From: owner-support-system-digest@smoe.org (support-system-digest) To: support-system-digest@smoe.org Subject: support-system-digest V8 #152 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 Monday, October 31 2005 Volume 08 : Number 152 Today's Subjects: ----------------- [support-system] Somebody's Miracle review (One Way Magazine) [Kenneth Le] [support-system] Somebody's Miracle review (Chicago Reader) [Kenneth Lee ] [support-system] Somebody's Miracle review (Glide Magazine) [Kenneth Lee ] [support-system] Somebody's Miracle review (Tastes Like Chicken) [Kenneth] [support-system] Somebody's Miracle review (Static Multimedia) [Kenneth L] [support-system] Somebody's Miracle review (Cleveland Scene) [Kenneth Lee] [support-system] Somebody's Miracle (Vox Magazine) [Kenneth Lee Subject: [support-system] Somebody's Miracle review (One Way Magazine) From One Way Magazine: (http://www.onewaymagazine.com/inthebin_17-722.html) Liz Phair Somebody's Miracle (CD Capitol) Liz Phair made an interesting career decision in 2003 to essentially eschew her indie rock style and make a play for the teen pop audience. Not since Bob Dylan went electric has there been such a controversial outcry. However, Phair continues on a slightly more adult rock path on "Sombody's Miracle" with strong tracks such as "Leap of Innocence". - -Ken kenmlee@ix.netcom.com MeSmErIzInG - AnOtHeR LiZ PhAiR WeBsItE http://www.geocities.com/SunsetStrip/Club/2471/ ------------------------------ Date: Sun, 30 Oct 2005 10:44:06 -0800 From: Kenneth Lee Subject: [support-system] Somebody's Miracle review (Chicago Reader) From Chicago Reader: (http://www.chicagoreader.com/pdf/051021/051021_music.pdf) Girl Problems A Slits live album and Liz Phair's latest illuminate the prejudices that (still) plague women in rock. By Jessica Hopper While the Slits' legacy is built on their supposed lack of intent, Liz Phair has made her intentions known since day one. The cover of her debut, "Exile in Guyville", shows her lunging toward the camera, blurred in motion, mouth open wide, barring tit. Supposedly a double-album in response to "Exile on Main Street", "Guyville" dealt with desire both explicitly and subtly. Phair forged a bond with her audience based on the authenticity of her portrayals of postcollegiate ennui, romance, and fucking. Her songs were stark, feminist, and prosaic, titillating but never crass. You felt smart identifying with them. She may have been a neophyte, but she displayed outsize ambition and was accepted as a serious artist. She was excused from the rote special grief reserved for female musicians regarding whether they "can play". Those rankled by her candor or disappointed by her live performances were grossly outnumbered by the fans and critics genuflecting at her feet. Phair's '03-'04 game season was little more than a louder, more overt application of the plays that had been working for her all along. "Liz Phair", her first album in five years, featured her nearly naked on the cover. But while she was still offering libidinous odes, she was piggybacking them to glossy production and the sort of hooks that sound good all the way up in the cheap seats of the Coors Light Pavilion. This attempt at having it both ways misfired big time: critics lambasted the 36-year-old single mom for both acting like her 25-year old self and not sounding like her 25-year-old self. The way scenesters and critics alike clucked their tongues about her miniskirt poses and songs about fucking you'd think she'd included a bukkake DVD as a bonus disc. The real problem was that when a 36-year-old combines big-budget production with overt sexuality, she knows exactly what kind of transaction is at hand. Phair had broken an unspoken rule, one that holds as true in rock 'n' roll as it does in a strip club: When you acknowledge the exploitation, you corrupt the fantasy. You can go for the cock, but don't start fishing around for the wallet, too. In recent interviews Phair has said that anyone still hung up on her arty indie rock of a decade ago "should get over it". Her latest album, "Somebody's Miracle" (Capitol), is a 14-track telegram that lets you know if you came looking for anything other than music to play in your hair salon, you're shit out of luck. She makes getting over it phenomenally easy. "Somebody's Miracle" has the glimmering sheen of "Liz Phair", but the would-be Matrix hits have been replaced with a style of music known in the biz as *boring*. The lyrics are purloined from "Love Is" cartoons, and her pro-boner sentiments have