I remember the first single I heard on the radio from Jagged Little Pill by Alanis Morissette. I remember asking myself, “What is that screeching sound?” as I listened to You Outta Know…but then I listened to the lyrics and could hear plain and simple emotion, expressed powerfully with no wrapper or gloss.
Revisiting the album now, I realize this woman’s work embodied the angst and general feeling of disillusion many people felt in the ‘90s and even now. When asked in a 1995 interview, “Was there always this…angry, naughty woman waiting to get out?” Alanis Morissette replied, “Oh…she was definitely always there. I just chose consciously not to show it because I don’t think I was prepared to…to be that naked, really.” (Alanis Morissette – The New Music Interview (1995), 2012) Alanis Morissette gave mutual feeling, unspoken security, and angst a voice in Jagged Little Pill.
My wife and I chose the house we live in due to its unusual character. It has had four additions since it was built in the ‘40s and each addition presented problems in which the solution made the house unique and unlike the cookie-cutters built in our old community around the ‘90s. It’s amusing to me that one of the strongest character traits of Jagged Little Pill is that it screamed out to the middle of the 1990s, “Don’t accept mediocrity and the five models offered in this new neighborhood of 150 houses.”
In addition to the signature angst of the album was the character trait of being imperfect and seeming unpolished, yet revealing highly sheened production on further inspection.
I believe Jagged Little Pill encouraged other artists and mainstream popular music of the time to reach a little deeper.
As a songwriter, Alanis Morissette and Glen Ballard teach me to pay attention to the whole package. Many seemingly unlikely stars from the past have succeeded with the same chemistry as Alanis Morissette, through emotional content and a genuine outlook that connects. Being technically proficient is important, but getting wrapped up in it and forgetting the other elements of music, such as emotional impact and spontaneity, which make the connection to others, can limit success. This is the lesson I will strive to apply to balance my own efforts in the future.
StullSounds 