Alanis Morissette’s Jagged Little Pill was the soundtrack of my life for a few weeks. Okay, maybe for a few years. I’ve chosen to ignore the fact that it was released 20 years ago this year, mostly because I also want to ignore getting old. I still know every word and will not shy away from belting out a little “You Oughta Know” at the top of my lungs.
If any of that describes you (I can’t be alone), then you were probably as surprised as I was to have flashbacks to the 90s with the release of Jagged Little Pill-era track, “Superstar Wonderful Weirdos”. It sounds very 90s, very JLP, and, somehow, very familiar already. I found myself singing along with it before finishing my first listen. The harmonica, in particular, sounds like other tracks from Jagged Little Pill — especially “Hand In My Pocket” — but the lyrical style, avoiding some of the scream-ier moments of JLP, has the feeling of some of her later work. Of the track, Morissette said:
Having been labeled many things — weird, intense, intimidating, scary, psychobabbler, and my favorite: ‘too much,’ I wanted to write a song about having all these qualities within me to contend with, in a world that loves to reduce and categorize.
Jagged Little Pill: Collector’s Edition is set to be released on October 30 and includes several new tracks, remastered editions, Jagged Little Pill Acoustic, and more. Take a listen for yourself below and let me know if you feel like getting out the flannel and letting your hair grow out again.
