From: owner-support-system-digest@smoe.org (support-system-digest) To: support-system-digest@smoe.org Subject: support-system-digest V6 #127 Reply-To: support-system@smoe.org Sender: owner-support-system-digest@smoe.org Errors-To: owner-support-system-digest@smoe.org Precedence: bulk support-system-digest Thursday, May 22 2003 Volume 06 : Number 127 Today's Subjects: ----------------- Re: Bounced message (Re: support-system-digest V6 #124) [Kenneth Lee ] Bust [Kate Stewart ] Liz Touring News ["Daaaaan Theman" ] Re: market monkeys [Andrea Uptmor ] RE: Liz Radio play in L.A. ["INMAN, DAVID B" ] Re: support-system-digest V6 #126 [AMDAmore@aol.com] Fwd: support-system-digest V6 #126 [TitleTK@aol.com] liz & lili [BBelbis@aol.com] Strange Relatinship-ship-ship (classic Prince, anyone?) ["Chris DeLisle" ] Re: support-system-digest V6 #126 [fallout@purdue.edu] who's cynical now? [Andrea Uptmor ] Liz debuts on Hot AC chart [Jase ] Liz at Bowery Ballroom [C79helium@aol.com] New album controversy, etc. [Jase ] AMG review of the new album [Jase ] Liz in Summer Issue of Venus Zine [mollieclarins@att.net] Re: AMG review of the new album [Emil Breton ] ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Date: Tue, 20 May 2003 22:48:17 -0700 From: Kenneth Lee Subject: Re: Bounced message (Re: support-system-digest V6 #124) Nice post, overpavement. Couldn't have said it better myself... - -Ken kenmlee@ix.netcom.com MeSmErIzInG - AnOtHeR LiZ PhAiR WeBsItE http://www.geocities.com/SunsetStrip/Club/2471/ ------------------------------ Date: Wed, 21 May 2003 01:51:51 -0400 (EDT) From: "Headache79" Subject: market monkeys greetings internet people, personally i'm digging the new album deeply and listening to it over and over on a pretty daily basis for the past month. i can't wait for the album so i can buy it and get the website stuff. i can't wait to hear "why can't i?" pumped out as muzak in elevators. i'll listen to it as much as i listen to my other liz phair records, and not care at all that she's "sold old", "betrayed her fans", and begun to "waste her talent". i won't be putting her in the list of formerly significant and important artists or any other such nonsense. i'm gonna let it go, cause indie rock is dead and that was so 1990's. i'm gonna enjoy what liz has wrought and not take things so fucking seriously. good grief. you would think that she came to our houses pissed on our dinner then wiped her ass with the quilt our grandmother's made us. oh my god... liz phair doesn't appreciate us! we've been pissing and moaning for the past four years that she isn't producing music fast enough, not making music w e want her to make, and too busy caring about her own life, her family, and making herself happy. how dare that ungrateful bitch! no wonder she wants to see other people. we're obsessive possessive anal retentive psycho hose beasts. i've been lurking for the past few months, but i'm really f-ing sick and tired getting the digest each day and seeing people piss and moan. does anyone remember when this list was fun and just a community of people sharing musical tastes and a love for liz? i do. that list was fun. we're just a bunch of bitter old hags now. too busy being pissy. this is worse than the great alanis war of 99. i've decided i'm gonna listen to sheryl crow (who apparently has sold out too) and advise everyone to lighten up and just soak up the sun. life is too short for this kind of shit. let's all take a deep breath and count back from ten and maybe we'll be alright. and if not, i'm sure there's some angry coffee house wench with her guitar living in a van writing angry music out there you can go and worship. and maybe even give her some soap. that's all for now, peace and love and empathy, paul "As I got older I had to step out of the lines. And make up my own mind. As I got light as a feather they got stiff as a board. I can't feel any more, but I can fake it forever." Liz Phair, "Bionic Eyes" The most personalized portal on the Web! ------------------------------ Date: Tue, 20 May 2003 23:06:02 -0700 (PDT) From: Kate Stewart Subject: Bust Thought I'd transcribe a review of the album in Bust. Nothing new, but here it is- "I blame Liz, but mostly I blame her production team, the Matrix. What is it with producers wanting to make female vocalists sound like robots? I guess I understand it with Avril Lavigne- they probably need to use computers to help her hit the right notes. But fucking with a voice like Liz Phair's? Liz's whole appeal is her low, horsey voice. But the Matrix took