Top 287 Quotes & Sayings by Alanis Morissette

Explore popular quotes and sayings by a Canadian musician Alanis Morissette.
Last updated on September 17, 2024.
Alanis Morissette

Alanis Nadine Morissette is a Canadian-American singer, songwriter, and actress. Known for her emotive mezzo-soprano voice and confessional songwriting, Morissette began her career in Canada in the early 1990s with two highly successful dance-pop albums. In 1995, she released Jagged Little Pill, an alternative rock-oriented album with the elements of post-grunge, which sold more than 33 million copies globally and is her most critically acclaimed work to date. This earned her the Grammy Award for Album of the Year in 1996 and was made into a rock musical of the same name in 2017, which earned 15 Tony Award nominations including Best Musical. The album was also listed in the 2003 and 2020 editions of Rolling Stone's 500 Greatest Albums of All Time Guide. The lead single You Oughta Know was also included at #103 in their 500 Greatest Songs of All Time. Her highly anticipated, more experimental follow-up, electronic-infused album Supposed Former Infatuation Junkie, was released in 1998.

Courage and willingness to just go for it, whether it is a conversation or a spontaneous trip or trying new things that are scary - it is a really attractive quality.
My son was five months old, and I built a makeshift studio in my living room so that I could do the attachment parenting approach and write the record at the same time. That was fortuitous, that we could build that in the house.
Women are so powerful they're scary, and the incentive to squash this has been going on for so long that some of us actually believe we're subordinate. — © Alanis Morissette
Women are so powerful they're scary, and the incentive to squash this has been going on for so long that some of us actually believe we're subordinate.
I just feel compelled to continue to be transparent. It just really levels the playing field and eradicates the shame that I have, or that one might have, about being human. So I'm going to just keep going.
My greatest achievement is being able to write records that are real snapshots of what's going on in my life. I won't repeat myself for the sake of commerce, or to please other people.
The person who knows HOW will always have a job. The person who knows WHY will always be his boss.
I did commit to myself that I would not jump back into being the workaholic that I can be before I gave myself an honest opportunity to create the marriage of my dreams and to create the beginning of the family of my dreams, and that took a hot second.
I wish people could achieve what they think would bring them happiness in order for them to realize that that's not really what happiness is.
Infidelity is a deal breaker for me. I've broken up with people over it. You can't do monogamy 90 percent of the time.
The thing you can't underestimate is the true fan's intimacy. So Lady Gaga or anybody's true fan, I don't think they're going anywhere. There are people who are into commitment. If they're connecting with an artist, I think they'll be there over the long course.
When I was producing on my own, I was doing it in order to - in a very patriarchal entertainment industry, let alone planet - very much hell-bent on trying to prove to myself, if nothing else, that I could do it as a woman.
I want to walk through life instead of being dragged through it.
It's when someone has an agenda of their own for the record that it doesn't work for me. — © Alanis Morissette
It's when someone has an agenda of their own for the record that it doesn't work for me.
At some point, I would like to write a book and other things, but I work best when there is some sort of deadline in my own mind, but not when fifty people or fifty million people are breathing down the back of my neck.
As a teen, I was both anorexic and bulimic.
We're taught to be ashamed of confusion, anger, fear and sadness, and to me they're of equal value to happiness, excitement and inspiration.
I really do see that anywhere I am, whether it's doing interviews a hundred in a row, that every situation I'm in, I'm at choice in the matter.
I've been really enjoying writing articles and writing music and music for movies.
Typically, I would run away from conflict and write about it - that was easier than staying and dealing face-to-face with humans; that's terrifying for me.
You live, you learn.
I still indulge in a glass of wine or chocolate - treats are mandatory. Without deviating from the day-to-day healthy diet once in a while, it wouldn't be sustainable for me, and that's what I wanted: an approach to eating to last my entire life.
Do I appreciate the idea of jealousy, revenge and all these so-called dark qualities? Yes. Do I write these songs in order to engage in some public war with someone? No.
A good man often appears gauche simply because he does not take advantage of the myriad mean little chances of making himself look stylish. Preferring truth to form, he is not constantly at work upon the facade of his appearance.
I highly recommend getting older! There's less tendency to people-please.
We'll love you just the way you are if you're perfect.
Long hair is a security blanket for me. I cut it short a few years ago and I really never want to do that again. When I do cut it, I cut it myself.
I think it's irresponsible when celebrities imply they're doing it all themselves. My son has aunties and uncles around all the time, and my husband is my hero. He's really full-on. I couldn't do it any other way.
