**Monkeyshines**: June 2007

Back in the fall of 1995 I drove from central PA to Camden, NJ to catch a stop on the David Bowie/NIN tour. I had my old, yet reliable, truck as my rocket that day; and the tape player had given up the ghost about 10 days earlier. Thus, I was subjected to the radio for the entire 4 1/2 hour ride. However, it turned out to be a good thing. Why? Well, as I sitting waiting for my companion to emerge from the local mini-mart with a necessary caffeine buzz, the local college station put on a new single from "that new really angry chick out of Canada". Needless to say that with an intro like that, I turned up the volume slightly and was intrigued when I heard who I would later learn was Alanis Morissette singing about having one hand in her pocket and doing something obscure with the other. Not to mention that the 'I'm brave but I'm chicken shit' line really sold me.

Then, like every other female between the ages of 18 and 25 that year, went and bought my copy of Jagged Little Pill. Had it been a cassette I would have warped it beyond recognition because I played it so damn much. All I Really Want, Ironic, You Oughta Know, and my most favoritest 'girl' song ever - Head Over Feet,- kept that puppy in my CD player for months. I waited ever so patiently for album number two, but instead was given a soundtrack song that was so good it just made me want a second album more. And then came...

Supposed Former Infatuation Junkie and I said 'eh'. Now don't get me wrong, the album has a few good tunes. Thank You, Unsent, and That I Would be Good (props to my fellow flautist!) are all moving, well written songs; but the album just didn't suck me in the way Pill did. A part of me firmly believes that Alanis felt the same way because it took her four years to release Under Rug Swept which brought back some of the 'punch' that was missing from Junkie with songs like Hands Clean and Precious Illusions. However, as I was older and wiser (much like Alanis who's got about 8 weeks on me) I enjoyed the maturity of 21 Things I Want in a Lover and Surrendering.

So in 2003 when I finally got the chance to see her live in Milwaukee I was a bit surprised by her new found sound when she played a brand new tune called Eight Easy Steps. Whoa - dancy! But when So-Called Chaos was released, it showed that Alanis was finally at peace with herself with songs like Excuses and Everything.

And now, since just about everything has been purged from her system, she's decided to poke a little fun at Fergie's rear end. Alains's version of My Humps is genius in every way imaginable and thus, has been crowned this week's Ear Candy. Enjoy!!