2 posts tagged “liz phair”
I got to see Jenny Lewis in concert Sunday night, and she was simply amazing.
Lewis was one of the best performers I've ever seen, and I couldn't help but wonder why she was playing a smaller venue rather than to a pavillion or an arena (although naturally I prefer the more intimate setting). When the concert was first announced, I was taken aback that it was at a standing-room-only club. I suppose she's still growing in popularity as an artist, but in all seriousness -- why aren't more people in love with her?
Songs like "Carpetbaggers" and "Trying My Best to Love You" are catchy and poppy enough to get radio airplay, but they don't. She just as charismatic and lovely (if not more so) as Gwen Stefani and has a strong female fan base to boot, yet she's still hasn't reached household name status. I find this strange.
Don't get me wrong. I don't necessarily want to be seeing her from nose-bleed seats in section Z, but Jenny definitely needs some more recognition. Liz Phair once said that Madonna is the speedboat, and the rest of us are just the Go-Go's on waterskis. I think that music needs a new speedboat.
Yesterday, Liz Phair's Exile in Guyville was rereleased (remastered with an additional three tracks) in honor of its 15th anniversary.
I was probably nine or ten when this album was released, so I haven't been listening to the album for 15 years. But I do believe as a rule every female should be required to listen to this album and try not to become changed by it.
Even in the opening track, she warned women of the perils of dating: "It's cold out there and rough." Her descriptions were so vivid ("Scratching his face like a bum"), you felt like you were right there with her. Never was a female singer so frank and raw about sex and men (eat that Morissette!). She sang about things Carrie Bradshaw would meditate on over her computer some six or seven years later. And she looked damn bad ass doing it.
I first really rediscovered this album after graduating from college. I was a huge Liz Phair before then, but merely skimmed over this album, going straight to "gimme" tracks like "Never Said" and "Fuck and Run." The whole album is some kind of small miracle and should probably only be listened to straight through. She was an important pioneer for most female artists after her and even some out there today (Amy Winehouse, Lili Allen).
"Stratford-on-Guy" might be the best song on the entire album. I'm not exactly sure what it's about (Mile-high club? Imminent plane crash?), but it has one of the most haunting vocals. You really get a sense that Liz is moving toward somewhere else in the song. Where that is, who knows. But we all want to go with her.
I became so obsessed with Guyville that I spent a good part of a month trying to compare it to its predecessor and inspiration, the Rolling Stones' Exile on Main Street. Liz claims that Guyville is a song for song answer to the Rolling Stones' 1972 album. The only similarity I can come up with is that both albums seems to make good use of the maracas. Also, "hit" songs "Tumbling Dice" and "Never Said" are both track number 5. Coincidence? I suppose only Liz Phair really knows for sure.
This recording of Liz from '95 singing "Fuck and Run" is probably better than the album version of this song. Enjoy!
