After recently reviewing the studio version of Taylor Swift’s “Betty”, I became inspired to write a review on Alanis Morissette’s Jagged Little Pill. From the perspective of music criticism, there are some instrumental and songwriting elements that are similar between the two projects. What makes the comparison between the two interesting is that they are both classified in different genres of music. Taylor’s “Betty” is categorized as a folk song. Alanis’ album is classified as alternative rock. Even though they have different classifications, there is common musicology that derives from the blues. The excellent storytelling in the lyrics and the instrumentation of the harmonica makes both projects an evolution of blues music, which is seldom heard on the radio and ranked on the music charts today.
Jagged Little Pill is one of my favorite albums. I was a kid when it was released. I enjoyed every single and music video. I knew the album had a special sound to it that I could not articulate back then. It became a reason why I listened to the album so much, I wanted to know about the anatomy of the music and why it had me under a spell.
For years I thought that Jagged Little Pill was the artist’s debut album. It was her third album and the first one that had a worldwide release. What is interesting is that her first and second albums were dance/pop records released in Canada. It’s ironic because dance/pop became popular in the 2000s. However, Alanis remained to produce songs and albums in the rock genre, as she is considered a pioneer of alternative rock and a legend that continues to deliver unique, creative albums within the genre.
The album was made after Alanis moved from Toronto to Los Angeles where she met producer Glen Ballard. They experimented in the studio with different sounds. These sessions created the sounds on Jagged Little Pill. The album went on to sell more than 33 million copies, she was nominated for nine Grammy Awards and won five of them-including Album of the Year.
“All I Really Want”: functions like an overture in musical theatre production that features pieces of the music that will be performed throughout the show. As soon as the album starts, Alanis makes it very clear what she wants. She is clearly looking for patience in her life, in order deal with everything that is swirling in her mind, deliverance from her current position in life into another realm, humility no matter where she has to go to find it, a soul mate who can understand her and “catch this drift”, peace and comfort among other things. The rest of the album is about her desires to experience all of these aspects of life. I wonder at what point in the creative process was this song created? My guess would be either first or last. Either way the song features all the instruments and other production elements that will be played throughout the rest of the album.
“You Oughta Know”: is a song about her relationship ending with someone and then he “replaces” her as quickly as possible. The energy on this record is intense and awesome. It’s very much a rock song, and the production puts a lot of emphasis on her lyrics and storytelling. A lot of emotions are displayed on this track. Many music critics describe the sound as “anger”. I do not doubt that anger is one of the emotions expressed throughout the song, but there’s also the concept of salvation. She laying out all of her emotions in order to reach a point of salvation where she is completely liberated from the toxic relationship. This song was a good choice to be the second track on the album. After listening to the first two songs audiences will understand that the rest of what they are going to hear will be spontaneous, some of which will be on the traditional rock side of sounds and others will be ones that have never been heard before.
“Perfect” is a really unique track. It’s a slower song with much emphasis on the vocals. It is about trying to help people reach for the stars and them not feeling like they’re letting her down by not reaching them. It’s also about the inner struggle of not pushing a person too far versus instilling the belief that they can achieve anything even if its unrealistic. One of the main messages of the song is that it is difficult to try to live through someone else. Alanis’ vocals are strong over acoustic guitar, and I really like the piano chords in this song.
“Hand in My Pocket” is one of my favorite tracks on the album. The song is about the human condition and the constant dichotomies that people go through. In the lyrics she will express one emotion and correspond with its inverse in order to display how people can be overly complicated or conflicted. In addition to having strong lyrics, there is something about this song that anybody can relate to-she covered all the bases. One interesting note is that there is not a solution to human complexity in the song. At the end the track where she says she will use her free hand to signal a taxi, it expresses that conflicting emotions have no permanent solutions, people have to deal with the hand they are dealt with to the best of the abilities.
“Right Through You” emphasizes the rock sound, delivers strong vocals, and a harder-hitting production. This is the first opportunity for audiences to hear Alanis on a track that is deliberately, unapologetically pure rock n’ roll. For fans of this sound, their antennas will be up for the remainder of this album.
“Forgiven” is a track about her Catholic religious upbringing and how she is more of a spiritual person now that she is learning to think for herself. She does not say anything disrespectful about anyone’s religion. The song is really about starting out at one place, going through growth and development and accepting yourself for who you are today.
“You Learn” is my favorite song on the album. It is one of her more inspirational tracks. It is about having freedom, but experiencing failure within it. In order to remedy this situation people have to learn from their mistakes, and equally as important-to never stop learning in order to discover what you’re looking for in life.
“Head Over Feet” is about developing a relationship with a partner that is actually rational. It is interesting to juxtapose the partner in this song with the terrible one from “You Oughta Know”; she seems to have found the remedy to having a successful relationship. However, the lyrics suggest that she never expected to have something rational in her life, but she learns to become aware. In this song, it’s like she’s taking her own advice from “You Learn”. There is also some humor in this track that makes it enjoyable to listen to.
“Mary Jane” is a ballet about trying to get your friend to express the difficulties that they are going through and making recommendations for them to change when they finally open up. Mary Jane is a character who is hurt emotionally that Alanis is trying to get to open up and reveal her true emotions.
“Ironic” is probably the best-known song on the album. It’s a funny song with a great message. The music video highlights the significance of irony within the lyrics. The song is about finding yourself in situations that you don’t expect but you have to continue pushing forward in order to live your life.
“Not the Doctor” has some nice sounding acoustic guitars. The song is about people needing to stand up for themselves rather than using another person to be their doctor. This song is a little bit of inspiration mixed with tough love.
“Wake Up” is a call to action for anyone who thinks they can just sit there and do nothing and expect to have good karma in their life. In order to satisfy one of the laws of the universe, what goes around comes around, people need to be awake in order to understand when that takes place. “Wake Up” is a good song choice for ending the album.
