Alanis Morissette Wraps Jagged Little Pill Anniversary Tour in LA: 6 Highlights From a Cathartic Concert

When Alanis Morissette released her blockbuster Jagged Little Pill album in 1995, she painted a picture of a woman who contained multitudes — or, really, she painted a picture of a multitude of women. It was like Chaka Khan’s “I’m Every Woman” in album form, only grittier.

Which is why it was such a beautiful, full-circle moment to see Morissette bring her breakthrough album — which spent 12 weeks at No. 1 on the Billboard 200 and made her the youngest artist to that point to win a Grammy for album of the year — back to life for the final U.S. date of the Jagged Little Pill 25th Anniversary Tour on Wednesday night at the Hollywood Bowl, the second of two nights at the venue. This time, instead of a 21-year-old raging against her shady ex with wild hair shrouding her face in the blurry, desert-set “You Oughta Know” music video, we saw a 47-year-old thrashing her now-blonde (but just as wild) locks and delivering just as much of the song’s trademark vitriol even though she’s now a happily married mom of three. Jagged Little Pill still represents 2021 Alanis, just as the ripped-from-her-diary songs somehow managed to encapsulate the complicated and complex worlds of a lot of women back in 1995 through today. It’s all at once intimately personal and surprisingly universal.

Below, find some of the best full-circle moments from Morissette’s final U.S. tour stop, where she was joined by Garbage and Cat Power as openers and a crowd full of fans who have made Jagged Little Pill their own over the past 25 years.

The Vocals

Capturing the powerful wails and crystal-clear yodels that she recorded more than a quarter-century ago might seem like a tall order, but Morissette far exceeded expectations when it came to her live vocals. The way her intonation cut through the Bowl crowd singing along to every word and how she held on to notes for an impossibly long time (especially on the seething JLP standout “Wake Up”) was, honestly, extraordinary.

Evolving Lyrics

In the final pre-chorus of “You Learn,” Morissette acknowledged her trio of kids with a knowing smile, swapping the original line “The way a 3-year-old would do” for “Like a 10-year-old, and a 5-year-old, and a 2-year-old would do.” She also gave a cheeky update to “Ironic” by changing “It’s like meeting the man of my dreams and then meeting his beautiful wife” to “meeting his beautiful husband,” with the big screens focusing on a gay couple kissing in the crowd to rapturous cheers.

‘And the Other One Is Givin’ a Peace Sign’

While playing the final harmonica line of the sweetly romantic “Head Over Feet,” Morissette held the instrument with one hand while throwing a peace sign in the air with the other — a cute callback to her “Hand in My Pocket” lyric.

Leave the Beach Ball at Home

During her opening set with Garbage, frontwoman Shirley Manson went off on the crowd when someone in the pit started tossing a beach ball around, calling the display “disappointing and, quite frankly, pathetic.” “This is enough already,” she added. “How musicians are treated in this culture is f—ing insane. Stop with the f—ing balloons unless you want to go back to being 5 years old, yeah? F— you,” she said, before seamlessly launching into 1998’s “I Think I’m Paranoid,” an Alternative Airplay top 10 hit for the band. Lest you think concertgoers felt chastised by Manson’s speech, it was quite the opposite: The crowd positively ate up Manson’s dressing-down.

A Group Sob-Fest

Morissette wrapped her encore with 1998’s non-Jagged Little Pill Billboard Hot 100 top 20 hit “Thank U,” and when she got to the lyric “how ’bout unabashedly bawling your eyes out?,” fans cheered wildly because they either: A) Already had cried at some point during Alanis’ set, or B) Were currently weeping as the cathartic concert came to a close.

A Fond Farewell

As the last U.S. date of the anniversary tour, Morissette expressed her gratitude to her crew and opening acts ahead of the final song. She acknowledged the weight of touring during a pandemic by saying, “We’re so grateful — and we’re alive.” She also shared a message to her socials on Thursday (Oct. 7) about wrapping up the trek, calling it “the most intense tour of my life.”

The set list for night 2 of Alanis Morissette’s Jagged Little Pill 25th Anniversary Tour at the Hollywood Bowl:

All I Really Want
Hand in My Pocket
Right Through You
You Learn
Hands Clean
Forgiven
Everything
Mary Jane
Diagnosis
Reasons I Drink
Head Over Feet
So Unsexy
Ablaze
Nemesis
Perfect
Losing the Plot
Wake Up
Not the Doctor
Ironic
Sympathetic Character
Smiling
I Remain
You Oughta Know

Encore:
Your House
Uninvited
Thank U

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Tears for Fears Announce First Album in 17 Years ‘The Tipping Point’: Watch New Video

On Thursday (Oct. 7), Tears for Fears announced their return to rule the world once again with their long-awaited seventh album The Tipping Point. Their first new album since 2004, The Tipping Point is a reflection of the pop rock duo’s personal and professional “tipping points” and is set to arrive Feb. 25 via Concord Records.

