Alanis Morissette -- Intimate and Interactive 2002
A huge thanks to MuchMusic for putting on such a great show!!!!
Place: The Roundhouse theatre, Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada.
Date/Time: Friday, March 1, 2002. 'Pre-game show' 8:00-9:00. Actual show: 9:00-10:30 p.m.
Host: MuchMusic VJ Namugenyi Kiwanuka
NOTE: A lot of what they say is rather thrown together, so a lot of times you have to read through the remnants of previous sentences and um's and things, so good luck trying to understand everything they say!!
Click Here to go to the bottom of the page with the MIDI control etc.
Live Performances:
[Opening Montage]
[Applause]
Namugenyi Kiwanuka: You are looking at the beautiful city of
Vancouver, British Columbia. I'm Namugenyi Kiwanuka, and welcome
to the Roundhouse! Tonight we're here to celebrate Alanis
Morissette with her second "Intimate & Interactive"
session here on MuchMusic. Alanis is going to be hanging out with
us, plus she's gonna be performing new songs off her new album
called "Under Rug Swept." We're going to get these guys
[the audience] involved; we want you at home involved through
Phone, Fax, and E-mail. She's sold forty million records, she's
been awarded seven grammy's, and she's Canadian! Please
welcome Alanis Morissette!
[Applause]
[Alanis performs All
I Really Want:]
[Male voice speaking through recording]
[Harmonica]
... stress you out?
My sweater is on backwards and inside out
And you say how-oo-ow-oo-ow appropriate
I don't wanna dissect everything today
I don't mean to pick you apart you see
But I ca-ee-aa-ee-a-an't help it
'nd there I go jumping before the gunshot has gone off
Slap me with a splintered ruler
And it would knock me to the floor if I wasn't there already
If only I could hunt the hunter, yeah
And all I really want, is some patience
A way to calm the angry voice, woah
And all I really want, is deliverance
Ah ha ee ah ee ah da, yi ee ee oh ho!
Do I wear you out?
You must wonder why I'm relentless and all strung out
I'm consumed by the chill of solitary
I'm like Estella
I like to reel it in and then spit 'em out
I'm frustrated by your apathy
And I am frightened by the corrupted ways of this land
If only I could meet the Maker
And I am fascinated by the spiritual man
I am humbled by his humble nature, yeah
And what I wouldn't give, to find a soulmate
Someone else to catch this drift, woah
And what I wouldn't give to meet a kindred
Ah ha ee ah ee ow ow, yi ee yi ee ooh!
Well enough about me, let's talk about you for a minute
Enough about you, let's talk about life for a while
The conflicts, the craziness and the sound of pretences
Falling all around . . . all
a-rou-ee-i-ee-i-ee-i-ee-i-ee-i-ee-i-ee-ound
Why am I so petrified of silence?
Here can you handle this?
[Music stops, audience cheers]
Did you think about your bills, your ex, your deadlines
Or when ya think you're gonna die?
Or did you long for the next dis-trac-tion
And all I need now is intellectual intercourse
A soul to dig the hole much deeper
And I have no concept of time other than it is flying
If only I could kill the killer, yeah
And all I really want, is some peace man
A place to find a common grou-ah-ee-i-ound
And all I really want, is a wavelength
Ha ee ah ee ow ow, yi ee ah ee ooh!
All I really want, is some comfort
A way to get my hands untie-ie-ie-ied
And all I really want, is some justice . . .
Ah ha ee ah ee ah ah, yi ee ah ee ah ee ooh!
[Harmonica]
[Applause]
[Spoken:] Thank you very much, thank you!
[Alanis performs 21
Things I Want in a Lover:]
Do you derive joy when someone else succeeds?
Do you not play dirty when engaged in competition?
D'ya have a big intellectual capacity but know that it alone does
not equate wisdom?
D'ya see everything as an illusion?
But enjoy it even though you are not of it?
Are you both masculine and feminine?
Politically aware?
And don't believe in capital punishment?
These are twenty-one things that I want in a lover
Not necessarily needs but qualities that I prefer
Do you derive joy from diving in and seeing that loving someone
can actually feel like freedom?
Are you funny?
À la self-deprecating?
Like adventure?
And have many formèd opinions?
These are twenty-one things that I want in a lover
Not necessarily needs but qualities that I prefer
I guess that I can describe it since I have a choice in the
matter
These are twenty-one things I choose to choose in a lover
I'm in no hurry I could wait forever
I'm in no rush 'cause I like being solo
There are no worries and certainly no pressure
In the meantime I'll live like there's no-o tomorrow
Are you uninhibited in bed?
More than three times a week?
Up for being experimental?
Are you athletic?
Are you thriving in a job that helps your brother?
Are you not addicted?
These are twenty-one things that I want in a lover
Not necessarily needs but qualities that I prefer
I figure I can describe it since I have a choice in the matter
These are twenty-one things I choose to choose in a lover
Are you curious and communicative?
[Applause]
[Spoken:] Thank you so much!
[Applause continues]
It's such a joy to be here, I can't even tell ya, it's so great!
