Alanis Morissette

Alanis Morissette proves "hell hath no fury like a woman scorned." Her purging of emotions struck a chord with millions of listeners, all of whom snapped up Jagged Little Pill in droves. Burned and bitter, Morissette's scathing rants are shaped by producer/craftsman Glen Ballard, who forged songs such as "You Oughta Know" and "Ironic" into bonafide anthems.

I was down with the Riot Grrrl Appreciation Society on this reluctant refugee from Canadian children's television, who some say was invented by Madonna herself so she could distract the publicity machine while raising her own biological girl. That is, I approved when she played the pissed-off spikehead and recoiled from such candid self-dramatizations as "Perfect" and "Mary Jane." But with help from six or seven arrantly effective songs, she's happy to help 15 million girls of many ages stick a basic feminist truth in our faces: privileged phonies have identity problems too. Not to mention man problems. (Grade - B+)