"Isn't it ironic" sang Alanis, but unfortunately, most of it wasn't. About the only line in the song that comes close is "As the plane crashed down he thought 'well, isn't this nice'..." which is sarcasm, a loose example of irony.
Having got that out of the way (the discussion went on for years) the album itself is a triumph. Twelve songs on vinyl, 13 on the CD if you include the 'hidden track' and many of them went on to be classics. 6 of them were released as singles with 4 of them reaching #1 in Canada (no surprises there).
The album took the world by storm. It was Alanis' 3rd album but her first two were Canadian releases. This was the first one with worldwide coverage and it made a massive impact. Apart from reaching #1 on the Canadian album charts it also made it to #1 in the US, UK, Australia, New Zealand and The Netherlands. In fact it topped out in 13 countries! Nominated for 9 Grammies it won 5 and at 21 years old in 1995, Alanis became the youngest artist to get Album of the Year.
Most of the tracks are autobiographical in some form or other, full of anger, angst, but by teaming with Glen Ballard to write the music, some of the lyrics are tempered and softened to become more listenable - but if you DO listen you get a lot of rawness coming through. No punches pulled either.
In 'You Oughta Know' she gets straight to the point talking about her lovers new partner, with very direct questioning ..
"Is she perverted like me?
Would she go down on you in a theater?"
Just as a bit of trivia, Flea from Red Hot Chili Peppers plays bass on this track.
'Hand in my Pocket' seems to be a statement about multi-tasking - "'Cause I've got one hand in my pocket *And the other one is giving a high five* - *flicking a cigarette* - *giving a peace sign* - *playing the piano* - *hailing a taxi cab*" but it also has some revealing dualisms ..
"I'm sad but I'm laughing, I'm brave but I'm chicken shit".
'You Learn' has the album title in the opening few lines ...
"I, recommend getting your heart trampled on to anyone, yeah
I, recommend walking around naked in your living room, yeah
Swallow it down (what a jagged little pill)" ...
basically talking about stuff that, to use the old adage, if it doesn't kill you it makes you stronger. Just after moving to L.A. Alanis was robbed at gunpoint and writing some of these songs helped her work through it.
This is a good (dare I say great) album and deserves to be listened to more often than I have been doing. The music of Alanis was used for the Broadway musical 'Jagged Little Pill' which opened in December 2019. Unfortunately, because of Covid-19 the show, along with the rest of Broadway, closed early in 2020. Before the closure the reviews were good and it had 15 Tony nominations.
If you get a chance, have another listen to this album. There's a reason it was #1 in 13 countries.
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