 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
||
|
|
|
In 1995, Alanis Morissette took her career in her own hands, and the result was Jagged Little Pill, a multi-platinum smash that spoke the language of life-affirming rock to the Prozac generation. Then everything went funny. While Alanis
Cut to 2002. There’s a new life strategy afoot. Morissette severed ties with high-vis collaborators like super-producer Glen Ballard and decided to take creative matters into her own hands. The result is the disc, Under Rug Swept, whose first single “Hands Clean,” proves Alanis still knows how to administer a tart put-down. She is going it alone again. And, as she explained to VH1’s Aamer, she doesn’t care what anybody else thinks. Let it roll, Alanis... VH1: “Hands Clean” seems like a less acerbic version of “You Oughta Know.” Is that accurate? Alanis Morrissette: It came from a different place in me. In terms of colors, “Hands Clean” is yellow and “You Oughta Know” was red. “Hands Clean” was more like “Okay, I really want to evolve to a point where I can be as transparent as possible." “You Oughta Know” was just visceral and reactionary and unapologetic. VH1: I love the old-fashioned TV used to tell the story in the “Hands Clean” video. How did that idea came around? AM: We had fraught philosophical discussions about the subject matter. I wanted to tell the story in a way that didn’t lean toward it being a revenge song, but toward singing the truth without being overly precious. The director had this idea where it would be a chronology - from the writing of the song through the recording, the video shoot, touring and my coming to terms with what the song was about. It’s often what happens: I’ll write a song and a year or two later have enough of an objective view to make peace with it. VH1: What was it like being the producer and bouncing ideas off yourself? AM: It was an interesting change. I asked a friend, “Will I be able to act for myself the way that the different producers that I’ve worked with acted for me?” Her answer was “Absolutely.” So I did. It was a challenge to wear both hats. There was the producing, the interactions with people, the logistical part, the creative element, the artistic element, the writing … and I was renegotiating a contract at the same time. I was definitely exhausted. VH1: How are you able to be objective, when producing yourself? AM: I can step outside of myself quite easily. When I’m editing a video or directing or listening to something, I even go as far as to say “her.” “Oh, she doesn’t sound good there …” because I can wear a different hat whatever the result is. Then other times I have no objectivity and it just is what it is. VH1: You’ve referred to the writing process as “a hack festival.” Explain that a bit. AM: I’m just sitting there with my keyboard and acoustic guitar and electric guitar, my journal, microphone, recording it to DAT … When I play I don’t really know what I’m doing. I took music theory when I was super young, so I have a grasp of it. But for the most part something’s being channeled. I’m not really thinking about what chords or words I’m picking. It writes itself. VH1: Talk a little about some of the musicians you played with. AM: Me’Shell NdegeOcello played on “So Unsexy” and “You Owe Me Nothing in Return.” I love her. Flea played on “Narcissus." Dean DeLeo from Stone Temple Pilots played guitar on “21 Things” and “Precious Illusions.” He is a very cool guy. The band mates that I was touring with and have played with for many years played on the better part of the record. VH1: You had 30 songs for Under Rug Swept, cut them down to 20 something, and now it’s down to 11. What’s your editing process? AM: It just comes from my gut. I got it down to 21 songs and then I got it down to 17. I was stuck. I wanted 11 - that was some randomly chosen magic number to me - and I didn’t know what to do with the other six. Once I decided to put some of these songs out later, maybe on a DVD with stuff we had been shooting in the studio, then I could let go and choose the ones that wound up on the record. VH1: What were you shooting? AM: I don’t know what the hell we were shooting. Some of it is just total comedy. Some of it was shooting the writing and production of a song called “Surrendering.” I didn’t feel comfortable shooting any of writing because it’s a raw process for me. So I brought a camera in with me alone. The DP that I was working with is a dear friend of mine, but I didn’t want her to come in. So I shot it myself. VH1: Do you feel it’s necessary to express yourself in other mediums? AM: Not necessary, but I’m very passionate about it. There’s so many different forms expression can take, whether it’s painting or writing or directing or producing or singing or dancing or sleeping or talking or traveling. VH1: When you’re putting your track list together, what do you think about in terms of what order the songs should go in? AM: I usually do it at the last minute when I’m in mastering. There’s an energy in the mastering room that is like “Speak now or forever hold your peace.” It’s very visceral, very intuitive. The songs just tell me where they want to go. VH1: How do they tell you that? AM: They just go ‘Put me here. I want to be fourth.’ Sometimes I’ll put a sequence together like with “Narcissus.” I wanted “A Man” to be after “Narcissus” because it’s a response song to “Narcissus,” so it wouldn’t go before it. Like a story. This record is more of a chronology than anything I’ve ever done. The beginning charts the end of a relationship and then segues into why the relationship may have ended into coming to peace with it, meeting someone new, focusing on what my future looks like … It goes through that little journey. VH1: You took these songs out on tour before recording and road-tested them. Was it important for you to get a reaction from the crowd? AM: It wasn’t testing them, as much as wanting to play them. There was one point where I was renegotiating the contract and didn’t know what my future held. But I wanted to play the songs and travel, and it’s amazing to be able to have both passions met at the same time. If I love a song, it’s going to be on the record even if people don’t like it. VH1: You remarked in Billboard that “I care, but I don’t give a shit.” That line seems like how you feel about Under Rug Swept. You care about your art, but don’t care about how it’s received. Is that accurate? AM: Yeah. I’m so passionate about the record and the process of it. But once it’s finished, that’s a success right there. Of course I would love to share it with as many people as I possibly can, and I’ll do whatever I can to do that and not compromise my sense of self. Beyond that, the rest is up to the universe. VH1: Do you take it personally when your album’s being reviewed? AM: To me a review says more about the person who’s writing it. If I’m writing a song about relationship issues with men, one person will say, “Oh right on, she’s nailing it.” Another will say, “Well, what a bitch.” Another will say, “She has no clue.” I don’t necessarily look to them to define me, because how could they possibly do that? But certainly they’re defining themselves by telling me their opinion. VH1: So if your best friend didn’t like Under Rug Swept, you wouldn’t care? AM: Well, it would tell me something about maybe our level of compatibility. If they were to say, “I don’t like this guitar sound,” that’s one thing. If they were to say, “I don’t like the subject matter,” maybe that’s an indication that I wasn’t compatible with this person. VH1: I want to wrap up with one of your quotes “I still have so many new mountains to climb” What other mountains are left? AM: I have a lot that I want to write and so much more that I want to contribute in terms of charity, humanity and activism. I haven’t even begun. I’m still cracking out of the egg. The main thing that I think about is my own evolution. When I’m on my deathbed, you know, I won’t be holding up any awards. I’ll be thinking about what kind of life I’ve lived, and who I was during that time.
|
|
||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