This is a song called "Narcissus"
[Alanis performs Narcissus:]
Dear momma's boy I know you've had your butt licked by your
mother
I know you've enjoyed all that attention from her
And every woman graced with your presence after
Dear narcissus boy I know you've never really apologized for
anything
I know you've never really taken responsibility
I know you've never really listened to a woman
Dear me-show boy I know you're not really into conflict
resolution
Or seeing both sides of every equation
Or having an uninterrupted conversation
And any talk of healthiness
And any talk of connectedness
And any talk of working at this
Leaves you running for the door
(Why why do I try to love you
Try to love you when you really don't want me to
Why why do I try to love you
Try to love you when you really don't want me to)
Dear popular boy, I know you're not really into conflict
resolution
Or seeing both sides of every equation
Or having an uninterrupted conversation
Dear me-show boy, you've never been with someone who's dared to
call you on it
I wonder how you'd be if someone were to call you on it
I wonder how you'd be if someone were to call you on it
And any talk of selflessness
And any talk of working at this
And any talk of being of service
Leaves you running for the door
(Why why do I try to help you
Try to help you when you really don't want me to
Why why do I try to help you
Try to help you when you really don't want me to)
You go back to the women who will dance the dance
You go ba-ee-ack to your friends who will lick your ass
You go back to ignoring all the rest of us and
You go ba-ee-ack to the centre of your universe
Dear popular boy I don't know why I still feel affected by you
I've never lasted very long with someone like you
I never did although I have to admit I wanted to
Dear popular boy you've never been with anyone who doesn't take
your shit
You've never been with anyone who's dared to call you on it
I wonder how you'd be if someone were to call you on it
And any talk of willingness
And any talk of both feet in
And any talk of being of service
Leaves you running for the door
(Why why do I try to change you
Try to change you when you really don't want me to
Why why do I try to change you
Try to change you when you really don't want me to)
You go back to the women who will dance the dance
You go ba-ee-ack to your friends who will lick your ass
You go back to being so oblivious
You go ba-ee-ack to the centre of the universe
[Applause]
Nam: Whoo! Please give it up for Alanis Morissette! Welcome guys.
Hi. How are you?! Now, thank you so much for being here!
Alanis: Thank you for having me
Nam: Alanis has had a crazy week. You know how crazy a week
you've had, so thank you so much for being here.
Alanis: Thank you for having us.
[Applause]
Nam: Yeah, show her some love because she's here!
[Applause]
Nam: We're actually, we're gonna take a short break. After the
break we're gonna chat with you and we'll also get these guys
involved as the "Intimate & Interactive" with
Alanis Morissette continues right here on MuchMusic.
[Applause]
[Cut to commercial with display of numbers and e-mail]
[Return from commercial to applause]
Nam: Welcome back to the Alanis "Intimate &
Interactive" right here on MuchMusic. Everyone here is
happy, and it's really loud! Alanis, can you hear me?
Alanis: Yes, I can hear you
Nam: Wow. Thank you so much for being here again. Now when you
look over, when you look over your career, you've sold forty
million records, been awarded seven Grammy Awards, this current
album "Under Rug Swept" shipped platinum in two days...
[Applause] ... Two days!!! Wow! And recently, uh, the friends of
United Nations awarded you the award for promoting global
tolerance around the world. You're an actor, an artist, a
businesswoman, an athlete... when you look at your résumé, you
are one successful young lady. Isn't she? [Applause] How do you
define success?
Alanis: Success is when I'm just, um, being as much as I possibly
could be, but in my own definition of that. So, you know, I
always love stretching myself and growing at whatever rate feels
good and being alive. I just feel like life is so short, I just
want to make the most of it, you know, as quickly as I possibly
can.
Nam: And it's a lot of things that you've done. Now one thing
that you've done that's new this time around is "Under Rug
Swept," the first time that you wrote and produced
the album by yourself. What did it mean for you to do this at
this point, at your point, at this point in your career?
Alanis: I think it was just a natural next step in my evolution
really. Um, I produced with people before and I've been produced
and I produced a song for the "Dogma" soundtrack on my
own in London at Abbey Road, so that was a whistle-wetter of
sorts. So, um, so, I wanted to try it out just out of the sake of
just, for the sake really of seeing what it would sound like and
be a facilitator. I love creating an environment where people can
do what they do best in it; and if they want to look to me for
guidance, great. And if they don't, they can just do what they,
you know, they do best.
Nam: Was this, though, um, a way to reaffirm control on your
career right now? Because at the beginning of your career, you
always had people involved in what you were doing. But this time
around, to do it, is this the way to reaffirm control over
yourself?
Alanis: Well, I always felt in control over my own choices which
is ultimately the only thing I can be in control over as, as I
see it. So I feel like I've been in control my whole life in that
sense, um, but being at the helm of certain things, I don't think
I was quite ready for it yet and I didn't want to do something
just for the sake of doing it for my own ego's sake, rather than
just doing it 'cause I felt like I was ready. So as soon as I
felt ready, I was, y'know, ready to dive in.
Nam: Well it has to say a lot for um a woman to be able to go
this in this time and age to write your whole album, to produce
it. It must say a lot though, right?
Alanis: I don't know what it says quite yet [Laughs] but it says
something. It says I was ready to produce and write a record at
least.
Nam: Actually we're going to talk to you some more annd we're
going to get all these guys involved. Right now we've got an
audience question and it's from Scott. Scott's right there...
