We Oughta Know

Between 1993 and 1997 Alanis Morissette, Shania Twain, Sarah McLachlan, and Céline Dion crossed genres and defied the odds to become the best-selling artists Canada has ever produced. From melodramatic romantic pop to gutsy, angst-driven alternative rock, these women changed the world of music and pop culture and impacted their listeners on an alarmingly personal level.

As a teenager, Andrea Warner divided the four women into two Morissette and McLachlan struck an empowering chord within her but Dion and Twain seemed detrimental to the feminist she was becoming. Through personal, heartwarming, challenging, and exhilarating essays, Warner re-evaluates the impact of these women on her life as a teenager growing up in East Vancouver, examining their impact on feminism in popular music, the climate in which they succeeded, and their legacies.

Equal parts music criticism, cultural analysis, and coming-of-age memoir, We Oughta Know chronicles the careers of Alanis Morissette, Shania Twain, Sarah McLachlan, and Céline Dion with detailed research, intriguing wit, and razor-sharp criticism. It is a powerful debut from one of the strongest young voices in music journalism that leaves no stone unturned and frames four musicians you thought you knew in a powerful new light.