Volume #5 | My First Cassette Tape: How It Shaped My Inner Voice.
Alanis Morissette's album Jagged Little Pill.
Alanis Morissette
I’m here, to remind you.
Like a kid in a candy store, 8-year-old me walked into Sanity with one hand in my pocket, and the other carrying a purse full of coins from the tooth fairy. I remember feeling so excited as I was going to buy music with my own money for the very first time. From memory, my older sister was with me to do the same thing. This would have been quite the treat for us, back in the day.
Sanity music stores adorned shopping malls in the 90s and 2000s. It was heaven for a girl like me. Without hesitation, I grabbed a cassette off the shelf; Alanis Morissette’s Jagged Little Pill, and my sister chose No Doubt’s Tragic Kingdom.
On the front cover was a round black sticker with a language warning that I was too young to grasp. You’re talking to the same girl who together with her primary school friends, convinced the teacher that we were going to perform a dance at our school concert to Backstreet Boys’ ‘Everybody’. My teacher hesitated and had to seek approval from the school principal because of these lyrics:
“Am I sexual? Yeah”
What girl of this tender age was buying Alanis Morissette’s album? Me. It turns out, one in every 10 people in America owned Jagged Little Pill. It already had four hit singles that were consuming radio airwaves around the globe and Alanis Morissette went on to release two more. This woman was everywhere.
At the time of buying my first cassette tape, ‘Ironic’ was the latest single to be released and it resonated with me in a spine-tingling, special way.
“An old man turned 98. He won the lottery and died the next day.”
It not only helped me to understand the meaning of ironic, but also exposed me to unbelievable situations I was yet to experience in life. Whilst I can’t say I’ve found a black fly in my Chardonnay, ironically, it did rain on my wedding day. I’m talking a record-breaking down pour that peaked in the days prior to our nuptuals. Let’s leave that muddy, albeit happy, tale for another day!
Despite the explicit language and my innocence, the customer service attendant in Sanity all those years ago was happy to handover the cassette for my cash. I’m forever grateful my parents never questioned if this album was appropriate for me. They were amazing in that way, allowing me to explore different media and express myself in a safe environment.
Alanis Morissette became my favourite female singer. The cassette was well-loved with the inner booklet falling apart after studying those witty lyrics over and over again. I would cling to moments that felt like shockwaves in every song, cover to cover. One of those is the brilliant baseline in ‘You Oughta Know’, played by the incomparable Flea of Red Hot Chili Peppers fame.
Alanis Morissette broke genre moulds, pioneering a fusion of alternative rock, sing-along pop songs, and confessional songwriting that inspired a generation. It was impossible for the music industry to pigeon hole her, and that’s where I connected with her music the most.
Don’t put me in a box. I am an individual.
As a strong woman in a male dominated industry, she sang what we weren’t supposed to say and I couldn’t resist listening to it. She owned the musical expression of her true experiences and raw emotion, resulting in a captivating, grunge-like sound. She made it acceptable for women to sing with rage about shitty boyfriends or people that made them feel as though they weren’t good enough. She even affirmed feelings I've experienced recently as a woman and mother, as I see right through the obvious narcissistic traits of entitled white men.
“You mispronounced my name”
“Didn’t hear a damn word I said”
Lyrics from ‘Right Through You’, one of my favourite songs from this album.
Musically, she brings layers of her own instrumental talent that weave their way into each song. Guitar, piano, the harmonica in ‘Head Over Feet’ - this woman has got it in spades.
With her fierce vocal prowess and a kick-ass band, she became a part of the fabric of my everyday life. Without Alanis Morissette and Jagged Little Pill, my inner voice—and I—would be vastly different.
We Oughta Know
The legendary Taylor Hawkins was originally Alanis’ Morissette’s drummer on tour for a short period of time before he found a “brother from another mother” in Dave Grohl and left her for the Foo Fighters. Sadly, he passed away a couple of years ago. Alanis Morissette paid tribute to him in this performance with the Foo Fighters.
Jagged Little Pill wasn’t her debut album, she had recorded two others prior to this back home in Canada.
She sold 33 million copies worldwide and the album is widely regarded as one of the greatest and most successful of all time.
Proof that ‘You Oughta Know’ is an anthem that transcends generations is this performance alongside Taylor Swift:
She was a guest on The Late Late Show with James Corden where they performed a re-write of ‘Ironic’. It’s a laugh, enjoy it.
Jagged Little Pill has been made into a Tony Award-winning musical. I am yet to see this, but naturally, it’s on my bucket list!
Top Tracks
‘Mary Jane’ fills a void after a hard day.
‘You Learn’ is for belting out in the car.
‘Hand In My Pocket’ is for when you need a reminder to be grateful. It’s okay not to have it all figured out just yet, everything is going to be fine.
I read once that this album ‘rearranged someones insides’. As weird as that sounds, it is a wonderful way to express how music can form your inner self.
Thank You, Alanis.
It really is amazing home some artist can get under our skin and become a part of us 💕