Alanis Morissette: Less is more
By Donna Freydkin
Reporting for CNN Interactive
(CNN) -- Alanis Morissette has just
arrived in Phoenix, Arizona, the victim of
that bane of weary business travelers the
world over: the delayed flight. She is
serene and cheerful, funny and reflective.
At 25, she is also one of the most
famous singers in the world, a woman
whose 1995 release "Jagged Little Pill"
became the top-selling debut album of all
time.
A self-described overachiever, Morissette is a Canadian-born former child
star who licked the teenybopper stigma of her early sugarcoated pop music
to become something of a mouthpiece for scorned women the world over.
Yes, of course we're talking about her scathing, irate single "You Oughta
Know," which lashed out at a boyfriend who should have known better than
to mess with her.
It was "You Oughta Know" that catapulted Morissette's album to the top of
the charts. In the United States alone, it sold more than 16 million copies. So
Morissette hit the road like a trooper and toured, toured, toured. She picked
up four Grammy Awards. But the success and ensuing hoopla didn't make
Morissette happy. It didn't satisfy her hunger for contentment and serenity.
So Morissette withdrew. She journeyed to India and Cuba, where she ate a
lot of beans and rice. She reconnected with friends and family. And in late
1998, she released "Supposed Former Infatuation Junkie," a thoughtful
album that lets Morissette vent not about wayward boyfriends or things that
are ironic, but about self-image, ambition, weight loss, overwork and feelings
of worthlessness.
'No expectations' for
'Jagged Little Pill'
Today, the singer is about to make her
big-screen debut in Kevin Smith's
controversial comedy "Dogma," in which
she plays God. So she took some time in
Arizona to talk about the price of
success, making movies and finally being
able to afford macaroni and cheese.
Q: Talk about the time leading up to
"Jagged Little Pill."
Morissette: When I was writing that record, I didn't have a record deal. I
had just moved away from Canada, where I had released other records. By
moving to Los Angeles, I felt I was really being given an opportunity to
express who I was. I was pretty insulated and isolated, so when I was
writing it, I was thinking of anything except of the pure bliss that was coming
from my writing my truth in that kind of way, a way I never had before.
I had no expectations for it, although I did envision going on tour.
Q: And, of course, there's "You Oughta Know."
Morissette: It was exciting to not have to apologize for parts of myself.
And definitely, there were moments when my motivation for writing the song
was misinterpreted. Again, I wasn't overly invested in it being understood. I
just needed to get it out.
Q: Did the enormous success of your debut scare you?
Morissette: No, I wasn't scared. Surprised, at first, and then OK and fine
with it. Definitely an adjustment lifestyle-wise, though. I found that I wasn't
able to look people in the eye the way I used to be able to, just walking
down the street without there having to be the recognition factor.
And I definitely had to adjust to people having preconceived notions about
myself that may or may not be in keeping with who I was. And adjusting
financially -- it was a huge adjustment to go from not being able to buy
macaroni and cheese to being able to buy a few boxes and not have to
worry about it.
Q: What was your biggest luxury early on?
Morissette: Buying my house. It was pretty beautiful. I just felt that being a
homeowner was such an adult thing to do. I guess I was 20 or 21, I felt
really young doing it.
Q: What influenced you on "Supposed Former Infatuation Junkie"? It's
definitely quieter, more contemplative.
Morissette: I was writing about the kinds of things I was questioning or
musing about at the time, which was a little more than a year ago. To me,
records are like snapshots -- they're different periods of time in my life. I see
myself doing this forever. For my lifetime, anyway.
Q: Was the pressure for the second album pretty intense?
Morissette: I suppose it could have been. I felt more of a pressure
time-wise. Everywhere I went, since 1995, everyone was asking me when
my next album would be out. But other than that, I really don't have any
expectations for anything I create. I'm particular about making sure that my
expression really represents who I am at the moment but beyond that, I
don't really have any.
Making film debut
Q: So that takes us right up to you playing God
in "Dogma."
Morissette: I really love being behind the
camera and I love directing. The acting is a
pretty unbelievable way to express yourself,
too.
Q: But when you're acting, you're speaking
words someone else has written. I know in
"Dogma" you don't have any lines, but would
that bother you in future movies?
Morissette: Well, in my case, I haven't actually
spoken any words yet! In my case, there would be two ways for me to do
this with any kind of passion. One, if there was a script written that I truly
loved and that excited me. Or, if I wrote something myself.
Q: You went to Cuba between albums. What was that like for you?
Morissette: Beautiful. I went to Cuba and loved that there was a pause
button of sorts that was pressed in the '50s there. Just hearing their take on
everything, politically and musically, their culinary experience -- it's really
inspiring and beautiful.
Q: You're 25 and one of the top-selling performers in the world. What does
success mean to you now?
Morissette: When I was younger, I definitely believed everything that was
being communicated to me through society and otherwise about fame. That
it would give me a sense of peace and power and fulfillment and all these
things I felt I was lacking.
And I came to realize, in a way that was wonderfully disillusioning, that that
wasn't the case. That if it gave me anything, it was truly fleeting and that if I
wanted to have any of these things, like inner peace, I would have to achieve
them within myself and not with fame. Once that was delved into, I felt that
fame was actually this really sweet opportunity to continue to express -- and
inspire or repulse people.
Q: Where do you see yourself in 20 years?
Morissette: How old would I be? That would make me 45. I think I will
have children. I will definitely live near the water, so I can water-ski. And,
um, I'll be creating and writing books and expressing all the time and getting
a huge kick out of having children, probably.