Exile In Guyville

Enjoyable, but to my modern ear, none of this is CaRaZAy different from what Ive heard on alt music stations the last 20 years. I know that sounds snobby (feel free to hate me for it), it simply makes this impossible to appreciate (overly saturated maybe?). My brain doesnt rewrite itself like it did for Neu! or Neil.. maybe thats my main point With THAT said, I dig the songs, but I dont know how frequently ill be pulled back to them. Quick recap: Help Me Mary was cool and sounded a tiny bit like REM. Never Said & Fuck and Run were fun cuts. For some reason, I knew The Divorce Song. No idea how. Great story telling.

I can name alot of bands that I love who benefitted from what Liz has done - Bully, Partner, Big Thief, the whole Boygenius world. Love those bands, and here it's hard to not respect the originals. Songs that stand out: Never Said, Fuck and Run, Mesmerizing - especially that little guitar lead line that carries. In the end though, for this genre I want something catchy with a little edge - most of these songs just don't grab your ear in the same way the bands above do. Fast forward, Liz's biggest song "Why Can't I" feels like it swings the pendulum too far toward trying to make something catchy and radio-friendly, and loses the edge from this debut. Damned if you do, damned if you don't. To be clear, that song is pretty fun.

The more I listened, the more I got it.

What a boring album. Seems tame in the light of 2025.

Melodic, badass, diverse, and timeless. 4/5

Love the perspectives and messages but not a huge fan of the general sound

She has her ripple out on the album cover?!

+1 for what the Rolling Stones Exile On Main Street reference symbolizes here Edit Apr 15 2026: 4 --> 2. I don't like the indie voice that much

I've loved this album for years and I am of the opinion that Liz Phair's endearingly untrained vocal inflections and self-taught guitar skills frame her songwriting as supremely relatable and affecting. I think a lot of women of varying ages and life experiences can relate to the picture painted in 'Fuck and Run' of waking up in someone's arms ashamed of yourself and wanting to instead be with "the kind of guy who tries to win you over". (In the original demo, the second verse acknowledges that the male love interest also wants a relationship and isn't just playing her - "you want a girlfriend, the kind of girl who makes love cause she's in it".) When Liz makes us uncomfortable by admitting she has been engaging in this sort of manipulative and self-sabotaging behaviour since she was twelve, it alludes to the fact that many girls first experience uncomfortable attention from men and become sexualized at this age. Liz Phair's conceptualization of the 90s rock scene as 'Guyville' is so specific to her experiences as a young woman participating in it, and yet her cynicism and bemusement towards the whole thing feel generalizable to anyone.

Lived the voice and storyline. Will listen to again

Flirted with a 4 for this one. Listened 3 times but couldn’t quite pull the trigger. Gun shy.

A great intro to this artist's music.

pretty cool

How could you hate it? For what it did for Indie music? For it's upfront themes of vulnerability and isolation in the face of other-ness? For being a very important mark in women gaining a conscious voice in music? That's the core of what makes this album great: an understanding honesty and sound that envelops the listener in the song. Aside from the strangeness, indie is all about connection.

Feels like she's trying to be PJ Harvey. Not keen on her voice

For my 1st Liz Phair album, I like it a lot

Und immer wieder ein Push nach vorne. Großartig!

I didn’t think the ‘90s had that much of a sound about it really did. This album was a product of that sound. To be honest, it was okay, and I found myself liking it better about 1/2 way in. Much of it was reflective of the feminine anthems that erupted during the time, which I respected and agreed with but didn’t promote in my own listening tastes at the time. There are some key tracks in her that I would listen to again, such as the piano ballad Canary which was lyrically and musically masterful; and the uptempo Never Said. People loved Liz Phair due to her unabashed honesty, and it reflects through this album.

Random thoughts: * This a track for track answer to the Rolling Stones’ Exile on Main St. * I should deep dive into that and read the lyrics while playing each track back to back. * Liz Phair is a badass and I enjoy her music overall but I honestly like the poppy stuff better. Seriously, go listen to “Extraordinary” from the Liz Phair album. That guitar riff is undeniable. * Fuck and Run is brutal. That is a tough listen in retrospect. * There are some great tracks (Fuck and Run and Never Said stand out)on Guyville but overall this album is talked about more than people actually like listening to it.

Generally solid

Actually not too bad. Not really for me to come back to, other than one song on here. Solid 2.5 gonna round up.

conceptually againts blues? Star for that. Not to sing about desire but to stand naked inside it? Star for that. