Here's what a few popular female artists are singing about - and some of it you may not want to hear
By JOSH KORR and BRIAN ORLOFF
Published June 27, 2004
ALANIS MORISSETTE, SO-CALLED CHAOS (MAVERICK) Listening to So-Called Chaos, Alanis Morissette's new CD, is like reading a book of letters to Carolyn Hax - with all of Hax's responses blacked out.
It's largely blind to nuance and maturity and gives only cursory nods to self-awareness, relying on cliches and generalizations.
Rarely has a popular musician said so little by saying so much.
Try to wrap your brain around this line, from Out Is Through: "My tendency to want to do away feels natural. My urgency to dream of softer places feels understandable."
Morissette's 16-million-selling debut, Jagged Little Pill, theoretically gave her the freedom to break from the mainstream music world's limited view of women. Instead, she has simply added herself to a long list of insecure fashion-mag-reader personas.
Eight Easy Steps plays as a lesson for how not to live, with Morissette cast as the master: "How to defer to men in solvable predicaments. . . . How to mistrust the ones you supposedly love the most." The self-flagellation continues on Excuses: "Why no one will help me, I'm too dumb, I'm too smart. They'll not understand me, I'm lonely, they'll hate me." And here it is again, in Spineless: "I'll be low-maintenance and agreeable. I will not talk about my dreams so much."
Banalities aside, what self-respecting adult would think that anyone older than 16 cares?
Maybe Morissette thinks her audience is mostly teenage girls who like that sort of thing. Maybe she's just a spoiled rock star who has never grown up. Or maybe she resorts to cliches and stereotypes because she doesn't have anything else to say. D
- JOSH KORR, Times staff writer
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50 FOOT WAVE, 50 FOOT WAVE (THROWING MUSIC) Fans of quirky pop outfit Throwing Muses recognize singer Kristin Hersh's, well, quirkiness, which some might be quick to call outright kookiness. In her latest project, 50 Foot Wave, Hersh marries her trademark oddness with a brash, ferocious sound that's relentless and rocking.
Things get kicking immediately on Bug, with its electric guitar assault and bouncy drumbeat. The pummeling continues straight through the EP's all-too-short end time 20 minutes later.
Long Painting is one of Hersh's strongest tunes, with its taut structure expanding midsong to an all-out, fanny-kicking refrain.
The word is the band will continue to release music and tour extensively. Consider this an exciting taste of what Hersh and Co. can do. B+
- BRIAN ORLOFF, Times correspondent
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MELISSA AUF DER MAUR, AUF DER MAUR (CAPITOL) Bassist Melissa Auf der Maur has always been a critical favorite, providing muscular backup for a redoubtable bunch of rock stars, such as Billy Corgan and Courtney Love. But on her first solo album, Auf der Maur proves that maybe playing second fiddle really is her calling.
The 12-track album traffics in flinty power chords, a la '80s hair metal, with generic, arena-ready guitar riffs. Unfortunately, Auf der Maur does not possess the pipes nor the lyrical prowess to redeem her bland tunes.
Most songs are unmemorable and inoffensive, but there are definite exceptions. Album opener Lightning Is My Girl is laugh-out-loud funny. And unless Auf der Maur is playing up the parody on purpose, like British rockers the Darkness, the humor is unintentional. Over some wheezing electric guitars, she reminds us in a tormented whisper that "lightning is my girl!" After the four-minute assault, you might wish some musical lightning would strike and save the rest of the disc.
Despite an impressive array of collaborators and friends such as Queens of the Stone Age's Josh Homme and former Smashing Pumpkins guitarist James Iha, Auf der Maur's album just feels mediocre and beneath her musical abilities. D+
- B.O.
TORI AMOS, WELCOME TO SUNNY FLORIDA (EPIC) On her artful DVD debut, Tori Amos proves why she is one of the most riveting touring acts today. Perched behind, well, more like straddling her trademark Bosendorfer grand piano and a set of keyboards, Amos and her crack band featuring bassist Jon Evans and drummer extraordinaire Matt Chamberlain deliver a furious two-hour performance that captures the trio at the end of nearly a year on the road.
The live concert, shot in West Palm Beach on exquisite digital video, features stirring renditions of tunes from throughout Amos' career, including an extended, trip-hop version of her hit Crucify and an unbridled Professional Widow, with Amos hammering out power chords on her grand piano.
Amos pummels the keys and deftly changes pace on more wistful songs such as Your Cloud, with its misty, pastel-colored musings.
The DVD also features interviews backstage with Amos and, in a most entertaining segment, a chat with her mother and father in the dressing room. Amos' parents are, of course, her biggest fans.
The DVD package includes a six-song EP of outtakes from Amos' latest album Scarlet's Walk, including the frenetic Tombigbee and the glorious Apollo's Frock with its undulating piano. A
