Alanis Morissette - Supposed Former Infatuation Junkie


Supposed Former Infatuation Junkie. The lead off track, Front Row, isn't actually about Kevin Smith, it just contains a list of reasons why Alanis Morissette and Kevin Smith never dated even though they were infatuated with each other. That shouldn't be surprising, the same confusion arises with You Oughta Know (which isn't actually about Dave Coulier, it just contains a couple real life details from their relationship). Believe me, i've had it happen to me, and i just quit writing songs at all. That's why artists don't/shouldn't date people who actually care about their art.

Are you going to enjoy Alanis Morissette's second album? That depends on how much you like pessimistic cynicism with a side of self-loathing. I like it a lot, if that helps. If you demand the late Taylor Hawkins on Drums you'll be disappointed, but Gary Novak is fine. If you don't like her voice then it'll be a rough ride, but i love it. If you want a completely on point hour and 12 minutes of Alanis playing a character called "Supposed Former Infatuation Junkie," then holy shit is this amazing. 

Then again, it does not feel like a self-contained album. Honestly, it feels like we continue on from Jahged Little Pill with quite a bit more snark, aggression, and self-reflection, if you can believe it. Dense and churning orchestral backgrounds, electronica and noise, vocal overdubs all over the stereo field, half the lyrics are predicates without any stated subject, it's a gigantic album from the perspective of "afterward." That concept makes complete intuitive sense to me, but i can totally imagine it wouldn't for others. 

Most critics rightly recognized it as an amazing album, but some thought it was a big dog turd of indulgently whiny self-pity. I mean, yeah that's part of it, but that's because it's the crash after some unspoken previous mania, and like i implied earlier, she's adopting a character (maybe several) who has a perspective. However heart-on-sleeve it might come across, however realistic, it's still fiction. The narrator of The Couch is a "big brother." Whoever sings I Was Hoping has a wife, but UR is a young lady with a fake ID who was born in 1974. It's all over the place in every respect, and that's because the concept is an archetype. Ooooh, i wonder if we can find all 12 of Jung's archetypes: The Innocent, Everyman, Hero, Outlaw, Explorer, Creator, Ruler, Magician, Lover, Caregiver, Jester, and Sage. There's your homework, go find out for yourself....

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