Alanis Morissette Essay, Research Paper

To those who think the generation that came from the 1980s lacks

focus, here?s one bit of advice …take a pill–a Jagged Little Pill! Although

she had only recently passed her 20th birthday. Alanis proves she possesses

a wealth of insight and off-kilter sense of humor that?s at once untainted and

mature.

It wasn?t always this way for Alanis, she?s been famous almost since

she was born. She was a running character on the TV show ?You Can?t do

That on Television?, the hit Canadian kids? series, that made it big in the

U.S.. Sure, she had a pop music career at an age when girls are supposed to

be worried about their homecoming dates, not their chart position. But she

has never been as famous as this.

Everyone deals with hurt differently, for Morissette, her experience

became one of the biggest selling albums of 1995 and still in the top five now.

Alanis poured her personal life into an album called ?Jagged

Little Pill?, which took the world by surprise, and shot up the charts.

?You Oughta Know? a top selling song shows that bitterness sells. Her

Audience, many of whom haven?t seen Morissette?s scant twenty one years,

identify with the straight forward lyrics. Many of Alanis?s critics wonder if

she will be able to sustain this level of success, or if she will fade away.

Yet, if nothing else, Morissette has shown again and again that she can

reinvent herself and keep her image fresh. Some argue that this takes away

from the strength of the album. Critics of all forms have wondered aloud if

these songs reflect what is really going on behind Morissette?s image, or if

they are just an attempt to capitalize on the ?young angry female? craze.

Whatever it is, and Morissette insists that it?s real glitter in her hair, it?s

working.

These days it seems that more child actors are getting in the public?s

eyes by going to jail than for going to the top of the record charts. Alanis has

put out 2 other albums both self titled ?Alanis?. These records both sound

similar to the record ?Jagged Little Pill?.

Her style is approachable and clear. The music that was co-composed

with her producer, Glen Ballard, provides an excellent back drop to the

emotions she conveys. Some help from ?Red Hot Chili Pepper?s? Flea

playing the bass for the song ?You Oughta Know?.

?People have always said I was an old soul.? says Alanis. ?They said I

was always a little more intense and introperspective. Everyone was used

to seeing, girls being girls, so they didn?t know where to characterize me.? It

all boils down to this one fact:

?I want to walk through life instead of being

dragged through it.?