Scott: Hi Alanis, what's going on?
Alanis: Hey
Scott: Um, "Jagged Little Pill" as a CD defined a whole
era and a generation. As for you personally, what defined an era
as a CD?
Alanis: A CD that I loved?
Scott: That's right, that's right
Alanis: Umm, I always say The Smurf's All-Star Show Record, when
I was little
[Laughter]
[Applause]
Alanis: Didn't it though? Didn't that define an era for everyone?
No... I think, um, when I was really little I lived in Germany
with my family and I remember being in the back seat of our
caravan car and hearing Carole King's voice and just everything
stopped in my world and I remember wondering who that was because
I had a connection with her. She sounded very maternal to me and
very inspiring so she was the first voice that I really resonated
with, so...
Scott: Thank you
Alanis: Yeah, thank you
Nam: We're also going to be taking questions from, uh, Speaker's
Corner which is a travelling soapbox. It goes around the whole
country and uh right now we got a question from Corner Brook,
Newfoundland and, uh, the monitor is right there. I don't know if
you can see the monitor, it's so packed in here.
Alanis: Yeah, I can see it
Nam: Newfoundland
[Speaker's Corner trailer]
Jennifer Baird: Hi, this is, uh, Jennifer Baird. I'm at Grenville
College in Corner Brook, Newfoundland. Uh, my question for Alanis
is: "Have you ever had any recurring dreams?" And if
so, uh, can you describe them? Thanks.
Alanis: Okay... [Laughter] Umm, I have had recurring dreams. The
one that I think of most often is the one that I cite every now
and again; is, uh, I'm in an elevator and I'm going up the
elevator and the higher I get, the building starts to rock and
the air gets really prickly, and then I get to the top floor and
somebody is there when the door opens. And in one case, and I
already spoke about this a few years ago, but in one of the cases
it was Paul Reiser [Laughter] Uh, and then every once in awhile
it's just a different person who's in my subconscious or in my
life. So I still have that one.
Nam: What do you think that dream says about you? [Laughs]
Alanis: It says, it says I have a fear of heights perhaps. No, I
think I could psychologically analyze that one for a few hours
but I'll spare you the gory details. [Laughter]
Nam: W'v'also got a phone call right now from Vern in Prince
George [British Columbia] Hey Vern. Hello, Vern?
Vern: Hello
Alanis: Hi
Vern: Hey, what's up? How you doing Alanis?
Alanis (jokingly): What's up yo? How's it goin'?
[Laughter]
Vern: A'ight that's cool. What's up Nam? What's up Van-City?!
Yeah!
Nam: What's up Vern?
Vern: Yeah, anyways, I got a couple questions for you Alanis
Alanis: Go for it
Vern: Uh, on your latest CD, "Under Rug Swept," you
written and produced eleven cuts on the track or whatever...
What's the most like personal song on the CD for you, like, you
know what I mean?
[Laughter]
Alanis: Yeah, um, they're all pretty personal
Vern: Like, yeah
Alanis: I think in order to call one of them my favourites would
probably be impossible because it's like trying to pick your
favourite kid
Vern: Oh really?
Alanis: But um, but definitely some emerged to be my favourites
during a tour live, and right now I'm playing "Precious
Illusions" and "Hands Clean" are my two favourites
to play live but that changes every five minutes so...
Nam: Now, your music tends to be very personal. Um, how, how is
it for you to perform it and share it with so many people at the
same time? I mean, it's one things to write it, when you're by
yourself, but then to perform it...
Alanis: It's, it's fine because I'm expressing myself and I, I
also see it as my performing and people get to define themselves
in accordance, whether it be by it being, you know, relating to
it or feeling validated by it or horrified by it or repulsed by
it or whatever it is that one may feel if they choose to listen
to the song or watch my play live. It, uh, it can tell me
sometihng about them... So it is still a conversation of sorts,
and I'm just here expressing myself and defining myself, which is
why ultimately I think we're all here.
Nam: Is there any song that you won't perform live, that you
don't feel comfortable performing live?
Alanis: No.
Nam: No?
Alanis: No.
Nam: And I was reading something, and it was interesting because
uh, you were talking about how you feel more comfortable
performing the very personal songs as opposed to a song like
"Symptoms." Why is that?
Alanis: Well, "Symptoms" is a song that I wrote just
about politics [sarcastically] which is really exciting,
[Laughter] So, um, it is exciting to me, but I also just feel
like my microcosmic version of, of relationships, i.e. the
relationship between myself and one other person, can be
extrapolated into the broader issues. So if I can sit here and
have an opinion formed about what I think the Middle East should
do about America and vice-versa, farbeit for me to do that if I
can't even resolve a conflict between myself and one other
person. So I put so much of my energy into seeing if I can walk
my own talk in my own day-to-day life. So that's why I prefer to
sing about more personal, autobiographical, immediate
relationships, and maybe at some point I will sing about broader
ones. But as, as it stands today, that's kinda where I'm at.
Nam: You've also said ... [Applause] You've also said that um,
when you... because in the past, critics have criticized you for
being over indulgent, whatever that means. And you said that,
until you conquer your own personal relationships, then can you
do it in a bigger scale, which is with the world.
