Alanis Morrissette :greatest female artist of our generation?

[justincrowe]

she's great! 

i have every cd she ever put out, including the albums before Jagged.

my favourites are Under Rug Swept and Feast On Scraps from 2002... i feel she peaked with those releases.

favourite songs at the moment:

The Time Of Your Life (from Now Is The Time)
Precious Illusions (from Under Rug Swept)
Crazy (from The Collection)

[Backslash]

Alanis was even on You Can't Do That On Television.  How many people can boast being on there and still be successful?

[DeN]

Bjork is the greatest, without any doubt.

[lennonisgod]

Alanis was even on You Can't Do That On Television.  How many people can boast being on there and still be successful?

Haha, I forgot about that.  I wonder how many people actually remember that show??  That was on when I was a kid so I remember it pretty well.

Anyway, I do like Alanis and saw her live a couple of years ago with my girlfriend and she played a solo acoustic show and she was great.  But I don't think she is the greatest of this generation.  I don't think she can compare to Jewel in almost every aspect.  Jewel is one of the best performers I have ever seen live and I have seen hundreds of shows and don't listen to that type of music too much at all.  I met Jewel after a solo acoustic performance she put on, which by the way was unbelievable, and she was the sweetest and one of the hottest chicks I have ever met in person.  Compare Jewel's first album with Alanis's... both great, great albums.  Jewel has the voice, the songwriting (which is just as good as any female artist EVER) and she can even fucking yodel (Which is really fucking cool if anyone here has witnessed it).  Bob Dylan is a fan of hers and they toured together a few years back and she's performed with Neil Young as well.  Hey, and the Replacements 'Let it Be' album is one of her favorites of all-time.

Jewel in my opinion is as good as it gets when it comes to female artists.  Alanis is up there with her but I just don't think is as good as Jewel.  I saw Jewel this summer with a full band and about 20,000 people watching, and she fucking rocked the house.  Unless you have heard the music then don't even make an opinion.  Go check out 'Pieces of Me' and then tell me there is anyone better.  Janis Joplin and Jewel are my two favorite female musicians of all time but Janis was never a strong songwriter, so I have to give the top spot to Jewel. 

Good thread though D... Alanis does deserve a lot of recognition because she is one hell of a talent.  One of my buddies saw her a few years back and this guy is Mr. Rock N' Roll and is so picky with what he listens too and is the type of guy that thinks he "Isn't being a man" if he listens to female artists, but he said it was one of the best concerts he has ever seen anyone put on.  I'm sure there are a lot of guys here that feel the same way, whether they admit it or not.  Me though, I don't give a fuck if the music is coming from a male or a female, if it's good then it's good.  You're just being a fucking pussy if you feel any other way.



Here's a cool fact I just found:

"When Jewel was 20 she fulfilled a dream she had when she was 18 by opening up for Bob Dylan. Bob Dylan, who never watches nor meets his opening acts, watched her performance and asked her to meet him!"

[D]

Jewel is great, but I dont think she has had the same consistency as Alanis.


Their first albums were both enormous and amazing, But look at the albums afterwards and I think Jewel's quality kind of diminished somewhat whereas Alanis' Supposed Former Infatuation Junkie and Under Rug Swept were great albums as well as her newest album that has the incredible song "everything"


What was Jewel thinking on that Pop album she did?


Song wise though it is hard to choose.

I mean uare right, not much beats You Were Meant for Me and Foolish Games. Those songs are just absolutely heartbreaking.


However judging entire bodies of work I personally give the nod to Alanis.

but I cant argue with those who say Jewel, She is a great choice as well.

[Bill 213]

I feel the same way about everything after JLP by Alanis.  To me it's only been hit and miss with the majority of it being bland in comparison.  Jewel's first album was amazing, then everything else just blew.  Jewel has something really special on Pieces of Me, but when the industry tuned in and said whoa we can do sooooo much more, they truly killed her.

[Mikkamakka]

not even in the league of tori amos if you ask me.

Agreed. Tori's the best. Period.

[D]

I agree Bill

When Jewel just used her guitar and sang she was amazing.

the record label added drums and session musicians and changed what made her so appealing in the first place.

[pilferk]

I realize I'll get shit for this but...the greatest female artist of our generation is:

Madonna.

It's not even close.  I'll admit....I'm not a HUGE fan of her music (especially the dance/techno type stuff), but...

You can't argue with hard numbers.  Alanis's one album did very, very well (the best, ever, right?), but Madonna has sold more albums than any other female, ever (Guiness book of world records).  In '05, Warner said she'd sold over 200 million albums. She's the highest earning female artist of all time (Guiness book of world records).  Her Confessions tour was, according to Billboard, the most successful/profitable tour by a female artist of all time.

I can see the arguments against her, artistically (ie: her music not being your cup of tea) but any way you slice it...she's the greatest female artist (from a music standpoint) of our generation, and maybe of all time.

