Earlier this year we listened to Everclear’s So Much For The Afterglow and I talked your ear off about what makes the lyrics of 90’s alternative rock so great and enduring. As I said at the time:
Peek under the hood of a lot of [the] songs and you’ll find some pretty depressing stories that are being told, obscured with the silky sheen of pop hooks and catchy melodies. From the biographical story of his father abandoning him as a child (“Father of Mine”), small-town girl meets the big-city descent into drug use (“Amphetamine”), a desperate desire to fit in with popular trends (“Everything to Everyone”), and another autobiographical tale of growing up poor (“I Will Buy You A New Life”), Everclear doesn’t pull any punches.
– Everclear, So Much For The Afterglow
Today we have another example of that exact thing. When you think about what the 90’s actually sound like, Alanis Morisette’s Jagged Little Pill pretty much nails it.
Morisette’s seemingly erratic vocal approach is peak 90’s alternative, emotive and possessing a wholly unique approach to the thing us humans call enunciation. The shrill high notes and near yodeling is a calling card of Morisette and distinctive. The songwriting on Jagged Little Pill is almost shocking in its honesty— “You Oughta Know” is one of the greatest breakup songs of all time because while it may not be what people say out loud to their friends when they’re going through a breakup, it is absolutely the thought that is running through their heads at their darkest moments. That frank honesty is truly what made 90’s music so special, and Morisette’s ability to bare her soul with self righteous confidence is admirable as all hell. She stays true to that in their entire album.
A final note– re-listening to Jagged Little Pill reminded me a lot of Avril Lavigne’s “Let Go” in certain vocal melody choices. It’s easy to see how much inspiration Avril took from her fellow Canadian frontwoman in that album. Two badass ladies doing their thing in their own iconic way.
Standout Songs: “You Oughta Know”, “Hand In My Pocket”, “You Learn”, “Ironic”
