Q&A: Alanis Morissette

Alanis Morissette has been a relationship deal-breaker since 1995, when her “Jagged Little Pill” album drew a line in the sheets between the sexes. Some saw Morissette as empowering, some as threatening. Others were just annoyed by the histrionic singing and over-played lyrics.

The album remains the third best-selling in history by a female artist, and Morissette has followed it with four others, including the new “Flavors of Entanglement.” She’s on tour to promote the album and performs next Tuesday at the Louisville Palace.

Morissette talked about her music and new songs during a conference call interview with journalists.

Because “Jagged Little Pill” was such a huge success, do you still feel the pressure to exceed the success of that album?

I think when I was writing “Supposed Former Infatuation Junkie” (her second album) I felt squeezed by that pressure, as I think would be predictable, really..… I don’t really feel it anymore because it’s fantastically impossible to reset that kind of precedent, so I really just continue to write what’s going on in my life, let each record be a snapshot of that time, not unlike a photograph of an era, and then I move on.

No matter what you’ve done since “You Oughta Know,” people consider you to be an angry person. Does that bother you?

Well, if I’m going to be one-dimensionalized, it’s an honor to be considered angry because anger has been swept under the carpet so much with regards to women that it’s flattering. But the whole concept of being one-dimensionalized in general is a funny concept, because I think also when people.….can encapsulate someone in a sentence, they feel calmed by it somehow..….But to the extent that people want one word or one moniker, I’ll take it. I’ll take whatever one you want to throw my way. It’s a projection, anyway.

What kinds of music, if any, inspires you in your own writing?

I’m a sucker for the autobiographical storytelling. I’m a sucker for someone just laying their heart and soul bare in their own unique and inimitable way. So all kinds of artists, Sarah Slean, Jason Falkner, Alexi Murdoch, who’s going to be playing with me before my show.….and I couldn’t be more excited.

The new album has a different sound compared to your old songs. Was that intentional or did it just kind of happen?

To be objective, I think that (producer) Guy Sigsworth brought a very technological aspect to the soundscape of this record, so he’s directly responsible for that. I’ve always loved hybridizing, whether it’s in the kitchen in food or design in my house or music, I love taking all the different genres of music that I love and squishing them into one moment as best as I can without creating a train wreck, although those are fun, too.

What responsibility, if any, do you feel to those people involved in those emotions and relationships that you write about, especially with your high-profile relationships?

Well, I’ve never talked about who my songs were about and I won’t because when I write them they’re written for the sake of personal expression. I’ve had many people over the years say to me before I write a record that they absolutely give me their blessing to write about whatever I feel, because they know that no matter how personal I get about my personal journey that I will always respect their privacy.

I won’t be giving people’s e-mail addresses and phone numbers and seeking what people might construe as revenge on these people. That’s just not going to happen. It’s not my style. It’s my style in art, but it’s not my style in my day-to-day life. So with all due respect to whomever may see themselves in my songs, and it happens all the time, I never really comment on it because I write these songs for myself. I don’t write them for other people.