“The supreme irony of life is that hardly anyone gets out alive.”
- Robert Heinlein
Today is Kendra's and my wedding anniversary. In 1997 we stood on the side of a mountain in Washington State's Olympic National Park and said that we do and that we would. 29 years later, I'm pleased to say that we have. We count our blessings daily.
Today is also the birthday of Canadian songstress, Alanis Morissette (1974). She ruled the music world in the mid-90s on the strength of her emotive, confessional songs off of her album Jagged Little Pill. She was a force, indeed. Given her popularity at that time, especially with young females, I thought by now we'd be seeing a few women in their mid-20s named after her. But, I've yet to run into an Alanis, or a Morissette for that matter. What do I know.
By far, one her best known songs is Ironic. It's a fabulous song - clever and catchy. It's one of a kind, really. In it, Alanis offers a series of examples that could happen in life and then asks in the pre-chorus, “Isn't it ironic?" - the scenarios that she's offered.
Again, I think it's a fantastic song and it's era-defining in a way. But, it's often been mentioned that most of the things listed in it are not ironic, if the accepted definition of the word is applied. A couple are: The man with the fear of flying who goes his whole life avoiding air travel and then dies in a plane crash on his first flight - that would be ironic. 10,000 spoons when all you need is a knife, yes, that would be too.
But other things named are really just bad luck or misfortune, aren't they - like rain on your wedding day or a fly in your Chardonnay? If you're offered a free ride after you've already paid for one, isn't that merely bad timing? Good advice that you didn't take? That's not irony, it's just a human tendency that often results in regret.
It's fun to talk about, but really, who cares? It's a great song and her music was part of what made the 90s a good decade to live through. I'm glad I was there.