Alanis: Yeah... I feel like I -- I mean... yes, a lot of people
have said "You're so incredibly self-absorbed" and I
say "Absolutely," because when I understand myself and
have clarity about myself, then it naturally and organically
leads to a place where I can be of service to other people, and
not from an empty cup but rather one that's really super-full,
and I'd much rather give from that place. So the more I
understand and have clarity about myself, the more I'm able to
see the world with clear eyes as opposed to through these glasses
that are still egocentric and in pain, y'know?
Nam: We're going to talk more about clarity and pain awhile
Alanis: We're not?!
Nam: ... But we want to get into the pain, but I've got an e-mail
question here and, uh, the e-mail is from Angela Ting in London,
Ontario. She says:
"What would you say to women in the music industry and young
girls growing up who are bombarded by images from the industry
and pressured by scoity and the media to be, to look, and to
think a certain way?
Thank you for your time. Thank God your music and ideas are out
there. You definitely improve the world."
[Applause]
Alanis: Thanks, thanks um, as far as what I would tell a young
person, umm, I would encourage them to listen to their gut first
and foremost, and um, also in terms of society's images and how
they, you know ... how objectification is such a prominent thing,
especially for women but certainly for men as well, um, I just
encourage or recommend uh, questioning everything all the time
and challenging it if it doesn't feel right, you know, and uh, it
can be tough to, to act in opposition with what society is
presenting, much like a thimble trying to catch a tidal wave, but
there are a lot of people that are like-minded in that sense and
really challenge society's standard of what women or people
should look like, and as soon as I started realizing all of this
and, and understanding it, it was a lot better and I was able to
be much more accepting of myself, so...
Nam: How did you come to that understanding? Because it is
difficult, you look at the media, you look in, on TV, in
magazines. It's there. How did you get to where you are now?
Alanis: I stopped buying those magazines [Laughter] you know, and
I started... [Applause] Yeah... I stopped buying those magazine,
and, and got to a place of integration in my life because, for a
period of time, the pendulum swung from my being horrified by all
of that to, you know, just shutting down with my own sexuality
and the part of my body that is fun to have be an ornament. You
know, there's an element of that that is fun, but it went so far
that I cut myself off from all of it and the pendulum really went
to the other end. And now I'm just having fun and I see the
illusory parts of it and I don't take it seriously. And I want to
integrate all parts of me, the part of me that is sexual, the
part of me that is intelligent, the part of me that is strong and
vulnerable and confused and all of it and the more integrated I
have become, the more peaceful I've become and less, less afraid
of parts of myself, so that helps I guess.
Nam: Are you at peace with yourself now?
Alanis: Sure. Sometimes I'm not at all, but these days it's a
little more consistent, which is good.
Nam: More talk with Alanis, and after the break you're going to
perform some more. Right now we're going to take a short break as
the Alanis Morissette "Intimate & Interactive"
continues after this break.
[Cut to commercial]
[Return from commercial to applause]
Nam: Welcome back to the Alanis Morissette "Intimate &
Interactive" live from The Roundhouse in Vancouver, British
Columbia. Right now, It's time for some more music! Please give
it up for Alanis Morissette!
[Alanis performs So
Unsexy]
Oh these little rejections how they add up quickly
One small sideways look and I feel so ungood and
Somewhere along the way I think I gave you the power to make
Me feel the way I thought only my father could
Oh these little rejections how they seem so real to me
One forgotten birthday I'm all but coo-ooked and
How these little abandonments seem to sting so easily
I'm thirteen again am I thirteen for good?
And I can feel so unsexy for someone so beautiful
So unlovèd for someone so fine
I can feel so boring for someone so-o interesting
So ignorant for someone of sound mind
Oh these little protections how they fail to serve me
One forgotten phone call and I'm deflated and
How these little defenses how they fail to comfort me
Your hand pulling away and I'm devastated
I can feel so unsexy for someone so beautiful
So unlovèd for someone so fine
I can feel so boring for someone so-o interesting
So ignorant for someone of sound mind
When will I stop leaving baby-y?
When will I stop deserting baby-y?
When will I start staying with myse-e-e-e-e-e-e-e-elf?
Oh these little projections how they keep springing from me
I jump my ship as I take it personally and
How these little rejections how they disappear quickly
The moment I decide not to abandon me
I can feel so unsexy for someone so beautiful
So unlovèd for someone so fine
I can feel so boring for someone so-o interesting
So ignorant for someone of sound mind
[Applause]
[Spoken:] Thank you very much. This is Jason Orme on the guitar.
[Applause] And Blair Sinta on drums [Applause]... Representing...
This is a song called "Precious Illusions."
[Alanis performs Precious Illusions:]
You'll rescue me right? In the exact same way they never did
I'll be happy right? When your healing powers kick in
You'll complete me right? Then my life can finally begin
I'll be worthy right? Only when you realize the gem I am?