that all away. This is the worst case of overproduction since Steve Albini got his grubby little mitts all over PJ Harvey. And just like PJ did, Liz should put out an album of raw demo versions right away. Maybe then they'd stand half a chance, except that on this album, Liz's usually clever lyrics are straddling a not-very-fine line between clever and cringe-worthy. In one song, a guy is likened to her favorite pair of underwear (she's "slipping you on again tonight") and in another naughty little ditty called "H.W.C." which stands for (belive it or not) Hot White Cum (!!) she refers to her man's cum as "the fountain of youth, the meaning of life." Is this even funny? Adding insult to injury, it has a harmonica in the chorus! Ugh. We waited five years for this?" __________________________________ Do you Yahoo!? The New Yahoo! Search - Faster. Easier. Bingo. http://search.yahoo.com ------------------------------ Date: Wed, 21 May 2003 08:34:27 -0400 From: "Daaaaan Theman" Subject: Liz Touring News Liz will be touring with Jason Mraz (sp?) for her summer tour. He will be opening for her, and I know they're gonna play the Beacon Theater in NYC in August. I will be backstage. I still love the new album, but hate the new cover! I loved the one of her in the fishnets, but the new one is so cheesy/ airbrushed beyond oblivion. I had something important to say, but forget what it was. Later. - -Dan _________________________________________________________________ Protect your PC - get McAfee.com VirusScan Online http://clinic.mcafee.com/clinic/ibuy/campaign.asp?cid=3963 ------------------------------ Date: Wed, 21 May 2003 09:14:31 -0500 From: Andrea Uptmor Subject: Re: market monkeys AMEN, brother!!!! Quoting Headache79 : we've been pissing and moaning for > the past four years that she isn't producing music fast enough, not making > music w > e want her to make, and too busy caring about her own life, her family, and > making herself happy. how dare that ungrateful bitch! no wonder she wants to > see other people. we're obsessive possessive anal retentive psycho hose > beasts. > > i've been lurking for the past few months, but i'm really f-ing sick and > tired getting the digest each day and seeing people piss and moan. - -- ------------------------------ Date: Wed, 21 May 2003 09:56:09 -0500 From: "INMAN, DAVID B" Subject: RE: Liz Radio play in L.A. Hey yall- I just found this old picture of me @ the sleep clinic all wired up & in my Liz t-shirt. Thought y'all would get a kick out of it! Oh yeah, anyone who's into the "alt country" genre' (whatever that is) may wanna check out my band @ www.thescuffs.com. If you're interested in a copy of our first CD, let me know - I'll hook Liz phans up with a complimentary copy. Your Pal, Davey "Never argue with an idiot. They drag you down to their level then beat you with experience." [demime 0.97c removed an attachment of type image/jpeg which had a name of sleepydave[1].jpg] ------------------------------ Date: Wed, 21 May 2003 12:15:30 EDT From: AMDAmore@aol.com Subject: Re: support-system-digest V6 #126 My God, when are you guys going to stop repeating yourself? The record company is probably flipping happy about how much controversy this is causing, and you're all just feeding into it. ------------------------------ Date: Wed, 21 May 2003 12:31:24 EDT From: TitleTK@aol.com Subject: Fwd: support-system-digest V6 #126 In a message dated 5/21/03 12:16:53 PM Eastern Daylight Time, AMDAmore@aol.com writes: << My God, when are you guys going to stop repeating yourself? The record company is probably flipping happy about how much controversy this is causing, and you're all just feeding into it. >> This is not the kind of controversy that sells records . . . probably b/c it isn't a controversy, but a discussion about music. I can't see many non-liz fans saying . . . "oh my god, Liz Phair really must have sold out, I just gotta hear it." Even if that were true, what we say on this list is not going to influence record companies, it's obvious we aren't their target . . . james Return-Path: Received: from rly-xl01.mx.aol.com (rly-xl01.mail.aol.com [172.20.83.70]) by air-xl02.mail.aol.com (v93.12) with ESMTP id MAILINXL21-4f683ecba6732d0; Wed, 21 May 2003 12:16:53 -0400 Received: from smoe.org (jane.smoe.org [199.201.145.78]) by rly-xl01.mx.aol.com (v93.12) with ESMTP id MAILRELAYINXL18-5b23ecba66420a; Wed, 21 May 2003 12:16:36 -0400 Received: from smoe.org (ident-user@localhost [127.0.0.1]) by smoe.org (8.12.8/8.12.8) with ESMTP id h4LGFksb005955 for ; Wed, 21 May 2003 12:15:46 -0400 (EDT) Received: (from majordom@localhost) by smoe.org (8.12.8/8.12.8/Submit) id h4LGFkGI005954 for support-system-outgoing; Wed, 21 May 2003 12:15:46 -0400 (EDT) Received: from imo-m08.mx.aol.com (imo-m08.mx.aol.com [64.12.136.163]) by smoe.org (8.12.8/8.12.8) with ESMTP id h4LGFisb005895 for ; Wed, 21 May 2003 12:15:44 -0400 (EDT) Received: from AMDAmore@aol.com by imo-m08.mx.aol.com (mail_out_v34.22.) id p.3d.2feab75b (18403) for ; Wed, 21 May 2003 12:15:30 -0400 (EDT) From: AMDAmore@aol.com Message-ID: <3d.2feab75b.2bfd0022@aol.com> Date: Wed, 21 May 2003 12:15:30 EDT Subject: Re: support-system-digest V6 #126 To: support-system@smoe.org MIME-Version: 1.0 Content-Type: text/plain; charset="us-ascii" X-Mailer: 8.0 for Windows sub 6014 X-Spam-Status: No, hits=2.1 required=5.0 tests=MIME_LONG_LINE_QP,NO_REAL_NAME,SPAM_PHRASE_01_02 version=2.43 X-Spam-Level: ** X-Converted-To-Plain-Text: from multipart/alternative by demime 0.97c X-Converted-To-Plain-Text: Alternative section used was text/plain Sender: owner-support-system@smoe.org Precedence: bulk My God, when are you guys going to stop repeating yourself? The record company is probably flipping happy about how much controversy this is causing, and you're all just feeding into it. ------------------------------ Date: Wed, 21 May 2003 15:58:21 EDT From: BBelbis@aol.com Subject: liz & lili hi everyone, can anyone out there confirm that actress lili taylor was in the same graduating class as liz. they were both born in 1967 and went to new trier h.s. sorry for the trivial post. a friend just wants confirmation. if anyone can confirm this, please email me personally: bbelbis@aol.com thanks in advance brian ------------------------------ Date: Wed, 21 May 2003 16:36:47 -0400 From: "Chris DeLisle" Subject: Strange Relatinship-ship-ship (classic Prince, anyone?) i would first like to thank Dana (i think it was Dana...Andrea? Dana? i think it was Dana ~ i apologize if i got it wrong) for publicly agreeing with and backing up a previous comment i made regarding Liz's "relationship" (or the not fully comprehending of us, that is). on a similar note, this: Obviously the relationship with her nerdy, CREEPY, drooling Old Fans was going nowhere -- who could fault her for wanting to get out? is hilarious!! :) and so true! chris deLisle ------------------------------ Date: Wed, 21 May 2003 17:47:05 -0500 From: fallout@purdue.edu Subject: Re: support-system-digest V6 #126 Someone said: > Andrea U i think said it...something like "if you dont like the new liz > then make something better. i'd love to hear it." that is so right on. > (liz phair couldn't have said it better) > find some new indie rock lady to > listen to, but learn your lesson and don't get too emotionally attached > next time. Someone else said: > I hate to break it to you folks, but being a musician is a profession. She isn't out there just for the > hell of it. You don't put your blood, sweat, and tears, as well as your money, > into a record just because you're a nice person and want to give your fans > a few songs to listen to. It's her job. Is it really the detractors that are the cynics? ------------------------------ Date: Wed, 21 May 2003 18:26:17 -0500 From: Andrea Uptmor Subject: who's cynical now? Quoting fallout@purdue.edu: > Is it really the detractors that are the cynics? > Hmmm. What was said wasn't cynical at all. It was honest and matter-of-fact. Those of us who enjoy the new album and are able to carry on with our daily lives in spite of the fact that liz phair's sound has changed seem to be a teensy bit more optimistic than all the Chomsky reading, heavy-handed philosophers out there who seem unable to grasp the fact that not everyone comprehends their "good song, bad song" logic. (whoever wrote that earlier, I'm sorry I forgot who it was, you hit the nail on the head). I personally am glad to see a fresh wave of comments from those of us who *gasp* still enjoy Liz Phair's music. It seemed the list was getting a bit depressed, and it always cheers me to hear from folks who have more on their minds than our shared obsession for our beloved phair. speaking of which, there was a Buffy mention on the list the other day - GASP again! Had I known that there were other buffy fans on the list, I would have said something! ot, what'd you think of the last episode? if you don't wanna clutter up the list you can email me privately. i'm a dork like that. :) well much love to all. Try not to lose sleep over this. Andrea U. ------------------------------ Date: Wed, 21 May 2003 20:13:37 -0400 From: Jase Subject: Liz debuts on Hot AC chart I was just checking the airplay charts at radioandrecords.com and it looks like "Why Can't I?" has been added at nine more stations. During the previous week, Liz had seven adds; the first week, she had 15. In total, the single is now being played on 31 stations. Between those 31 stations, "Why Can't I?" was played 268 times -- enough for the song to debut at #39 on this week's Hot AC chart. Not a bad start, by any means. Liz is pretty much considered a new artist at that particular format -- all of her previous singles went for adds at Modern Rock stations, so she has no previous track record at Hot AC. Anyone want to place bets as to where the single will chart next week? Jase ------------------------------ Date: Wed, 21 May 2003 21:55:16 EDT From: C79helium@aol.com Subject: Liz at Bowery Ballroom If anyone who is interested in the NYC or NJ area Liz will be playing the Bowery Ballroom in NYC on Sunday August 10th. The show is 21+. -cana- "That I'm a little despot, short and stout, Here is my handgun, here is my crowd control, When you tick me off then the bullets fly out." "Don't come and play, I like to be on my own, don't miss me, people say I'm better off alone" liz phair ------------------------------ Date: Wed, 21 May 2003 22:41:23 -0400 From: Jase Subject: New album controversy, etc. I haven't really been keeping up with the list during the past week or so, but I'm starting to catch up on the posts I've missed. I know I've already acknowledged how I completely misread that one post Jeremy made over a week ago, but I just read my original reply again and cringed. In addition to my original misinterpretation, I think I also made too many generalizations about the new songs. There are a couple that I still feel are somewhat generic, but others like "Little Digger" are quite the opposite. I've been talking about the new album here and on a couple of message boards and I still can't seem to make up my mind about it; there are times when I really like it for what it is and others when I wish it was more distinctive. At any given time, I like about half the songs on it. Is anyone else finding themselves going back and forth like this? I think it's a good sign, though, that I haven't been able to dismiss the album completely and even after several weeks, I'm still playing it every two or three days. I also wonder if I might appreciate the Matrix tracks a little more if I start hearing them on the radio; maybe listening to them in that context will make a difference. As it stands, I was looking at some radio playlists earlier to get an idea of which stations are playing "Why Can't I?" and let me tell you, it's a definite bright spot on the playlists it appears on. It's still a lot better than many of the songs listed alongside it; maybe Liz had the right idea when she described the songs as "mainstreamy, but really exceptional as such." They're still a departure from my own usual taste, but I'll reserve judgment for now. Again, I can't even make up my mind about the album and maybe I'll come around yet. Now, about the infamous "seeking other people" quote: If Liz did intend it the way most have interpreted it, it's definitely a calculated risk she's taking (possibly losing one audience while pursuing another that may or may not respond), but it seems like it's going to pay off, at least in the short term. Let me explain: Certain friends of mine don't share my musical taste -- at all. They've never understood how much or why I love Liz's music. I've tried playing various songs of hers for them over the years and they just don't get it. Their eyes sort of glaze over and they tune out after a while. It's just not their thing. A few of us went out to the casino a couple of nights after my birthday and on the drive back, I sort of got annoyed with my one friend who kept changing radio stations every couple of minutes. Finally I asked if he'd mind if I put something on. I sort of got the "Oh God, what am I in for?" look, but he gave in and I put on the new Liz CD. For some reason, the CD kept skipping during "Extraordinary," and I didn't really want to hear "Red Light Fever," so I skipped ahead to "Why Can't I?" You know the look most of us probably had on our face the first time we heard "Divorce Song" or "Jealousy" or "Stratford-on-Guy?" That's the look they had listening to it. My friend Jen kept wanting to turn the volume up throughout the song and wanted to hear it again after it was