The existence of live and programmed drums on a track is commonplace today. Twenty-five years ago, though, it was such a fresh idea it could launch a career. If you were anywhere near a radio or MTV in the latter half of 1995, there was no escaping Alanis Morissette’s single “You Oughta Know.” The bracing track rocked hard and cut deep, with Morissette airing a level of angst equal to that of the grunge dudes of that era. This was a woman scorned, with knives out, saying things females didn’t typically say in pop songs up to that point. Underneath it all, the drums created, as the Buzzcocks might say, a different kind of tension, with a hybrid of loops assembled by producer Glen Ballard and live kit playing from an up-and-comer named Matt Laug. Like Morissette’s lyrics, it was a sound and feel you didn’t hear a whole lot […]

August 2020 Issue