"Jagged Little Pill" went to #1 19 years ago today
Oct 7, 2014 22:02:19 GMT -5
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Post by JessieLou on Oct 7, 2014 22:02:19 GMT -5
www.billboard.com/articles/news/6274250/alanis-morissette-jagged-little-pill-19-years?facebook_20141007
Alanis Morissette's 'Jagged Little Pill' Revisited: 10 Classic Moments
Nineteen years ago today, an angst-ridden Canadian rocker catapulted to No. 1 on the Billboard 200 with her Grammy-winning album Jagged Little Pill, proving that a former child actor and bubblegum pop singer can come into her own and make one helluva mark on the music industry.
You Oughta Know:
- Alanis was a child actor, and at age 10, she joined the cast of Nickelodeon's hit show You Can't Do That on Television. She got slimed and she went on to become a real-life Robin Sparkles.
- In 1996, she became the youngest artist in history to win the Grammy for Album of the Year, at age 21.
- The album produced six singles.
- Reviews ranged from a C+ (Entertainment Weekly) to 3 out of 4 stars (Chicago Tribune).
- Flea plays bass and Dave Navarro plays guitar on "You Oughta Know."
- Jagged Little Pill became her first of three Billboard 200 No. 1 albums, while the set generated three Alternative Songs No. 1s (and six chart hits overall).
- With three Alternative Songs No. 1s, she boasts the most leaders among women in the chart's 26-year history.
This breakthrough album generated plenty of juicy stories and parodies. For example, was "You Oughta Know" really written about Full House actor-comedian Dave Coulier? And if it was, can we pretend that is wasn't? And yes, we've all come to terms with the fact that all the topics mentioned in the song "Ironic" were not necessarily ironic, but rather very unfortunate. And lastly, did you find the hidden a cappella track at the end of the album -- you know, the one that plays after the alternate take of "You Oughta Know"?
Let's look at 10 classic moments that helped define one of the best-selling albums in history.
1. "You Oughta Know"
U.S. radio stations played this track with different degrees of editing due to the lyrics "Would she go down on you in a theater" and "Are you thinking of me when you f--- her."
This was not one of those instances. Alanis will send shivers down your spine (again, or for the very first time), with her live performance of the lead single off the album. And yes, the F-word was heard on live television, and Ellen DeGeneres was blushing.
2. "Ironic"
"It's like 10,000 spoons when all you need is a knife." Alanis can almost make you forget the improper application of the term ironic, because the lyrics, when paired with a catchy melody, work anyways. Then there's the memorable music video featuring a multiplicity of Alanises. "Life has a funny way of sneaking up on you. Life has a funny, funny way of helping you out."
On an episode of Al TV, Weird Al hitches a ride with the hyper Alanises and very convincingly becomes the reason for all of their reactions.
3. "Head Over Feet"
One of the more friendly tracks on the album, it was a thank-you song before "Thank You." "You held your breath and the door for me."
4. "All I Really Want"
Alanis specialized in lyrics like this: "I don't want to dissect everything today, I don't mean to pick you apart you see, but I can't help it." "And all I need now is intellectual intercourse. A soul to dig the hole much deeper." This particular live version of the track begins with a heavy guitar intro and leads into the familiar sounds of Alanis on harmonica in one of her most moving and raw performances of the song.
5. "Mary Jane"
If you listen closely, Alanisβ voice will echo "it's a long way down" long after the song has ended, in this track she wrote for a friend who was "going through a few things."
6. "Hand in My Pocket"
Lots of harmonica. In the music video for the second single from the album, Alanis stands amid a homecoming parade, and she's brave but she's chicken (cue marching band member who steps in a pile of sh--). Also, nothing rhymes with "hailing a taxicab."
7. "Right Through You"
An older and wiser Alanis belts out the same song she shared with the world as a cautionary tale nine years earlier: "You took me out to wine, dine, 69 me but didn't hear a damn word I said." As if pages in her diary had come alive, we learned of her unabashed hate toward a man who used her and later missed out on her success. "You scan the credits for your name and wonder why it's not there." Burn.
8. "Forgiven"
Hallelujah. Alanis questions her faith in the religious-themed track. "If I jump in this fountain, will I be forgiven? I'll see you next Sunday." But it's the powerful chorus that restores our faith. "We all needed something to cling to."
9. "Your House"
After being introduced by fellow Grammy winner Seal, the "best new artist of '96" performed the hidden (buzzkill) track on the album, but by doing so, she showcased her no-need-for-Auto-Tune-or-accompaniment vocals. "So forgive me, love, if I cry all afternoon." Years later, Alanis recorded a cover of Seal's "Crazy."
Watch on YouTube
10. "You Learn"
In the fifth single from the album, we learn that Alanis recommends we walk around naked in our living rooms. Yet in the accompanying video, Alanis doesn't learn the consequences of causing car accidents and leaving the scene of the crime. Instead, she has more living to do -- which includes spontaneous backflips, kissing a street performer and pie fights. She clearly only learns after being knocked out in a boxing match.