over. "Take a Look" went over nearly as well. Before the first chorus was over, my friend Greg was already saying, "This should be the next single." "It's Sweet" reminded Jen of some other song she couldn't put her finger on, but she liked it nonetheless. The only song that didn't really go over well was "Favorite," and I can't really argue there. It's probably the song I like the least on the album as well. I don't know about the whole "sellout" issue that's been debated here. I used to think an artist had sold out if they changed their music or their sound for the express purpose of gaining a wider audience or selling more records. If Liz was serious when she said that she wanted to become a "washed up, diluted version of [her] own self and rake it in," then by that particular definition she would be selling out. But I'm not so sure what to think now. What if this is the music Liz has always longed to make, but just never had the resources to do so? After all, while she used to talk about bands like the Jesus and Mary Chain and Pavement, she's also talked at greater length about Madonna and Alanis Morissette, admires a lot of the performers she played alongside during the Lilith Fair tours, and said that she knows most bands only by their radio singles. Also, as she said in the CMJ interview from 1994, "When I'm in the third year of this business, and fourth, I should be pretty much doing what I want, which in some people's eyes will make me greatly cheesier. But I was much cheesier before any of this started. I've totally held myself in because I knew I was going to be looked at. The natural me is much giddier, way more mainstream pop. If people hate me for those reasons now, they have not seen anything. I'm way worse." If that's the case, maybe this new album isn't a compromise of her integrity. If anything, her earlier work would seem to be at odds with her own vision. Also, one thing that gets lost in the "selling out" argument is the merits of the work itself. Quality is not addressed as much as the act of changing is. I know a lot of people who, by my earlier definition, have made arguments to dismiss Hole's _Celebrity Skin_ as an attempt at selling out. But, you know, it's still a hell of a record, whether or not the claims have any validity. Hell, Dylan was called a sellout by the folk purists for plugging in, Joni Mitchell was called one for recording _Court and Spark_ with a full band backing her, and Blondie had their credibility called into question after "Heart of Glass" became massively successful. In certain circles, the addition of Lindsey Buckingham and Stevie Nicks to Fleetwood Mac and their move away from their blues roots is regarded the same way. It's kind of funny how with the passage of time, most of those claims aren't even worth consideration. Even though I'm not as big of a fan of Liz's new record as some people are, I still can't help but root for her. When I see things like her debut on the Hot AC chart, I can't help but be happy for her. I feel that Liz never got her due, at least commercially, with her past albums, so I keep thinking maybe the success of this one will compensate for her past underrecognition. At the same time, though, I do think her past efforts are more deserving of such success; the new record seems more like a calculated attempt to achieve it. I don't have a problem with commercial success per se, so I have no problem with seeing an artist do well; it's just frustrating when it's not their most (in my opinion) original or inspired work. A lot of it goes back to that alpha and beta band theory from that article -- of course the more diluted, easy-to-swallow work is what will succeed. That's where the disappointment lies. I've always wanted my favorite artists to succeed. That's why I've bought countless copies of Liz's past albums to give as gifts, have included songs of hers on countless mix tapes and CDs I've made for people, and recommend her albums any time I see or hear someone ask for music recommendations. Hell, the people who post at some of the message boards I frequent probably think I'm on her street team at this point. But, you know, anything to get the word out. I'm the same way with the other artists and bands I love. If Jen Trynin had sold more copies of her two albums, maybe there would have been one or two more by now, instead of her extended break from the music business. Maybe if Elastica's _The Menace_ had done as well as their first album, they wouldn't have broken up. If Throwing Muses were more well known, their "reunion" album this year wouldn't have needed to be billed as such, as they wouldn't have called in quits before due to financial issues. That's why I'm kind of frustrated with the posts here where people are assuming that others don't like the new album simply because it's meant to appeal to a wider audience or how people just want to keep Liz to themselves/her previous indie-ish fan base. I don't see that as the issue, since I'm sure just about everyone on this list has, at one time or another, gone out of their way to introduce her music to other people. I think most of us would have been elated had _Whip-Smart_ or _whitechocolatespaceegg_ broke Liz's music to a much wider audience the way the new album seems poised to. When Paul wrote "I'm sure there's some angry coffee house wench with her guitar living in a van writing angry music out there you can go and worship," I couldn't help but think a lot of what's been said on the list about the new album is still being misunderstood and misinterpreted. No one's asking Liz to be broke, miserable and to suffer for her art; for those who missed it, refer back to dp's post the other day -- she's already answered those claims better than I could. It's like how we're still seeing people say, "All you guys want is another _Exile in Guyville_." If the people saying that were paying closer attention to the other side of the discussion, you'd see that's not what's going on at all. Liz has made two other albums that weren't _Exile in Guyville_ either, and no one's arguing that they're anything less than great. That's like telling those who don't like Joni Mitchell's _Dog Eat Dog_ that they just want another _Blue_ or _Court and Spark_. If that's the case, why do a lot of those people also like _Hejira_, _The Hissing of Summer Lawns_, or _Night Ride Home_ (to name but a few)? Two of my favorite Liz songs are "Headache" and "Stuck on an Island." Both of those aren't much like anything on _Exile_ (or, in the case of the former, like anything else on any of her albums). The quality of the songwriting, though, is right up there with any of her best work. I know a lot of these subjects have been discussed to death already, so I'm not sure I'm accomplishing much with a post this long-winded and contradictory. After this, though, I promise I'll shut up for a while (although I did stumble across a review of the new album that I'm going to forward to the list later). Jase ------------------------------ Date: Wed, 21 May 2003 23:06:35 -0400 From: Jase Subject: AMG review of the new album Here's the All Music Guide [http://www.allmusic.com] review of Liz's new album, which they gave three stars: Who knew that all Liz Phair ever wanted was to be a pop star? Surely, her debut, _Exile in Guyville_, with its cinematic lo-fi production and frankness, never suggested as much, nor did its cleaner sequel, _Whip-Smart_, even if her appearance in negligee on the cover of Rolling Stone did imply she wanted a wider audience. In retrospect, perhaps the streamlined surfaces of _Whitechocolatespaceegg_ were a bid for the big time, but it was undercut by songs of motherhood, marriage, and remnants of her time as an indie queen. All of that is a distant memory on her long-delayed eponymous fourth album, where she makes a long-delayed stab at superstardom, glamming herself up like a Maxim MILF of the Month and inexplicably pitching herself somewhere between Sheryl Crow and Avril Lavigne, on one side working with Michael Penn and adult alternative singer/songwriter Pete Yorn and on the other hooking up with 2003's hitmakers du jour the Matrix (not wanting to lose her aging core audience, she began her support tour for the album opening for the thirty-something darlings of the early '00s, the Flaming Lips, even if her new music was a far cry from indie). As "Extraordinary" starts the album with a heavy guitar downstroke, it's clear that Liz Phair has piled nearly all her chips on making it as a pop act, delivering music that not just fits comfortably with Lavigne's, but follows her sounds and stance, right down to the insipid lyrics. This, to say the least, is disarming, not just to die-hard fans of _Exile_ who could never have dreamed that, of all the directions she could have gone, she chose _this_, but because such sentiments sound painfully trite coming from a 36-year-old woman. Throughout the album, these sparkly banalities come fast and furious, sometimes interrupted by something a little deeper, sometimes sounding catchy enough to sound pleasant in passing if you