"21 Things I Want in a Lover" (sometimes referred as just "21 Things") is a song recorded by Canadian singer-songwriter
Alanis Morissette for her fifth studio album, ''
Under Rug Swept
''Under Rug Swept'' is the fifth studio album and third internationally released album by Canadian singer-songwriter Alanis Morissette. Released by Maverick Records in the United States on February 26, 2002, and in the United Kingdom a day earli ...
'' (2002). "21 Things I Want in a Lover" was all written, arranged and produced by Morissette. It is an
alternative rock
Alternative rock, or alt-rock, is a category of rock music that emerged from the independent music underground of the 1970s and became widely popular in the 1990s. "Alternative" refers to the genre's distinction from mainstream or commerci ...
song, featuring guitarist
Dean DeLeo of
Stone Temple Pilots
Stone Temple Pilots (also known by the initialism STP) is an American rock band from San Diego, California, that originally consisted of Scott Weiland (lead vocals), brothers Dean (guitar) and Robert DeLeo (bass, backing vocals), and Eric Kr ...
. Lyrically, the song talks about all the 21 qualities that Morissette would like the most to find in a lover.
"21 Things" received mixed reviews from critics, with many praising it as a standout track on the album, but others found issues with the song's lyrics. The song was only released in Brazil, charting on the ''Hot 100'' chart, peaking inside the top fifty. A video for the song was also released there, featuring clips from the DVD ''
Feast on Scraps
''Feast on Scraps'' is an Alanis Morissette CD/DVD package released on December 10, 2002. The DVD was filmed during a concert in Rotterdam, Netherlands and the CD contains B-sides and unreleased studio tracks left off Morissette's album ''Under ...
'' and live shows. Morissette performed the track during the Toward Our Union Mended Tour (2002),
So-Called Chaos Tour (2004) and the
Guardian Angel Tour (2012).
Background and recording
![Dean deleo guitar ottawa 2009 cropped](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/0/03/Dean_deleo_guitar_ottawa_2009_cropped.jpg)
"21 Things I Want in a Lover" was all written, arranged and produced by
Alanis Morissette, in the same vein of the entire album, ''Under Rug Swept''. The song was mixed by Chris Fogel and features
Dean DeLeo, guitarist of the
Stone Temple Pilots
Stone Temple Pilots (also known by the initialism STP) is an American rock band from San Diego, California, that originally consisted of Scott Weiland (lead vocals), brothers Dean (guitar) and Robert DeLeo (bass, backing vocals), and Eric Kr ...
, on the guitar. While writing the track, Morissette claimed that she's joking in one part of the song, but in another she's "dead serious." According to Morissette, "I went to Toronto to write and I didn't know whether I'd be writing songs for the record alone or with someone. I had no idea, but I started writing alone, and within the first week I'd written seven songs. So it was all really fast and accelerated
..I'd have my little space station worked out where it was like a keyboard, an acoustic, an electric, my journal and a microphone set up, and we'd record it all onto
DAT."
Composition and lyrics
According to the sheet music published at ''Musicnotes.com'' by
Universal Music Publishing Group
Universal Music Publishing Group (UMPG) is a North American music publishing company and is part of the Universal Music Group. It was formerly known as MCA Music Publishing until it merged with PolyGram.
Universal Music Publishing is the worl ...
, "21 Things I Want In a Lover" was written in the key of
C major, with a moderately tempo of 96
beats per minute
Beat, beats or beating may refer to:
Common uses
* Patrol, or beat, a group of personnel assigned to monitor a specific area
** Beat (police), the territory that a police officer patrols
** Gay beat, an area frequented by gay men
* Battery ...
. The
introduction
Introduction, The Introduction, Intro, or The Intro may refer to:
General use
* Introduction (music), an opening section of a piece of music
* Introduction (writing), a beginning section to a book, article or essay which states its purpose and g ...
follows the
chord progression
In a musical composition, a chord progression or harmonic progression (informally chord changes, used as a plural) is a succession of chords. Chord progressions are the foundation of harmony in Western musical tradition from the common practice ...
of C5–C(5)–F5/C-C. Morissette's vocal range span from the low-note of
G4 to the high-note of
C6.