I see my body as an instrument, rather than an ornament.
I found that the more truthful and vulnerable I was, the more empowering it was for me.
My message to anyone who's afraid that they can't write music when they're happy is 'Just trust the passion.' The passion can write a lot of things.
Ageism works in both directions. As a teenager in the public eye, people would talk condescendingly to me. When you get older there's this feeling that you have to start carving up your face and body. Right now I'm in the middle ground - I think women in their thirties are taken seriously.
I have not an ounce of regret. Every link is so valuable in forming the chain that is my life. Who I am today is because of those links, and I wouldn't change any of them.
I'm excited about there being more of a sisterhood these days. Back in the '90s there was a lot of hate - the women I looked up to as artists were dissing me! It's not so patriarchal these days - there's more love and a lot less hate!
The ego is a fascinating monster.
I have a profound empathy for people who are in the public eye, whether they manifest it themselves or whether it happened by accident - it doesn't matter to me. I think there's a great misunderstanding of what it is to be famous.
The people that were invested in me staying the same way after a decade will most likely by default have to be disappointed.
I was born in '74, so I missed out on all the great early '60s and early '70s.
I know that I'm deeply, spiritually, profoundly philosophical and I also know that I'm about the flakiest person you're gonna meet. — © Alanis Morissette
I know that I'm deeply, spiritually, profoundly philosophical and I also know that I'm about the flakiest person you're gonna meet.
Then I realized that secrecy is actually to the detriment of my own peace of mind and self, and that I could still sustain my belief in privacy and be authentic and transparent at the same time. It was a pretty revelatory moment, and there's been a liberating force that's come from it.
I didn't want to be one of those women who wake up at 63 years old and realize they've missed the window of opportunity for marriage and children.
I make up new lyrics to well-known lullabies. Mostly because I don't actually know a lot of the lyrics.
I've just always felt it's an incredibly empowering thing, particularly for young women, to capitalize on their coordination and their strength. It's a very empowering thing to feel strong in your body.
For four to six months at a time, I would barely eat. I lived on a diet of Melba toast, carrots, and black coffee.
In the face of patriarchy, it is a brave act indeed for both men and women to embrace, rather than shame or attempt to eradicate, the feminine.
Your political views really denote your spiritual views.
I think it's child abuse to have someone in the public eye too young. Society basically values wealth and fame and power at the cost of well-being. In the case of a child, it's at the cost of someone's natural development. It's already hard enough to develop.
I'm doing it because I choose it. And if it's not working, I can make a change.
I've been doing a lot of different cross-training and kickboxing and Capoeira and kite surfing, and I've just really been back to what I consider my original athletic self. — © Alanis Morissette
I've been doing a lot of different cross-training and kickboxing and Capoeira and kite surfing, and I've just really been back to what I consider my original athletic self.
What's that line from TS Eliot? To arrive at the place where you started, but to know it for the first time. I'm able to write about a breakup from a different place. Same brokenness. Same rock-bottom. But a little more informed, now I'm older. Thank God for growing up.
The spirituality that I experience sometimes touches on religion, in that I resonate with the thread of continuity that permeates through all religions. But in terms of it being a concretized, organized part of my life, it's not.
Fame is hollow. It amplifies what is there. If there is any self-doubt, or hatred, or lack of ability to connect with people, fame will magnify it.
And if I had a preference, it would be to be able to not be in the studio until 4 in the morning.
Partnership is the way. Dictatorial win-lose is so old-school.
Variety is important when it comes to exercise. I don't do anything that bores me to tears.
What influenced me was Tori Amos, who was unapologetic about expressing anger through music, and Sinead O'Connor. Those two in particular were really moving for me, and very inspiring, before I wrote 'Jagged Little Pill.'
Peace of mind for five minutes, that's what I crave.
Trauma happens in relationships, so it can only be healed in relationships. Art can't provide healing. It can be cathartic and therapeutic but a relationship is a three-part journey.
Alpha men are very turned on by the alpha woman, really high chemistry, really fun to work with, probably really fun to have affairs with, but there's not sustainable harmony in that lack of complement. There can only be one person in the driver's seat.
Canada has a passive-aggressive culture, with a lot of sarcasm and righteousness. That went with my weird messianic complex. The ego is a fascinating monster. I was taught from a young age that I had to serve, so that turned into me thinking I had to save the planet.
There were a lot of people who were a little afraid of the rage or blaming stance I was taking, and find what I am doing now more refreshing.
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