Last year, The Tortured Poets Department—which Swift quickly took to calling "Female Rage: The Musical." In truth, that crowning honor was already taken 30 years ago with the rise of Alanis Morissette and her 1995 grunge-pop powerhouse LP Jagged Little Pill. Morissette and producer Glen Ballard tap into the greater spectrum of the emotional psyche here with depth, nuance, and catharsis. There's anger, vulnerability, the struggle to maintain identity amid society's lofty and often unfair expectations, and still being able to find brighter moments of optimism with flashes of humor in the darkest of dark times.

Jagged Little Pill is a critical slice of life from a female perspective, unflinching warts and all. And as we celebrate this album's 30th anniversary this year, it serves as a reminder that Jagged Little Pill hasn't lost an ounce of its verocity, intensity, or intention across the span of three decades. And in a world that still reflects many of the same ups and downs, Morissette is the type of tortured poet we need to keep listening to.

12 Not The Doctor

Track 11 - 3:48

While "Not the Doctor" doesn't quite hit with the best of the introspective tracks on Jagged Little Pill, that's more to do with the sheer strength of the mid-tempo songs on this album than any failings of "Not the Doctor." This foot-tapper works well with Morissette's bitingly direct, characteristic lyrics that feature regularly on Jagged Little Pill.

In this case, she's telling the subject of a relationship in her life that she won't be their other half, and she won't be around to fix all the wounds they need mending. She's done all she can, and she's backing out of what feels like this irreparable story to choose her own mental health and wellness.

11 Wake Up

Track 12 - 4:54

"Wake Up" feels like a continuation of "Not the Doctor" and the weariness of Morissette having to deal with an apathetic partner who won't grow up and become the person she needs them to be. On the one hand, "Wake Up" feels like an appeal to this person to finally straighten up and get over their childish ways, but on the other, it seems like an appeal to Morissette herself to break the cycle and get out of a situation that isn't serving her.

"Wake Up" doesn't make for the mightiest-sounding closing song, but in a way, it's the glue that holds Jagged Little Pill together and brings closure to the album's narrative. It feels like the acceptance in Morissette's stages of grief and emotions so visibly present on this album, and that it's now time for her to wake up, take control, and move forward.

Ironic

Track 10 - 3:50

One of the more popular pop-grunge-leaning hit songs of the '90s has to be "Ironic," which certainly helped Morissette become a household name but has suffered a bit from heavily persistent Top 40 radio play over the last three decades. Since its debut, the lyrics to "Ironic" have also kicked off a debate about whether the mentioned situations were indeed ironic, which in an odd way only adds to the tongue-in-cheek appeal of the song.

The lighter, slightly winking appeal of "Ironic" gives Jagged Little Pill a bit of a breather from how heavy and raw some sections of the tracklist can be. It also serves as a reminder that Morissette had plenty of wit when it came to listening to her writing pen at work.

10 Head Over Feet

Track 8 - 4:27

With the harmonica-accented "Head Over Feet," it feels like some of the explorations of a relationship found in "Wake Up" or "Not the Doctor," but with more of the sweetness and appreciation of the healthy aspects of companionship rather than the needy grab of a couple coming apart at the seams. But of course, this is only a perspective from one angle.

What if our narrator is feeling that early burst of love and affection from the thrilling waves of connection, only to be left feeling cold on the rough sand once the tide rolls out over time? Is this a better situation or just the initial humming of feel-good hormones? "Head Over Feet" leaves it up to the listener to interpret.

9 You Learn

Track 7 - 4:00

The gentle grooving pulse of "You Learn" might just be the most even-tempered bit of philosophy on Jagged Little Pill. Morissette plays the calm sage here, basically saying to go out and take chances in the exploration of the twists and turns of life. Head out and try, even if you might end up getting burned, because you'll still learn from it in the end.

And that's a valuable lesson to teach—that there may be anxiety, worry, and jagged little pills along the way, but that's okay because the experience is worth it. You might just find that from pain, can come some of the greatest pleasures existence has to offer.