been replaced with virginal tenderness: "Let your body hold me close / Let your body move you / Moooove yaa" is the album's most explicit line. "Everything (Between Us)" hints at some of the hallmarks of her sound -- the loose jangles that slides into the unassuming slow burn chorus -- and "Table for One", a song about self-medicating, drinking, and shame, could almost fit on "Whitechocolatespaceegg", with its simplicity and questionalbe Spanish guitar interlude, but in the end neither one's good for much more than playing behind the closing credits of a Julia Roberts chick flick. The rest is worse -- an interminable mix of Crisco-gilded AOR that sounds like Sheryl Crow if she had two ideas instead of just one. With "Somebody's Miracle" Phair eviscerates all trace of the artist we thought we had pigeonholed, leaving little to grasp and even less to fight about, and forcing us, once and for all, to take her on her own merit. - -Ken kenmlee@ix.netcom.com MeSmErIzInG - AnOtHeR LiZ PhAiR WeBsItE http://www.geocities.com/SunsetStrip/Club/2471/ ------------------------------ Date: Sun, 30 Oct 2005 13:51:52 -0800 From: Kenneth Lee Subject: [support-system] Somebody's Miracle review (Glide Magazine) From Glide Magazine: (http://www.glidemagazine.com/2/reviews1006.html) Liz Phair "Somebody's Miracle" Jason Gonulsen With all the negative press surrounding Liz Phair the past couple years, you would think the last thing she would want to do is release another pop album. The self-titled "Liz Phair", released in 2003, was a slick piece of work-so slick that her cult following, who still live and breathe off her first album, "Exile in Guyville", saw her as Judas. It was an album that saw Liz throw aside meaningful songwriting for hooks and radio hits. Even when she found room for her popular potty mouth, the words seemed misplaced and misused. It reeked of a quick fix to sell out. It was also an album that made Liz Phair a happy woman. Lost in the juvenile argument of what "Liz Phair" was or wasn't, hid a single mom in her late thirties having the time of her life. "Somebody's Miracle", her fifth album, doesn't discard the happy, pop sound of "Liz Phair", but rather serves as a happy medium for herself and her fans to enjoy and once again get on with their lives. For starters, "Somebody's Miracle" reasserts Phair as a confident songwriter. Sure there is a cheesy line or two ("Each frog has a prince that's waiting inside of him") that could have been written by an intern at her record labels headquarters, but for the most part, the songs are confessional and from the heart. Perhaps the biggest complaint about "Liz Phair" was that she teamed up with The Matrix (see Lavigne, Avril) for songwriting partnership, which in turn produced the plain-as-bread "Why Can't I" and "Extraordinary". Neither were bad pop songs, but they left no room for imagination, something Phair has done so well in the past and has won over fans(see "Flower" and "Divorce Song"). On "Somebody's Miracle", it's Phair who is given writing credits for most of the tunes, and it's a relief. Her honesty is greatly appreciated and heartfelt on "Table For One" and "Closer To You", while the mainstream title track carries more weight than just another song you listen to on the radio. I'll admit that this isn't a timeless album that you'll keep going back to when you think about Liz Phair. But it signifies what Phair is at this point in her career: an artist who is having fun and not caring about her past glories. Let's just hope people are still willing to listen to her play out the rest of her career. Whose miracle that would be is anyone's guess. - -Ken kenmlee@ix.netcom.com MeSmErIzInG - AnOtHeR LiZ PhAiR WeBsItE http://www.geocities.com/SunsetStrip/Club/2471/ ------------------------------ Date: Sun, 30 Oct 2005 13:56:25 -0800 From: Kenneth Lee Subject: [support-system] Somebody's Miracle review (Tastes Like Chicken) From Tastes Like Chicken: (http://www.tlchicken.com/view_story.php?ARTid=3353) LIZ PHAIR - "SOMEBODY'S MIRACLE" (Capitol Records) Liz Phair makes up for her 2003 self-titled album with her fifth release, "Somebody's Miracle". Her classic sound returns here, picking up perfectly where "whitechocolatespaceegg" left off. With that being said, I can't help but miss her piss-and-vinegar attitude of yesteryear, when she'd talk about being a nympho and getting eaten out, instead of reassuring someone that they can count on her love. THE GRADE: B - - Wayne Chinsang - -Ken kenmlee@ix.netcom.com MeSmErIzInG - AnOtHeR LiZ PhAiR WeBsItE