In Praise of the Vulnerable Man (in praise of my feminist alter ego)

I will start off with a thank you for the invitation to the inventors of this blog- Kye & Fifer. =)

I do have quite some songs I wish to write my opinions about....but I would like to honor my first post to Alanis Morissette.


Yup, Alanis is back and back with her long wavy hair too. I have yet to listen to the whole album to comment on it, so I'll just limit myself to the songs I've been overplaying.

The first single is Underneath. It caught me the first time, but didn't really have that intensity to stay around much at the beginning, although it soon infects me. And very Alanis of the lyrics- aren't we glad for this? Also, New York Magazine named it the best song we’ve heard all day.

There is no difference
In what we’re doing in here
That doesn’t show up as bigger symptoms out there
So why spend all our time undressing our bandages
When we’ve the ultimate key to the cause
Right here all underneath

The first song that I kept on repeat is Orchid. I like how the song opens with a simple acoustic guitar followed by her singing "Me and my helmet, such an unconventional kid. All intense and kinetic, at best tolerated from afar." And I guess as with all Alanis' song, the lyrics will keep coming at you in striking brilliance. I will rest my case with the next line of lyrics:

I'm a sweet piece of work
Well intentioned and unloved
Unlabeled and misunderstood
Treated like a rose as an orchid

Next is In Praise of the Vulnerable Man. On a first listen, this song started off weak for me, but wait till the chorus. And then when you get back to it, the whole song will sink you in. It may just begin as a romantic love song, but with a title like that (and the fact that it's Alanis), you keep in mind that something else is developing:

And I vow and I vow to be true
And I vow and I vow to not take advantage
This is in praise of the vulnerable man
Why won’t you lead the rest of your cavalry home
This is a thank you for letting me in
Indeed in praise of the vulnerable man

I will end my Alanis tribute with Tapes. When everything appears dark for no apparent reason and the world reminds you again that it is the mastermind behind the conspiracy to bring you down and you feel uncared for and you want somebody to agree with you to all these, this song comes as a sort of emergency treatment before friends can intervene. I love how her voice fades towards the end. A good kind of eerie.

I'm too exhausting to be loved
A volatile chemical
Best to quarantine and cut off
All these tapes in my head swirl around
Keeping my vibe down
All these thoughts in my head aren't my own
Wreaking havoc