"Slid into the ditch/ I have this overwhelming loss of ambition/
we said let's name thirty good reasons/ why we shouldn't be together/
I started by saying things like "you smoke" "you live in New Jersey (too far)"

It's starts off as a conventional lyric and song but ends up rather like `I was Hoping'. I think this refers to her partner at the time (surprise, surprise) and how much she didn't want to break up with him.
However she makes no mistake; this album is very listenable due to her distinctive style. As the first track concludes, you realise this is something original to taste. This feeling continues throughout the album as Alanis constantly plys the listener with estranged tracks that are totally and thoroughly related to her.
It is Alanis' second co-produced album with seventeen characteristic self-penned tracks. This was no easy feat for Morissette, as fans had to eagerly wait two years before it was completed. This album allows self-doubt to get a look in; it is not commercial in the least, as was JLP, but it doesn't need to be for the intelligent listener. During the second track, her idiosyncratic guitar makes a welcome appearance as Alanis takes to this album like a duck to water.
`Sympathetic Character' is where it all gets strangely exciting. Many people think that this is a mis-matched string of odd phrases that do not make sense; quite simply Alanis was slated for it at every available opportunity. However, I think that the unpredictable melody and the tempo of her vocals with Alanis, make this the distinguishing track of the album:

"I was afraid of verbal daggers/ I was afraid of the calm
before the storm/ I was afraid for my own bones"

I think that most people in her situation will be able to identify with what she is saying here. It is a very rushed song but it includes all of the characteristic features of domestic abuse. It borders on the hysterical side as the pitch of her voice suggests that she is slightly frantic perhaps even uncontrollable; she needs to get the words out. Even the very obvious gasps at the end of each lyric when she's drawing breath, don't matter - in fact it adds to the frenzied approach to the subject of domestic abuse.
Track no. six `That I Would Be Good' epitomises the nature of the whole album; a song about how, if she lost everything tomorrow, it wouldn't matter because she feels she has achieved what she wants and she'd still feel happy.

`That I would be good even if I gained ten pounds/
That I would be fine even if I went bankrupt'

This song says that she has found true happiness that isn't in the form of money etc. Many people will be envious of this song and what it means and wish they could say this at least once in their lives.
At first listen the song feels like it shouldn't be on this album, due to the slow, methodic tempo and the volume and pitch of the lyrics - like it doesn't qualify for SFIJ. It is only when you analyse the lyrics after that you realise just how important this track is - without it Alanis' message wouldn't get through.
`I was Hoping' is a stream-of-consciousness style of writing and is extremely fast-paced yet still has a clever rhythm. Alanis is even sometimes out of breath because of the fast tempo.

`As we were talking outside it was cold we were shivering
yet warmed by the subject matter/ my wife is in the next room we've been having troubles you know, please don't tell her or anyone
but I need to talk to somebody'

This is a story-telling song that is purely her thoughts off the cuff and original. It is almost a part of her diary it is that personal.

It is only now that you realise that the huge grinning smile on the cover indicates that Alanis is once again happy and self-fulfilled. The nakedness on the c.d. suggests that perhaps more importantly, she is happy with her body and the way she looks (which is a big turn-around considering she has admitted to eating disorders in the past). It is almost a pictorial metaphor for exposing her inner and outer self.
Then, it's only as you place the c.d. back in its case, do you realise that this is not an odd choice of colour or pictures etc. it is purposely chosen for its lack of colour and attractiveness. Whereas Jagged Little Pill was a happy-ish but accusatory time in her life, the second album represents a dark period that's very abstract. For this is not an album made to make money, her main purpose is to share her story with her audience. To Alanis, if this album sells one hundred copies or one hundred million copies, it won't matter as long as she's told her story.


