Alanis Morissette: Strength in skirt
(music review)


You ought to know that God is a femme.

At least in the 1999 Kevin Smith film Dogma where God was played by a woman: Alanis Morissette.

It figures, you reckon, considering the fact that Alanis Morissette is deemed a deity in the sphere of arts. She portrays a modern day Betty Friedan armed with a fret board and the poetry of contemporary feminism.

Alanis Nadine Morissette was born in Ottawa, Ontario, Canada to school teachers Alan and the Hungarian-born Georgia Morissette. Showing a love for music at an early age, she composed her first song at age 9 and eventually released an independent single Fate Stay With Me with the B-side Find The Right Man.

In 1990 when Morissette was 16, she was signed up by MCA Records and released her full-length Canadian debut album, Alanis the following year. The album acquired double platinum with its first single Too Hot landing on the Top 10 Canadian charts. Alanis was followed by Now Is The Time which sold less than half the number of copies of her Canadian debut album. Frustrated at ending up without a major label contract after her two album deal with MCA was completed, Morissette began making trips to Los Angeles where she became acquainted with American producer/songwriter Glen Ballard. Together with Ballard, Morissette was able to come up with the bulk of the prodigious Jagged Little Pill. The rest, you bet, is history.

I acquainted myself with Jagged Little Pill at age fifteen, in the midst of adolescent acne, suicidal tendencies and abortive relationships. I recall my junior class from my old high school for girls: adolescent females scribbling Jagged Little Pill lyrics on textbook covers and duffises striking up out-of-tune Alanis singles on borrowed guitars over lunch. Pearl Jam’s Eddie Vedder was the grunge-rock poster boy for the jailbaits but nothing amounted to the fervor of adolescent infatuation for Morissette.

Jagged Little Pill has proven its pizzazz with the fact that it overshadowed Janis Joplin’s 1971 album, Pearl in popularity. Pearl sold 4 million copies in the United States; Jagged Little Pill sold over 16 million units, also in the U.S. alone.

In the eon of male-dominated grunge music scene where and R.E.M.’s Michael Stipe and Stone Temple Pilots’ Scott Weiland run the mill, Morissette served as the voice of an adolescent female who everyday battles life demons at each turn. Morissette’s Jagged Little Pill single You Ought To Know together with Right Through You and All I really Want became outspoken, public testimonials of every young woman’s crusade against abortive romances and backbiting boyfriends. The idealistic You Learn, on the other hand, mirrors hope and optimism, a carefree song which seem to counterbalance Jagged Little Pill’s astringent aura.

Jagged Little Pill was subsequently followed by the less-cynical Supposed Former Infatuation Junkie which was released in November of 1998. Junkie clearly illustrates Morissette’s spiritual, emotional and intellectual growth with the cerebral-contemplative UR , the spiritual singles Thank U and Baba and bittersweet romance chronicles Unsent, Are You Still Mad and So Pure.

Then came the birth of Morissette’s less-celebrated records Under Rug Swept, So-Called Chaos and the very recent 2005 album The Collection, a compilation of recharged old-school Alanis hits.

Morissette’s music and musings have ripened and matured with a bevy of pain-redress personal experiences, completely human and soulful, with dead level honesty and aboveboard attitude. Morissette is an embodiment of a contemporary female breathing in the so-called male-dominated world, unabashed and unthreatened, a real intellectual beyond her years.

You ought to know that God is a femme.

At least in the realm of music Alanis Morissette has changed forever.

Yet another letter to the editor...from the Dean herself:


Knee jerk reaction

Dear Louella,

Mabuhay! I hope all is well with you and yours.

I’d like to share with you some feedback from a co-educator, Mr. Jacobo Gonzalez on the article that came out as a headline in the January-February issue of The Benildean, entitled “Inept Teachers: We Laze, You Comply”

“ I am under the impression that the said article is not based on hard statistical facts sufficient for the article to say that inept teachers act lazily and simply tell their students to comply. The title does not effectively capture the content of the article because the article talks about where students should address complaints against teachers. I perceive that such an article could more appropriately be placed under the editorial section or somewhere else but the headline because I don’t see the article as news. “

We appreciate the service and dedication that you give to the Benildean community.

All the best,

Ms. Carmelita Lazatin
Dean
Office of Student Affairs


SPU The headline of your latest issue (re: Inept teachers) is misleading. It has nothing to do with the meat of the story.

--Mr. J. Tiu, English Department, through text message.


Thank you for supporting The Benildean’s January-February issue. The title “Inept teachers: we laze, you comply” is a statement in itself and a pronoouncement in behalf of the DLS-CSB student body.

Furthermore, I believe that the said article should be considered a news item because it holds well-researched facts and also because credible personalities like Mr. Nikolai Sy, assistant vice president for concerns and Mr. Neil Parinas, head of the Performance and Assessment Unit were interviewed.

A piece can be considered for the editorial section only if it comprises of the writer’s personal opinions. Therefore, the article “Inept teachers: we laze, you comply”, with its presentation of information and facts, is clearly not anything else but a news feature.

Lastly, in behalf of my co-journalists in The Benildean, I would like to stress out that the article we are speaking of is never an attack to the faculty in general. For once, let us disregard our pride and face the truth that inept teachers are, of course, very existent in the college and some, unfortunately, are still holding on to their posts despite the fact that they lack competence.

We promise to bring you more credible and reliable news stories in the coming issues. Please continue to support us!

Louella S. Ambrose
Editor-in-Chief