Alanis Morissette's 'Jagged Little Pill' Revisited: 10 Classic Moments
Nineteen years ago today, an angst-ridden Canadian rocker catapulted to No. 1 on the Billboard 200 with her Grammy-winning album Jagged Little Pill, proving that a former child actor and bubblegum pop singer can come into her own and make one helluva mark on the music industry.
You Oughta Know:
- Alanis was a child actor, and at age 10, she joined the cast of Nickelodeon's hit show You Can't Do That on Television. She got slimed and she went on to become a real-life Robin Sparkles.
- In 1996, she became the youngest artist in history to win the Grammy for Album of the Year, at age 21.
- The album produced six singles.
- Reviews ranged from a C+ (Entertainment Weekly) to 3 out of 4 stars (Chicago Tribune).
- Flea plays bass and Dave Navarro plays guitar on "You Oughta Know."
- Jagged Little Pill became her first of three Billboard 200 No. 1 albums, while the set generated three Alternative Songs No. 1s (and six chart hits overall).
- With three Alternative Songs No. 1s, she boasts the most leaders among women in the chart's 26-year history.
This breakthrough album generated plenty of juicy stories and parodies. For example, was "You Oughta Know" really written about Full House actor-comedian Dave Coulier? And if it was, can we pretend that is wasn't? And yes, we've all come to terms with the fact that all the topics mentioned in the song "Ironic" were not necessarily ironic, but rather very unfortunate. And lastly, did you find the hidden a cappella track at the end of the album -- you know, the one that plays after the alternate take of "You Oughta Know"?
Let's look at 10 classic moments that helped define one of the best-selling albums in history.
1. "You Oughta Know"
U.S. radio stations played this track with different degrees of editing due to the lyrics "Would she go down on you in a theater" and "Are you thinking of me when you f--- her."
This was not one of those instances. Alanis will send shivers down your spine (again, or for the very first time), with her live performance of the lead single off the album. And yes, the F-word was heard on live television, and Ellen DeGeneres was blushing.
2. "Ironic"
"It's like 10,000 spoons when all you need is a knife." Alanis can almost make you forget the improper application of the term ironic, because the lyrics, when paired with a catchy melody, work anyways. Then there's the memorable music video featuring a multiplicity of Alanises. "Life has a funny way of sneaking up on you. Life has a funny, funny way of helping you out."
On an episode of Al TV, Weird Al hitches a ride with the hyper Alanises and very convincingly becomes the reason for all of their reactions.
3. "Head Over Feet"
One of the more friendly tracks on the album, it was a thank-you song before "Thank You." "You held your breath and the door for me."
4. "All I Really Want"
Alanis specialized in lyrics like this: "I don't want to dissect everything today, I don't mean to pick you apart you see, but I can't help it." "And all I need now is intellectual intercourse. A soul to dig the hole much deeper." This particular live version of the track begins with a heavy guitar intro and leads into the familiar sounds of Alanis on harmonica in one of her most moving and raw performances of the song.
5. "Mary Jane"
If you listen closely, Alanisβ voice will echo "it's a long way down" long after the song has ended, in this track she wrote for a friend who was "going through a few things."
6. "Hand in My Pocket"
Lots of harmonica. In the music video for the second single from the album, Alanis stands amid a homecoming parade, and she's brave but she's chicken (cue marching band member who steps in a pile of sh--). Also, nothing rhymes with "hailing a taxicab."
7. "Right Through You"
An older and wiser Alanis belts out the same song she shared with the world as a cautionary tale nine years earlier: "You took me out to wine, dine, 69 me but didn't hear a damn word I said." As if pages in her diary had come alive, we learned of her unabashed hate toward a man who used her and later missed out on her success. "You scan the credits for your name and wonder why it's not there." Burn.
8. "Forgiven"
Hallelujah. Alanis questions her faith in the religious-themed track. "If I jump in this fountain, will I be forgiven? I'll see you next Sunday." But it's the powerful chorus that restores our faith. "We all needed something to cling to."
9. "Your House"
After being introduced by fellow Grammy winner Seal, the "best new artist of '96" performed the hidden (buzzkill) track on the album, but by doing so, she showcased her no-need-for-Auto-Tune-or-accompaniment vocals. "So forgive me, love, if I cry all afternoon." Years later, Alanis recorded a cover of Seal's "Crazy."
Watch on YouTube
10. "You Learn"
In the fifth single from the album, we learn that Alanis recommends we walk around naked in our living rooms. Yet in the accompanying video, Alanis doesn't learn the consequences of causing car accidents and leaving the scene of the crime. Instead, she has more living to do -- which includes spontaneous backflips, kissing a street performer and pie fights. She clearly only learns after being knocked out in a boxing match.