the nineties was kind of the death of phrasing
And the advent of all vowels sounding like a fucked-up schwa.
― it was a dark and stormy genitals. (Phil D.), Thursday, 24 May 2012 16:46 (twelve years ago) link
but also the cross line isn't "purple prose" - it's literally senseless, and it'd be disingenuous to say "she's so pissed she's throwing in extra prepositions." She's just singing a very badly written line. I can't deny you of anything. I deny you a things directly: deny you the cross, deny you a sandwich, deny you a new Alanis Morissette record. If I try to deny you of a sandwich you will say, "Fuck off dude I'm going to eat of this sandwich" and you'll still be righter than me
― cosi fan whitford (underrated aerosmith bootlegs I have owned), Thursday, 24 May 2012 16:48 (twelve years ago) link
ah the affective fallacy!
― go down on you in a thyatrr (Alfred, Lord Sotosyn), Thursday, 24 May 2012 16:50 (twelve years ago) link
i was not a happy camper in 1995 and all these songs are a small but important fraction of the reason
― goole, Thursday, 24 May 2012 16:51 (twelve years ago) link
fwiw i don't think she's saying "deny me of" but don't know what the consensus is on that line
― some dude, Thursday, 24 May 2012 16:51 (twelve years ago) link
so basically in summation, you hate the song and don't actually give a flying fuck about why people might like it
― that is a weird thing to bring up over lean cuisine (DJP), Thursday, 24 May 2012 16:53 (twelve years ago) link
it's definitely "deny me of the cross i bear that you gave to me" which is truly amazing construction
― horseshoe, Thursday, 24 May 2012 16:54 (twelve years ago) link
courtney love does not deserve to be lumped in with alanis and jewel as a singer
― horseshoe, Thursday, 24 May 2012 16:55 (twelve years ago) link
all these years later it is still mysterious and amazing that anybody likes alanis morissette
the U2 song is all right; secretly the most improved imo is "name", haha
but really this is a dire lineup
― goole, Thursday, 24 May 2012 16:55 (twelve years ago) link
i don't dislike courtney's singing but it has had a negative influence imo
― some dude, Thursday, 24 May 2012 16:56 (twelve years ago) link
no, I found your defensio really interesting and good, I just don't buy it as an explanation of what's going on - I can be interested in what you're saying and still disagree ffs! tho yeah my visceral "ugh, this" to this song is unlikely to be swayed by any argument
― cosi fan whitford (underrated aerosmith bootlegs I have owned), Thursday, 24 May 2012 16:57 (twelve years ago) link
wait FLEA is playing bass on you oughta know?
― call all destroyer, Thursday, 24 May 2012 16:58 (twelve years ago) link
yes. which shouldn't surprise me so much because that little "doot-doo-doo-doo" after the first chorus is my favorite part of the song.
― some dude, Thursday, 24 May 2012 17:00 (twelve years ago) link
so until today i had never listened to this song on anything other than like a car stereo or computer speakers and i was like "oh wow theres some cool stuff going on w/the bass there" and off to wikipedia and now i'm like how did i never know that?
― call all destroyer, Thursday, 24 May 2012 17:02 (twelve years ago) link
The guys playing behind her in the video look like JC Penny models or something.
― how's life, Thursday, 24 May 2012 17:03 (twelve years ago) link
it's a song i'm v. ambivalent towards; i think the first half of the chorus bails out everything else.
― call all destroyer, Thursday, 24 May 2012 17:03 (twelve years ago) link
for a long time i thought "bear" was "baby" and the song was in part about getting knocked up
― call all destroyer, Thursday, 24 May 2012 17:07 (twelve years ago) link
cross-eyed baby you gave to me?
― how's life, Thursday, 24 May 2012 17:08 (twelve years ago) link
yeah, what do you want i was 11 in 1995
― call all destroyer, Thursday, 24 May 2012 17:08 (twelve years ago) link
cross-eyed babies on some serious 1995 shit. it's cool.