But this won't wo-ork now the way it once did
And I won't keep it up even though I would love to
Once I know who I'm not then I'll know who I am
But I know I won't keep on playing the victim
These precious illusions in my head did not let me down when I
was defenseless
And parting with them is like parting with invisible best friends
This ring will help me yet as will you knight in shining
armou-ou-ou-our
This pill will help me yet as will these boys gone through like
water
But this won't work as well as the way it once did
'Cause I want to decide between survival and bliss
And though I know who I'm not I still don't know who I am
But I know I won't keep on playing the victim
These precious illusions in my head did not let me down when I
was a kid
And parting with them is like parting with a childhood best
frie-iend
I've spent so long firmly looking outside me
I've spent so much time living in survi-i-i-i-i-ival mo-o-ode
But this won't work now the way it once did
'Cause I want to decide between survival and bliss
And though I know who I'm not I still don't know who I am
But I know I won't keep on playing the victim
These precious illusions in my head did not let me down when I
was defenseless
And parting with them is like parting with invisible best friends
These precious illusions in my hea-ead did not let me down when I
was a kid
And parting with them is like parting with a childhood best
frie-iend
Ooh oh ooh ooh ooh ooh ooh ah oh oh oh
[Applause]
[Alanis performs Right
Through You:]
Wait a minute man
You mispronounced my name
You didn't wait for all the information
Before ya turned me away
Wait a minute sir
You kinda hurt my feelings
You see me as a sweet back-loaded puppet
And you've got meal ticket taste
I see right throu-ou-ou-ou-ough you
I know right throu-ou-ou-ou-ou-ough you-ou-ou-ou
I feel right throu-ou-ou-ou-ough you-ou-ou-ou
I walk right throu-ou-ou-ou-ou-ough you-ou
Uh oh ho ya da da dum ya da da ha
You took me for a joke
You took me for a child
You took a long hard look at my ass
And then played golf for a while
Your shake is like a fish
You pat me on the head
You took me out to wine dine sixty-nine me
But didn't hear a damn word I said
I see right throu-ou-ou-ou-ough you
I know right throu-ou-ou-ou-ou-ough you-ou-ou-ou
I feel right throu-ou-ou-ou-ough you-ou-ou-ou
I walk right throu-ou-ou-ou-ou-ough you-ou, wuh oh ho!
Ya da da da da ha ah ho oh oh oh
Well hello Mr. Man
You didn't think I'd come back
You didn't think I'd show up with my army
And this ammunition on my back
Now that I'm Miss Thi-ing
Now that I'm a zillionaire
Ya scan the credits for your name
And wonder why it's not there
I see right throu-ou-ou-ou-ough you
I know right throu-ou-ou-ou-ou-ough you-ou-ou-ou
I feel right throu-ou-ou-ou-ough you-ou-ou-ou
I walk right throu-ou-ou-ou-ou-ough you-ou, you-ou!
[Applause]
Nam: Whoo!
Alanis: Thank you
Nam: Whoo! Please give it up one more time for Alanis Morissette.
However, that's not all. We're going to take a short break, but
when we come back we're going to chat some more with Alanis as
the "Intimate & Interactive" continues right here
on MuchMusic.
[Cut To Commercial]
[Return from commercial to applause]
Nam: Welcome back to Alanis Morissette "Intimate &
Interactive." We're live in Vancouver, British Columbia.
This is The Roundhouse, and this is the very first time that
we're doing an "Intimate & Interactive" in
Vancouver. [Applause] When I heard that, um, I was going to get a
chance to talk to you, I was like "Yes! We can talk about
relationships, 'cause I'm known as the jaded one at MuchMusic.
However [Laughs] now relationships really motivate your music,
and people always want to know about other people's love lives,
right?
Alanis: So tell me about your love life.
Nam: No, we, we need like five days, five days. How can you be so
personal about relationships that go wrong?
Alanis: Well I also am personal about relationships that go
right, too. I don't, I don't equate um, short relationships with
being ones that go wrong, I just equate them with relationships
that are short. Um, so, uhh, you know, I think that I define
myself and I, am aware of who I am, based on my interactions with
people or places or things or whatever, so it's in relationships
that I'm able to define myself and ultimately provide an
opportunity for someone else to define themselves or heal
themselves or understand themselves. So I see relationships as
opportunities, and it really, it really works well, when both
people do.
Nam: And you've said that, um, when you do write, it's not in
revenge, it's more for yourself. But there has to be a point when
it might be a little hard to get dates, because you're calling
out your exes right? Is it hard getting a date?
Alanis: No, it's actually not hard at all. I think what happens
is that people who consider even dating me at this point, I tihnk
they kind of know what they're getting into. [Laughter] Um,
because I write obviously autobiographically so I think it just
says something about their being comfortable with themselves
enough to know that they may be found in the subject matter of my
songs at some point.
Nam: And earlier on you were talking about clarity and honesty is
an important concept in your music. What is honesty to you?
Alanis: Just speaking the truth to oneself, I think, is a big
one. That's the scariest one for me, sitting alone in a room and
just being honest with myself about something is the most
terrorizing one. The rest of them are okay, and, you know, I do
see a big difference between privacy and secrecy, so, you know,
being honest when I'm, when I'm trying not to be secretive feels
really great, but being honest when I'm not, you know, taking
into account someone else's privacy, I usually don't go there
just because I don't want to.
Nam: Why is honesty terrifying to you?
Alanis: It's terrifying when I know that it has to or will
inevitably result in a huge change. Before I started writing this
record, I had to put my conceptual helmet on and seat belt on
because I knew that coming to terms with a lot of what I was
writing about would result in my ... you know... having changes
happen in my life to say the least. So they did and I'm still
alive. I'm still here, so it's okay.
