Wayne’s World (which introduced many to Feed My Frankenstein, the classic hit from the film and the Hey Stoopid LP).

Alice was on a new path – one that would ultimately lead him to some of his most celebrated work. While so many were finding their careers coming to an end, he was hitting a new stride.

That’s it for this week. Be well and catch you next Friday!

In the meantime, Keep Walkin’ in Faith and Rockin’ with Alice!

FINAL THOUGHT: It looks like quarantine is something we will be living with for a few weeks, maybe months, to come. Be diligent in your time spent at home. Have some good discussions with your family. Now is the time to take a thoughtful inventory of everyone’s emotional state of mind.

Stop and put yourself in the shoes of others. Many are out of work. Some are without food. The list of haves and have nots will become more and more evident as time progresses. But there are still things we can do. Pick up the phone. Call or text people you haven’t talked to in quite some time. Ask tough questions and be willing to listen after you’ve asked them.

Also take careful consideration of what our children and teenagers must be going through. Think about how hard it must be to have athletic seasons, art and music events canceled. All while being ripped out of their social circles as well. Like me, how many of those young people bury their feelings instead of talking about them.

As I mentioned, I’ve never been ‘suicidal’ per se.  But I did have one fleeting moment when, as a teenager, I thought it might be easier just to stop living.  I didn’t dwell on it long…it was just a fleeting moment of weakness.  However, this song hit me hard when looking back and thinking about those that decided they couldn’t bear living. 

“Hey Stoopid” does a beautiful job painting a better picture and challenging a person’s motives and thought process. Still, there’s another song that should be addressed – especially in such uncertain times. It’s a song that discusses how important it is to make sure all of God’s children know their worth and how much He loves them. 

The song is ‘For Annie’ by Petra – it’s a tear-jerker.  If you or someone you know is hurting, seek help – Jesus Loves You and wants to know you and help you through your ‘burden’s bear.’ Amen.