It was ranked 15 in Spin's "100 Greatest Albums, 1985–2005". And a couple other guys, co-producer Brad Wood and engineer Casey Rice, helped nail the minimalist production of Guyville and its follow-up, the underrated Whip-Smart. Eventually, Henderson stopped showing up at the studio, which made Phair move out of his apartment and start working exclusively with Brad Wood on what would become Exile in Guyville. The other tactic is to take credit for what she's done. [7], The term Guyville comes from a song of the same name by Urge Overkill. Phair commented in interviews that the album was a song-by-song reply to The Rolling Stones' 1972 album Exile on Main St.[10] Some critics contend that the album is not a clear or obvious song-by-song response,[11] although Phair sequenced her compositions in an attempt to match the songlist and pacing of the Rolling Stones album. * - Ready To Die. In 2020, it was ranked #56 by Rolling Stone in its 500 Greatest Albums of All Time list. Originally, the album cover was largely collage based and involved "a fat lady in a pool". She went to Oberlin College in Ohio, where she studied art. Men and women have written paeons to Phair since Guyville was released, putting her swagger, strength, and mundanity in whatever context meant the most to them-- "girl next door," "older sister," "younger sister," "easy lay," "slut next door," "bitch." In 2020, the album was ranked #56 on Rolling Stone ' s list of 500 Greatest Albums of All Time. [9] When asked during an interview with Noah Adams on his radio show All Things Considered about the concept, she elaborated: "It was a state of mind and / or neighborhood that I was living in. After the early sessions with John Henderson, Liz Phair started working with producer Brad Wood at Idful Studios, in 1992. Listen to her four-track versions of the tunes, and try to come up with ways of doing them as a 'band'. The famously scathing take-down gave the album a score of 0.0 on Pitchfork ’s scale of 8.0. However, when Phair signed to Matador, she sublet an apartment close to the studio, which simplified the process. She has the gift of turning everyday downers into rock, and the shock came when she sang about things that nobody else discussed in public. But when a man tries to identify with a woman, he doesn't just hit the normal problems of "white male gaze" and "exploitation of the other" and "being a jackass": There's also the third rail of male sexuality, where identifying too closely with a woman might make you seem, perish the thought, sensitive. It makes a scene that fancied itself "the next Seattle" seem exactly as insular and provincial as it really was. Initially, there were many time constraints because Phair had moved into her parents' house which was far from the studio, and Wood had to manage his time between his work at the studio and his work as a janitor. The white suburban kids who idolize gangster rappers are old news, and the rich kids have always loved to rub elbows with the poor. Liz was adopted by wealthy parents who raised her in the Chicago suburb Winnetka. It’s continually included in countless lists…Rolling Stone’s 500 Greatest albums of all time + 100 best albums of the 90s, Pitchfork’s Top 100 albums of the 90s, etc. Originally, Phair's recordings were supposed to come out on Henderson's label. Phair interviews, among others, Gerard Cosloy and Chris Lombardi of Matador Records, indie producer Steve Albini, Ira Glass of the public radio program This American Life, John Henderson, Brad Wood, John Cusack (who founded the Chicago avant-garde theater group New Crime Productions) and Urge Overkill. Despite the outcome of the recording sessions, Henderson tipped off Brad Wood that Matador was interested in Phair. But of all the albums written from a woman's perspective, this is one of the most accessible to men. The Rolling Stones recorded Exile on Main Street, the loose template for Guyville's 18 tracks-- and one of the blues-rock genomes that saved this from being just another singer-songwriter set. Related Media. ", "Flower", "Johnny Sunshine", "Divorce Song", "Soap Star Joe", "Shatter", and "Stratford-on-Guy" (as "Bomb") all originated from a set of home recordings by Phair under the moniker Girly-Sound, and were re-recorded for the album. Would it have killed ATO to throw in more of her early, even less-inhibited Girly Sounds material? Eventually, engineer Casey Rice joined Idful and started working with Phair and Wood as she had no band of her own. Pitchfork Best Albums of the '90s By discogslists updated over 11 years ago. The Notorious B.I.G. But let's start with "female rocker." [4], In the summer of 1991, Phair wrote and recorded songs on audio cassette tapes, which she circulated in Chicago using the moniker Girly-Sound. They were passed around and copies were dubbed, eventually leading to … [23] However, in its 2003 revision of the list, it moved to number 30.[24]. Regarding the recording process, Casey Rice stated, "We basically all sat around and thought about how to make the guitar and vocals versions of the songs into what we thought would be better ones. Wu-Tang Clan - Enter The Wu-Tang. It was sort of guy things - comic books with really disfigured, screwed-up people in them, this sort of like constant love of social aberration. The reissue was released on May 4, 2018 in four formats; the physical LP box set, the digital deluxe edition, as well as cassette and CD pressings. Wilco - Summerteeth. Before releasing her 1993 debut album Exile in Guyville, Liz Phair made three legendary tapes under the name Girly-Sound. [3] In 1999, Pitchfork rated Exile in Guyville as the fifth best album of the 1990s. Girls! Grande parte do álbum contém várias canções que fizeram parte das demos de Phair, as fitas "Girly Sound" com a adição de outras canções compostas durante as sessões de gravação em 1992. Liz Phair was a young woman once. The album, which was out of print, was again available on CD, vinyl and, for the first time, in digital format. This kind of guy mentality, you know, where men are men and women are learning." Its legendary status has only grown over the years. Sad to say that at the time, it was shocking to talk about non-missionary sex with the girl you could take home to mom, but today, on "Flower"-- the one about blow jobs-- the line that surprises is her Dungeons & Dragons-like reference to "minions.” (On the original, she said she'd fuck the guy's girlfriend.). You could count Girls Girls Girls and Yo Yo Buddy Yup Yup Word to Ya Muthuh as part of this entry of the list, but let's be honest, Exile in Guyville is the album Pitchfork wanted to honour, not the other stuff. It was right: simple, driving, direct and blunt. But I had a hunch, and I called her back and said okay."