Having exited from the early 90's, and the ‘cutting edge’genres of gangster rap into bands like The Spice Girls, New Kids On The Block,Hanson, and so on (which were not really that bad to be honest), music seemedto be turning toward family safe politically correct, catchy pop songs, untilAlanis Morissette. With her album ‘Jagged Little Pill’, she rewrote rock andbrought it back us.
Jagged Little Pill received its fair share of criticalacclaim, with an album that received many accolades. Everyone shockingly tooknotice of the angry grown woman wearing jeans and a t-shirt with dirty longdark hair covering her face. At the end of the day, she was edgy, angry,emotional and armed with a guitar.
‘You Ought To Know’ is a timeless classic for teens of thenineties who clamoured for a song about getting back at an ex who left them foranother woman. Moving on to the next song Alanis went on to write ‘You Learn’,which is my personal favourite off this album. It is a fantastic tribute tolife’s experiences. While you live, and you learn, it does not mean that oneshould stop trying. For the record, Alanis pulled the ultimate one-up onlisteners worldwide, by making the song ‘Ironic’, ironic, so that the lyricsare about the ultimate irony song for finding a way to get irony wrong. ‘HeadOver Feet’ is another superb song. It is about the realisation that you havefallen in love with your best friend. ‘Hand In My Pocket’ is a great follow up.With a catchy chorus, the song is about being relaxed.
With a mix of so many varying proportions, it is sometimesdifficult to explain why this song had such a huge impact on the world. Withthe aggressive approach of take no prisoners attitude, lyrics that anyone(regardless of age and any personal beliefs) can relate to, and a loose senseof attachment that you can get lost in. On a personal note though, using ‘HeadOver Feet’ on party mixes is not advisable. People do not tend to like it verymuch…
