This album’s lyrics are as rambling as the title, with the use of words most kids know only from scrabble. The lyrical passages are often awkward. It is like a test to see how many words Alanis can fit into one breath, making this album too densely populated with her vocals. “Baba” is as angry as “You Oughta Know.” The thought of her being pissed at a religious guru seems a little hard to swallow. “Thank U” is a wonderful song about coming of age.
I’m gonna extend myself and say that “That I Would Be Good” will be the latest in a long line of women’s anthems. This combination of lyrics (“that I would be good even if I gained ten pounds,” “that I would be good whether with or without you”) and a beautiful string arrangement will make this song a huge hit.
Track five, “Sympathetic Character,” is the beginning of the nice, new discordant sound. “The Couch” sounds like Alanis spent some time with Madonna, whose latest attempt at musical reincarnation makes use of similar eastern instrumentation. “Can’t Not” is faintly familiar to the melancholy sounds of Portishead. It is not as though Alanis is pushing the envelope, but at least she is testing herself with different sounds, arrangements, and ideas. “I Was Hoping” features a drum looping in and out of electric guitars and a synthesizer. An appealing chorus fills this song with body. “One” is much like Garbage’s “#1 Crush” and is destined to ride the airwaves soon.
It took a few days of straight Alanis to stomach this disc. I had the same experience with her last album, but eventually it made a fan of me. Once I realized that this album was not about enlightening us with its content, but more about entertainment, I was able to enjoy it. I am interested in seeing how it will fare in relation to the success of Jagged Little Pill.
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