[7]. It had so much exuberance." Guyville, because it was definitely their sensibilities that held the aesthetic, you know what I mean? Boards of Canada - Music Has the Right to Children. It was the guys like her Johnny or her Joe-- the titular guys in the indie boy's club centered in and around Chicago's Wicker Park-- who preened for her, dicked her over, and taught her how to push back, inspiring her and making it necessary for her to write these songs in the first place. VH1 named Exile in Guyville the 96th Greatest Album Of All-Time. The Rolling Stones recorded Exile on Main Street, the loose template for Guyville's 18 tracks-- and one of the blues-rock genomes that saved this from being just another singer-songwriter set. It made her a star. On May 4th, Matador Records will release Girly-Sound To Guyville, an extensive limited edition box set to celebrate the anniversary. During college, Phair was an active student, participating in cross country running, student government, and yearbook. [3] As of July 2010, the album had sold 491,000 copies. Phair was also responsible for a great part of the artwork design. The album received uniformly excellent reviews. The sudden success of the album also generated a somewhat negative response from Chicago’s indie music scene. When a "remastered" edition was announced, I had to wonder if the remasterer had actually heard the thing before taking the job-- but hearing it now, the treatment works: the rhythm section, when there is one, has more punch, and Phair's vocals come a little closer to your earlobe. She told Pitchfork … "-Luftmensch, My Old Kentucky Blog "Combining the lyrical weightiness with the spiky post-rock vibes of the music makes Everyone Wore White the sort of album one takes in slowly, over the course of a few close listens, rather than absorbing all at once. Liz Phair - Exile In Guyville. I wasn't connecting with my friends. The album received widespread critical and commercial success. The reissue was released on June 24, 2008 in the United States and on August 25, 2008 in the United Kingdom. And guys can take plenty of credit for Phair's early career. Beastie Boys - Check Your Head. Playing a New Year's Eve show at the Metro as your sixth or seventh gig is a lot to bite off. Actually we just played our parts separately. The Jesus Lizard - Goat. It frequently appears on many critics' best-of lists. In 1999, Pitchfork rated Exile in Guyville as the fifth best album of the 1990s. The Magnetic Fields - 69 Love Songs. Asked about what she sees in Guyville, Phair said that "All the guys have short, cropped hair, John Lennon glasses, flannel shirts, unpretentiously worn, not as a grunge statement. Her 1993 debut studio album Exile in Guyville was released to international acclaim; it has been ranked by Rolling Stone as one of the 500 Greatest Albums of All Time, by Pitchfork as one of the 100 Greatest albums of the 90’s and is considered one of the most accomplished debut albums for any artist in any genre to date. And then they would go in there and figure out a part and then do it. Originally released in 1993, Exile In Guyville is a seminal album and a feminist landmark. Numerous essays and think pieces have been written about it and the number of accolades … Henderson preferred a stripped-down but precise sound, possibly with outside musicians, while Phair wanted a fuller sound. I do recall there being no lack of candor and if someone wanted to do something, we tried it. https://rateyourmusic.com/release/album/liz-phair/exile-in-guyville [27], As per the liner notes of the 2008 reissue:[28], ^shipments figures based on certification alone, Girly-Sound to Guyville: The 25th Anniversary Box Set, "Liz Phair Releasing Rare Girly-Sound Demos With 'Funstyle' LP", "Liz Phair on 'Guyville' and the Secret to a Successful Topless Photo Shoot", "He Said, She Said: How Liz Phair Took the Rolling Stones to 'Guyville, "The Next Big Things On Local Rock Scene", Christgau's Consumer Guide: Albums of the '90s, "Liz Phair: Girly-Sound to Guyville: The 25th Anniversary Box Set", 2001 VH1 Cable Music Channel All Time Album Top 100, Pitchfork's original "Best Albums of the '90s" list, Pitchfork's 2003 "Best Albums of the '90s" list, https://twitter.com/PhizLair/status/974382379136512000, "Liz Phair – Exile in Guyville (2008 CD, ATO Records, ATO0059)", "American album certifications – Liz Phair – Exile in Guyville", Recording Industry Association of America, Liz Phair Reissues Exile in Guyville, Signs to ATO, October 6, 2008 NPR Live Performance in Los Angeles of 'Exile in Guyville', Girly Sound: Yo Yo Buddy Yup Yup Word to Ya Muthuh, The Tra La La Song (One Banana, Two Banana), https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Exile_in_Guyville&oldid=1000329704, Short description is different from Wikidata, Album articles lacking alt text for covers, Articles with unsourced statements from June 2013, Certification Table Entry usages for United States, Pages using certification Table Entry with shipments figures, Pages using certification Table Entry with shipments footnote, Wikipedia articles with MusicBrainz release group identifiers, Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License, This page was last edited on 14 January 2021, at 17:38. 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