Iconic Alanis Morissette album Jagged Little Pill turns 25

Alanis Morissette album Jagged Little Pill, the angst-filled classic that gave us some of the best feminist anthems of the ’90s, turns a quarter-century old this week.

Jagged Little Pill, the album that spawned a thousand feminist quotes, turns 25 this week.

JLP was originally released on June 13, 1995, and shot to the top of the charts with the angry and vengeful single, “You Oughta Know,” which immediately catapulted the Canadian-born Alanis Morissette into superstardom.

Morissette’s musical success and influence helped launch a legion of new and empowering female musical artists, which ultimately lead to the formation of Lilith Fair, a (mostly) all-female music festival helmed by fellow Canadian songstress Sarah McLachlan.

In honor of the album’s anniversary, we’re taking a look back at some of our favorite songs that continue to help us get through the rough times over the past quarter-century.

“You Oughta Know”

Of course we’d kick off this retrospective with the one that started it all.

Words that have been used to describe this song are “vengeful” and “spiteful and seething.” Yes it is, and we love every second of it. It invokes the anger of a woman who found out her lover was cheating on her and using that anger to rise about the situation and make herself stronger. This is a peak feminist breakup anthem, and it has been used throughout the decades in movies and television series soundtracks. Most recently, it was featured in a rather pivotal scene of 2019’s Booksmart.

While who the song is about has never been officially revealed, many assume it is about Morissette’s breakup with Full House star Dave Coulier.

Coulier himself has gone back and forth on whether he thinks that the song is about him, though his co-star Bob Saget has co-signed the idea, stating he was present when Morissette made that call in the middle of dinner.

“Hand in My Pocket”

The second single released from Jagged Little Pill, “Hand in My Pocket” was one of the first ballads Morissette would come to be known for. She gets to play around a little bit in this song, joking that despite all the craziness in the world, “everything’s gonna be fine, fine fine.” It’s a stark contrast to “You Oughta Know,” which is a smart move to show her broad range so early in her career.

This song has also been featured in several movie and television show soundtracks. It was actually the original theme song for the unaired pilot episode of Dawson’s Creek, but Morissette decided against letting the network use it once the show got picked up. “Hand in My Pocket” also features heavily in the third season of Amazon’s Transparent, as well as 2017’s Lady Bird.

“Ironic”

“Ironic” was the third single off of the album, and became an instant hit, with its catchy chorus and lyrics filled with random life situations that are just…ironic. Though some have debated what type of irony is involved in certain lines, most audiences just appreciate it for what it is.

The song talks about how, no matter what we may have planned, the universe just might have something else in mind. The memorable music video featured four Alanis Morissettes in a car driving through a wintery landscape and singing to each other, each one meant to be a representation of her personality.

Much like the previous songs, “Ironic” has been included in several movies and television series. It appeared in Saoirse Ronan’s I Could Never Be Your Woman, and was used as the opening song in 2013’s The Internship, a comedy starring Owen Wilson and Vince Vaughn. Morissette famously appeared on The Late Show with James Corden in 2015, singing a modernized version of “Ironic” that was updated for the technology era.

Morissette’s music from JLP has endured for decades, helping her fanbase grow exponentially. The album is so famous, that it was even turned into a musical stage show written by Diablo Cody. Morissette had signed up to do an anniversary tour starting this Spring with Garbage, but most of the dates had to be rescheduled due to COVID-19. Check out the tour page of her website here for upcoming dates.

What are some of your favorite Alanis Morissette songs? Let us know in the comments section below.