If Exile in Guyville is shockingly assured and fully formed for a debut album, there are a number of reasons why. Most prominent of these is that many of the songs were initially essayed on Liz Phair's homemade cassette Girlysound, which means that the songs are essentially the cream of the crop from an exceptionally talented songwriter. Second, there's its structure, infamously patterned after the Stones' Exile on Main St., but not the song-by-song response Phair promoted it as. (Just try to match the albums up: is the "blow-job queen" fantasy of "Flower" really the answer to the painful elegy "Let It Loose"?) Then, most notably, there's Phair and producer Brad Wood's deft studio skills, bringing a variety of textures and moods to a basic, lo-fi production. There is as much hard rock as there are eerie solo piano pieces, and there's everything in between from unadulterated power pop, winking art rock, folk songs, and classic indie rock. Then, there are Phair's songs themselves. At the time, her gleefully profane, clever lyrics received endless attention (there's nothing that ock critics love more than a girl who plays into their geek fantasies, even -- or maybe especially -- if she's mocking them), but years later, what still astounds is the depth of the writing, how her music matches her clear-eyed, vivid words, whether it's on the self-loathing "Fuck and Run," the evocative mood piece "Stratford-on-Guy," or the swaggering breakup anthem "6'1"," or how she nails the dissolution of a long-term relationship on "The Divorce Song." Each of these 18 songs maintains this high level of quality, showcasing a singer/songwriter of immense imagination, musically and lyrically. If she never equaled this record, well, few could.
Liz Phair's music career has been a rollercoaster ride...and we ain't talking no "It's A Small World" picnic. After her initial indie twot rock success, Phair signed her soul over to Capitol Records. Under the major label umbrella the mother of one received major backlash. Fans called her a sell-out, while one New York Times critic went on to compare her 2003 self-titled release for Capitol to ...
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What is the world coming to when Howard Stern gets engaged on Valentine's Day??? And on that note, here is my all time favorite break up song!! From the only Liz Phair I choose to remember...
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Liz Phair's Exile In Guyville is one of the great albums, included in any serious best albums of all time list. Now on its 15th anniversary it is being reissued. The new versions is out June 24.In addition to the CD, this marks the first time Guyville will be available digitally. The album includes four new tracks from the original recording sessions: "Ant in Alaska," with Phair simply accompan...
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Yay! Someone already made a youtube video for this one...so i didnt have to! And whoever this person was really took this 'That 70's Show Breakup' really hard it seems...Anyway, I think this is the best falling out of love song I have ever heard. NOT break up song, that is different...people who love each other break up all the time for different reasons, and people who can't stand each other s...
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there's something about a girl and a guitar.*sigh*maybe someday i'll learn how to play mine.lucy.
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been listening to exile in guyville quite a bit as of late, after probably 2-3 years without listening to it much, if at all. no doubt that it’s a brilliant record, and remains in my top 5 of all time, but are people still buying it or listening to it? is it one of those [...]
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Oh Liz, what happened to you? Did you lose all your indie street cred and vanish into corporate rock oblivion? Will you only be remembered as the "Why Can't I" singer? Hell no!!!! You released one of the best albums of the 1990's. By the way, will you marry me?
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I've been on a "Liz Phair" kick for weeks now. I've posted the song "Fuck and Run" on every site I frequent. No, I'm not a site junkie... Actually, I only frequented a total of three sites, now only two. So, guess I probably shouldn't have said every site. But, I'm too lazy to back space and rewrite this post. I just basically here to say Liz Phair is kicks ass and her song Fuck and Run be...
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| Title | Lyrics | Buy |
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| 1 6'1" |
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| 2 Help Me Mary |
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| 3 Glory |
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| 4 Dance of the Seven Veils |
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| 5 Never Said |
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| 6 Soap Star Joe |
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| 7 Explain It to Me |
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| 8 Canary |
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| 9 Mesmerizing |
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| 10 Fuck and Run |
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| 11 Girls, Girls, Girls |
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| 12 Divorce Song |
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| 13 Shatter |
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| 14 Flower |
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| 15 Johnny Sunshine |
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| 16 Gunshy |
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| 17 Stratford-On-Guy |
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| 18 Strange Loop |
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Click to purchase…
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 "Exile in Guyville")
