palebluedot

I just finished listening to the new Alanis CD and it is pretty good IMO. It is somewhat different than the previous albums, just as SFIJ was different than JLP.

It is a very mellow album compared to the previous albums. I was supprised to not find "No Pressure Over Cappuccino" and "Princes Familiar"(from unplugged) on this album as I thought they were going to be on it. Oh well.

Anyway the lyrics are standard fair from Alanis and the production has been kept pretty simple which is actually kind of a nice change to the over-produced arena rock that has been coming out lately.

Stand-out songs to me are "Flinch" and "That Particular Time", very simple and elegant songs.

I will definitely be picking this up on Feb 26th.

Frank TJ Mackey

What are you talking about??

I checked out that place and it's just 2000's.com. There is no (removed info on getting copyrighted material illegally -Blade). I tried a search too.

Damn, I was pumped up to find it. (Please elaborate slightly)


The few tracks that I have heard 21 Things I Want In A Lover, Utopia, etc are kind of interesting tracks.

palebluedot

Newsgroups

MatthewCho

I am also looking forward to this one.

The first single "Hands Clean" is fantastic. I heard "Utopia" on her official site as well, but am avoiding other sound clips.

- Matt C.

jjamesc

If anyone is interested, I could help.

I really like this album as well. Her lyrical and delivery styles take a little getting used to, though.

J

WNYXican

I caught her video to the new single "Hands Clean" on VH1, it's already numer 11 on the countdown after just a week that can't be so bad :-] I pesonally think the song sound more uplifting than her previous album, hope the rest of the album is also..athough i absolutely loved JLPill and SFIJunkie...anyway, anyone catch the video and song and have their thoughts ?

I downloaded 21Things I Want In A Lover and Hands Clean and I have the rest burned on CD,but I will still be getting the album because I'd like to throw her a little support..absolutely love her music..also if anyone reading this saw her new video for hands clean, could you please tell me what you think is going on in the video, I'm a lil confused still...:-]

palebluedot

Yep it's not bad

http://www.dvdtalk.com/forum/showthr...hreadid=175499

jjamesc

I've only seen the video online, but it looks like the video reflects the 'journey' of the song in flashback style. The beginning and end of the video are 'now' (at the sushi bar). The guy walks in that inspired the song.

We see the episode that 'inspired' the song. We see her write the song. we see her record the song. We see her present the recording to her record label, and then it gets pressed and distributed. It hits radio, it hits video. She does it live. It goes to the karaoke bars.

I hope this made sense

J

El Scorcho

I will now sum up my thoughts about Alanis in a haiku:

Hey Hey Alanis
err, I mean, "screaming banshee"
Please stop singing songs.

Decker

Yeah, that's pretty much my take on it. the song contains a line that goes something like "Flash forward one year", and that appears to be the inspiration for the video that shows the "life" of a song fron composition to cheesey nostalgia. Very clever, actually.
I'm looking forward to her new album after that last stink-bomb.

jjamesc

If you didn't like SFIJ, then you may not like this new one. It's more of that kind of stream-of-conscious writing that seems kind of structureless. Some people didn't like the last time around.

I actually liked it once I got used to it. Same with this album.

J

Jepthah

Is she dead yet?

Oh, uh, I'm sorry...I was thinking of Madonna. Oh, c'mon, they're on the same label...hey!

........

Excuse me...I have a building to burn down.

ModoReese

I wasn't a big fan of much from Alanis's last CD and I got pretty sick of most of the singles from JLP (notably "Hand In My Pocket" and "Ironic"), but I do like this new song. She has all the lyrics for her new CD posted at her website and I'm intrigued enough to at least have a little more of an open mind....

M

Canis Firebrand

Cool.. now I am looking forward to this cd more then before.

I loved SFIJunkie because of the stream-of-conscious writing.

She was great in concert. I really liked the way in which she sang each of the songs different then the CD.. So it made it even better live.

jjamesc

Yeah she's great live. I've seen her about 5 times now and she never ceases to amaze.

