Alanis Morissette’s current album has sold more
than 30 million copies worldwide. A measure of her success
here, well a few months back she played to an indoor
Auckland sports stadium. Tonight she sold out the
10,000+ Supertop on the last gig of an 18 month tour.
Q - The Mona Lisa’s got nothing on Alanis Morissette. An
egmatic stupesize (don’t have a clue how to spell this
or what it means) a word for this architect the pop music
mindscapes.
A - I don’t listen to anyone’s opinions about my songs
really. I um...particularly when I’m creating them if I...
you know when I was younger I actually wanted constructive
criticism and I thought that it would help me out and it
didn’t. I think art is such a personal thing and everyone
is so individual that how could I possibly tell you or
anyone how to create something or paint something. Its
like someone painting something and saying, You know you
should use more yellow but you didn’t feel like using
yellow. That’s how I see it.
Q - I mean do you like being out at the moment?
Does it feel good or does it not feel any different than
before?
A - Well it feels good. It definitely feels
different you know, my character and my personality is
tested and challenged almost daily. I think that has
helped me to have even more conviction about what I am
as a person.
Q - I’ve always thought that’s really important
to have, do you? or...
A - Yep and I think that unless, unless you are
in it you don’t realise how, how um.. important it is. I
mean unless you are deprived of your privacy, you don’t know
how important it is. It’s like most things anyway but um,
that’s definitely a part of it, you know and the other part
of it is that when you are in the position that I’m in or
anyone else is when they’re in the public eye and they’re
creating things and communicating it. It’s just a lot of
energy. A lot of energy output. I give to a lot of
people and...
Q - Maybe not the fame...moneys good to have.
A - Its definitely good to have. If you have um...
I think if you have the right view of it. I mean money
can give you freedom, money can give you um...piece of mind
and security knowing that if and when I were to have children
in 10 or however many years that, that I can do that.
I don’t know about being married. I don’t know if I’ll
ever get married. I might but I am definitely going to have
children. Definitely!
I think the whole concept of critics whether its
about music or movies or anything. I just, to this day still
don’t understand it. You know, commissioning someone to say
whether they hate or love something. I don’t know why people are
interested in hearing another person’s opinion.
I know what a good or a bad song is to me but I’ve
come to learn that just because I think a song is a great
one, doesn’t mean that anyone else will and vice versa.
I conflictly argue with my drummer on what we think
is good and bad music and we agree now and again but its only
once in a while! (laughs)
