i remember the first and only glee fic i've ever read had a running theme on "liz phair used to be awsome. r.i.p liz phair's awesomeness" and that was the best part of it. we should all collectively mourn liz phair's awesomeness
ahhh man i’ve been saying this for literal years!!! liz phair is such a TRAGEDY though, like easily one of indie music’s most brutal casualties. and i hate to be that way–i tried with her post-guyville music and i don’t think there’s anything wrong at all with radio-baiting or fishing for a wider audience, i mean, it worked for pavement (until they followed crcr with wowee zowee i guess, if they even meant for crcr to be a pseudo-success), it worked for yo la tengo, it worked for spoon, it worked for modest mouse (unfortunately), it worked for weezer (also unfortunately) etc etc, and so i take issue with the way some of the criticisms of her music/herself, personally, have been framed since the late 90s: this woman wants to be heard, how very fucking dare she. unfortunately what liz has had to say since roughly ‘95 wavers between a rejected seth rogen movie and the tinny soundtrack of your local sears, with all the flavor of knockoff dollar store wonderbread.
exile in guyville was such a revelation way back when i first started branching out at 15/16 and consciously seeking out music that wasn’t the prevailing boys club indie fare that always has and probably always will drown out everything else. there’s a confessional bite to it and this thready, crackly intimacy that feels so raw–i think that’s part of what resonated with so many of us who listened to it and could hear some part of ourselves, however big or small, breaking the surface for the first time. i don’t come back to it very much nowadays, but it really is a special–and really, truly game-changing–album. we can mourn/eulogize it together <3
i hope she’s having fun though, regardless of reviews, press, overwrought hand-wringing about mediocrity, airplay or lack thereof. maybe it’s all been an elaborate inside joke! but i’d like to hope she’s enjoyed the ride and milked the indie scene for all it’s worth and had herself a good laugh along the way. i root for her.
