The Baltimore Sun recently caught up with ALICE COOPER on his Halleoween Hootenannny Tour with ROB ZOMBIE. An excerpt is available below.

Q: You've been on stage for 40 years, is there an impetus to stay relevant? Do you listen to rock today?

Cooper: "If you look at the bands that are still here from the '60s - Bowie, Elton John, Alice Cooper - we’re all still working, we're all still touring. I think I'm doing some of the best shows I've ever done. I don’t think what we do is disposable. My generation seems to have a different work ethic. I always thought, 'Do 25 albums.' I'm a lifer. A lot of bands today get together, play, make an album, break up and form another band. There's no bands staying together."

Q: They do sound less frivolous than in your time.

Cooper: "A lot of rock I listen to is a yawn. I know what's coming. A lot of hard rock today sounds joyless. Bands forget to have fun. Rock should be played from the crotch, not the brain."

Q:What's wrong with them?

Cooper: "The songwriting has gone out the window. The music on the charts is too high-tech, not married to the lyrics. When I learned how to write lyrics, I was listening to Burt Bacharach, Paul Simon, Brian Wilson, Gershwin. We were competing with LED ZEPPELIN, THE BEATLES. We really had to write great songs to get on the radio. If you write a ballad, you better break a girl’s heart. We spent 90 percent on the music and 10 percent on the theatrics. The theatrics come easily."

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BW&BK; recently received the following Cooper update:

This Halloween you'll howl with laughter and scream with delight as WGN America presents The Monstrous Munster Mash, 18 back-to-back episodes of The Munsters, television's First Family of Fright. Hosted by legendary shock rocker Alice Cooper, the nine-hour marathon featuring the odd occupants of 1313 Mockingbird Lane will air Sunday, October 31st from 10am to 7pm ET (7am - 4pm PT).

The iconic Alice Cooper, who was named the world's most "beloved heavy metal entertainer" by Rolling Stone, will be hosting opens and interstitials for The Monstrous Munster Mash.