Not So Jagged Anymore

Way before Avril Lavigne, Michelle Branch, Lindsay Lohan or any of those teen rockers wore bras, I listened to Alanis Morissette's debut album - Jagged Little Pill. I don't know what prompted it, but while my classmates were listening to Backstreet Boys and 911 (remember them?), I went out and bought her original cassette (remember those?). I think it might have something to do with a British pop magazine called Smash Hits, but I can't really be sure. I was around 11 or 12 that time, and I barely had any teen angst or rock infatuation to satisfy, so I really can't justify my purchase.

At any rate, I listened to it and sang along to some of the better songs (You Oughta Know, You Learn, Head Over Feet, and Ironic). I did find myself disliking some of the other rock-heavy songs but otherwise, it was a pretty good album. Well, my purchase, along with 29,999,999 others helped make Jagged Little Pill the biggest-selling album by a female artist in history. Way to go, girl! Anyway, I've pretty much forgotten about my childhood rock experience, until I saw it in a music store. 'It' as in the acoustic version of Jagged Little Pill. It is meant to mark the 10 year anniversary of the album, which is probably longer than many marriages today. She completely resung all songs, and as I flipped the CD around, childhood memories came swimming to me again when I scanned through the track list. I felt an urge to buy it, to relieve a small part of my younger days, and to scream along with her. But I quelled my sensibilities, and placed the CD back on the shelf.

I then went home and downloaded it off BitTorrent.

One night later, and voila! I'm listening to Alanis once again this morning. I love the acoustic theme as it definitely mellows things down. This essentially makes all the tracks more bearable. It is also obvious Alanis' voice has matured (a better word than 'older') and she shows some restraints in the screaming parts and comes off sounding better to me. Her trademark voice is still there, so she still maintains her uniqueness without drowning in a sea of Avrils and Lindsays. Who, incidently, is still not wearing bras.