You see, in 1995, Alanis created a widely popular album Jagged Little Pill. In the grunge era that was the 90's this album made sense. It was an era of teenage anger and a desire to be different, to not conform. Furthermore, Alanis was a woman. This angry chick rocker bolstered the imagination of teenage girls (and guys) all across America. Her feminine voice was able to turn heart felt resentment and pain into a melody that spoke well beyond the words and into the soul. Her topics of betrayal, adultery, and drugs, albeit dark, were ever present in teenagers since long before the 90's. Her generation of musicians simply brought them to the forefront and made them relevant. So in some ways her song You Oughta Know became the anthem for teenage (and adult) heartache. Likewise, Ironic became the melody of satire for the 90's, a time when the economy was booming, unemployment was going down, drugs and divorce were on the rise. She was was right, isn't it ironic.
During 1995 and 1996, her popularity ballooned. She was constantly on the road performing, going on talk shows, signing autographs, and still writing more music. What nobody until afterward was how unfulfilled she was. (Ironic should be playing in your head) She became a household name, her wealth was growing exponentially, but yet she felt dissatisfied. So in 1997, after she became wildly popular, she disappeared. Everyone was waiting to see what hit song she would wright next, what anthem would she create to speak to a generation. This caused a greta deal of fear in her, for she was held to such a high esteem that to not release a hit signified something less in her. Put another way, her self-worth and worth from others was directly related to how well she made music. So in her fear, bewilderment, and disillusionment, she went to India.
Her time in India was not unlike Malcolm X's trip to Mecca in 1964. Alanis was soul searching, and experiencing the world very much different than was she had been through in the last two years. Because of the stress she was under by her producer, manager, and even fans, she became very ill. She witnessed the class system that remains in India and the poverty that is prevalent in some parts. All of this bent the world she thought she knew into the reality that it really is. The outcome? The experimental song Thank-You.
Unlike her angry grunge music before, she wrote a song of thanks. The lyrics to this song are rich enough to deserve their own blog post, but even then it would cheapen the song that it is. You will have to listen to it for yourself. And I don't know if she "found" the Christian God or not, but I do believe she found real purpose, real worth and value in herself--she experienced a kind of resurrection.
You may remember Joseph in the Old testament. He was the most loved of his siblings, to the point that his father made him a coat of many colors, a fact for which the rest of his brothers hated him. Anyway, as the story goes on, they threw him in a pit, told their father he was killed, and sold him into slavery. While in Egyptian slavery, he was framed, thrown in jail, and literally at the lowest point in his life. If anyone had a reason to be discouraged, disillusioned, thankless, and desiring vengeance, it would be Joseph. But he didn't, he clung to God despite his position, and in the end experienced a kind of resurrection as well. He became the number 2 man in Egypt who organized a Co-Op in order to have enough food for the impending famine that was coming in the land. Guess who he got to save because he didn't give into resentment and anger? His own brothers. (The story is long but good, go read it in Genesis).
Both of these stories, one ancient and one modern, offer examples of what resurrection looks like. It is more than a term to describe eternal life after death, for far too many of us are dying while we yet live. Jesus came to offer life abundantly, not to wait until there is no more air in our lungs. Resurrection is a bit like a Jack-O-Lantern. In order to have the cool effect of shapes carved into Fall harvest produce, first you must clean it out. You must clean out the icky, gooey mess that would prevent the light from coming out of it. For you, maybe it is resentment, frustration with where your life has been, dissatisfied with your family or work, unhappy with your church or community, maybe you are simply jealous of others around you. The truth is, we all have junk inside us that prevent us from being who we really can be. Thank-You is my favorite Alanis song. Without her willingness to self-reflect on the stuff in her life and the stuff that built up while she was becoming so successful, that song may never have been written, and the world would be a less place for it. So, too unless you are able to let go of the crap that holds you back, the world is less because of it.
So as we approach this Lenten season, may it be for you a time of soul cleaning, of restoration, and of resurrection. The world needs more pumpkins who let their light shine brilliantly, because in some ways, the more you let your light shine, the more you give permission for others to do the same.
During 1995 and 1996, her popularity ballooned. She was constantly on the road performing, going on talk shows, signing autographs, and still writing more music. What nobody until afterward was how unfulfilled she was. (Ironic should be playing in your head) She became a household name, her wealth was growing exponentially, but yet she felt dissatisfied. So in 1997, after she became wildly popular, she disappeared. Everyone was waiting to see what hit song she would wright next, what anthem would she create to speak to a generation. This caused a greta deal of fear in her, for she was held to such a high esteem that to not release a hit signified something less in her. Put another way, her self-worth and worth from others was directly related to how well she made music. So in her fear, bewilderment, and disillusionment, she went to India.
Her time in India was not unlike Malcolm X's trip to Mecca in 1964. Alanis was soul searching, and experiencing the world very much different than was she had been through in the last two years. Because of the stress she was under by her producer, manager, and even fans, she became very ill. She witnessed the class system that remains in India and the poverty that is prevalent in some parts. All of this bent the world she thought she knew into the reality that it really is. The outcome? The experimental song Thank-You.
Unlike her angry grunge music before, she wrote a song of thanks. The lyrics to this song are rich enough to deserve their own blog post, but even then it would cheapen the song that it is. You will have to listen to it for yourself. And I don't know if she "found" the Christian God or not, but I do believe she found real purpose, real worth and value in herself--she experienced a kind of resurrection.
You may remember Joseph in the Old testament. He was the most loved of his siblings, to the point that his father made him a coat of many colors, a fact for which the rest of his brothers hated him. Anyway, as the story goes on, they threw him in a pit, told their father he was killed, and sold him into slavery. While in Egyptian slavery, he was framed, thrown in jail, and literally at the lowest point in his life. If anyone had a reason to be discouraged, disillusioned, thankless, and desiring vengeance, it would be Joseph. But he didn't, he clung to God despite his position, and in the end experienced a kind of resurrection as well. He became the number 2 man in Egypt who organized a Co-Op in order to have enough food for the impending famine that was coming in the land. Guess who he got to save because he didn't give into resentment and anger? His own brothers. (The story is long but good, go read it in Genesis).
Both of these stories, one ancient and one modern, offer examples of what resurrection looks like. It is more than a term to describe eternal life after death, for far too many of us are dying while we yet live. Jesus came to offer life abundantly, not to wait until there is no more air in our lungs. Resurrection is a bit like a Jack-O-Lantern. In order to have the cool effect of shapes carved into Fall harvest produce, first you must clean it out. You must clean out the icky, gooey mess that would prevent the light from coming out of it. For you, maybe it is resentment, frustration with where your life has been, dissatisfied with your family or work, unhappy with your church or community, maybe you are simply jealous of others around you. The truth is, we all have junk inside us that prevent us from being who we really can be. Thank-You is my favorite Alanis song. Without her willingness to self-reflect on the stuff in her life and the stuff that built up while she was becoming so successful, that song may never have been written, and the world would be a less place for it. So, too unless you are able to let go of the crap that holds you back, the world is less because of it.
So as we approach this Lenten season, may it be for you a time of soul cleaning, of restoration, and of resurrection. The world needs more pumpkins who let their light shine brilliantly, because in some ways, the more you let your light shine, the more you give permission for others to do the same.
