Alanis Morissette

**METALPRIEST** · 06-03-2010, 06:53 AM

Not gonna do a big giant opus OP here. I think most people know who she is by now or have heard of her and her music. I may also surprise a few people that may have not known that I am a fan of this woman.

I love the music. It moves me. I love to watch her perform...it's trance like. She still is one of the greatest singers in alternative music IMO, as well as 90's Rock in general.

I was there from the beginning and still get blown away by Jagged Little Pill.

So those who would like to add to this thread please do. Photos,vids,stories!

Slip'nn2Darkness · 06-03-2010, 06:57 AM

I was glad to see a few polls end up on here.. But it's nice that you took the time to do a thread MP..

I too find Alanis to be well worth a listen.. Her dynamics to me are her lyrics.
And I have to say I'm impressed by the musicians she has worked with..
Jagged Little Pill is one of my mostly played CD's.. One that I listen to from start to finish and every song on it tells a different story..
Her oddness compliments her style..

**Soot and Stars** · 06-03-2010, 07:04 AM

Not my favorite of the female alternative singer genre but one that has a lot of songs I dig. I always buy a stray Alanis c.d. here and there when the price is right! Here are my peak Alanis songs:

Forgiven
(my favorite J.L.P. track by far)

Uninvited
(haunting)

King of Pain
(love the unplugged c.d. and this cover)

Hell, she does great covers:

Crazy

My Humps
(hilarious and ingenious at the same time)

Slip'nn2Darkness · 06-03-2010, 07:09 AM

Originally Posted by Soot and Stars

My Humps
(hilarious and ingenious at the same time)

Way to go Alanis..

**METALPRIEST** · 06-03-2010, 07:48 AM

I love that!!

Aktivator · 06-03-2010, 03:26 PM

I really liked her first two albums but never bought anything else. Not sure why maybe because her fans pissed me off on the tour she did with Tori Amos in 98 or by 2000 I had discovered so much music that she got left behind. I still play both albums from time to time.

**METALPRIEST** · 06-03-2010, 03:56 PM

You need to explore some more then Aktivator...will add some stuff later to the thread here tonight.

Fisha · 06-04-2010, 07:08 AM

I like "you ought to know" can't say much for the others. But I thought I might post Ed Byrnes opinion on ironic.

**Soot and Stars** · 06-04-2010, 07:15 AM

Originally Posted by Fisha

I like "you ought to know" can't say much for the others. But I thought I might post Ed Byrnes opinion on ironic.

Pretty funny especially the last part!

**METALPRIEST** · 06-04-2010, 07:18 AM

From Wiki

IRONIC Linguistic usage disputes

The song's usage of the word "ironic" attracted attention for what some think is an improper application of the term. Two situations that Morissette describes in the song are arguably examples of cosmic irony: events that, as the Oxford English Dictionary puts it, appear "as if in mockery of the fitness or rightness of things", such as "a death row pardon/two minutes too late".

The lexical item “Ironic” is referred to its semantic meaning; “expressing irony” and “irony” defined as: 1: use of words which are clearly opposite to one’s meaning in order to be amusing or to show annoyance. 2: a course of events or a condition which has the opposite result from what is expected. The title also provides the best directions for the reader as to how the text should be read by acting as a constraint on potential interpretations or schemata instantiation. Carrell

Morissette has also confirmed that she is a self-dubbed "malapropism queen" and alleges that the song was lighthearted and not taken too seriously at the time it was written.

“ For me the great debate on whether what I was saying in 'Ironic' was ironic wasn't a traumatic debate. I'd always embraced the fact that every once in a while I'd be the malapropism queen. And when Glen and I were writing it, we definitely were not doggedly making sure that everything was technically ironic. It's a testament to the fact that we didn't think it was going to be put under the microscope by 30 million people. For me the sweetest moment came in New York when a woman came up to me in a record store and said, 'So all those things in the "Ironic" aren't ironic.' And then she said, 'And that's the irony.' I said, 'Yup.' To me it's a real snapshot of a nineteen-year-old's definition and version of how life worked at the time. All that 'Ironic' touches on spawned all my future inquiries into and current understandings of the mysteries of life. ”