Weirdly Wordy   November 3, 2004
8 out of 9 found this review helpful

By the fall of 1998, music was headed towards a place everyone had long since left for dead. The Spice Girls, while a short-lived phenomenon, had re-introduced catchy meaningless songs. N Sync and the Backstreet Boys were riding high on the charts, and Britney Spears and Christina Aguilera were just around the corner. So for many rock fans, the only shining light on the horizon was the anticipated release of Supposed Former Infatuation Junkie, the much-hyped second album from superstar Alanis Morissette. Jagged Little Pill had sold 16 million copies at this point, and so the stakes were high. Could Alanis do it again?

Supposed Former Infatuation Junkie begins with the uptempo track Front Row. It's an example of what the listener will come to find on the album. It's wordy, only moderately catchy, and doesn't make sense, as it's Alanis' life. That being said, it might be the best song on the album. It's beat is oddly hypnotizing, and the lyrics are fun to listen to. Following that is Baba. It's a rock track that attacks the gurus that came into style around the time the record came out. It's not coded. It works well and it all comes together to make a great song. The third song is Thank U. This was the first single. It rose up the charts very quickly. And with good reason. The repetitive lyrics are somewhat predictable, but it's the catchiest song here. Up next is Are You Still Mad. We can only assume that the man in question is the cheater that inspired You Oughta Know. It seems evenhanded. She says sorry for being demanding, but then she apologizes for being more successful. It's left for the listener to decide. After this is Sympathetic Character. It's a dark song. Physical, mental and emotional abuse are all covered here, and Alanis' quivering vocals complement the song with expert precision. That I Would Be Good is a pretty personal song on the album. In it, she sings that no matter what, even if she gets ugly or loses her money, she'll still be worth it. The Couch is up next. This is a song about her father's childhood and how it affects him now. This is another dark song. Verbose, but it's also very good. Can't Not was one of the songs she performed on the tour for Jagged Little Pill. Alanis argues with herself and a tormenter about how their words affect her. Her voice is not as powerful here, but that seems intentional. UR might be seen as a welcome relief to the people seeking a light and upbeat track after all the melancholy. This talks about her life as a teen. It's a nice song that's relaxing and we get to hear the famous harmonica. Any hopes that the album's tone might lighten up are dashed by I Was Hoping. A song about Alanis debating with a man in secret over morals and ethics plays against a trippy beat and rushed lyrics. I love it. One is another very revealing song. Alanis sees her shenanigans in the past few years as pretentious and self-absorbed, and decided to apologize for "abusing her power." Would Not Come is seemingly coded. Alanis says that no matter what she does, "it" won't come. I think, given the situations, that she's talking about respect. Unsent is the second single off the album. 5 letters to five exes. This is a confessional song in which Alanis tells the men mentioned her thoughts about their time together and what they mean to her. Rarely do we see artists with such honesty and raw openness. And rarely is the song great, like it is here. So Pure is the only noticeably commercially catchy fast song, and to that end it became the third single. The title of the album is uttered here, and the dance music makes sense. It's about love, and how you can be totally drunk on someone. Joining You is a song about suicide. And trying to prevent it. It sounds like something that would be on the radio today. Just shows how ahead of her time Alanis was. Heart Of The House is an ode to her mother. It's sweet and she uses her voice differently, displaying a childish innocence and purity. Your Congratulations ends the album on a great note, and is a culmination of the events in her life. How everything she did in the past was just to please someone else, and now she's doing it for her. Much like the album. And the album is good. Better than good, it's GREAT.

On November 3rd, 1998, 6 years ago as of this review, Supposed Former Infatuation Junkie arrived in stores. 469,052 copies were moved in the first week. Critics were unkind. Despite the record-breaking sales in week one, the album quickly halted, selling at glacier pace. After less than 40 weeks, it was gone, selling just 2.5 million copies. Nice, but FAR from the Jagged Little Pill zenith, and setting about a decline in sales Alanis has yet to reverse. REAL fans consider this her best album, and being a real fan, I'd agree. This is better than most albums, bordering on art. Maybe it's the best ever made. But that's my humble opinion.

Happy 6th Anniversary SFIJ. Let's hope you have many more years in print and that people will come to appreciate you.