J

jjamesc

Them's fightin' words

J

atlantamoi

The stream-of-conscious writing drove me nuts. I don't have a big problem with this all the time, but she sounded confused as all get out. I guess I prefer a type of confusion with life I can relate to more

MatthewCho

Today I received my Australian import copies of the "Hands Clean" singles.

CD1 contains:
Hands Clean (album version)
Fear Of Bliss (non-lp track)
Sister Blister (non-lp track)

CD2 contains:
Hands Clean (album version)
Awakening Americans (non-lp track; not on UK single)
Unprodigal Daughter (non-lp track)
Symptoms (non-lp track)

Six new tracks on two singles!

Here are my thoughts:

First and foremost, CD1 contains an absolute jaw-dropper, "Sister Blister." Not since Daft Punk's "Digital Love" have I listened to a song that captivated me on first listen. They sound nothing alike but they obtained the same exact reaction. "Sister Blister" is a loud, bombastic rock track with biting lyrics. It is far and away her best hard rock track since "You Oughtta Know." It's also infectious as all hell and slickly produced. I can't believe that Maverick left this off the album, although I suspect it was Alanis' decision. It easily could be a HUGE modern rock track, even with the female rock bias currently proliferating this format. If you liked "You Oughtta Know," you must get this track now. Run, don't walk. Grade: A+

The other non-album track on CD1, "Fear Of Bliss" is also a very good hard rock track with a quality hook. It's a bit less polished than "Sister." Grade: A-

Overall, CD1 is a no-brainer for any Alanis fan, even for those who dismissed SFIJ.

CD2 contains two great tracks as well, "Unprodigal Daughter" and "Symptoms." "Uprodigal Daughter" completes her "Hands Clean" return-to-rock trilogy. Like "Fear of Bliss," "Uprodigal Daughter" has relatively quiet verses and loud, catchy refrains; key elements to sucking me into a rock song. Great vocals on this track as well. Grade: A

Between CD1 and CD2, the three rock tracks are better than those on SFIJ and JLP. Absolutely brilliant.

CD2 has a good mid-tempo track in "Symptoms," along the lines of the pace of "Hands Clean." Grade: B+

"Awakening Americans" is not quite my taste, as it has a country flavor. The lyrics are powerful, nonetheless; Alanis sings about how privaleged Americans are and how we need to do more in society. Nothing like you've heard from
Alanis in the past. Grade: B

Overall, two excellent import singles that are definitely worth the purchase.

I have avoided all samples of the new album, save "Utopia." However, if these are the leftovers then "Under Rug Swept" should be nothing short of amazing.

- Matt C.

KevinSmithIsGod

I think that says it all..

2 good songs on the whole disc..

Snake Plissken

disagree

KevinSmithIsGod

ok..

codefree

I listened to almost all of it and have noticed a theme to it: half the songs are great, the other half suck monkey balls. It's one extreme to the other IMO. There are no songs that are just okay.

KevinSmithIsGod

The first single just has alot of energy to it and so I was expecting the rest of the disc to be like that.
In all honesty, the single to me doesnt even sound like its from that album.
With the exception of one other song(the one with Illusion in the title) the rest is just very bland sounding to me.
I think she was trying too hard.

MatthewCho

It's a grower. I think "Precious Illusions" will be a big single. "Surrendering" could also be a single.

"Utopia" and "That Particular Time" are also very stong.

Too bad she left off her hard rock tracks, such as the steller "Sister Blister" (go to the secret website for a download) and "Unprodigal Daughter." I assume that she left these off since they would throw off the mid-tempo flavor of the album.

I'm much more satisfied with this one than SFIJ, but it's no JLP of course. However, that's hard to live up to.

- Matt C.

Daytripper

Sucks monkey balls? This ain't Jewel we're talking about here.

No, I disagree too. I think this album is very good. And I'm liking it more with each listen. My favorite tracks are "Hands Clean", "Precious Illusions", "You Owe Me Nothing In Return" and "Surrendering". Any single album that has at least four songs on it that I like is money well spent IMO.