― how's life, Thursday, 24 May 2012 17:09 (twelve years ago) link
lol otm
anyway alanis always has a place in my heart for "uninvited" from her unplugged album, that shit is sick
― call all destroyer, Thursday, 24 May 2012 17:10 (twelve years ago) link
Y'all, particularly DJP's long post (which i feel proud of myself for identifying as DJP two sentences in) are making me want to swing around and defend "You Oughta Know," don't really get the level of vitriol towards it. It's not my favorite thing on the album but it's well-delivered and effective post-breakup spleen-rock that connected with an audience convincingly and had some really memorable passages, yes partly because they were delivered in such a nonconventional (some would say "bad") way, but also because there were striking turns of phrase that were in fact pretty boundary-pushing for radio-oriented rock at the time. By the standards of indie/college stuff this is not a groundbreaking song, but by the standards of "we're trying really hard to have a giant hit record here" it's pretty gutsy to throw "would she go down on you in a theater" in the face of alt-rock's lingering macho bullshit. Amos or Phair it ain't (though the vocal tics make a lot of sense as an attempt to absorb the former) but it's not totally stupid.
If I don't go out of my way to hear it today it's because other aspects of it grate increasingly over time - - the wordless bridge in particular carried affective connotations of angst and the saturated sweep of overexposed wastelands at the time but the tactic has been so beaten into the ground that it just doesn't deliver anymore. On the other hand, Ballard's production generally kind of straddles the line between grunge and the busy, shimmery corporate folk-pop sound of the rest of the record (where I think it's pretty solid), meaning that the sound often seems insufficiently thick - - you sort of look around wondering "where'd the rhythm guitar go?" and you're left with clattering but muffled drums, echoing spooky leads (also muffled), and a hapless Flea. Not to say it should have been more "by the numbers" but I'd love to hear it done more in the style of, I dunno...Bush. Or L7 or Nirvana for that matter.
Singing this at karaoke once got me laid, although according to the girl my dancing had more to do with it but I still have a soft spot for the song. Stand by my Silverchair vote though.
― Doctor Casino, Thursday, 24 May 2012 17:11 (twelve years ago) link
A Hapless Flea is the name of my dog.
― it was a dark and stormy genitals. (Phil D.), Thursday, 24 May 2012 17:14 (twelve years ago) link
fwiw btw, "You Learn" is my favorite off this, closely followed by "All I Really Want" and "Hand In My Pocket," so just to be clear I am not hating on Ballard's radio-ready shine, just saying "You Oughta Know" is an awkward hybrid, although I could also buy somebody saying that's what's nice about it, it doesn't sound like a totally generic '94/95 rock radio song.
― Doctor Casino, Thursday, 24 May 2012 17:16 (twelve years ago) link
I like "Hand Over Feet" for the way her voice plays off the guitar licks. On the other hand the vocal on "All I Really Want" is grossgrossgross
― go down on you in a thyatrr (Alfred, Lord Sotosyn), Thursday, 24 May 2012 17:18 (twelve years ago) link
*Head Over Feet, heh
"Hand over the feet and nobody gets hurt!"
― Doctor Casino, Thursday, 24 May 2012 17:18 (twelve years ago) link
Singing this at karaoke once got me laid, although according to the girl my dancing had more to do with it but I still have a soft spot for the song.
― Doctor Casino, Thursday, May 24, 2012 1:11 PM (6 minutes ago) Bookmark
really cracking up trying to picture a dude singing YOK at karaoke while dancing seductively
― some dude, Thursday, 24 May 2012 17:19 (twelve years ago) link
yo rong thread
― thillrer (loves laboured breathing), Thursday, 24 May 2012 17:19 (twelve years ago) link
xp Now I know how badly clouded my judgement is by the hype around a film I didn't see 17 years ago I wish I could take back my vote.
