Now that she's a zillionaire...

Well, here it is. Jagged Little Pill. When Pill first came out, I was mere 7 years old, and I had no clue who Alanis Morissette was. In 1995, I DID hear Hand in My Pocket and being an immature little kiddie, I was amused by the part of the video when a person steps in chicken sh*t. Ah, youth. Well, anyways, I never really got into Alanis when she was the huge angry banshee that you heard on the radio a bazillion times a day, and that's probably a good thing, because I'd probably be so sick of her now it wouldn't be funny. I also missed out on her second album, Supposed Former Infatuation Junkie. And, being a mere kid of 10 years ago, I was again amused by her running around naked in the video for Thank U. Well, before this gets out of hand, I finally got into Alanis this year, when I heard Hands Clean. No angsty chick screaming at the top of her lungs, but when I went to go download Hands Clean, I recognized some of the songs from Jagged Little Pill, so I picked them up. Yeah, well, eventually I ended up downloading the whole album, and then I bought it like some legal little sap. But it was very much so worth my $15, because this album is quite possibly the best female rock album ever!

Okay, time for song run-downs, you know the deal.

All I Really Want: I wasn't too impressed when I first heard this one. Maybe because it was like Junkie's Front Row and sorta went all of the place, maybe because I never heard it before, or maybe just because it wasn't some loud, screaming angry song. By the time I got around to All I Really Want, I was used to the You Oughta Knows, and the Forgivens. But it's really some kind of funky rant like Front Row... complete with freaky synthesizer, guitar, drums, and Alanis with her "whine," style singing. The whole song is just fast and fun, even though it's over four and half minutes. Alanis is singing in a pretty wise*ss-ish way about all she wants and needs, with a good chorus and things in between. My favorite line? The "Intellectual Intercourse," because I can totally relate to it. People my age are so annoying.

You Oughta Know: Well, here it is. The song, that in some people's minds, forever labeled Alanis as "That Angry Whiny Chick in the Theater," even when she only mentions the theater once. Yeah, so anyway, this was Alanis' US debut, and for some reason, people got really shocked by the thought of a woman saying the F-word. Come on people, it's not THAT hard to believe. So yeah, the guitars are really loud as is Alanis's vocals, she's just really p*ssed off at this guy, and you can feel the passion, because at the time of the recording, she had no closure with the problem at hand, and basically spat out this song like poison. But for something so angry, it's actually really catchy. I love it, even if she's bashing men, some of us deserve it. And I think it was also this song that Flea from the Chili Peppers makes a guest spot on bass.

Perfect: Another song that I can totally relate to. I know none of you know me yet, but I'm a huge perfectionist, and sometimes my dad will pressure me to keep my grades up to A's, or else I won't be accepted into college and the whole nine yards of drama. So yeah, this song I can relate to. Alanis is doing another "storytelling," song from the parents' perspective. These are some really picky people, too, because the kid MUST be perfect or else they won't love him or her. And one of the lines is also, "How long... till you screw it up?" Well, the song is good lyrically, enough ranting about it. The background music starts out slow with a wimpy little guitar intro, and you'd think it was going to be a sleeper, then it suddenly the guitar blasts you on the aforementioned line. It's no You Oughta Know, but it's edgy enough. Then Alanis hits her "whine," style again. Just to clarify; I love her whine-style singing.

Hand in My Pocket: Ah, yes, the first Alanis song I ever heard. I think so, anyway. It was the first video I'd seen anyway. Oh, who cares. :p This is a very mellow song musically, at least compared to the screaming You Oughta Know. It was a good plan to release this afterward to show Alanis isn't some raving psycho hellbent on killing the male population. Anyway, there's some drums to keep the beat, soft guitar and keyboarding, and that Alanis harmonica playing that I love ever so much comes in on the bridge. It's actually pretty catchy for a calmer song. The video is also neat, because it's not centered on Alanis, but the world around her. She sings about how whatever happens to her and things related to her, she'll end up being... fine, fine, FINE! Because she's got on hand in her pocket, and the other one is giving a peace sign! *end singing mode*

Right Through You: Yay, another male bashing song! *lament* Well, this is just as abrasive as You Oughta Know, minus censored swear words, but it's also about half the length and doesn't half much of an obvious bridge. According to Rolling Stone, she sings about the same incident on Hands Clean, which seems too ridiculous to be true. Anyway, the same style of music is found here as on You Ougtha Know: Wailing guitar and bass, beating drums, screaming organs. Alanis is equally furious sounding on here as on You Oughta Know, also. She's scolding a lover who doesn't really care about her except for sex and fame, and all the rest of the time, wanders off to play Golf and stuff and doesn't give a care about her otherwise. Maybe the last verse was written for the future, because she wasn't a Miss Thing or a zillionaire... yet.

Forgiven: This is probably the other song on Pill I can most relate to. I'm not gonna get into lengthy details with my religion and similar things, but I see where's she coming from and I tend to agree. This is a slower, louder song, where Alanis sings about the Catholic religion and how she no longer believes in it. I actually think the background music is some of Pill's best: similar instruments as in You Oughta Know, just not as ready to kill someone. The song sounds best musically in the beginning, and starting right before the line "What I learned, I rejected," She seems really mad or maybe she just felt like screaming, but at least she's expressing herself with a lot of passion. I suppose Alanis isn't Catholic anymore, but around the time she took the trip to India, she started thinking about spirituality more seriously, so here we have closure. Yay closure!

