21 Things I Want in a Lover

"21 Things I Want in a Lover"
German Under Rug Swept album sampler
Single by Alanis Morissette
from the album Under Rug Swept
Released	November 2002
Format	Radio single
Genre	Alternative rock, post-grunge
Length	3:28
Label	Maverick
Writer(s)	Alanis Morissette
Producer	Alanis Morissette
Alanis Morissette singles chronology
"Flinch" (2002) "21 Things I Want in a Lover" (2002) "Surrendering" (2002)

"21 Things I Want in a Lover", sometimes just called "21 Things" for short, is a alternative rock song written by Alanis Morissette, and produced by her for her sixth album, Under Rug Swept (2002). The song features guitarist Dean DeLeo of Stone Temple Pilots.

Theme

Morissette said that she is joking in one part of the song, but in another she's "dead serious. The more aware of the qualities I am looking for, the more I'm able to recognize them when they appear, as opposed to having the initial meeting romantically be singularly dependent on chemical reaction or some intangible, indefinable, heart-palpitating, palm- sweating thing ... [that] often result[s] in a huge amount of incompatibility, so the concept of compatibility is so much more important to me as I get older."^[1] According to her, the song does not mention every quality she desires in a lover; she said she had "like 673 things" on her list, and that "It has to be updated after every guy."^[2]

Release and reception

Q magazine said the song contained "a trampoline-bouncing guitar riff to detract attention from lyrics packed tighter than a holiday suitcase."^[3] Robert Christgau wrote, "Morissette instantly demonstrates her gift for the catchy, crunching out a guitar riff and then revealing 21 'not necessarily needs but things that I prefer' in a lover. Stretching out il-lu-si-on and for-med to suit scansion or mood, opposing capital punishment and coming out for sex 'more than three times a week,' topping memorable verse with indelible chorus, she's a self-actualized nut who goes for what she wants, exactly as pretentious as the college girls she represents for."^[4] The LA Weekly called it "a wholly satisfying pop-rocker [that] launches the album with her laundry-list lyric style",^[5] and Rolling Stone characterised it as a "power-chorded personal ad".^[6]

"21 Things I Want in a Lover" was released to radio and television as the third single from Under Rug Swept in Brazil. The music video for the single comprises clips from the DVD release Feast on Scraps; some of these are from a performance of the song at Ahoy in Rotterdam, Netherlands on August 13, 2002, during Morissette's Toward Our Union Mended Tour. The video premiered on Channel [V] International in Malaysia on November 2,^[7] and on MTV Brazil on November 20.^[8]

Notes

v t e Alanis Morissette Discography Awards and nominations Studio albums Alanis Now Is the Time Jagged Little Pill Supposed Former Infatuation Junkie Under Rug Swept So-Called Chaos Flavors of Entanglement Live albums MTV Unplugged Compilation albums Feast on Scraps iTunes Originals Jagged Little Pill Acoustic The Collection Other releases Space Cakes The Singles Box Alanis Morissette: Original Album Series The Prayer Cycle Video albums Jagged Little Pill, Live Live in the Navajo Nation Feast on Scraps Concert tours Jagged Little Pill Tour Club Tour Junkie/Junkie Australian Tour Under Rug Swept Tour Feast on Scraps Tour So-Called Chaos Tour Flavors of Entanglement Tour Flavors of Entanglement South American Tour film Fuck Dogma Radio Free Albemuth As Cool As I Am Notable acting roles Poppy (Nip/Tuck) Dr. Audra Kitson (Weeds) Related articles Wade Morissette Maverick Records Ryan Reynolds Glen Ballard Book:Alanis Morissette