When your lone hit is about two friends who dabble in lesbianism, it stands to reason that reporters will be interested in your sex life. So after Jill Sobule's ''I Kissed a Girl,'' from her self-titled 1995 album, became a staple on Billboard's Hot 100, the singer-songwriter found herself under pressure to come out of the proverbial closet. ''I've had experiences with women and men,'' Sobule admits. ''But I didn't wanna say anything about it at first, because the point was that 'I Kissed a Girl' should be a song for everyone. Also, I have problems with the word bisexual, you know? 'I'm bisexual.' That sounds like, 'I'll f -- - anybody.'''
Her romantic foibles notwithstanding, Sobule says that the songs on her new album, Happy Town, were inspired by professional and personal aggravation. ''There were expectations that my last album was going to do better than it did,'' she says. ''But after 'I Kissed a Girl' had its run, nothing else really happened.'' The thirtysomething Denver native had met with disappointments before, when she was dropped from MCA after an overly earnest first album bombed. But the sluggish sales for Jill Sobule hit her hard. ''For about three months, I couldn't pick up a guitar. I had fantasies of going back to school.''
To lift her mood, Sobule signed up for drum lessons. ''Taking another instrument brought a sense of freshness that made me want to play again,'' she explains. She began working on new songs, using the same melodic instincts and wry whimsy that drew critics to her last effort, but this time the writing was more ''blatantly personal.'' Town's first single, ''Bitter,'' reveals the insecurity and envy the singer felt watching female artists with better sales -- and bigger breasts -- on MTV. It also signals an emotional breakthrough. ''The song starts out cynical,'' Sobule says, ''but by the end I'm going, 'Maybe she's good, and maybe I can accept that.'''
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