Nearly Perfect   November 24, 2001
Clarissa (Ontario, California)
7 out of 8 found this review helpful

After the hugely successful "Jagged Little Pill," Alanis brings out her sophmore release in 98, "Suppossed Former Infactuation Junkie" with the desire to not just please her fans but to please herself as well. After endless touring she begun a battle within herself - questioning whether or not singing was what she really wanted to pursue for the rest of her life. She could have stopped when she was on top but instead decided to stick the gut. I am so tired of everyone bickering about how this album is a failure for Alanis Morissette. In her debut album she gripes and complains too much while here she blesses the listener with a much more conciliatory approach, though still a bit disturbed. She also seems to feel more comfortable in her skin, seeing that instead of dressing the "grunge look" she appears nearly naked in her video for Thank U as well as the CD's disk cover. And instead of infusing pure rock elements she also experiments more on ambient and electronic sounds, giving her the rightful niche of Pop Rock... Probably the most obvious restrain on a softer advance is on track #6, That I Would Be Good, which features a delicately touched piano and her take on the flute and harmonica. And despite her often flat and off-keyed notes it somehow adds more beauty to the otherwise monotonous song... Other favorites include the more synthesized and programmed tracks such as Baba, Front Row, The Couch, Can't Not, I Was Hoping, One, Would Not Come, and Joining You. I did give this 4-stars, though, just because songs like Unsent and Your Congratulations bore me to tears. I still find this required listening, though, and suggest that once her forthcoming album, "Under Rug Swept" comes out that you see her on tour. I actually just recently had the opportunity to catch her live and be one of the first to hear exclusive songs from that album, and let me tell you - they sound incredible.


Alanis Morissete - the mature and at-peace version...   August 21, 2000
Cyberly[Ben] (Israel)
7 out of 8 found this review helpful

I recently had a chance to catch an Alanis concert, in Israel, and it was simply amazing! The raw intensity of this beautiful young woman on stage along with some of the world's top musicians was simply marvelous. I was in the front row ("the front crow - with popcorn..") and right in the middle, so I was able to catch every single precious moment of the best concert in my life. From all the jumping and singing and yelling, I actually dislocated my shoulder and had enormous pain for three weeks, but it was worth it. Now to the point - this album! I have to admit that it took some time for Junky to grow on me. Naturally, once I listened to it, I started comparing it to the previous Alanis album, Jagged Little Pill. Jagged was and still is probably my favorite album ever, it also was the first CD I ever bought, at the age of 13. It's one of the only albums I can honestly say I love entirely. There's not a single song in this album, which I skip, they are all genius. Especially Perfect, Hand in My Pocket, Forgiven, Mary Jane, Your House, Head Over Feat, and... well, practically all of them. It's no wonder Pill sold over 28 million (!) copies. Such success is hard to repeat, and I don't think the success, or lack of, and the many fans who probably didn't like Junky, were what Alanis thought about when writing it. It's way too personal. One thing I learned from listening to the remarkable opening track - Front Row - was that this is not another Pill. It took some listens, especially late night ones, with earphones, until I completely fell in love with this beautiful work of art. Where Pill screams, Junky whispers. Where Pill kicks, junky caresses. It's simply the more mature, more at-peace side of Alanis. The first track is brilliant I think. `Baba' is also a powerful number, dealing with the ever-anxious western desire to suckle on eastern wisdom and the eager try to buy redemption. `Thank You' is about seeing all the things in your life that you believed damaged you, and coming to terms with it, and even being able to be grateful of the glass's full half. I was just trying to list my favorites, but that would be too long... well, one of the best tracks is the beautiful ballad: That I Would Be Good. It's simply amazing, and got me close to tears on more than one occasion. That ability Alanis has, of revealing herself completely, managed to strike a nerve always. I think of all the songs in the album, the one that truly shows her musical range, when it comes to her vocality, is the almost unspoken-of, Your Congratulations. Alanis makes the high notes along with the piano in a remarkable way, proving she's more than a rock/grunge girl, but a true and mature musician, as this entire album proves.