By 1998, Alanis Morissette had already conquered the world with her fevered voice and her lyrical encouragement for a socially bewildered audience to take confidence in their own self-worth. After a sabbatical in India, she came back with Thank U, a trance-y three chord manifesto of honesty, co-written with producer Glen Ballard, that confirmed her spiritual rigor and her passion for self-revelation. The music repeatedly resolves to the awkward fourth chord, always leaving a need to move forward to a resolution that never fully arrives. The words are personal and universal simultaneously, invoking a refusal to accept easy answers and self indulgence as solutions to emptiness. Her work set the stage for the uncompromising stance of rebel Canadians Avril Lavigne, Tegan & Sara and The New Pornograhers' Neko Case.
