Liz Phair... Queen of Indie-rock

Elizabeth Clark "Liz" Phair (born April 17, 1967) is an American singer-songwriter and guitarist. Phair began her career in the early 1990's by self-releasing lo-fi audio cassettes under the moniker Girly Sound, before signing with Matador Records and becoming one of the leading artists of the 1990s DIY indie rock underground. In 2003, Phair's fourth album, Liz Phair, was released on her new label, Capitol Records and her music began to move in a more pop rock-oriented approach which resulted in a fan and media backlash. Her signature guitar, which she is often seen playing (and is prominent upon the cover of her self-titled fourth album), is a Fender Duo-Sonic II. Her album Exile in Guyville was chosen as one of Rolling Stone's 500 Greatest Albums of All Time.

Liz Phair - Why can't I? (Download)

Phair was born in New Haven, Connecticut, but was raised in Winnetka, Illinois by wealthy adoptive parents. She graduated from New Trier High School in 1985. During high school, Phair was involved in student government, yearbook, and the cross country team, and took AP Studio Art her senior year among many other advanced-level classes. She attended Oberlin College in Oberlin, Ohio, and majored in art history. Phair's entry into the music industry began when she met guitarist Chris Brokaw, a member of the band Come. Brokaw and Phair moved to San Francisco together, and Phair tried to become an artist there. After moving back to Chicago, Phair began writing songs and recording homemade tapes under the name Girly Sound, and supported herself by selling her charcoal drawings on the streets of Wicker Park. She became part of the alternative music scene in Chicago and became friends with Material Issue and Urge Overkill, two of Chicago's upstart bands to go national in the early 1990s, as well as Brad Wood and John Henderson, head of Feel Good All Over, an independent label in Chicago. (A later attempt at re-recording the Girly Sound tapes failed after arguments between Henderson and Phair.)



Liz Phair - Supernova (Download)

Hoping to capitalize on the acclaim for her debut album, the release of Phair's second album received substantial media attention and an advertising blitz. Whip-Smart debuted at #27 in 1994 and "Supernova", the first single, became a Top Ten modern rock hit, and the video was frequently featured on MTV. Phair also landed the cover of Rolling Stone Magazine with the headline "A Rock Star is Born." Nonetheless, the album received mixed reviews, and although it was certified Gold. Phair's third album, entitled "whitechocolatespaceegg", was finally released in 1998 after some delays, which included a disagreement about content; at one point, the label rejected the album as submitted, and asked Phair to write a few additional radio-friendly songs for the set. The album displayed a more mature Phair, and reflected some of the ways marriage and motherhood affected her. The single "Polyester Bride" received some airplay, but the album was no more successful than her previous records. To promote the record Phair joined the now legendary Lilith Fair. Phair performed on the main stage along with acts like Alanis Morissette, Sarah McLachlan, Emmylou Harris, Sheryl Crow and Missy Elliott.

Liz Phair - Extraordinary (Download)

In 2003, her self-titled fourth album was released on her new label, Capitol Records, Phair had not released an album in several years; she had been working on her record, as well as making guest appearances on other tracks, The debut single "Why Can't I?", co-written by The Matrix, did reach the Top 40 charts in North America, and its follow-up, "Extraordinary," was also somewhat successful: it appeared on the soundtrack to the 2004 movie Raising Helen and was the promotional theme for the 2004 Women's NCAA Basketball Tournament; in March 2007, the song began appearing in Gatorade television advertisements. Phair continued to flirt with sexually explicit themes, however, as was most evident in a track called "H.W.C.", standing for "Hot White Cum".

Liz Phair - Everything to me (Download)

Somebody's Miracle is the fifth album by Liz Phair, released on October 4, 2005 (see 2005 in music) on Capitol Records. From September 2004 through April 2005, she composed fourteen tracks spanning from lo-fi guitar-driven to high-gloss produced tracks. Much like her debut album, Exile in Guyville, Somebody's Miracle was originally modeled after another canonical album, "Songs in the key of Life" by Stevie Wonder, though only elements of this exist in the final product. The first single, "Everything to me" was released to radio on August 1, 2005. At an estimated 84,000 copies, Somebody's Miracle remains Phair's lowest selling LP to date. The album features a softer side of Phair, with themes of innocence, loss, and love. Many critics and fans accused Phair of having lost her edge. Phair responded to backlash by saying, "If you are an old fan and it doesn't fit what you need, don't buy the disc." Prior to the album's release, Phair embarked on a short acoustic tour where she played in smaller venues, bars, and clubs. After the album's release, she and her band went on a more extensive tour playing at larger venues...


If you like obscure sounding songs and sexually explicit lyrics, then you'll love Liz...