In anticipation, Tears for Fears duo Roland Orzabal and Curt Smith also dropped the title track and music video inspired by Orzabel’s own life and struggles with grief and the loss of a loved one. The music video, directed by Matt Mahurin, conveys the imbalance of death and disease through dark imagery.

Despite their legendary status, the band opens up about their failed attempts at artistic compromise with management suggestions to work with “hit songwriters.” Ultimately, this cycle came to a halt with Orzabel stating, “That pressure and tension divided us not just from our management, but from one another too.”

This album was created alongside Tears for Fears’ longtime collaborator Charlton Pettus, with songwriters and producers Florian Reutter and Sacha Skarbek. Smith also shared, “If that balance doesn’t work on a Tears for Fears album, the whole thing just doesn’t work. To put it in simple terms, a Tears for Fears record and what people perceive to be the sound of Tears for Fears – is the stuff we can both agree on.”

The Tipping Point is available for preorder now. Watch the video for “The Tipping Point” and find the album track list below.

The Tipping Point  track list:

1. No Small Thing
2. The Tipping Point
3. Long, Long, Long Time
4. Break The Man
5. My Demons
6. Rivers Of Mercy
7. Please Be Happy
8. Master Plan
9. End Of Night
10. Stay

Additional Tracks On The Deluxe CD Edition

11. Let It All Evolve
12. Secret Location
13. Shame (Cry Heaven)

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Ben Facey Exits Universal Music

Ben Facey has exited Universal Music, a little more than six months after relocating to the United States from his native Australia.

An experienced major-label marketing executive, Facey has served as Executive Vice President, Global Marketing and Digital Strategy at Republic Records in Los Angeles since February.

Prior to that, he was Head of International Marketing & Media at Universal Music Australia from October 2014, and he held marketing posts at Foxtel and Warner Music before that.

An auto-reply from Facey’s email account confirms he is “no longer with the company” and directs inquiries to Jim Roppo, EVP/General Manager at Republic Records.

Facey was understood to be the subject of an internal investigation, news of which first emerged in late August on Beneath The Glass Ceiling, the Instagram account that’s been holding the music industry to account for bad behavior.

The reasons for Facey departure are unclear, and he has not been accused of any wrongdoing. A spokesman for Universal Music Group confirmed his departure from the company, and tells Billboard there is no further statement at this time. Roppo did not respond to requests for comment.

The latest development follows the launch of an independent investigation at Universal Music Australia, sparked by reports of inappropriate behavior from within its ranks. The Sydney Morning Herald reported multiple claims made against staffers, including allegations of bullying, harassment, racism, homophobia, discrimination, as well as more serious allegations of sexual assault.

The affiliate’s leader George Ash reportedly engaged Darren Perry at law firm Seyfarth Shaw to conduct the probe, informing staff on Friday, July 30 and encouraging them to raise concerns through the internal and external complaints channels. When asked for an update on that investigation, a spokesperson for the music major recently declined to disclose confidential personnel matters or comment on the status of any potential investigations, citing privacy reasons and corporate policy.

“Everyone deserves a workplace environment that is safe, inclusive, and respectful. We take seriously any claims of alleged misconduct which are brought to the company. All claims are reviewed promptly, thoroughly and objectively. If any misconduct is found, appropriate action is taken,” reads a company statement, issued Aug. 24 to Billboard.

“In light of the recent reports regarding sexual harassment and abuse, both from various corners of the Australian music industry and across broader society, we are committed to playing our part to advance real and constructive change and an industry that upholds the highest standards of professional respect, conduct and integrity.”

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Virginia Gubernatorial Candidate Appeals to Taylor Swift Fans In New Campaign

Terry McAuliffe is hoping to gain support from Taylor Swift fans in his race to become Virginia’s next governor.

The Democrat has purchased a series of digital ads that connect his Republican opponent, Glenn Youngkin, to the sale of Swift’s master recordings, which the singer described as her “worst-case scenario.” Youngkin is the former co-CEO of the Carlyle Group, which backed the sale of Swift’s former label Big Machine Records to Scooter Braun’s Ithaca Holdings.

