I’m So Angry (The Eyes of Alice Cooper, 2003)

The Eyes of Alice Cooper is one of our favorite albums here at “Fridays With Alice.” Released in 2003, it was the follow-up LP to Dragontown but sounded nothing like its predecessor. The record instead returns to Alice’s roots – raw, pure grit, garage-based Rock ‘n’ Roll.

According to Alice, he didn’t want The Eyes of Alice Cooper to be “overly produced.” The songs were written, recorded live in the studio (twenty takes), and the best take was used on the album – no overdubs.

The songs on The Eyes of Alice Cooper are each unique and tell their own stories. However, if you rearrange the tracks and think a little bit outside the box, a horrific love story can emerge from underneath the surface.

The songs “What Do You Want From Me?” “Bye, Bye Baby,” “Be With You Awhile,” “Love Should Never Feel Like This,” “This House Is Haunted,” and “I’m So Angry,” can be pieced together – to tell a story about the highs and lows of a very dysfunctional relationship. Whether intentional or not, the unconventional eye reveals a sensational story and puzzle found within the songs on this LP.

“I’m So Angry” is the second to last track on the LP. It is the personification of deep annoyance and anger. From the singer’s perspective, they can’t even listen to the subject of their dismay without becoming infuriated.

I’m so angry
I’m so angry
Something that you said burnin’ in my head
I’m so angry
I’m so angry
Everything you do makes me furious with you

It’s like a poison to me
It’s like you put me in shock
You stick a needle in me
Every time that you talk.

Who are the subjects of this song? Were they lovers? Are they co-workers? Family members? Do they both despise each other, or is this a one-way street full of hatred? What altercation caused all this bitterness and loathing?

Have you ever experienced such extreme emotions? They can be toxic, all-consuming reactions that affect our health and well-being. Anger is cancer.

With anger, we often find someone trapped in isolation. Hurting. Depressed. Unwilling to forgive. At anger’s core, we find blame (the song paints that narrative perfectly). There’s this sense of entitlement also attached to it. As if someone owes you something. Once we start believing others owe us, we tend to be less forgiving towards them. Jesus warns us about forgiveness in the book of Matthew. In Chapter 6 verses 14-15, He makes it crystal clear that forgiveness is a two-way street. If we want forgiveness, we must be willing to give forgiveness. We can’t expect to benefit from being forgiven if we live life in bitterness and anger towards everyone around us.

“Get rid of all bitterness, rage, and anger, brawling, and slander, along with every form of malice. Be kind and compassionate to one another, forgiving each other, just as in Christ God forgave you.” – Ephesians 4:31-32  

Have you noticed just how angry the world has become? Have you noticed the fuses of humanity are becoming shorter and shorter? What is driving such anger, vitriol, and hate? Why on earth are we so mad? Are we angry at God? Our fellow man? Or is it ourselves?

In the fifth century AD, St. John the Ascetic described anger as ‘a deadly poison that must be totally uprooted,” and the renowned author, C.S. Lewis, claimed anger is “the anesthetic of the mind.” Simply put, when anger takes over, our minds go numb. Unable to logically think or communicate, we say and do things we never thought were possible. We become like a “city whose walls are broken down” (Proverbs 25:28). Lewis goes on to expound more about anger.

“One man may be so placed that his anger sheds the blood of thousands, and another so placed that however angry he gets he will only be laughed at. But the little mark on the soul may be much the same in both. Each has done something to himself which, unless he repents, will make it harder for him to keep out of the rage next time he is tempted and will make the rage worse when he does fall into it. Each of them, if he seriously turns to God, can have that twist in the central man straightened out again: each is, in the long run, doomed if he will not. The bigness or smallness of the thing, seen from the outside, is not what really matters.”

We’ve identified the ill effects of anger, but how do we confront and handle such a destructive force – what does the Bible say we must do about it? As we embrace Him and His Word, we start to see, know, and understand that God is Love (1 John 4). Knowing Him, as His children, we are called to love one another (John 13:35, Ephesians 4:2) and be at peace within ourselves (James 1:19, Proverbs 19:11, James 3:17-18).

A walk with Christ is not easy. Especially at first. Walking in Love and knowing peace are NOT attributes the world teaches us. We are instead exposed (sometimes at a very young age) to the opposites of these things. Turmoil, strife, and conflict sell. The world glorifies such behavior, and it endeavors to portray humanity with no hope and no redemption.

With the gift of Salvation, we are subject to reprogramming – a new way of seeing humanity – as our Heavenly Father intended. We begin to sense and recognize a transformation taking place in ourselves. An alteration of the heart and soul that also leads to the renewing of our minds (Romans 12:2). It’s a process that ultimately uproots guilt, greed, jealousy, and anger.

This journey leads us closer to His Nature. His Character. To Him. It’s an experience that replaces those traits mentioned above and replaces them with His Fruit. The Fruit of the Holy Spirit – Peace, Love, Joy, Patience, Kindness, Goodness, Faithfulness, Gentleness, and Self-Control (Galatians 5:22-23), but it’s only obtainable through persistence and diligence.

As we daily search for His Will, through prayer and studying His Word, we find our “fuses” become stretched. It takes more to anger and upset us. We begin to react with love and patience (Colossians 3:8). Stop and give that some thought.

We can overcome anger. But much like our hearts and souls, it requires us to surrender our minds to Christ as well. We can’t expect transformation if we just accept His Grace and Love. We must change our thought processes as well. We must learn to rethink and react differently than what the world teaches us is typical or normal. He becomes our standard. We strive to be more like Him.

Wrapping this up, we find a great deal of personal strife attached to anger. It’s unhealthy to live with so much bitterness and hatred. We’ve mentioned many times before that life is a process. A good part of this process requires a reconditioning of the mind.

As you walk with Him, try not to get too hung up on your weaknesses but work on resolving them. Try to begin by seeing others and yourself as He sees you – as His creation. Diligence and repetition are what form healthy habits. As you spend time in His Word, you will learn more about your Creator and who you will become through Him.

You will begin to notice your heart softening (Hebrews 4:12). You will start to see people in a different light (Acts 26:23), focusing less on yourself and more on them (Philippians 2:3). You begin to realize more and more what this life is about – Loving God and Loving People (Matthew 22:36-40).

NOTE: COVID-19 and the circumstances surrounding the virus (quarantine, economic decline, homeschooling, etc.) may bring with them anger. But stop and think about why. Is it because of a lack of preparation? Is it because of unforeseen events? Is it because we are being told to do things we don’t want to do?

Use this time to lean not on your own understanding but instead on His ways (Proverbs 3:5-6). Don’t worry about the circumstances you have no control over, but instead find ways to improve your own life and walk. Take this time to focus less on the faults of others and more on correcting your own.

In conclusion, Alice does a brilliant job conveying the emotions of this track’s subject. It describes a very irate scenario. The initial build-up from the beginning to the very end of the song leaves you a bit on edge.

The album features guitarists Eric Dover and Ryan Roxie. The two of them complement each other nicely. Alice admits that is what makes this record, the songs, and the sound so unique.

“I’m So Angry” is a combination of both of them (Roxie’s Sex Pistols influence and Dover’s early Rolling Stones influence). But I think they both came from both those schools of music. You know, in some of these songs, we absolutely tip the hat to certain people.” – Alice Cooper

Again, this has quickly become one of our favorite albums. Alice admits that “every song (on the album) is just a little ironic slice of life.” Honestly, that’s the best part of Alice’s music. It’s not only easy on the ears, but it points out some of the more candid moments in our lives. Moments that make you think, feel, or laugh – an insightful look into the human heart, mind, and soul.

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

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