The Words and Music of Alanis Morissette

Through an examination of her music, videos, philanthropic work, and biographical details, this book gives insight into Alanis Morissette's musical career and day-to-day life, from her early pop beginnings in Canada to her work today. As a whole, Alanis Morissette's work has never been critically analyzed. The Words and Music of Alanis Morissette addresses this oversight through its examination of Morissette's work in the context of biographical facts, its relationship to other cultural trends, and its reflection of the female perspective. This book merges biographical information with a critical examination of the music that she produced and performed during all periods of her life, thereby providing a needed overview of Morissette's body of work. All Morissette fans will appreciate learning about the details of her life, but the author's melding of the star's personal life story with an informed analysis of popular music will also appeal to a wider audience-readers interested in music, culture, women's studies, or female musicians, for example. The book provides entertaining and engrossing reading for any Alanis Morissette fan and serves as a resource that documents her broad contributions to the music industry.

Karen Fournier, PhD, is associate professor of music theory at the University of Michigan, Ann Arbor.

Series Foreword, by James E. Perone
Acknowledgments
1. Theorizing Morissette
The Limitations of "Anger" as an Interpretive Tool
Toward a Broader Analytical Approach
2. "No Apologies" and "No Regrets": Pop Beginnings
The Making of a Teenage Pop Diva
Constructing Alanis as the Virgin-Vixen
Alanis (1991)
Fulfilling Contractual Obligations with a Second Album
Now Is the Time (1992)
Awards and Commercial Response
3. "You Live, You Learn": Rise to Fame
Abandoning Alanis, Becoming Morissette
Musical Context: Grunge, Punk, riot grrrl, and Female Indie Rock
A New Performance Aesthetic and Songwriting Approach
Jagged Little Pill (1995)
Jagged Little Videos
Awards and Commercial Response
4. "Thank U India": Spirituality Tempers the "Angry Young Woman"
Taking, Then Waking from, a "Conceptual Nap"
Spirituality and "Wholeness" as New Themes
Supposed Former Infatuation Junkie (1998)
Junkie Videos
Awards and Commercial Response
Playing God (with Kevin Smith)
5. "Hist'ry Under Rug Swept": Moving on without Glen Ballard
Acting
Activism and Advocacy
Under Rug Swept (2002)
Rug Swept Videos
Feasting on Scraps
So-Called Chaos (2004)
Chaos Videos
Awards and Commercial Response
6. "Giggling Again for No Reason": A Return to Pop
Celebrating a Jagged Little Decade
Guy Sigsworth and a New Creative Partnership
Flavors of Entanglement (2008)
Entanglement Videos
Marriage, Motherhood, and Breaking with Maverick
Havoc and Bright Lights (2012)
Havoc and Bright Lights Videos
Awards and Commercial Response
Jagged Little Pill on Broadway as "Miss Thing" Turns 40
Discography
Notes
Bibliography
Index