It's Friday, you're all like, hey it's almost the weekend. Then your mom enters the basement and she's all like "hey you lazy fucker, get up and earn enough money to get your own place. You're 35 and ugly and most girls would laugh at your lack of ambition." Something like that, right. And you're reminded why you count on music to distract you from your pitiful existence. You dream about being 20 again and meeting a girl like Liz Phair. So you put on Exile in Guyville and get a quick respite before your day begins.
The above events are fictional and although they are bound to describe someone, somewhere, if they do this coincidence is purely, well, coincidental. More so sad, but I'll settle for coincidental. For the record I am not nearing middle age and love my mother more than imaginable. She bought me a birthday cake shaped like a heart. Cute, right.
Liz Phair's Exile in Guyville came out in 1993 amid a lot of press surrounding her provocative use of sexuality. Like an underground Madonna, Phair described her sexual desire with a frankness that would be considered the norm in today's pop maelstrom. She left Matador in the late 90's for Capitol, moved to L.A., and alienated a large part of her fan base when her self-titled record of 2003 turned towards a more typical pop sound with Liz going so far as enlisting the help of the Matrix songwriting team on a number of the tracks.. All's fair in fandom we say.
Whenever I listen to Exile, I get a big wistful for a girl like Liz. She's kinda sad on Fuck and Run describing a relapse with an ex, knowing she fucked up, and wanting romance ("letters and sodas"), incredibly vulnerable in Divorce Song, and incredibly sexy and take charge in Flower.
Exile in Guyville was said by Phair to be a track for track response to The Stone's Exile on Main Street. I've never met anyone who can really believe this, but I enjoy the audacity of the statement.
Liz Phair - Fuck and Run
Liz Phair - Flower
Liz Phair - Divorce Song
As a little bonus, I'm including a recent cover by Cassettes Won't Listen of Fuck and Run
Cassettes Won't Listen - Fuck and Run
Exile in Guyville on amazon
Exile on Main Street on the same (you know if you wanna compare after you're done syncing up Wizard of Oz and The Wall)
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