HALLOWEEN ROCKS: ALICE COOPER

So, you want to dress up as a badass looking rock icon for Halloween, but don't want to be the zillionth person dressed as a member of KISS? Try one of their influences, soon-to-be-Rock-and-Roll-Hall-of-Famer Alice Cooper! (at least he'd get my vote!)

It's actually a bit easier than KISS: all you need is some black makeup for your eyes (and the lines from your mouth), get a top hat and you're good to go! For added effect, a cane would help, and even a fake snake (using real snakes or any other real animal as part of a costume is definitely NOT cool, so don't do it!).

Also not cool: dressing like an artist whose music you aren't familiar with, so let me make some recommendations here. If you're just starting out, there are a lot of Alice collections to choose from , but go with the 2001 Rhino collection Mascara and Monsters. If you want to go deeper into some classic albums, I'll recommend 1971's Love It To Death, 1971's Killer, 1972's School's Out, 1973's Billion Dollar Babies or 1975's Welcome To My Nightmare.  And if you want to go really deep, pick up the excellent box set, The Life & Crimes Of Alice Cooper. Of his more recent stuff, I enjoy 2005's Dirty Diamonds. And one of my favorite things he's done was his Halloween single that he released last year, "Keepin' Halloween Alive."