Nam: Still kicking
Alanis: Yeah
[Applause]
Nam: You said that um... [Applause continues] ... you said that
there's a difference between um, privacy and secrecy, what's the
difference?
Alanis: Well, privacy, in my opinion, comes from a place of love,
and secrecy comes from a place of fear. So, um, when I'm afraid I
am secretive about things, even with myself and I'm in denial
about them and I try to compartmentalize and push them away and
not even look at them because they're too scary, but um, privacy
is something that I'm doing very consciously in order to respect
someone else's ... privacy, or mine.
Nam: Okay, we have an audience question, it's from Cassie. Hey,
Cassie..
Cassie: Hi.
Alanis: Hi
Cassie: Hi, um, knowing that you're a fellow Canadian, I was just
wondering what you were doing when you found out the hockey team
got the gold medal? Whoo-hoo!
[Applause]
Alanis: Which hockey team? The, the female or the male game?
Cassie: Well you can tell us both if you want
Alanis: Well, the male one, I was flying somewhere, and uh we
were winning when I got on the plane and then someone on the
plane told me 5-3 and I got really excited but I'm also, you know
... I'm surrounded by Americans a lot so I have to kind of quell
my excitement [Laughter]
Cassie: Yeah
Alanis: No, um, and the female game, I was there. So...
Cassie: Cool!
Alanis: I was at the game
Nam: Wow
[Applause]
Alanis: Yeah
Nam: Um, we were talking about um the concepts of privacy and
secrecy, and the first single that's off this album, "Under
Rug Swept," "Hands Clean"... People are talking
about this song [Applause] The idea of the song is that a younger
woman is involved in a relationship with an older man. What did
you want to do with this song?
Alanis: I had been silent about the nature of the relationship
for a really long tiem at the um, at the request of the person
who the song's about, and that was an exact example of my, you
know, being silent on someone else's behalf to kind of protect
them in a way that was at the cost of my own peace of mind and my
own self. And um, I wanted to be honest with myself about it and
feel the liberation that comes from that, so the verses and the
"B" sections are him singing to me, and the bridge and
the chorus is my responding to him from the present tense. And it
was very therapeutic and cathartic to write it basically.
Nam: What do you think about ... because um I know there's been a
lot of articles out there and they're calling the relationship,
this, or the song, they're calling it statutory rape
Alanis: Mmhmm
Nam: What do you think about that, when you read those articles?
Alanis: I don't usually categorize things, whether it's music or
dynamics or whatever it is. I usually just call them what they
are, which is that I was a young person who was in a relationship
with someone where, on some level I was ready for it and on other
emotional levels I wasn't. And that's kinda how I define it and I
know that takes way more words than "statutory rape"
but it better defines it to me because I don't need to make
things be short and put in a box. I don't need to do that, so...
Nam: Because it's interesting , too, because honestly, if I was
in your situation, um, even earlier on when we were talking about
this is the first time you wrote and produced your album and it
has to be like, kind of like a middle finger to the people who,
like, messed you, messed around with you when you were younger.
But you see it in a different way. You're like, well, this is
just a natural evoluion for myself, and even with what's going on
with this song, a lot of people... It's so much dialogue is going
on about this song, to you it's kind of like, you know, it's just
a situation that I was in and that's it...
Alanis: Yeah
Nam: ... that's the end of the story
Alanis: Well the hardest part for me was to just repress it and
be silent about it. So the act of writing it in and of itself was
enough for me.
Nam: We've got a phone call right now, and hello, caller from
Hamilton, Laura Lee, [Correcting herself] Lauralai
Lauralai: Hi
Nam: Lauralai, I got your name!
Lauralai: Um I was wondering um from the song "21 Things You
Want In A Lover," which 21 things have you found in a lover
and what they were.
Alanis: Um, I found a lot of things on my list. Um, my thing, uh,
just kind of randomly, is 80% of that last is something that I
think I would be really psyched about, and the operative word in
the song for me is um, "not necessarily needs," because
these are things that I am kind of putting out there in a way and
describing what it is that I want, much like I would have a map
of sorts that I can at least reference, but, you know, I
basically really get as clear about it as I possibly can and then
I let go entirely and see what the Universe or what life has to
offer and I go with that.
Nam: Only three days though?
Alanis: Three days of what?
Nam: In the song, you say three days, you reference three days
Alanis: More than three times
Nam: Oh okay, just wondering. Just for my own personal knowledge.
We've got a Speaker's Corner ... 'cause I was like three days,
wow!
Alanis: Yeah, and that shifts, sure
Nam: ... Seven days in a week... Um what...
[Laughter]
Alanis: You're telling me a lot about yourself right now, thank
you
Nam (Laughing): Okay. Question coming from Montréal, Speaker's
Corner. Let's take a look at the monitor
[Speaker's Corner trailer]
Grant: What's up Alanis? It's Grant from Montréal. Uh, my
friend's dad used to teach you in history in high school, and I
was wondering if there's any truth to the story you used to sing
"O Canada" through the P.A. system to everyone in the
morning?