― Get wolves (DL), Thursday, 24 May 2012 17:19 (twelve years ago) link
if you are really looking for an example of "I don't think this singer actually understands English", you can't do much better than "All I Really Want"
― that is a weird thing to bring up over lean cuisine (DJP), Thursday, 24 May 2012 17:20 (twelve years ago) link
I don't think I ever heard that song
― cosi fan whitford (underrated aerosmith bootlegs I have owned), Thursday, 24 May 2012 17:20 (twelve years ago) link
oh you are in for a TREAT
― that is a weird thing to bring up over lean cuisine (DJP), Thursday, 24 May 2012 17:21 (twelve years ago) link
am listening to Geek Stink Breath right now, and it's actually not bad. I never hear this song, and I'm always pleasantly surprised by it when I do
― thillrer (loves laboured breathing), Thursday, 24 May 2012 17:22 (twelve years ago) link
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BXCCv5ngyI0
― that is a weird thing to bring up over lean cuisine (DJP), Thursday, 24 May 2012 17:22 (twelve years ago) link
along the lines of "moody songs from later in these artists careers that i like," ana's song (open fire) still rules
― call all destroyer, Thursday, 24 May 2012 17:22 (twelve years ago) link
Alanis is the epitome and greatest example of female strength, intelligence and the "blue" aura!!Cuishi10 9 months ago
Cuishi10 9 months ago
my last post was an xpost from sd saying JAR is better GSB (which it is but)
I'm a 30 year old dude who sings this lyric for lyric in the tone of Alanis Morisette. lol Love this song.
PhuryousOne 1 month ago
― go down on you in a thyatrr (Alfred, Lord Sotosyn), Thursday, 24 May 2012 17:23 (twelve years ago) link
the "blue" aura?
― horseshoe, Thursday, 24 May 2012 17:23 (twelve years ago) link
are we talking about 50 shades of grey again?
― call all destroyer, Thursday, 24 May 2012 17:24 (twelve years ago) link
All I really wantIs an antacidBecause my stoawowohwowaomach is killing me
― that is a weird thing to bring up over lean cuisine (DJP), Thursday, 24 May 2012 17:26 (twelve years ago) link
lolll oh holy shit this really does touch all the bases doesn't it
― cosi fan whitford (underrated aerosmith bootlegs I have owned), Thursday, 24 May 2012 17:38 (twelve years ago) link
I mean I think I made it clear upthread; my defense of Alanis itt pretty much ends at "You Oughta Know"
― that is a weird thing to bring up over lean cuisine (DJP), Thursday, 24 May 2012 17:40 (twelve years ago) link
I will concede that she is, for me, behind a certain Rawlsian veil of teenagerdom where I can't ever sit down and be objective and say "All I Really Want is kind of not a very good song" because I know every word and just love singing along and always will.
― Doctor Casino, Thursday, 24 May 2012 17:41 (twelve years ago) link
I know we were not the only people to do something like this but my wife and I retitled "Ironic" to "A Bitch" to make the lyrics more accurate
― that is a weird thing to bring up over lean cuisine (DJP), Thursday, 24 May 2012 17:42 (twelve years ago) link
'Hold Me, Thrill Me, Kiss Me, Kill Me'... which was probably the last time I heard a U2 that made me go: "hey, I usually loathe this band, but that wasn't too bad..."
― The Jupiter 8 (Turrican), Thursday, 24 May 2012 17:46 (twelve years ago) link
The thing with "All I Really Want" is how it starts mysterioso and ominous before transforming into the sound of a baby gargoyle stuffed in a blender.
― go down on you in a thyatrr (Alfred, Lord Sotosyn), Thursday, 24 May 2012 17:46 (twelve years ago) link
*track
Also, language experts, how, pray, did she come up with "and ah'm CONSUMED by the CHEEL of SOLitaree..."?
― go down on you in a thyatrr (Alfred, Lord Sotosyn), Thursday, 24 May 2012 17:48 (twelve years ago) link