Alanis Morissette - Hands Clean

[Generic Account]

What part of our history's reinvented and under rug swept?
What part of your memory is selective and tends to forget?
What with this distance it seems so obvious.​

​

The unsettling juxtaposition of the manipulative POV of the older man with the speaker in the chorus, and the shift in her delivery as she bounces between the two. Amaaazing.

Rate.

 

[jivafox]

You have your poll upside down and I almost gave this a ONE, U TRICKSTER!

 

[Generic Account]

I wasn't sure when I was making it but was too lazy to check back! Oops.

 

[Sharla]

OUTSTANDING

 

[Marilyn]

Fantastic

 

[Dark Carnival]

Excellent.

 

[Commotion]

Love it - my favourite Alanis hit.

 

[lolly]

Quite good.

 

[VoR]

HATE the poll

Can only add to the praise for the song though. I was actually just listening to it yesterday and remembering how wonderful it is.

 

[Pipo]

oh when she was good she was BEYOND good, but when she couldn't be arsed she ticked all the boxes

 

[Devil]

It's really rather good.

But once I hear it I don't need it again for another 3 months.

So 8.

 

[straightorbroken]

Huuoooohhh, well I love it too. It's as good as I remember absolutely loving hearing all the JLP singles on the radio back in '96.

 

[Sharla]

A genius playlist for Hands Clean turned by bike ride this morning into a veritable Lilith Fair banshee fest. Erase/Rewind, Silent All These Years, Where Have All The Cowboys Gone, A Thousand Miles, Luka, Wise Up and, erm, Murder On The Dancefloor.

 

[POP!]

Love it. It was all downhill from here wasn't it? I do love "Eight Easy Steps" though

 

[VoR]

Ooh Where Have All The Cowboys Gone.

 

[Jark]

I don't really know Alanis beyond the singles and getting into the albums seems like hard work, but this thread did remind me to give Guardian a spin. What a song! There were actually loads of really strong tracks on that album.

 

[win_the_game]

This was alright I suppose but she was already well past her prime when it came out.

 

[Pipo]

This was alright I suppose but she was already well past her prime when it came out.

I may be alone when I say Precious Illusions was FAR BETTER but I think it was quite apt for a second single.

21 Things, Surrendering, So Unsexy and You Owe Me Nothing In Return ALL AMAZING and perhaps even better than Hands Clean.

 

[Halli]

10/10 make no mistake

Alanis at her best, always gives me goosebumps

 

[AGinAg (37)]

What the FUCK is that poll?

 

[GNL]

This is one of my fave Alanis tracks

 

[Peekaboo]

The middle 8 is in the TOP 10 of BEST MIDDLE 8s EVER.

 

[Dark Carnival]

I'd like to change my vote to a TEN

 

[AGinAg (37)]

I'd like to change my vote to a TEN

You can if you can work out where TEN IS.

 

[Dark Carnival]

Oh I can indeed.

And yes what is WRONG with Chlam?

 

[Generic Account]

It was THREE YEARS AGO.

 

[AGinAg (37)]

It was THREE YEARS AGO.

We've been doing polls for DECADES!

 

[Iguana]

Tens, tens, tens across the board! (Almost)

 

[Halli]

This has always been a 10/10 for me and one of her very best, and my god, she's had a few.

 

[vespertine]

Oh it's a solid 9/10 but if Under Rug Swept isn't one of the worst album titles of all time.

In fact it's that whole silly Alanis-ism she does in songs AND interviews where she'll turn any old phrase into a noun - taking chances becomes "chances-taking", missing the boat becomes "boat-missing" etc.

 

[Whatevar]

I’ve been thinking about this song all day. What a cracker.

 

[Halli]

10/10 make no mistake

Alanis at her best, always gives me goosebumps

at least I'm consistent

 

[Iguana]

It really should have been a massive hit. It did get airtime and I think it reached number 11 but it deserved a top 5 at LEAST.

The line "I wish I could tell the world 'cause you're such a pretty thing when you're done up properly" is so sardonic it kills me. I remember the fanz at the time being worried the general public wouldn't realise it was from the man's perspective talking to her, and not just her being a cunt

 

[BoysForSeles]

Love this song and would be one of her five best for me.

 

[straightorbroken]

Oh it's a solid 9/10 but if Under Rug Swept isn't one of the worst album titles of all time.

In fact it's that whole silly Alanis-ism she does in songs AND interviews where she'll turn any old phrase into a noun - taking chances becomes "chances-taking", missing the boat becomes "boat-missing" etc.

I'm currently having a hard time with "the way you filter as skewed inter-pret" on an otherwise lyrically incisive Strait Jacket. I mean, you really have to sit down and work through some of her lyrics just to accept them sometimes (this could get messy indeed).

Anyway, Hands Clean has aged into something really quite special. It's as unassuming (for Alanis) as she's been on some of the JLP radio hits.

 

[VoR]

Apologies to @Rowan Tree 🌳 but the original poll for this thread was an abomination so I had to delete it

Incredible song though, which has only gotten better and more prescient over time.

 

[RJN]

Her best song

 

[K.C.]

Don't know about her best song but it's brilliant. 10/10.

 

[Iguana]

Apologies to @Rowan Tree 🌳 but the original poll for this thread was an abomination so I had to delete it

Did it have a bad score?

 

[Iguana]

At the time I really hoped this would be a proper moment and a hit. It seemed well received and got radio play but it just didn't really stick. It was refreshing to have something quite commercial sounding after SFIJ, from the perspective of continuing her success, but I guess people still just wanted Jagged Little Pill.