From: owner-support-system-digest@smoe.org (support-system-digest) To: support-system-digest@smoe.org Subject: support-system-digest V8 #172 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, November 28 2005 Volume 08 : Number 172 Today's Subjects: ----------------- RE: [support-system] 2005 CDs. ["Liz J" ] [support-system] All Things Considered, November 27, 2005 [Tom Conlon Subject: RE: [support-system] 2005 CDs. >4. Belle and Sebastian - Push Barman To Open Old Wounds Easily the best thing I bought all year. Honorable mentions to Liz and The White Stripes. ------------------------------ Date: Sun, 27 Nov 2005 17:15:54 -0500 From: Tom Conlon Subject: [support-system] All Things Considered, November 27, 2005 Liz interviewed on the National Public Radio (NPR) show All Things Considered for Sunday, November 27 http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=5027721 Liz Phair: 'Somebody's Miracle' Audio for this story will be available at approx. 7:30 p.m. ET *All Things Considered, *http://www.npr.org/templates/rundowns/rundown.php?prgId=2 Liz Phair burst onto the independent music scene in 1993 with *Exile in Guyville*, a fierce, funny, confessional -- and occasionally obscene -- portrait of her life at the time. Since then she's married, divorced, become a mother and, as she puts it, started enjoying her life. "To be reflecting the same issues that you had at 23 when you're 36 just seemed false to me, it just rang false," Phair says. The new, sunnier Phair has been quite a shock to her fans. They accused her of selling out when she worked with The Matrix, a pop producing team, for her last album. Her new release, *Somebody's Miracle*, also features a cleaner pop sound, but with an edge that fans of Phair's earlier work will recognize. Phair and her guitarist, Dino Meneghin, joined *Weekend All Things Considered * http://www.npr.org/templates/rundowns/rundown.php?prgId=2 host Debbie Elliott recently for a performance chat in NPR's studio 4A. Listen to three full-length songs from Liz Phair's latest CD: - 'Wind and the Mountain' - 'Got My Own Thing' - 'Table for One' -- One Very Well Written Sentence From the Sunday Portland Oregonian: "Other than telling us how to live, think, marry, pray, vote, invest, educate our children and, now, die, I think the Republicans have done a fine job of getting government out of our personal lives." ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ "Remember, I'm pulling for you. We're all in this together." - Red Green ------------------------------ Date: Sat, 26 Nov 2005 21:06:09 -0800 From: Kenneth Lee Subject: [support-system] Somebody's Miracle review (Sound & Vision) From Sound & Vision (formerly Stereo Review): (http://www.soundandvisionmag.com/article.asp?section_id=4&article_id=1014&page_number=1) LIZ PHAIR "Somebody's Miracle" Capitol Music: 2 (out of 5) Sound: 3 (out of 5) I'll say one thing for Liz Phair's new album: It really makes you appreciate the last one. That self-titled set came as a major shock for all fans of the daring, intelligent songwriting that Phair was known for. But in retrospect, her swing into mindless teen-pop was so blatant, so shameless, you had to enjoy it just a little. In contrast, "Somebody's Miracle" is no fun -- not a terrible album, just a thoroughly ordinary one. It's being hyped as Phair's return to grown-up songwriting, but she never played it this safe in the old days. Suddenly, she's griping about celebrity ("Stars and Planets"), using the word "baby" in too many lyrics, and endlessly wondering if she'll ever find the perfect relationship. She also gets uncharacteristically moralistic when writing about alcoholism ("Table for One"). The production is by-the-numbers Adult Alternative, and Phair ruins good songs by quoting from better ones ("Got My Own Thing" can live without the Velvet Underground fadeout). The sad part is that pop fans who bought the last album because of "Why Can't I?" won't like this any more than exiles from Guyville will. - -- BRETT MILANO Edited by Ken Richardson - -Ken kenmlee@ix.netcom.com MeSmErIzInG - AnOtHeR LiZ PhAiR WeBsItE http://www.geocities.com/SunsetStrip/Club/2471/ ------------------------------ End of support-system-digest V8 #172 ************************************