Morning news, late-night talk shows and social media have been buzzing with the 20th anniversary of the release of Alanis Morissette’s breakthrough album, “Jagged Little Pill.” Though it might be easy to dismiss the attention as over-hyped or jumping on the bandwagon, “Jagged Little Pill” truly is the 1990s cultural icon it’s made out to be.
Morissette began working on “Jagged Little Pill” at the age of 20. A child star in Canada, she had already experienced some mild fame back home. Coming to L.A. in 1994, Morissette was essentially unheard of. Quickly landing Glen Ballard as a producer, who had previously made hits with Michael Jackson and other artists, Morissette proved to be wise and talented beyond her years. After its release in the summer of 1995, “Jagged Little Pill” dominated the airwaves with multiple hit singles and earned Morissette four Grammy awards.
During a brief interview and performance this November on “Good Morning America,” Morissette was asked to give her take on why “Jagged Little Pill” achieved such incredible success. She said “it was a wave of people that wanted to hear what was going on in the underbelly, the underneath.” Morissette’s sensitivity to such underlying emotional realities is evident in every track. Stories of frustration. uncertainty and learning to roll with the punches litter the album.
From the first time I listened to “Jagged Little Pill” in middle school, the free-spirited nature of “You Learn” immediately grabbed my attention. Years later, “All I Really Want” has become a veritable anthem for my idealistic, young-adult self.
“You Oughta Know” is arguably the most recognizable single from the album with Morissette’s vulgar candor and unwillingness to censor herself making it one of the most epic breakup songs of all time. “Ironic” has received constant flak for its lack of any literarily-correct ironies, but Morissette remains unapologetic for her casual interpretation of the term. In fact, I find Morissette’s curious word choices and pronunciations to be some of the most significant aspects of her music.
“Jagged Little Pill” could be dismissed as a load of teenage angst, but in doing so one would be completely overlooking the depth and staying power of the songs. Although Morissette was a young woman when she created “Jagged Little Pill,” the album is just as powerful and significant 20 years later.
Since listening to music is a cathartic and sentimental experience for me, I’m excited to see how these tracks change in meaning for me throughout my life.
