Alanis Inspires Strong Fan Reactions

FOR THE RECORD: May 31, 1996 The sold-out Alanis Morissette concert at The Gorge will be held Saturday at 7 p.m. The date was wrong in a story Thursday in the IN Life section.

Let’s face it. What’s been said about Alanis Morissette has been said. And said. And said. And said.

By now, even if you don’t listen to her music, you know that she’s the queen of alternative rock, the second biggest act next to Hootie.

Morissette’s album, “Jagged Little Pill,” has sold more than 8 million copies in this country alone since it was released a year ago. And that same album has sparked the mega-hits “You Oughta Know,” “One Hand in My Pocket” and “Ironic.”

It’s also known that before Morissette became an international pop deity, she was the Canadian equivalent of Debbie Gibson or Tiffany.

Her face has been on magazine covers and MTV over and over again. She’s been probed hundreds of times in interviews. And she’s racked up four Grammys, including one for album of the year.

Even more, Morissette is the hottest ticket around. Her sold-out concert at the Gorge Amphitheater on Friday is no different.

As of last week, Jordan Apt of Coeur d’Alene was selling tickets in the classified ads, two of them and in the third row. But they’re not cheap; they’re going for a wallet-gouging $150 a pop. He’s had plenty of interest but no takers. “Nobody’s bought them yet,” he said with a chuckle.

What more can be said about this star that we don’t already know?

Rather than rehash her rise to stardom, we thought we’d journey into cyberspace to see if Alanis has made her mark there.

Not surprisingly, she has.

There are hundreds of Web sites on the Internet devoted to the singer. Some of them are full-fledged Alanis pages. Others just have brief mentions.

What’s hilarious is that more Web pages focus on the almighty pop diva Morissette (546) than the almighty pontiff Pope John Paul (363).

The majority of Morissette sites were built by fans, hence proving the vocalist really moves her audience. Building a Web site is a time-consuming, often complicated undertaking.

Many of the Web pages are what you’d expect from an over-enthusiastic fan: a few paragraphs gushing about the singer’s beauty, profound lyrical insights and her arresting vocals. There are lots of Alanis pictures, such as sexy Alanis flaunting her cleavage or angry Alanis snarling into a microphone.

Some fans go so far as to say that they dream about her every night, and if there was a religion based on the teachings of Morissette, they’d convert.

One page in particular, Pete Sitko’s Alanis Page (http://www.geekweb.com/prsitko/), is pretty good. It’s also a fan page. But instead of salivating at the altar of Alanis, this site strives to cover all scopes of Canada’s pride and joy. It’s both informative and aesthetically pleasing.

Here, you can download sound bites and photos, access the singer’s complete discography, peruse several concert reviews from numerous publications and gain the latest scoop on the singer.

For example, we learned that Maverick (Morissette’s label) is releasing her next single “Head Over Feet” June 28. Further, she plans to record her next album in January. In addition, the mayor of Ottawa - Morissette’s old stomping grounds - proclaimed an Alanis Morissette Day. It’s March 8.

As you might expect, with Alanis Morissette crowding the music spotlight, some people voice their disgust toward the singer in cyberspace, like the disgruntled music fans behind the infamous People Against Alanis Morissette’s Music (PAAMM) page (http://www.islandnet.com/pholden/paamm/paamm.html).

This site puts the First Amendment to the test by spewing slanderous dialogue at the Canadian. In the page’s introduction, the site doesn’t waste any time bashing the multi-platinum artist and her fans.

“Her voice sounds like Pee-wee Herman on steroids, or for an alternative thought, a cat stuck in a blender. Her lyrics are about as insightful as the O.J. trial,” wrote a member of PAAMM.

It’s obvious that Morissette’s music is an emotional issue for those who leave messages on this page. Whether visitors were supporting Morissette or railing against her, the provocative writings are usually sprinkled with expletives.

Ironically, most cybersurfers who dropped in were loyal Alanis fans, like A.A.A. (Anonymous Alanis Admirer).

The page angered Amanda Kysowski of Denver who wrote: “You can insult Alanis’ music, but please don’t insult her. You’ve never even met her. And you have no right to insult people who like her music.”

Any way you look at it, Alanis Morissette is synonymous with alternative rock. To her fans she encompasses everything brilliant about the genre. She’s more than a one-hit wonder; she writes music that millions connect to. Thus, she’s the angry voice of their anxious generation.

, DataTimes ILLUSTRATION: Color Photo

MEMO: This sidebar appeared with the story: Concert Alanis Morissette and Imperial Drag will perform at the Gorge Amphitheater on Friday at 7 p.m. Tickets are sold out.