Gemini Rising

1990's Sounds - Meredith Brooks

Written for:

FORUM

The Soundtrack of Your Life  (18+) Every February, you're invited to chronicle the music that has influenced your life! #1970896 by Jeff

#28 - 1990's Sounds - Meredith Brooks

Before there was Meredith, there was Alanis Morisette and her gritty "Jagged little Pill" album. Jagged Little Pill offered everything - a little bit of alt rock, grunge, and pop rock. While I liked Alanis's album and thought it was wild for the times (who else could do angst so well?) there was something it lacked - hard to say what it was - trying to define it now - maybe heart? honesty? sincerity?

Meredith Brooks brought all of that (alt rock/grunge/pop) to her album, "Blurring the Edges." Her song, "Bitch," talked about about all the different things I was as a woman and which resonated with me.

I'm a bitch, I'm a lover
I'm a child, I'm a mother
I'm a sinner, I'm a saint
I do not feel ashamed

And when she sung those words, I found that heart and sincerity that Alanis was lacking. I bought "Blurring the Edges" and played it relentlessly. This album really spoke to me as a woman - the complexities of being of being feminine, and spoke to me of trying to find the balance of all the roles I struggled with. Meredith captured a vibe at the time that Gen X women were dealing with - trying to define and make those feminine roles fit and not being ashamed of it, but embracing it.

My favorite song on the album is "What Would Happen?" It asked the aged old question - what would happen if two people kissed? Where would that kiss take them? An affair? A marriage? Enjoyment in the heat of the heat of the moment? Was there courage in just walking away?

The whole album is a definition in the blurring lines of the expectations of women for a generation and I was there for it. I was a Bitch. I was a Sinner. I was a Saint. And I was nothing in between.

MEREDITH BROOKS
What Would Happen