Alanis: A taped version of it would be played every morning and I
was mortified. But if it's the history teacher I'm thinking
about, I used to fall asleep in history class every time, so I
have such apologies sent to your friend's dad. And now I'm
actually reading history books, but when I was, you know, being
taught history in school, sometimes I just couldnt' get into it.
But not of my own volition I want to do it, which is often the
case with how curriculums are in school... [not wanting to get
off-topic visibly refocusses herself] But anyway, the answer to
your question is yes, it was played on a tape but I wasn't doing
it love every morning.
Nam: Now I know you're a big reader of books and uh, you read a
book called "Conversations with God." What did you get
from that book?
Alanis: Um, just clarity and there was a lot of things in that
book that I really resonated with and connected with and God is
such a fraught little word, y'know, because it always implies
religion or um, everyone that I've talked to about the word God
seems to have a really weighted definition of what that is. And
wht I loved about the book was that it really challenged, it
challenged all the definitions of God and, and had some levity
about it and a lot of clarity about situations that I had been
extremely confused about and the author of the book is someone
that I've gotten to know over the last while and I wrote a
foreword for his teen book, which was exciting and, yeah...
Nam: Are you a spiritual person? Do you consider yourself a
spiritual person?
Alanis: Very spiritually minded, yeah. I don't consider myself to
be religious, although I'm so curious about religions and what I
have found over the last while is that thread of continuity that
permeates all of them which is exciting. I always look to see
where they all have consistencies, you know and that's usually
where I go.
Nam: Now, I wish I could talk your ear off for another hour.
However I'm being wrapped. We're going to the window because we
have a question.
Alanis: Okay
Nam: And if you could just follow me, yeah! [Applause] We've got
-- [To Alanis] are you okay? ... Julie is at the window. Hello,
people at the window! [Applause] How are you? Julie, you've got a
question?
Julie: Yes, hi Alanis
Alanis: Hi
Julie: I was wondering what artists have you not worked with that
you would most like to?
Alanis: When I love artists, I, the last thing I think about is,
is my playing with them, because I always think that they're so
distinct and individual that I wouldn't want to, you know, pee
all over their songs with my own individual take... Um, but I
love Leonard Cohen, and I would love to maybe, you know, send
some love to him. I don't have to meet him, but yeah.
Nam: Oh, come on, you guys can be louder than that! [Applause]
Now uh, we don't really have very much time left to talk but
there's a question that I wanted to ask you: What is the most
important issue that's closest to your heart?
Alanis: Oh, there's many [Laughs] Umm, the closest issue? Just
the human condition. Basically, just thinking about us all being
one, even though we're all so distinctly different and unique and
kick-ass, just all the countries that I've travelled to and all
the different cultures that I've been in, I just see how we're
all alike fundamentally, and that's the kind of thing I think
about when I wake up in the morning.
Nam: You sing about Utopia on the album. Can it really exist or
is it just an ideal that's not attainable?
Alanis: I think it absolutely can exist. It really depends on
whether we want it badly enough or not, so yeah.
Nam: Alright... Thank you Alanis
Alanis: Thank you
Nam: There's going to be more performance, but we're going to
take a little short break right here as the Alanis Morissette
"Intimate & Interactive" continues lives from
Vancouver, British Columbia
[Cut to commercial]
[Return from commercial to applause]
Nam: Welcome back to the Alanis Morissette "Intimate &
Interactive," live from Vancouver, British Columbia, at The
Roundhouse. It's been such a great night, but we've got some more
music. Please give it up for Alanis Morissette!
[Alanis perform So Pure:]
You from New York
You are so relevant
You reduce me to cosmic te-ears
Luminous more so than
Most anyo-one
Unapologetically alive
Knot in my stomach and
Lump in my throat
I love you when you dance
When you free-style in trance
So-o-o pure such an expression
Love you when you dance
When you free-style in trance
So-o-o pure such an expression
Supposèd former infatuation ju-unkie
I sink three pointers and you wax poetically
I love you when you dance
When you free-style in trance
So-o-o pure such an expression
Love you when you dance
When you free-style in trance
So-o-o pure such an expression
Let's grease the wheel over tea
Let's discuss things in confidence and
Let's be outspoken
Let's be ridiculous
Let's solve the world's proble-ee-e-e-ems
I love you when you dance
When you free-style in trance
So-o-o pure such an expression
Love you when you dance
When you free-style in trance
So-o-o pure such an expression
[Applause]
Alanis: Thank you! Mr. Eric Avery on bass! [Applause] And Zac Rae
on keyboards. [Applause] And David Levita on guitar! [Applause]
[Alanis performs Head
Over Feet:]
Ya da da ow da ah hi woah oh
I had no choice but to hear you
You stated your case time and again
'Nd I thought about it
You treat me like, I'm a princess
And I'm not used to liking tha-e-a-at
And you ask how my day was
You've already won me over in spite of me
Don't be alarmed if fa-all head over feet
'Nd don't be surprised if I love you-ou-ou for all that you a-are
I couldn't help i-it
It's all your fau-ault
Your love is thick and it swallowed me whole
You're so much braver than I give you credit fo-or
That's not lip service
You've already won me ove-er in spite of me
And don't be alarmed if fa-a-all head over fee-eet
Don't be surprised if I love you-ou-ou for all that you a-are
I couldn't help i-it
It's all your fault
You are the bearer of unconditional things
'Nd you held your breath and the door for me
Thanks for your patience
[Instrumental/Harmonica break]
You're the best listeners that I've ever met
'Nd you're my best friend
Best friend with benefits
What took me so lo-ong?
