The Jagged Little Pieces of Singer-Songwriter Alanis Morissette

Alanis Morissette’s 1995 chart-topping album “Jagged Little Pill” didn’t just describe a generation; it defined it. “I will take angry as the first note in the music,” she tells us. “I just think every woman I knew was pissed because they were paying attention. How do you not get pissed?”
On the heels of the record’s 30th anniversary, the seven-time Grammy Award-winning singer/songwriter joins us this week to discuss her new LA residency, Butterfly with a Machete (alanis.com/events) (4:42), growing up in Ottawa (10:20), and her turbulent years as a teenage Canadian pop star (11:27). Then, Morissette reflects on the nuances of “Jagged Little Pill” (13:10), how she channels the unconscious in her work (27:04), the “patriarchal responses” to the record, including from Joni Mitchell (35:09), and the pressures, insecurities, and misconceptions that shaped her rise to fame (38:15).
On the back-half, we talk about her road to sobriety (40:00), the enduring mystery of “You Oughta Know” as immortalized on Curb Your Enthusiasm (42:20), why she’s determined to set the record straight with her new show (46:30), and how she’s provided a roadmap—really, refuge—for the next generation of pop stars, like Taylor Swift and Olivia Rodrigo (1:00:27).
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