Thursday, March 04, 2010

CD of the Day: ‘Jagged Little Pill,’ Alanis Morissette (1995)


Everyone already has a well-formed opinion on this album by now, right? How could you not? Anyone my age or older was surrounded by this record whether you wanted to be or not. Listening through it now still instantly brings to mind flashes of those omnipresent videos: the car ride from “Ironic”; the extreme closeup from “Head Over Feet”; the scary, hair-in-my-face Alanis from “You Oughta Know.”


“Jagged Little Pill” is a quintessential pop album in that its singles are stellar, and anything you didn’t hear on the radio was basically filler. But unlike most pop albums, there are more than just a couple good songs here. In addition to the aforementioned videos, don’t forget about the luscious “You Learn,” trippy “Hand in My Pocket,” and sinewy opener “All I Really Want” (OK, the latter wasn’t technically a single, but it still got played on the radio).


Complaining about the rest of the disc after all that seems a little silly.


Grade: B+


Favorite Track: “All I Really Want”

Least Favorite Track: “Perfect”

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