8 All I Really Want

Track 1 - 4:45

"All I Really Want" is a great intro track that really perfectly sets the table and opens up the stage for the playing field of Jagged Little Pill. As you listen to the song, you quickly begin to sense that this is the summer of Morissette's discontent. She's dissatisfied with what's around her, right down to the self-deprecating details of what she sees in the mirror. And she isn't going to let it go without saying something.

There's this rising sense of grungy, growling, growing sense of fury at the status quo and what it isn't offering to Morissette. "All I Really Want" made for a perfect companion to the era when grunge was at its peak; the mood of go-nowhere is in the air, and it took this young woman to come along to shake and rattle the cage of the usual. This was Morissette's moment, and looking at it 30 years onward, there was no way she was going to miss it.

7 Hand In My Pocket

Track 4 - 3:42

"Hand In My Pocket" almost feels as though it's echoing or complementing "You Learn" with themes of self-acceptance and being satisfied with your situational hand of cards, even if certain aspects surrounding you might not be up to the standards that society dictates. But unlike "You Learn," there is a discernible undercurrent to "Hand In My Pocket," where it feels like the narrator might just be living on the edge of a cliff.

The song's beat and lyrics hint at a bottled-up tension that's barely being held back. By the time Jagged Little Pill concludes, there's a sense of catharsis, and the acceptance at the end is a true release, not just setting up a false pretense or emotional expectation with potential destruction swimming down beneath.

6 Mary Jane

Track 9 - 4:41

That sense of a false mask of emotion in "Hand In My Pocket" is even more achingly present on "Mary Jane." Morissette is gracefully skilled as she writes of a woman who gives her all to help others, even as she's getting thinner and more sad and seems to be losing her hope. As though all "Mary Jane" gives is only leading to her slowly assured destruction.

But there's also the implication of hope, as Morissette's narrator can see behind this shield, and wants "Mary Jane" to be honest and real, and to not censor her tears. The song's heartbeat swing has such a loving tenderness in its second half, with Morissette's aching croon conveying the feeling so well of a deep and truthful care for this person's wellbeing. This is no construct; this is getting to the heart of the matter.

5 Right Through You

Track 5 - 2:56

On "Right Through You," Morissette offers a razor-sharp critique of the music industry, based on her early experiences. In this song, she's treated cheaply, objectified, and stepped all over as her dreams and aspirations are simply pushed aside.

But with gusto to make the rebellious gods of grunge rock proud, she keeps fighting and fights back against the good old boys' club with a righteous sneer. By the end, she's gotten her revenge and her ammunition to see things clearly as they are; she doesn't need to conform to the system, and she can do this all on her own because she's already made it. These naysayers don't get to stand in her way anymore.

4 Forgiven

Track 6 - 5:00

Backed by plucked acoustic guitar and the sandpaper rough drive of an electric six-string, "Forgiven" has the perfect instrumentation to break apart and break into the two-sided coin of emotions Morissette is writing about here after having been a part of the Catholic Church in her youth. There's partially the acoustic feeling of this innocence and belief of a child wanting to accept and believe the positive role the church was supposed to be having in her life; the electric side is the anger and the demand of, why wasn't it that?

While everyone's experience with religion can certainly differ, "Forgiven" has a deep, raw, and evident pain to it, as Morissette seems to feel the weight of what the church expected her to be, do, and feel as a young woman without any love in return or ability to question. It puts the listener in the driver's seat of seeing through Morissette's eyes what her experience was and how it shaped her worldview.

3 Your House (Hidden Track)

Track 13 - 3:00

Hidden at the end of Jagged Little Pill after a remix of "You Oughta Know," "Your House" is followed the tradition of hiding a song at the end of the record. It not only made for a fun surprise for fans who let the final track play out, but at times was an excellent track buried away like a gold nugget.

That's certainly the case with "Your House," which differs in energy from the rest of Jagged Little Pill but deserves a spotlight for itself based on Morissette's gorgeous a cappella. The lyrics are a wrenching narrative of a woman who goes to the house of a man she's seeing without permission just to be part of his world, but is broken to find a love letter from someone else.