Exile In Guyville, one of my favorite records ever, is being reissued as a 2-disc CD+DVD edition on June 24 via ATO. I haven't cared much for most of the stuff Liz Phair did after this album but how could you realistically top it? Probably not by going all pop and having your album produced by The Matrix. But anyway.I had a long obsession with this record that began when a girlfriend played the titillating "Flower" for me. She was the same girl who'd given me Sonic Youth's Goo for my birthday in my sophomore year. It's a story for another time, but she obviously steered me toward some great stuff.
Anyway. I was a sexually confused 17 year old and had just graduated high school when Exile came out and it really hit me. It was so varied; by turns dirty and weird and poppy and and atmospheric and lo-fi. I fell for it hard. It's supposed to be a track-by-track response to the Stones' Exile On Main Street. I don't know about that but I do know that out of 18 songs not one of them is a dud. Exile In Guyville is probably the most fully realised debut records I own.
Remember the video for "Stratford-On-Guy"?
2 comments:
[01] I read about this a few days ago, and I've gotta admit for such an important and amazing album, the bonus stuff seems pretty underwhelming. I'm on the fence on this one.
[02] I remember reading a quote from Liz Phair a while back - maybe around the time of either "Whip-Smart" or "Whitechocolatespaceegg", I forget which. Basically, it said that once an artist touches you in such a profound way once that it's impossible for them to do it again. I'm fairly certain it was her way of trying to get cut some slack after the underwhelming response to whichever album it was. [Of course, they're nothing compared to the nightmares that followed, but that's neither here nor there.] Basically, I think it's a load of crap, but for some reason her justification has always stuck with me.
1. Totally agreed about the bonus stuff. I'd have thought they would have included more of the demo stuff she'd done before this record or something.
2. I think she probably has a really valid point...it just sucks for her that she did it on her first record. I'm cool with the fact that I don't fully love any of the subsequent albums. This one is plenty!
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