http://www.geocities.com/SunsetStrip/Club/2471/ ------------------------------ Date: Sun, 30 Oct 2005 14:30:23 -0800 From: Kenneth Lee Subject: [support-system] Somebody's Miracle review (Static Multimedia) From Static Multimedia: (http://www.staticmultimedia.com/content/music/reviews/cd/review_1130099852) "Somebody's Miracle" Liz Phair Capitol Records Brett Hickman 1-1/2 stars (out of 4) It wouldn't take many more spins of "Somebody's Miracle" to get me to like it. Yeah, it would be a begrudging appreciation, but it has the basic elements in place to worm its way into my brain and foul up the certifiably true contention that Liz Phair's fifth album is nothing but a bunch of hokum, easily dismissible. Were it the record of almost any other performer perhaps it wouldn't be viewed so harshly, but it is Phair's and this is her worst effort yet. Granted, everyone out there thinks the last, self-titled effort qualifies as such, but Phair's unabashedly bold venture into the pop world had its charms, none more so than her big hit, "Why Can't I?." I'm of the mind that Liz Phair is a far more beguiling listen, one which offers up more hooks and far more confidence than its predecessor, "whitechocolatespaceegg", did. Phair's 1998 effort was an extremely lackluster affair overall, and was the clear writing on the wall that the girl we thought would "fuck (us) 'til (our) dick is blue" was making a change. So the outrage that came from critics when she went pop was more than a tad silly, not to mention bordering on misogyny. The outrage was incredibly silly when considering it was from a predominantly male crowd. Proof that even nerdy rock critics are able to turn on a woman for the most insipid of reasons. As long as a woman stays in their narrowly envisioned realm these folks won't attack, but heaven help her if she strays. If anything, the Liz Phair of...umm..."Liz Phair" was a stronger woman than the Liz Phair of her acclaimed "Exile In Guyville", bucking the preconceptions of what a Liz Phair record could or should be. But on "Somebody's Miracle" we're forced to deal with the wishy-washy Phair of "spaceegg" again, this time however she's even more muted. On top of that, there aren't any Brad Wood-produced moments of lo-fi rock bliss to salvage the banal singer-songwriter mannerisms which Phair envelops the album in. Phair has never been a great vocalist, but her voice has proven to have character in the past, especially when she means what she's singing about. But here she sings terribly off-key time and time again, reciting boring, MOR crap even Sheryl Crow would scoff at ("So I went up the mountain / But all I saw was another mountain / So I came down the mountain / And I said, 'leave me here lord'"). She sounds bored, and we're bored listening to her boredom. There's nothing here to grab onto, not even the blatant attempt to claim past glories on "Closer To You", with its controlled "rocking". There's just fourteen slickly-produced songs that sound pleasant enough in the background as you're reupholstering a couch perhaps, but they don't hold up to Phair's past efforts. It doesn't matter at all if Phair wants success and if she works in a pop milieu to achieve it. What should matter to her, and to those of us who can still call ourselves fans of her talents, is that she write and sing with conviction and spirit. All that other noise such as Phair abandoning her indie roots and the like is the worthless posturing of immovable feasts. It's not too much to ask that she be true to herself, to not pander to industry expectations. As a fan, all I want Liz Phair to do is to be Liz Phair. On "Somebody's Miracle" she simply fails at the task. - -Ken kenmlee@ix.netcom.com MeSmErIzInG - AnOtHeR LiZ PhAiR WeBsItE http://www.geocities.com/SunsetStrip/Club/2471/ ------------------------------ Date: Sun, 30 Oct 2005 14:47:53 -0800 From: Kenneth Lee Subject: [support-system] Somebody's Miracle review (Cleveland Scene) From Cleveland Scene: (http://www.clevescene.com/Issues/2005-10-05/music/playback3.html) Liz Phair "Somebody's Miracle" (Capitol) By Franklin Soults On her fifth try, Liz Phair has finally made a confessional pop-rock album in the mold of the Lilith Fair folkettes she's always towered above. If her claim that it's inspired by Stevie Wonder's "Songs in the Key of Life" is true, then Phair is stooping to conquer, attempting to show the world that her fears and desires -- especially her fear that her desires may be forever unfulfilled -- are as common as everyone else's. This has its