You Learn: Winding into the second half of Pill, we're greeted by this less spiteful, more ponderable gem called You Learn. Alanis starts out with an couple of "Oooh,"s, so it looks like we'll get a happier song from her now. This song also holds the album's title, and Alanis said Jagged Little Pill was supposedly a metaphor for life: You need to deal with it, for the good and the bad. Well, despite being a very cut and paste song, it gets it's point across. It lists a whole bunch of stupid/sad/angry/happy situations and easily tells us you learn from it. You learn from your mistakes. That's it! The background doesn't need to back up some angry yelling chickie bashing a man for some evil reason, so the music is mostly mellow. It's three-piece combo of Keyboard, Guitar and Organ, more of the same as the rest of the album, and for the music part, the background music repeats the same few notes. Yeah, lovely.

Head Over Feet: Well, this is a very unordinary love song. It's also really shocking, because for this whole CD, we've seen this woman who just seems to be really angry at every man in the world, and we find here that she's falling in love with a man against her will. He treats her right; She's not used to it. He's won her over; She didn't want that to happen, and couldn't stop it. The background music stays nice and basic, and for twice in a row, we're treated to some mellower, calmer rock tuneage, with keyboard and guitar as the main two instruments. At the bridge, we're greeted with another lovely Alanis harmonica take, with the guitar backing her up. Alanis harmonica time... always welcome to me!

Mary Jane: This is probably the slowest song on the album, and many consider it "filler," but I disagree. It's a beautiful song, and while I haven't figured out much of an explanation for the lyrics, Alanis' voice is beautiful, and background music is equally as stunning. Alanis easily takes the bigger and longer notes, and it's just great. I especially like the way she gives us the line, "It's full speed, baby.... in the wrong direction." Once again, the background music stays calm but beautiful, and they're every bit as good as Alanis' singing; whispering when she's lower, kicking it up a notch when she starts to yell a little. I know a lot consider Mary Jane to be the worst of the 12 songs, but personally, I like it. Alanis slows it down, and shows a lot of range and talent.

Ironic: Hailed as the most popular of Jagged's singles, Ironic also got a lot of heat from critics and writers a like. They noted that the events Alanis talks about in Ironic aren't ironic. And that's the point: Ironic is a song you expect to share irony, but it doesn't. That's the irony. Well, now that I've confused everyone, I may as well review the song. It starts out with the gentle strumming of the guitar, with Alanis singing very softly, and suddenly, we're blasted by the chorus: Alanis whiiiines it out, boosted by the guitars in the background. It stays pretty fast after that, until Alanis just starts talking and the background music nearly fades out: She askes if it's ironic, gives more un-ironic examples of irony, and gives a chuckle when talking about the man of her dreams' wife. It's meant to be sarcastic, funny, and ironic at the same time. It's probably one of my favorite songs ever.

Not the Doctor: This is pretty a catchy song, in my opinion. It's pretty cute and vaguely funny. More typical Alanis "whine," here, especially in the chorus, also boosted by guitar like in Ironic. The chorus is what makes it so catchy for me. "VisiTING hours are NINE to FIVE and if I SHOW up at TEN past SIX, well, I already KNOW that you'll FIND some WAY to sneak ME in and OH..." When not in the chorus, the background music is basically a strumming guitar playing the same few notes, and then Alanis kicks it into louder volumes. She sings about how she isn't the "doctor," for everyone's problems, so to speak, and she's rejecting the cry for help by the people, with lines like "I don't want to be your idol; you see, this pedestal is high and I'm afraid of heights."

Wake Up: The only other "slow," song on the album, this is another favorite of mine. Actually, every song on the album is one of my favorites, but who cares. While being slow, it's amazingly realistic. For everyone who tries to take the easy way out of doing things, she says there will be "No love, no money, no thrill anymore," and then she's just smacks all of us with a dose of reality by telling as about that apprehensive naked little boy and that impatient little girl, telling us to wake up. Instrumentals are much of the same as all the other songs, except calmer and slower, and during the bridge, Alanis is just breathing hardly for no reason. Oh well. Then she tells us to get up, get off it, get outta here, and then she gives us more, powerful, "Wake Up."

Your House: This song was hidden away under the alternate take of You Oughta Know, which wasn't that impressive in itself. After a couple minutes of silence, Alanis will come back on all alone, singing completely by herself with no back-up instrumentals at all. For a song with just vocals, it's actually pretty. Alanis sings about going to her "Love,"s house, and doing things like dancing in his shower, playing his Joni Mitchell, burning his incense, and asking for his forgiveness for doing these things. It's really just such a pure song, and if you can take that messy take of You Oughta Know, this is the perfect choice to close our lovely CD.

Well, that's it... this was as equally long as my Supposed Former review, I hope I didn't put any of you to sleep. I really do love this CD, every single track, and that's what makes it such a good CD: How many artists can claim they made a CD with no boring, filler songs? Not many. But Alanis does it. Perfectly.