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Alanis Morissette Gets Personal at Intimate New York Gig

May 23, 2008 4:32 PM ET

"Every time I go through something difficult, I think, this is the mother lode. I'm not going to get through this one," Alanis Morissette said last night during an intimate performance in New York. "And then six months later I'm like, what's his name again?" And with that, the journal-spewing Queen of '90s Rock quashed any rumors that she was heartbroken over her ex-fiancé Ryan Reynolds' recent engagement to Tom Waits admirer Scarlett Johansson.

Looking casual in jeans, green T-shirt, cropped blazer and sparkly scarf, the 33-year-old and her five-piece backing band played an eight-song acoustic set for a for a mostly middle-aged crowd of media and music industry types at the Cutting Room. Besides hits like "You Learn" and "Thank You," Morissette performed three songs from her upcoming album, Flavors of Entanglement, including piano ballad "Not As We," which she says is the "most rock bottom moment" on the album. "It might be the second single, but I don't know," she said. "I gave up choosing singles years ago. I just work here."

Though the audience clearly wanted a longer set (shouts of "you're perfect" and "I love you" peppered the show), an encore was not on the bill. "We will continue," teased Morissette, "if you'd like to come to the Today show tomorrow. I have to get up at five."

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