overlook both the lyrics and the fact that they're written by Phair, who used to be one of the sharpest writers in rock. There's nothing wrong with a change of pace, but there's a startling lack of depth in either the words, which are entirely too literal, or the music, whose hooks are at once too obvious and not ingratiating enough. Then, there's the weird realization that Phair has so little to say on _Liz Phair_. While this very well could be her most directly confessional album - - nearly every song is in the first person, with many songs drawing parallels to her circulated life story - there's no insight here, particularly when compared to, yes, her earlier work. It's not just that "The Divorce Song" details a messy breakup better than either of the divorce songs here (although that's an important, telling truth), it's that the parenting song is confused and condescending, it's that the endless songs about sleeping with twenty-something guys are littered with ridiculous lyrics ("I'm starting to think young guys rule," "I want to play Xbox on your floor"), and it's that she can't manage to write either a funny or sexy ode to her underwear on "Favorite." It's also that toward the end of this deliberate bid for the mainstream, she tosses in the embarrassingly "naughty" "HWC," where she extols the virtues of semen in the hair and on the skin ("Without you I'm just another Dorian Grey"); sure, it might seemingly break taboos, but what good is explicitness if it is only smarmy, with none of the humor or candor of "Flower" or "Glory." Yes, let's not compare a new record to an LP that's ten years old (although she invites those comparisons with a song like "HWC"), but _Exile in Guyville_ has such a lasting impact, it's impossible to shake its memory when hearing her other, newer works. Liz Phair is running away from that shadow on _Liz Phair_, creating a record that is pretty much the polar opposite of that album, a shiny bright affair that wants nothing more than to be taken as a confection, even when it tries to dig deeper. It may be that Phair no longer has much to say - three albums after _Exile_, that's looking more like an anomaly in her catalog - but even so, the clothing and trappings of mainstream pop don't fit her well, and _Liz Phair_ is a fascinatingly awkward, clumsy album. - Stephen Thomas Erlewine ------------------------------ Date: Thu, 22 May 2003 02:57:24 +0000 From: mollieclarins@att.net Subject: Liz in Summer Issue of Venus Zine From the Venus website (http://www.venuszine.com): "No. 16 (Summer 2003) COVER STORY: "Phair Game": Exiled from Chicago and its seriously-hardcore- music-critic-type community, Liz Phair explains why its taken five years to release an album and why its a bitch to be an adult. ADDITIONAL FEATURES: White Stripes  Yo La Tengo  The Gossip  Trachtenberg Family Slideshow Players  Nina Nastasia  Goldfrapp  Miz-Korona (of 8 Mile)  Monade  All Girl Summer Fun Band  Evan Dando (for "Penus")  Glass Candy and the Shattered Theatre  Sweet Heat  The Children's Hour  Natacha Atlas  Lisa Germano  The Sounds  Les Nubians  Desparately Seeking Susan director Susan Seidelman  author ZZ Packer  skateboarder Peggy Oki PLUS: Venus readers & writers dish on the best sex they've ever had  "I've Got the Picnic Disease" summer fashion  "R.I.P. Nina Simone"  previously unpublished fiction by Shelley Jackson  loads of reviews (Cramps, Sonic Youth, Dressy Bessy, New Pornographers, Yoshimi & Yuka, T-Love, Essential Logic, Essex Green, and many others)  Rock Camp For Girls  "About Place" feature covering big-time lady record collectors" You can see the cover on their website as well. It's a very nice looking pic of a winking, sunshine-kissed Liz. I can't tell you how much ass this magazine kicks. I'm jealous I didn't start it first. - --Joselle ------------------------------ Date: Wed, 21 May 2003 19:59:46 -0700 (PDT) From: Emil Breton Subject: Re: AMG review of the new album I swear I did not write that review. It looks like something I'd write, though. Seriously, now: 3 stars? Is that 3 stars out of 10, or what? What's up with that disparity? At any rate, that's some sharply-focused ass-forking, and Pitchfork didn't even write it. (*That* is the one review I look forward to reading. You know, if I can bear to put down the latest Chomsky book. Pft.) __________________________________ Do you Yahoo!? The New Yahoo! Search - Faster. Easier. Bingo. http://search.yahoo.com ------------------------------ End of support-system-digest V6 #127 ************************************