I guess I am still that angry

A few years ago when B and I were vacationing in Montreal, we popped into a Starbuck's for his coffee and noticed the acoustic version of Alanis Morrisette's Jagged Little Pill CD. I believe she released it only in Starbuck's stores, back when they were trying to diversify into the music biz.

B saw me looking at it and asked if I wanted to get it. I declared, "I'm just not that angry anymore," and left without it.

I didn't think Alanis spoke to me anymore, not the way she did when I was 16 and would come home from school and wait for hours for one of her songs to play on the radio. Eventually I figured out that if I bought the CD, I could listen to it whenever I wanted. It was the first CD that I remember buying, and I listened to it for hours on end.

I even went to see her on tour, back when she visited my college. I remember dressing in black--it seemed appropriate--and wishing that her stage presence were...angrier. Regardless, I continued to enjoy her music. My early college years were also a somewhat angry period.

But then life got better, and I stopped listening to her CD as frequently, and her second CD, while a member of my collection, received less airplay. I thought I had moved on.

Until tonight. Ever have one of those irrationally angry days where nothing that anyone does is ever the right thing to do? Yeah, it was one of those. There was only one person would could make me feel better, and her name was Alanis.

I popped the CD into the player in my bathroom. As the opening strains of "All I Really Want" came through the air, I felt a wave of calm come over me. It was soon replaced by frustration when the CD started skipping.

Apparently, I wore the CD out back in the day; either that, or its shelf life has expired. I was able to listen to the other songs on the CD, though my favorites featured the most skipping. It was annoying but I continued listening--when you need a dose of "Hand in My Pocket," nothing else will do.