According to The Verge, McAuliffe spent five figures on the ad targeting voters who are fans of Swift and engage with content across Facebook, Instagram and Google. An ad reads, “Did you know that Republican candidate for governor, Glenn Youngkin, helped buy Taylor Swift’s masters out from under her when he was co-CEO of Carlyle Group?”

The ads also contain images of Swift and Youngkin and the hashtag #WeStandWithTaylor, which fans used to support the singer amid the controversy.

In 2019, Braun’s Ithaca Holdings acquired Big Machine Label Group — and with it, the entire catalog Swift released via the Scott Borchetta-owned label — in a $300 million deal. Following the deal, Swift took to Tumblr to reveal that she learned about it “as it was announced to the world,” and the news reminded her of the “incessant, manipulative bullying” she “received at [Braun’s] hands for years.”

In a 2019 tweet, Swift asked The Carlyle Group to intervene after Braun and Borchetta, she claimed, prevented her from performing her music at the American Music Awards, where she was set to receive the Artist of the Decade award. She also said Borchetta and Braun had declined a request to use her older music and performance footage for the Netflix documentary Taylor Swift: Miss Americana.

“I’m especially asking for help from The Carlyle Group, who put up money for the sale of my music to these two men,” Swift tweeted at the time.

More than a year later, Braun sold the master rights to the singer’s first six albums to Shamrock Holdings. At the time, Swift revealed on Twitter that her team received a letter from the private equity company informing them that it had bought all of her music, videos and album art from Braun. “This was the second time my music had been sold without my knowledge,” Swift wrote.

Determined to own her music, Swift announced she would re-record her first six albums and has since released Fearless (Taylor’s Version) and will unveil Red (Taylor’s Version) in November.

Youngkin’s campaign spokesperson Christian Martinez told Axios of the Swift ads, “Terry McAuliffe has reached the stage of desperation in his campaign where he’s rolling out the most baseless attacks to see what sticks. It’s a pathetic fall that could only be achieved by a 43-year political hack.”

The Hollywood Reporter has reached out to reps for Swift, McAuliffe and Youngkin.

This article originally appeared in THR.com. 

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Live Nation Stock Tops $100 to Hit New High

Even as the concert industry faces a rocky return, Live Nation’s stock keeps growing to new highs.

The concert giant’s stock price topped $100 for the first time ever on Tuesday before dropping below the benchmark at close. On Wednesday (Oct. 6) it fared even better, hitting $101.09 during the trading day and finishing at $101.03. Wednesday’s closing values the company at about $25.2 billion.

After bottoming out in March 2020 as the coronavirus pandemic shut down concerts across the world, Live Nation stock has been steadily growing since. In February it hit its pre-pandemic levels and briefly flirted with $100, reaching $94.63 on March 3, before retreating below $80 as recently as Aug. 20.

As a practical matter, $100 is an arbitrary amount for a share price — the company was worth negligibly less when it closed at $99.83 on Tuesday — but it is a symbolic threshold for pausing to recognize how Live Nation has gained value in the last 19 months. Since that pandemic-era low of $32.30 on March 18, the company’s stock has gained 212.8%.

During the company’s Aug. 3 earnings call, president Joe Berchtold declared “the pocketbooks are open.” At the time ticket sales and attendance were “pacing faster than expected,” CEO Michael Rapino said. But even though Berchtold was referring to customers, he might have been more accurate to indicate investors interest in concerts’ return. Since then, the industry has seen high no-show rates and many concerts have experienced less-than-stellar ticket sales, but investors keep buying stock. Plus, Live Nation had 15 of the 20 top-grossing concerts of the summer and most of the top tours, as compiled by Billboard Boxscore from early reports of live music’s return. Its eight Dead & Company concerts grossed $16.5 million, second only to Bruno Mars. Zac Brown Band, Billy Joel, James Taylor and the Eagles were also among the top 10 tours.

Hitting an all-time high before touring fully resumes also speaks to what lies ahead. Many artists are aiming for a 2022 return to the road, including Billie Eilish, John Mayer and Alanis Morissette, and more are lining up for the following years. “We’re talking mostly about what to add now into ’23 and ’24,” Rapino said on Aug. 3.

In the second quarter, Live Nation posted revenue of $575.9 million, up 677% from the pandemic-scarred prior-year period, with a $127.3 million operating loss — and a 98% improvement from the first quarter. And now the company is back to making big acquisitions: on Sept. 13, Live Nation announced it will move ahead with a $444 million deal for Mexican promoter OCESA to be paid for with a $450 million common stock offering.

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