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G21 MUSIC

All Right: Alanis is Coming!

by Bob Powers

Version 4.0, Event #125 TABLOID HART: Texas badboy THOMAS HART is back to dish on KENNETH STARR, notorious nanny LOUISE WOODWARD, and PIT BULLS. [Not more dog letters in "Vox Populi!" -- Ed.] POWERSSOUND: BOB POWERS is on Cloud 9(or is that only Love Potion #9?) because ALANIS MORISETTE is back in the studio. In DON'T READ ME FIRST! ROD AMIS talks up this summer's movie fare(??) and takes a day off from the Internet to remember why he fell in love with San Francisco. (Hey, wait a minute? Isn't he leaving?) HIGHLIGHTS OF LAST WEEK'S EVENT G21 NEWS: Part 3 of 3: The Conclusion of our Editor & Publisher's overview of Web Design & Development '98. IRISH EYES: JOE O'NEILL on the debut of a new Song of Peace, for Ireland, at the Guinness Fleadh in San Jose, CA, on June 28, by Belfast men, Ciarán Mac Gowan, who comes from the Nationalist tradition, and Jim Crone from the Loyalist community. G21 NEWS: Part 2 of 3: ROD AMIS reports on a WebMaster who makes WEB PROFITS. POWERSBOOKS: BOB POWERS covers Misadventures in the (213), The Greatest Benfit to Mankind: A Medical History of Humanity, The Lynching of Cleo Wright, and Chicks on Film. Buy one or all of these titles with YOUR Special G21-BarnesandNoble.com discount on the POWERSBOOKS page! IRISH EYES: Guest contributor Dan VandeMortel, a member of the Morrison & Foerster LLP legal team for Kevin Artt, reports from Belfast, Northern Ireland. CRUNCHTIME: G21 SPORTS has WALLY WORTS back in the saddle on WORLD CUP FUTBOL. ON DRUGS: ADAM J. SMITH talks about the "The New L-Word" and how you should respond. BarnesandNoble SEARCH: Every writer here still reads offline. We support Barnes and Noble and hope you will, too. This is the place to find the best and brightest! For rapid response, use The Message Board HOME

The best news of the summer came recently with the announcement that Alanis Morisette, that strange and emotional warbler from The Great North, will finally get her stuff together for a new album.

Yikes! "Jagged Little Pill" made its astounding debut three years ago. Although radio managed to drag out "new" Alanis material by eventually releasing almost every tune on the CD as a single, it's still been a trio of 12-monthers since The Pill popped out.

There are plenty of Alanis haters around, those who liken her voice to that of a not especially adept hogcaller. And there are those, such as Yours Truly, who consider The Pill as possibly the best pop/rock release of the '90s. Perhaps your opinion lies somewhere in the middle of these extremes.

A large crowd contends that Ms. Morisette is the creation of producer Glen Ballard, who co-wrote all the songs on The Pill. And Ballard, not to worry, is with Alanis in a recording studio somewhere in America as I write, putting out the final touches on this long-awaited follow-up.

Even if Morisette is "only" the singer on The Pill, I contend that she has the best rock voice to capture the public,s ears and admiration after a long dry spell in contemporary pop. It doesn,t really matter if Ballard was the one who spiced up the words or jiggled with the controls in the studio, Alanis Morisette captures angst, angry and raw sexual energy to the nth degree. She's Everywoman, pissed off and mad as Hell. She definitely won't take it anymore.

As a writer who spends long hours in his home office, hunched over an aging 486 computer, I listen to music most of the time while I work. And since buying "Jagged Little Pill" some weeks after it hit stores, I probably have played it more often than any other CD in my collection. And I've never grown tired of the energy found in full measure.

I also taped the HBO special of a couple of years ago, the Prince's Trust Concert held in London for charity. That video contains hot performances by Bob Dylan and several other prime acts, but the section I watch again and again is Morissette's sizzling, sexy and manic performance. She rips, roars and rambles incessantly across a huge stage, caught up in a convincing fit of heartbreak and defiance that's downright frightening. And very, very exciting.

Alanis, I will be waiting for the doors to open the day your new CD goes on sale. (Unless Maverick/Reprise kindly ships me a promotional copy prior to the release date!)

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