Hey there, it’s been a while. My last post was at the end of 2021, and that year, it was the only one. It’s been a weird couple of years, and life has taken many turns, keeping me distracted, and away from doing more of this. Part of it has also been that, to be perfectly honest, music discovery just isn’t the same anymore, not to mention: music just isn’t as good as it used to be.
Streaming, with all its advantages and conveniences, has taken away from the process involved in learning about music, listening to music and getting to know music. And for me, that was a huge part of my love for music. So, in an effort to get back to writing about music, I’ve decided to go backwards. To relive the songs/albums that made me fall in love with music in the first place.
Many of the reasons we get attached to a specific song, is because they’re attached to a specific memory, specific time in life and a specific feeling. So I’m going to turn the dial back; let’s see how this goes.
First up:
“Ironic” by Alanis Morissette (from Jagged Little Pill, 1996)
Every time I hear “Ironic,” I think about this class.
I was in grade 10 and we had this new English teacher, Mr. M. was newer to the game than most of the other teachers in the school; he was eager, hopeful, and ready to make a difference. He was the “cool teacher.” He loved basketball, was up to date on the music scene, and always challenged us to think outside the box.
I was a very colour-inside-the-lines type of person. Follow the rules, take the straight path, don’t go astray. But Mr. M. flipped all of that upside down. Grades didn’t matter as much to him, his teaching style was more conversational than structured, encouraging us at every turn to broaden our horizons.
If I had to pinpoint one time where I can say my sense of creativity and imagination was unlocked, it was in this English class. Now, I’m not saying I knew that that’s what was happening at the time, or that I would one day become someone who sought out creativity at every possible moment. But this class made me think differently.
We were learning about irony (probably a theme in some book we were reading,) and what it actually meant, and this teacher started talking about Alanis’ “Ironic,” which by this time, every single person on Earth had heard. He was quick to point out that no lyric in her song was actually ironic. The situations she sang about were just “bummers” or crappy situations; that’s all.
Our minds were blown. How could a song titled “Ironic” not be ironic at all? Why would Alanis lie? This information was unsettling and shocking and we mumbled and muttered about it for a few minutes, until Mr. M. explained further, and cleared things up.
Every time I hear “Ironic,” I think about this class.
Me vs. the Music 