'Nd I've never felt this healthy before
I've never wanted something rational
'Nd I am aware now
(I swear to God I am I think)
I am aware now
You've already won me ove-er, in spite of me
And don't be alarmed if fa-all head over feet
And don't be surprised if I love you for all that you a-are
I couldn't help i-it
It's all your fau-au-ault
La la li, ya ha hi, ya ha hi yi ha oh
Ooh ee ooh, ee oh oh, ooh oh oh oh ee ya ee ah ooh ow ow
Oh ho oh ya ha hi ya ha hi hi!
[Applause]
Alanis: Thank you, you guys are awesome. [Applause] This is a
song called "Hands Clean"
[Alanis performs Hands
Clean:]
If it weren't for your maturity none of this would've happened
If you weren't so wise beyond your years I would've been able to
control myself and
If it weren't for my attention you wouldn't have been successful
and if
If it weren't for me you would never have amounted to very much
Ooh this could be messy but
You-ou don't seem to mi-ind and
Ooh don't go telling everybody and
Overlook this supposèd cri-ime
We'll fast forward to a few years later
And no one knows except the both of us
And I have honoured your request for silence
And you've washed your hands clean of this
You're essentially an employee and I like you having to depend on
me and
You're a kind of protégé and one day you'll say you learned all
you know from me and
I know you depend on me like a young thing would to a guardian
I know you sexualize me like a young thing would and I think I
like it
Ooh this could get messy
But you-ou don't seem to mi-ee-i-ind and
Ooh don't go telling everybody
And overlook this supposèd cri-ime
We'll fast forward to a few years later and
No one knows except the both of us
And I have honoured your request for silence
And you've washed your hands clean of this
What part of our history's reinvented and under rug swept?
What part of your memory is selective and tends to forget?
What with this distance it seems so obvious?
Just make sure you don't tell on me especially to members of your
family and
We best keep this to ourselves and not tell any members of our
inner posse and
I wish I could tell the world 'cause you're such a pretty thing
when you're done up properly and
I might want to marry you one day if ya watch that weight and you
keep your firm body and
Ooh this could be messy but
You-ou don't seem to mi-ee-i-i-ind
'Nd ooh don't go tellin' everybody
And overlook this supposèd cri-ime
We'll fast forward to a few years later and
No one knows except the both of us
And I have honoured your request for silence
And you've washed your hands clean of this
Ooh this could get messy but
You-ou don't seem to mi-ee-i-i-ind and
Ooh don't go tellin' everybody
And overlook this supposèd cri-ime
We'll fast forward to a few years later
And no one knows except the both of us
And I have honoured your request for silence
And you've washed your hands clean of this
Eh oh oh oh oh
Ya ee ah ho oh, ah ah ho!
[Applause]
Nam: Wow! Could you guys please just give it up for Alanis
Morissette, and the band? [Applause] Thank you, thank you, thank
you, thank you. Did you have a good time?
Alanis: Very, very, very good
Nam: Now, do you guys have the new album, "Under Rug
Swept?" [Applause] Just checking, just checking. Thank you
so much for being here, thank you to the band, thank you so much.
[Applause] And it was so wonderful to be here in Vancouver for
our very first "I & I" and it was with you!
[Applause] And right now we're going to say "bye" to
everyone at home, bye to you guys but you're going to perform one
more song, let's take it away, thank you!
[Alanis performs Thank U:]
How 'bout getting off of these antibiotics?
How 'bout stopping eating when I'm full up?
How 'bout them transparent dangling carrots?
How 'bout that ever elusive kudo?
Thank you, India
Thank you, terror
Thank you, disillusionment
Thank you, frailty
Thank you, consequence
Thank you, thank you, silence
How 'bout me not blaming you for everything?
How 'bout me enjoying the moment for once?
How 'bout how good it feels to finally forgive you?
How 'bout grieving it all one at a time?
Thank you, India
Thank you, terror
Thank you disillusionment
Thank you frailty
Thank you consequence
Thank you, thank you silence
The moment I let go of it was
The moment I got more than I could handle
The moment I jumped off of it
Was the moment that I touched down
How 'bout no longer being masochistic?
How 'bout remembering your divinity?
How 'bout unabashedly bawling your eyes out?
How 'bout not equating death with stopping?
Thank you, India
Thank you, providence
Thank you disillusionment
Thank you, nothingness
Thank you, clarity
Thank you, thank you silence
Yeah, yeah
Ha-ah-oh
Oh-oh-oh
Oh, oh, oh, oh, oh whoa-oh
No oh oh
No, oh, oh, oh, oh
Oh oh oh oh oh oh
No-oh, no-oh oh oh oh oh
No no oh oh oh oh oh
No oh, no-oh oh oh oh
No-ooh-oh oh oh ho!
[Spoken:] Thank you so much, such a gift to be here. Bless you,
love you, keep on, love you!
[Applause]
[Closing Credits]
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