It's not the games, movies or music...

I guess noone's surprised that Alice Cooper doesn't think that enterainment violence make people go out and kill each other. After all a he do entertainment violence and horror for a living, or well rather for a professsion I think, probably he has what money he needs for a living. But besides not thinking that he actually has written a song that speaks against that games, music videos and so on makes people go out and exercise violence in real life. The song I'm thinking of is Wicked Young Man, the whole uncut lyrics is printed at the end of the post.

The song is from the album Brutal Planet released in 2000 who goes into what's wrong with society (in the form of a dystopic close future society) as do the predecessor The Last Temptation (1994) and the following album Dragontown (2002). The Last Temptation is not placed in the future though but is rather some kind of now and here urban fantasy (especially witht he accompanying  comics album by Neil Gaiman and Alice Cooper) and Dragontown is ''the worst place on Brutal Planet'', maybe Hell.

The most obvious part of Wicked Young Man is the chorous, as should be?
''I am a vicious young man oh I am a wicked young man
It's not the games that I play the movies I see the music I dig
I'm just a wicked young man''

Clearly it's something inside the young man rather than the outer stimuli in form of games, movies or music that makes him do the bad things.

If one listens to the whole song, which has march feeling and often is accompanied with some marching by Alice when he on concerts take on the role of the wicked young man, there's some more things to think about. The first and second verse is much a description of the young man and his goals.

'Cold blue swastika tattooed on my skin
The ice in my veins the staples in my chin
I've got it carved in my forehead "Slave To My Sin"
Too violent for the brotherhood to ever take me in

Gonna write down my law in blood upon the street
To the cadence of a goose-step heavy metal beat
Wanna purify my race gonna turn up the heat
Just wanna make 'em die and make the job complete'

The third and fourth verse speaks about what this young man does and want to do.

''I like to run my body on heavy heavy fuel
I can punch through a wall I can kick like a mule
I got a pocketful of bullets and a blueprint of the school
I'm the devil's little soldier I'm the devil's little tool

I got every kind of chemical pumpin' through my head
I read Mein Kampf daily just to keep my hatred fed
I never ever sleep I just lay in my bed
Dreamin' of the day when everyone is dead''

It seems that he is doing the drugs hard and one can presume that they're playing their part in this man's wicked perception of the world. He also apparently is running quite high on the drugs since he seems to sleep very little and rather indulge in his own wicked ideas. The fourth verse has an interesting part ''I read Mein Kampf daily just to keep my hatred fed'' If games, movies and music don't turn you into a maniac why would litterature? Or is it the repeating reading of the same litterature that is taking it's toll and creeps into the mind and change the young man (or keep him crazy)? If that's so, does that count for any litterature reagardless whether it's ''good'' or ''bad''? Is often repeated readings of the same smaller amount of litterature making you lose your grip of reality (as the man is reading Mein Kampf daily)? Could there be too much even of good stuff?

One can also see something of the idea that the man is feeding and actively upholding his own view, he reads Mein Kampf daily to keep his hatred fed which goes well with that reapeted intake of smaller amounts of litterature or ideas could alienate you from reality.

--

The whole lyrics:
Cold blue swastika tattooed on my skin
The ice in my veins the staples in my chin
I've got it carved in my forehead "Slave To My Sin"
Too violent for the brotherhood to ever take me in

Gonna write down my law in blood upon the street
To the cadence of a goose-step heavy metal beat
Wanna purify my race gonna turn up the heat
Just wanna make 'em die and make the job complete

I am a vicious young man oh I am a wicked young man
It's not the games that I play the movies I see the music I dig
I'm just a wicked young man

I like to run my body on heavy heavy fuel
I can punch through a wall I can kick like a mule
I got a pocketful of bullets and a blueprint of the school
I'm the devil's little soldier I'm the devil's little tool

I am a vicious young man oh I am a wicked young man
It's not the games that I play the movies I see the music I dig
I'm just a wicked young man

I got every kind of chemical pumpin' through my head
I read Mein Kampf daily just to keep my hatred fed
I never ever sleep I just lay in my bed
Dreamin' of the day when everyone is dead

I am a vicious young man oh I am a wicked young man
It's not the games that I play the movies I see the music I dig
I'm just a wicked young man
I am a vicious young man oh I am a vicious young man
I am a vicious young man oh I am a wicked young man