You Learn / You Oughta Know [Single]

Alanis Morissette | Format: Audio CD

Product Details

• Audio CD (July 9, 1996)
• Number of Discs: 1
• Format: Single
• Label: Warner Bros / Wea
• ASIN: B000002KU2
• Also Available in: Audio CD  |  Audio Cassette
• Average Customer Review: 4.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (2 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #480,325 in Music (See Top 100 in Music)

Track Listings

1. You Learn [Album Version]

2. Your House [Live in Tokyo]

3. Wake up [Live]

4. Hand in My Pocket

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars The best part of this CD-Single is not "You Learn"..., November 3, 1998

By A Customer

This review is from: You Learn / You Oughta Know (Audio CD)

While "You Learn" is a good track, the real jewel of this disc is the addition of the live accoustic version of "You Oughta Know" that Alanis performed during the (I believe) 1996 Music Awards. It is by far the best version I have ever heard and well worth the cost. A must-have for Alanis fans.

1 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars You Wanna Learn? Alanis Is Gonna Teach You!, February 20, 2004

By 

Busy Body (London, England) - See all my reviews

This review is from: You Learn / You Oughta Know (Audio CD)

In 1995, Alanis Morissette released her debut album "Jagged Little Pill." At first the album was a slow-burner debuting at No.117 in its first week and sold a few hundred thousand copies. A month later it was in the Top 10 and it debuted at No.1 in September two months after its debut. As the months went by though, the album picked up speed and began selling considerably well. When the first single from the album, "You Oughta Know," debuted on radios and MTV stations across the world, I think about 98% of the global population stopped dead in their tracks and stood in awe at this angst-ridden vixen whine to us about a lover who left her for someone else. The woman was scored, and out for revenge. Jagged Little Pill soon enough started to climb the charts all over the world. Produced by Glen Ballard and apparently recorded in under three weeks, the album was perfect. It was just what everyone needed at this time, and it sold by the truckload. It went on to shift a staggering 17 million copies in America alone! In the UK, it topped the charts through 1995 and 1996 for 21 weeks and sold more than 3 million copies. In Australia at the time, it became only the second album in history to sell more than 1 million copies, breaking all possible records. This pattern was repeated across Europe, Asia and the rest of the known world. Alanis Morissette was a phenomenon, and Jagged Little Pill sold almost 30 million copies worldwide to become the biggest selling album by a female in the history of music.

"You Learn" was the third single to be taken from Jagged Little Pill in February 1996. The song is just classic Alanis with an upbeat tempo, a catchy melody, superb vocals, and of course, brilliant lyrics. The song was released at a time when Jagged Little Pill was performing exceptionally well all over the world and made a big impact by keeping the album at No.1 for 10 weeks in total and in the Top 10 for a staggering 46.

You Learn starts off with a drum and guitar beat that just bounces onto the set like a ball, dragging along its infectious melody and Alanis' well-known muttering before she opens the song with, "I recommend getting your heart trampled on to anyone, yeah. I recommend walking around naked in your living room, yeah. Swallow it down (what a jagged little pill). It feels so good (swimming in your stomach). Wait until the dust settles." Alanis then sings the simple but so effective chorus, "You live, you learn. You love, you learn. You cry, you learn. You lose, you learn. You bleed, you learn. You scream, you learn." If you've not heard the song, those lyrics will just sound stupid, but it's the way in which Alanis constructs them that makes them so brilliant.

Alanis then moves into the second verse, "I recommend biting off more than you can chew to anyone (I certainly do). I recommend sticking your foot in your mouth at any time yeah, yeah. Feel free. Throw it down (the caution blocks you from the wind). Hold it up (to the rays). You wait and see when the smoke clears." Alanis then repeats the chorus once more before the peak of the song strolls in, an awesome guitar solo with Alanis wailing in her traditional high-pitched style. She then sings, "Wear it out (the way a three year old would do). Melt it down (you're gonna have to eventually anyway). The fire trucks are coming up around the bend." Alanis then sings the chorus once more, then again with the following alterations to the lyrics, "You grieve, you learn. You choke, you learn. You laugh, you learn. You choose, you learn. You pray, you learn. You ask, you learn. You live, you learn." Alanis then drags out the last word for what seems like ages and the song then ends.

You Learn blazed up the charts all around the world and added even more credibility to Alanis' present position as the World's No.1 Angry White Female. It was also a song released at the same time as she won 4 Grammys including Album Of The Year. Alanis was everywhere and this song certainly capitalized on that success. All in all, this is an essential single from Alanis Morissette. It's one of her most popular songs ever and probably my second favourite single to be released from Jagged Little Pill after You Oughta Know.