drawbacks. Phair's wordy narratives and pretty, elaborate arrangements tumble over each other with disorienting speed, and at times she tries to tidy up by tamping down their whip-smart contradictions. So her soaring song about exhaustion, "Wind and the Mountain", is a thrill, until the coda about breaking through to inspiration turns it into a "hang in there" dorm poster. And even so, Phair is ultimately no more common than folkies like Neil Young and Joni Mitchell, who in their prime also stooped to conventionality on occasion, only to outshine the competition like a moon hanging over the horizon outshines the city lights. And if nothing else, this ridiculously catchy and complex set of songs proves this 38-year-old's talents are still waxing. - -Ken kenmlee@ix.netcom.com MeSmErIzInG - AnOtHeR LiZ PhAiR WeBsItE http://www.geocities.com/SunsetStrip/Club/2471/ ------------------------------ Date: Sun, 30 Oct 2005 18:39:25 -0800 From: Kenneth Lee Subject: [support-system] Somebody's Miracle (Vox Magazine) From Vox Magazine: (http://www.voxmagazine.com/story.php?ID=16631) Liz Phair - "Somebody's Miracle" Bargain-bin bound: 2 Vs (out of 5) Critics haven't cut Liz Phair much slack for abandoning her indie roots. Since 1993's riveting classic, "Exile in Guyville", the underground heroine has been inching her way toward the mainstream with the cynical eyes of critics monitoring her every move. Her flirtation with teen pop on 2003's "Liz Phair" raised eyebrows after she chose to work with hit producers The Matrix, who help make stars out of teen queens. So it's foolish to presume Phair would revert back to the raw, edgy songwriting of "Guyville" for her latest release, "Somebody's Miracle". She knows what she wants to do, and shes not letting any nostalgic rock critics stand in her way. Instead of erratic arrangements with loose guitars or brazen pop anthems, the songs on "Miracle" are structured and accessible. Phair's tenuous voice cant match the mountain of sound behind her, and the result is a tight package laden with unfulfilling choruses. On "Leap of Innocence", Phair's voice sounds weak, building up momentum but falling short of breath halfway through. Although "Guyville" featured a marathon of sexually explicit lyrics, the resonance in Phair's voice made her provocative words striking and powerful. Fortunately, Phair's language on "Miracle" reflects the mature sound of the album though most of her lyrics still lack depth. In "Count on My Love", Phair banally sings: "You can count on my love/And I'm bright out when it's raining/When you feel your hope is fading." "Miracle" is missing the emotional impact. The elaborate production masking Phair's already bland lyrics on "Miracle" fails to conjure up any profound sentiment. The acoustic "Table for One" is the most personal, as Phair sings, "I want to die alone/With my sympathy beside me." "Miracle" is Phair trying to be something she's not - a big-name artist in the adult-contemporary market. For fans of "Guyville", it's hard to endure anything Phair has recorded since. At the same time, at 38, Phair's not going to continue writing explicit songs about sex. No one's asking Phair to go back to "Guyville", but if she ever chooses to return to intimate songwriting, she wont find many objections. - -- Jill Menze - -Ken kenmlee@ix.netcom.com MeSmErIzInG - AnOtHeR LiZ PhAiR WeBsItE http://www.geocities.com/SunsetStrip/Club/2471/ ------------------------------ Date: Sun, 30 Oct 2005 19:00:39 -0800 From: Kenneth Lee Subject: [support-system] Somebody's Miracle (San Diego Union-Tribune) From The San Diego Union-Tribune: (http://entertainment.signonsandiego.com/profile/282356) Liz Phair: "Somebody's Miracle" 2-1/2 stars (out of 4) By David Coddon Liz Phair can't win. If she makes a pop record (as she did with 2003's "Liz Phair"), she's branded a sellout. If she reverts to her alt-chick "Exile in Guyville" past, prigs brand her a potty-mouth and purist fans will still say she ain't what she used to be. On "Somebody's Miracle", Phair opts for the same pop-flavored approach she took two years ago. While "Miracle"'s ringing choruses and routine lyrics don't add up to much, three tracks near the end "Why I Lie", "Closer to You" and, most of all, the low-fi, visceral "Table for One" remind us that the alt-chick hasn't gone completely glam. - -Ken kenmlee@ix.netcom.com MeSmErIzInG - AnOtHeR LiZ PhAiR WeBsItE http://www.geocities.com/SunsetStrip/Club/2471/ ------------------------------ End of support-system-digest V8 #152 ************************************