Irish comedian Ed Byrne has performed a skit in which he jokingly attacks the song for its lack of ironies (as seen above in Fisha's Post)

**METALPRIEST** · 08-20-2010, 06:35 PM

AboutAGirl · 08-29-2010, 08:56 AM

One of my favorites without a doubt! She captures for me, the splendor of youth in a way that literally no other artist has. It makes my heart skip a beat, really... at her absolute best she makes me scared to be alive... because for a split second I'm forced to confront the fact that something as beautiful as the idyllic, rose-colored version of youth exists (even if just as an idea), and I have to ask myself whether it's something I succesffuly captured in my youth, or whether it's something that was even capable of being captured, or if the capability/potential still exists and therefore I have the responsibility to go out and captue it, even at this age. That only applies to a few of her best songs, but it's quite, quite significant for me.

I love a lot of pop music, but I love a lot of it with my tongue firmly planted in my cheek. Taylor Swift, for example, is someone whose music I have immense respect for, but thematically it's so far off the deep end... it's pure fantasy. And it is inspired by her real life, but what she does is extracts the absolute most rose-colored moments and feelings, and she concentrates these idyllic visions and then gives them back to us. She writes away all of the harsh realities, all of the little insecurities and blemishes, and all we have left is the pure extract of simple romance.

Her music (at its best) can effect me almost as deeply as Alanis's, but it's so sugary sweet that my lips start to curl. It's beautiful for representing real emotions in an unreal way, her songs connect to our fantasies more than to our real lives. Alanis's music is similarly sweet. It represents an unabashedly idyllic view of life, where being young is an adventure rather than torture, and love is bittersweet but never bitter. The difference, which makes Alansis's music so special, is that she upholds this wistful reverie while accounting for the insecurities and blemishes in life. As a result, Alanis's music is just as sugary as Taylor Swift's, but it feels more real, more believable, and so it hits you (or just me) even harder.

For example Hand In My Pocket (one of my all-time favorite songs), presents us with an (arguably) unrealistically ideal portrayal of youth, where the protagonist is imbued with a crystal clear zen perspective rather than being bogged down with insurmountable hormones and pressures, worrying about innane vanities or parental issues or what-have-you. Yet at the same time, the 'laundry list' of various experiences she notes in the song present both positive and negative aspects of youth. It's a precociously succinct and wise summation of what the protagonist is feeling, but it's also a highly believable list of experiences.

Similarly, the song Head Over Feet gives us the dime-a-million script about being madly in love, but it slips in lines about having been reluctant and skeptical and bitter up until now, so it's (arguably) more believable.

It's not that her song topics are unique, or even that her music is necessarily unique in any discernable way (other than, perhaps, by simply being better/doing it better). It's more about how she appears to be coming at it from a more level-headed position despite handing us the same anthemia.

Unplugged is my favorite album from her (I'd rate her Unplugged higher than Nirvanas! Not higher than AIC's though) despite the fact that Hand In My Pocket is far and away my favorite song of hers. I didn't care as much for Jagged Little Pill acoustic... I dig that Unplugged sound. Must be the brushes they use on the kit or something. Definitely think that's part of what makes Unplugged great.

Oy vey... WHY did I write so much? Must be the fact that I am running on no sleep and my brain brain brain brain brain... brain brain brain. It isn't functioning, as far as I'm aware. I haven't asked it, though.

p.s. metalpriest, love your avatar! One of my favorte Page pics.

**Soot and Stars** · 08-29-2010, 09:02 AM

^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^

Epic post dude! No need to apologize! It was definitely an interesting take and I never thought I'd see Alanis and Taylor in the same thread but it was an entertaining read! Unplugged is also my favorite from her and I wasn't feeling JLP acoustic either!

ComfortablyNumb · 08-29-2010, 03:57 PM

Only like the first album

runtfan · 08-30-2010, 09:48 AM

Can't say I've followed her much, but "Jagged Little Pill" is a great album and I play it every now & then.