Taylor Swift and Alanis Morissette have a strong, undeniable link artistically. Both artists are giving women permission to express something that they’re often denied: feminine rage.  

Let’s start with Morissette. The cultural impact of the Canadian songstress’s 1995 album Jagged Little Pill cannot be overstated. The entire album is pure gold and has sold over 33 million copies in the world—making it one of the best-selling albums of all time.

Angst courses through many of the tracks. The way she sings “all I really want is some justice,” and she’s nearly yelling. The frustration expressed in “Perfect” is all about the unreasonable (some) parents place on their kids. “Right Through You” is about people who didn’t take her seriously even though she ultimately came out on top. My favorite lines are “Now that I’m Miss Thing, now that I’m a zillionaire.” I’m pretty positive Swift can relate very well to those lyrics. 

The most famous track and arguably her signature song is “You Oughta Know.” Swift and Morissette actually performed this song together on Swift’s 1989 World Tour.

This song is absolutely blistering. From the sneering opening lines (has anyone singing “I wish nothing, but the for you both” ever sounded more sarcastic?) to the very last line of “you, you, you oughta know.” One of the most remarkable things about the track is the sustained anger woven throughout. This is such an anthem for any woman who has ever been wronged, which is everyone. Morissette does not let up at all, and most importantly, she shouldn’t have to, either. I will admit that when I saw Morissette live on the opening day of the “Triple Moon” tour in Phoenix, the mic cut out for a while on this song. Not an ideal time for that to happen, but mistakes are how you know an artist is actually signing or playing and not just lip synching to a track. Plus, it’s just such a fantastic song to sing or scream along to.

Anger is an absolutely appropriate emotional response to being deeply wronged. Anger can protect us from people who are harming us. It can also be something that’s frequently denied to women, which just further compounds the entire experience. It’s not hard to find examples of women who had every right to be furious labeled as “crazy,” which Swift address in a song I’ll discuss in a moment. Before I move on, I would like to note that anger is not a reason to seek “revenge” or to get back at someone. But it is healthy in certain situations, and it’s important that we feel and express it so we can ultimately move on. Not everyone deserves to be in our lives. Some deserve our anger. 

..Anger is not a reason to seek ‘revenge’ or to get back at someone. But it is healthy in certain situations, and it’s important that we feel and express it so that we can ultimately move on.

Morissette’s success shows us a couple of important things. The first is that music about female rage can sell. The second is that there’s a massive audience for this type of content. It also likely helped Swift become even more successful. Female audiences need these songs. 

Although Swift hasn’t released an album that matches the rage of Jagged Little Pill or even comes close to it, rage has fueled some of her biggest tracks. You can hear it right from the get-go on a track like “Picture to Burn.” The 2006 debut album song features choice lines like: 

“So go and tell your friends that I’m obsessive and crazy,” (there’s that word again)

and

“So watch me strike a match on all my wasted time
As far as I’m concerned, you’re just another picture to burn.”

One of the most obvious parallels—the other being “Bad Blood,” of course—between these two artists is “Look What You Made Me Do.” It’s a perfect rage track that Kayne West and Kim Kardashian deserved every word of. She kicks it off by bashing West’s “titled stage” and just saying flat out that she doesn’t like him, which is more than fair. 

When I was watching Swift perform this song at The Eras Tour, I couldn’t help but think of how much crap Swift has had to put up with in her career. It’s no coincidence that this music video ends up with a depiction of her infamous 2009 VMA speech after Kanye West grabbed the mic from her when she accepted the award for best female video.

Now, what Kanye West said was probably true—yes, Beyonce’s “Single Ladies” is a more iconic video that actually won video of the year, and is a better music video than Swift’s “You Belong with Me” – but that moment was entirely unfair to her in so many ways. It was supposed to be a winning moment, but the spotlight was totally stolen from her. This was one of Swift’s first big public moments, and it was ruined by West. I thought she handled it as well as she could.

And let’s not forget about that infamous phone call between her and West, which proved West misled her about the “I made that bitch famous” line. No, he didn’t. But what I love the most about “Look What You Made Me Do” is that it’s ultimately about strength, which is a healthy response to anger. 

“But I got smarter, I got harder in the nick of time
Honey, I rose up from the dead, I do it all the time.”

I can’t tell you how many times I’ve listened to those lyrics when I needed a boost. It’s more than safe to say that Swift has had the last laugh in all of that drama. We all know who came out on top, and it wasn’t him. West’s career has largely bottomed out while hers has skyrocketed to levels that I think many people thought were unreachable in our fractured, modern culture.

Swift is easily the biggest star of our times and maybe even of all time. Anger is still coursing through her work. You can hear it all over “Who’s Afraid of Little Old Me?” She asks the question, and then she answers “Well, you should be.” That last part is true. She is a force.

So, next time someone wrongs you, give yourself permission to feel angry. You deserve it. It can be healthy and valid. Taylor and Alanis will supply the perfect soundtrack for your feminine rage.