From: owner-support-system-digest@smoe.org (support-system-digest) To: support-system-digest@smoe.org Subject: support-system-digest V8 #167 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 Wednesday, November 23 2005 Volume 08 : Number 167 Today's Subjects: ----------------- [support-system] Somebody's Miracle review (The Collegian) [Kenneth Lee <] ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Date: Mon, 21 Nov 2005 17:42:04 -0800 From: Kenneth Lee Subject: [support-system] Somebody's Miracle review (The Collegian) From The Collegian (University of Tulsa): http://www.utulsa.edu/collegian/article.asp?article=2736 Liz Phair economics: "Somebody's Miracle" Noam Faingold, Arts & Entertainment Editor Sometimes the music scene resembles a battlefield. Each side or genre has its personal characteristics that they use to justify how they are better than the other, and with each album the veterans try to show off their medals. In indie rock, medals come in the form of something ridiculous that nonetheless we all seem to look for: "indie credibility". Rap has "street credit", punk has to be "hardcore", and whatever other asinine titles one wants to assign to country, metal, and every other subgenre; each one still has its own versions. What is "indie cred?" That's when an artist succeeds in spite of doing things their own way, being in control of their own sound. One might think this is normal, but most radio artists in some way are developed by someone who thought they would sell more records by sounding different. As great as having "cred" is, this is all bullshit. To the listener, all that matters is that music sounds good. Can anyone really argue with "but I like it?" With Liz Phair's fifth and newest album, she will continue to disappoint longtime fans. "Somebody's Miracle" is the alien that burst out of the chest of Phair's indie debut "Exile in Guyville". Over the past three albums Phair broke away from her rawer freshman album using her releases as a metaphor for her own growth. This may seem contradictory considering that "Somebody's Miracle" is pretty much top 40 radio pop. This is why this album is incredible. Having not grown up on "old Liz Phair", I'm not tied to the past as an indication of what the future should be like, which might make me freer to see what social implications are potentially hidden in this album. Underneath her four chord melodies and laid-back obviously un-invested studio drumming hides a counterrevolutionary pipe bomb. How many times have you turned on the latest marketed-towards- 13-year-old-demographic-overproduced-sterile-like-urine-but-I-like- the-taste radio station only to hear lyrics like "Everyone was dropping like flies. I had so many friends in rehab. A couple who practically died?" Phair's drive-by lyricism is cognitively dissonant only if you're paying attention. Better yet, around it is complication rarely existent in garbage media outlets like stations with prefixes like "Hot" or "Kiss" before their station numbers. Her songs are complicated, and not like Avril Lavigne's. In "Leap of Innocence", from which the last lines were taken, Phair sings "And my mistake was being married. I wanna make a leap of innocence to you." Phair may cover it in almost pure syrup, but what she sings is pure Scarlet Letter reality. The kind of you can relate to, but you would never admit it. What is even better is the child-like simplicity in which she delivers her sugar-coated ulcer flakes. Lines like "I saw John. He looked sad" are like See Spot Run. Your three-year-old could get into it, but so could your grandmother. Miracle is Freudian, but it's also fresh with lines like "Say you're hot, young, available. Spend their money. Chase their honey." This would be pornography if it weren't an indictment. The singer is 38 and sexy, but her music is almost barely legal. "Somebody's Miracle" has her on the sleeve, seductive and inviting, and her voice is attractive too, somewhere between the Cranberries and Jewel. But what add to her appeal are the implications this album might have on an unsuspecting listener. It is the sick joy one would get from watching someone fall into a booby trap. For Phair fans, this might not be new, but maybe they should reconsider their displeasure at this apocryphal artist's latest direction. Even if this is not Phair's intent, it's really more like indie rock subterfuge. Besides, archaeological remnants of her old style are still there in her delivery, arrangements and inability to throw in some pure anti-pop in once in a while. "Lazy Dreamer" is as dreamy sounding as any indie rock out there. All of Miracle has what I have dubbed the "Everclear Effect". Her music is upbeat and happy, but her content is depressing. Listeners should realize that Phair is doing it her way by writing psychological thriller pop. That is where the final irony lies: she does not care what anyone thinks about her style shift. And as far as singer-songwriters go, she at least co-writes all of her songs and manages to keep the arrangements unique, which is more than one can say for many indie bands. Liz Phair will be at the Cain's Ballroom on Wednesday, Nov. 2. - -Ken kenmlee@ix.netcom.com MeSmErIzInG - AnOtHeR LiZ PhAiR WeBsItE http://www.geocities.com/SunsetStrip/Club/2471/ ------------------------------ End of support-system-digest V8 #167 ************************************