The
Alternative rock
Alternative rock, or alt-rock, is a category of rock music that emerged from the independent music underground of the 1970s and became widely popular in the 1990s. "Alternative" refers to the genre's distinction from mainstream or commerci ...
[ song starts with a "toothy" guitar hook,] played by Dean DeLeo, followed by Morissette listing the 21 things she wants in a lover, "not necessarily needs but qualities that heprefer " Sal Cinquemani of '' Slant Magazine'' noted that the song "is structured in Morissette's distinct listy lyrical fashion," citing the line "Do you have a big intellectual capacity but know that is does not equate wisdom?" as an example. For Nikki Tranter of ''PopMatters
''PopMatters'' is an international online magazine of cultural criticism that covers aspects of popular culture. ''PopMatters'' publishes reviews, interviews, and essays on cultural products and expressions in areas such as music, television, fi ...
'', the song "details exactly what Alanis is looking for in her perfect guy. According to the song, this guy would be eloquent and intelligent, sexually experimental and politically aware, self-deprecating and adventurous, athletic and free of addictions." Ethan Browne of ''Metro New York
''Metro New York'' was a free daily newspaper in New York City.
Background
It was launched on May 5, 2004 by Metro International.
''Metro New York'' was primarily distributed by " hawkers" paid to station themselves in areas with high pedest ...
'' called the list of requirements for a boyfriend, "dopey ..with its unintentionally hilarious qualifier."
In an interview for '' Spin'', Morissette commented that she had 673 things that she wanted in a lover, claiming that it needed "to be updated after every guy." She also claimed, "I want someone who can be a complete dork with me and have no shame and be really disgusting. ..So I can go, 'Oh, spirituality is very important to me, and this person, no matter how much I want to fuck him right now, does not believe in God.' That list has saved my ass on a few occasions." She further explained the song on a track-by-track commentary on the album:
Critical reception
"21 Things I Want In a Lover" received generally mixed reviews from music critics. Stephen Thomas Erlewine of ''Allmusic
AllMusic (previously known as All Music Guide and AMG) is an American online music database. It catalogs more than three million album entries and 30 million tracks, as well as information on musicians and bands. Initiated in 1991, the databa ...
'' chose the track as one of the highlights on ''Under Rug Swept'', while Michael Paoletta of '' Billboard'' picked the song as a "winning moment" on the album.[ Robert Christgau praised the singer for "instantly demonstrat ngher gift for the catchy, crunching out a guitar riff," also noting that one of the things she wants in a man, such as "opposing capital punishment" and "coming out for sex 'more than three times a week" are "topping memorable verse with indelible chorus."] Jon Pareles of ''Rolling Stone
''Rolling Stone'' is an American monthly magazine that focuses on music, politics, and popular culture. It was founded in San Francisco, California, in 1967 by Jann Wenner, and the music critic Ralph J. Gleason. It was first known for its ...
'' characterised it as a "power-chorded personal ad". Miles Marshall Lewis of '' L.A. Weekly'' was positive, calling it "a wholly satisfying pop-rocker," hich
Ij ( fa, ايج, also Romanized as Īj; also known as Hich and Īch) is a village in Golabar Rural District, in the Central District of Ijrud County, Zanjan Province, Iran
Iran, officially the Islamic Republic of Iran, and also ...
launches the album with her laundry-list lyric style."
Jim DeRogatis of ''Salon.com
''Salon'' is an American politically progressive/ liberal news and opinion website created in 1995. It publishes articles on U.S. politics, culture, and current events.
Content and coverage
''Salon'' covers a variety of topics, including re ...
