| "Unsent" | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Single by Alanis Morissette | ||||
| from the album Supposed Former Infatuation Junkie | ||||
| Released | March 18, 1999 | |||
| Format | CD single | |||
| Recorded | 1998 | |||
| Genre | Rock | |||
| Length | 4:08 | |||
| Label | Maverick | |||
| Writer(s) | Alanis Morissette, Glen Ballard | |||
| Producer | Alanis Morissette, Glen Ballard, Nick Rasculinecz | |||
| Alanis Morissette singles chronology | ||||
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"Unsent" is a song by Alanis Morissette on her 1998 album, Supposed Former Infatuation Junkie. It was released as the album's third single on March 18, 1999 and was not as successful as Morissette's earlier singles. It was one of the few Junkie tracks on which she played her harmonica. Morissette directed the music video for the song.
Without a chorus or hook, "Unsent" is an unconventional song. The lyrics consist of letters addressed to Morissette's former boyfriends and friends. The demo version of "Unsent" contains the real names of the friends: "Matthews" (referring to singer Dave Matthews from the Dave Matthews Band), "Eric", "Terry", "Marc", "Terrance", "Christian" (Christian Lane from the band Loud Lucy), and "Taylor" (Taylor Hawkins from the Foo Fighters).
For the studio cut, some letters were dropped. Only five of them survived, but the people mentioned were renamed to protect their privacy: "Matthews" became "Matthew"; "Eric" became "Jonathan"; "Terry" became "Terrance"; "Marc" became "Marcus"; "Christian" became "Lou".
Contents |
The music video was directed by Alanis Morissette herself. Its format reminds of a movie, with subtitles portraying everything that the characters are saying.
It opens with "Matthew" playing the guitar to Morissette, who feels she's bothering him and says she should leave. He says she should, but in a kind way. Alanis looks happy, but uncomfortable and leaves.
The second act shows Morissette, with curly hair, sitting with "Jonathan" at a bar, asking if she could come to wherever he is going the next day. She's concerned girls are coming to the trip too. He says she can, but doesn't look too interested.
The third act shows Alanis and "Terrance" (played by Josh Hopkins[1]) by the lake, having a conversation about whether he is coming to visit her, to which he responds jokingly that he's "too busy". They laugh and look really happy.
"Marcus" is the fourth to be shown. They kiss on a sofa, and he says he is very proud of Alanis. "What for?" she replies, and he says "[to be] open to testing different waters at the same time". Morissette looks confused, awkward, and sad.
The last scene shows Morissette entering a car driven by "Lou". They say "hi" to one another, but the only other dialogue is when Lou says "What are you thinking?" at the very end of the video.
A 10 minute movie of the video is available with no music and no subtitles, but you can hear the actors speak this time. It shows extended footage of all five stories.
| Chart (1999) | Peak position |
|---|---|
| U.S. Billboard Hot 100[2][3] | 58 |
| U.S. Billboard Adult Top 40[2][3] | 14 |
| U.S. Billboard Top 40 Mainstream[2][3] | 21 |
| New Zealand | 28 |
| Canadian | 9 |
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