[lennonisgod]

I agree Bill

When Jewel just used her guitar and sang she was amazing.

the record label added drums and session musicians and changed what made her so appealing in the first place.

My sister saw Jewel at a huge festival before anyone knew who she was and I guess Jewel came out with just her guitar and was so fucking nervous but gave one of the best perfomances of the night.  Nobody knew who she was but I guarantee that when those people first heard her voice, it's something they will never soon forget.

The pop album D??  I don't know what she was thinking but if you've ever had the chance to listen to the whole thing, it's not too bad.  She pulled it off.  Her new album is amazing and is worth checking out.  I think AMG gave it a 4.5 out of 5 stars which was her best since the debut. 

Someone mentioned Tori Amos as well... I like Tori Amos a lot.  She has some balls (not literally speaking of course)  and her lyrics prove that.  I have a ton of live shows from Tori and my collection of bootlegs from her is larger than any other female artist that I have.  She always does some interesting cover songs during her shows, from 'Bonnie and Clyde '97' (I think that's the song name) by Eminem to 'Don't Look Back in Anger by Oasis'.  Her version of Bonnie and Clyde is almost creepy to hear.

But back on topic to Alanis, she is great.  D, your opinion of her being the greatest female artist of this generation isn't even really arguable.  She may very well be and that opinion is a respectable one.  It's not like you're saying that, "Mandy Moore is the greatest female artist of this generation" or something completely fucking crazy.  Sheryl Crow is another one that I think deserves some respect.  She is a pretty talented songwriter herself.  Any chick that plays guitar or piano and writes their own music gets at least some respect from me.  Even if their music is terrible, at least they are being themselves and being creative.  I tend to not like artists that have ALL of their songs written for them.  Alanis, Jewel, Sheryl Crow and Tori Amos are 4 of the best artists out there today (talentwise), PERIOD.  Male or female.  There aren't very many male singer\songwriters out there today that can compete with those ladies.  Their lyrics and melodies are some of the best to ever be written by anyone.  I don't even listen to that type of music that much at all but I can give credit where credit is due.  And those 4 deserve a lot of credit and get the utmost respect from me anyway.

[D]

Madonna is the greatest female POP Star. I dont know about artist. Her lyrics arent very deep and she is more of an entertainer than an artist in my opinion.

Thing about Alanis, she has the artistic and Commercial success that not many can match.

I agree with Sheryl Crow being up there also, She has a song called "The Difficult Kind" I think is the title and it is one of the most amazing songs I have ever heard.

[lennonisgod]

Madonna is the greatest female POP Star. I dont know about artist. Her lyrics arent very deep and she is more of an entertainer than an artist in my opinion.

Thing about Alanis, she has the artistic and Commercial success that not many can match.

I agree with Sheryl Crow being up there also, She has a song called "The Difficult Kind" I think is the title and it is one of the most amazing songs I have ever heard.

Sheryl Crow has a really cool song that I think was used in one of the James Bond films.  I can't remember what it's called but it's a pretty fucking kick ass song.  Look it up if you get time and give it a listen.  It's actually a pretty 'dark' song, especially for her.

[Mama Kin]

She's one of the only female artists I like. I have most of her CDs, JLP is by far the best......

[Skeba]

Alanis Morissette the Greatest? Can't agree with that.

I like her albums a lot, and have about 5 of them.

But as far as success goes, no one can beat Madonna, and as far as good music goes, I prefer Tori.

But she is excellent, and I listen to her very often. No doubt about it.

[D]

I for some reason have never gotten into Tori Amos.....................

I heard  a few songs but I didnt connect like I do with Alanis,Jewel and Sheryl Crow.

[lennonisgod]

I for some reason have never gotten into Tori Amos.....................

I heard  a few songs but I didnt connect like I do with Alanis,Jewel and Sheryl Crow.

I listened to the new Alanis album 'The Collection' all day in the car yesterday and it's a nice little set of some of her best songs.  I hadn't heard some of those songs for a couple of years and she definitely kicks some ass.  Plus, she can fuckin' rock out with the best of 'em when she wants too.

[Mikkamakka]

Alanis or Tori? Tori released A Piano: The Collection 5 CD-set some months ago.

[lennonisgod]

Alanis or Tori? Tori released A Piano: The Collection 5 CD-set some months ago.

Is that a question you're asking me??  If it is, I said Alanis in my post.  If not, then I don't understand your point.

[tippasaurus]

I don't know what would qualify as the 'greatest of our generation' but i'm diggin' Nellie McKay right now!  she's has a little bit of Axl in her...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YJZY-Czcp2E

 

[D]

Pretty good Tippasaurus

To me she sounds kind of like a Fiona Apple Clone


I think to be best of a generation, no offense but people have had to hear of u.


Axl? Where do u see that?