'' was mixed, claiming that the singer "has a way of ruining her best tunes with Doh!-worthy lyrics", citing "21 Things" as an example. Mark Blake of '' Q'' noted the song contains "a trampoline
A trampoline is a device consisting of a piece of taut, strong fabric stretched between a steel frame using many coiled springs. Not all trampolines have springs, as the Springfree Trampoline uses glass-reinforced plastic rods. People bounce o ...
-bouncing guitar riff to detract attention from lyrics packed tighter than a holiday suitcase." Kimberly Reyes of ''Time
Time is the continued sequence of existence and events that occurs in an apparently irreversible succession from the past, through the present, into the future. It is a component quantity of various measurements used to sequence events, ...
'' panned its lyrics, claiming that they "could easily double as boy trouble letters sent to Seventeen agazine" Rob Mitchum of ''Pitchfork Media
''Pitchfork'' (formerly ''Pitchfork Media'') is an American online music publication (currently owned by Condé Nast) that was launched in 1995 by writer Ryan Schreiber as an independent music blog.
Schreiber started Pitchfork while working ...
'' wrote that the lyrics about what she's looking for in a man is "a move that could come off as self-indulgent, but in a personality as luminescent as Ms. Morissette, is nothing short of entrancing." Jennifer Vineyard of '' MTV News'' called it a "textured Jagged ">ittle Pillesque tune," but noted that its lyrics contain "stream-of-consciousness."[
]
Release and commercial performance
"21 Things I Want in a Lover" was released to radio and television as the third single from ''Under Rug Swept'' in Brazil
Brazil ( pt, Brasil; ), officially the Federative Republic of Brazil (Portuguese: ), is the largest country in both South America and Latin America. At and with over 217 million people, Brazil is the world's fifth-largest country by area ...
. The music video
A music video is a video of variable duration, that integrates a music song or a music album with imagery that is produced for promotional or musical artistic purposes. Modern music videos are primarily made and used as a music marketing device ...
for the single comprises clips from the DVD release ''Feast on Scraps
''Feast on Scraps'' is an Alanis Morissette CD/DVD package released on December 10, 2002. The DVD was filmed during a concert in Rotterdam, Netherlands and the CD contains B-sides and unreleased studio tracks left off Morissette's album ''Under ...
''; some of these are from a performance of the song at Ahoy in Rotterdam
Rotterdam ( , , , lit. ''The Dam on the River Rotte'') is the second largest city and municipality in the Netherlands. It is in the province of South Holland, part of the North Sea mouth of the Rhine–Meuse–Scheldt delta, via the ''"Ne ...
, Netherlands
)
, anthem = ( en, "William of Nassau")
, image_map =
, map_caption =
, subdivision_type = Sovereign state
, subdivision_name = Kingdom of the Netherlands
, established_title = Before independence
, established_date = Spanish Netherl ...
on August 13, 2002, during Morissette's Toward Our Union Mended Tour. The video premiered on Channel International">International in Malaysia
Malaysia ( ; ) is a country in Southeast Asia. The federation, federal constitutional monarchy consists of States and federal territories of Malaysia, thirteen states and three federal territories, separated by the South China Sea into two r ...
on November 2, and on MTV Brasil
MTV Brasil was a Brazilian over-the-air television network owned by Grupo Abril focused on the youth. The network was launched on 20 October 1990, as the first specialty television network to broadcast over-the-air, becoming the local version ...
on November 20. The singer also performed the song on the Jay Leno Show, as well as on the So-Called Chaos Tour (2004) and the Guardian Angel Tour (2012). The song debuted on the Brazil
Brazil ( pt, Brasil; ), officially the Federative Republic of Brazil (Portuguese: ), is the largest country in both South America and Latin America. At and with over 217 million people, Brazil is the world's fifth-largest country by area ...
's Hot 100 chart on 16 November 2002, before peaking at number 48 on 30 November 2002.[
]
Charts
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:21 Things I Want In A Lover
Alanis Morissette songs
2002 singles
Songs written by Alanis Morissette
2002 songs