A pill that's easy to swallow

During the late 90s, a young singer from Canada came out with an album that came into the music industry kicking and screaming with a raw sound, razor sharp lyrics and immaculately beautiful voice. The singer was Alanis Morissette and the album was "Jagged Little Pill."

I remember how most of the creatives at Adformatix had a copy of the CD. During the work day and all the way into the wee hours during OT, we'd hear "You Oughta Know", "Ironic", and "Hand In My Pocket" blaring on the cassette player. (Or "compo" as people from our generation would remember.)

The reason why we were drawn to Alanis so much was the fact that she was full of angst. Her songs were about her personal battles: from break-ups,(You Oughta Know) to parental issues (Perfect). In a way, we could relate to her, and that's what made her resonate. I lost count of how many times Kensai or Danz would play her music and discuss her lyrics.

When she held a concert in Manila, D' Frendz didn't let it pass. Along with a full house in Araneta, we sang, clapped and danced as she performed hit song after hit song. She even sang Abba's "Take a chance on me", and it was only our group who stood up and cheered. The kids around us looked perplexed and wondered what the song was.

Alanis hasn't come out with an album in a while, but this weekend, I suddenly had a need to hear her immaculate voice sing those razor sharp lyrics set against her raw sound. So I took out my CD and indulged in Alanis Morissette for a few hours. And the emotions the songs evoked still ring true. Even if it has been 13 years since the CD was launched.

Whenever we talk about Alanis, the question that always pops up is: what's your favorite Alanis song. And as much as I loved her honesty and anger in her songs from "Jagged Little Pill", my favorite song came from her 2001 album "Under Rug Swept."

It's a song that still has Alanis written all over it. The theme was about a failed relationship - a secret one at that - where she was the young, naive artist who had an affair with a much older and seemingly married guy. But the melody and her voice had a certain softness and vulnerability that made the entire song such a joy to listen to. It's almost like she's looking back at the situation with fondness and isn't angry about it. What I took out of the song is "Yes, it happened. Yes, it was f*$&ed up. But hey, I learned from it, so it can't be that bad."

So, to quote one of her first and famous song, the important thing that you should remember when bad things happen is: "You learn."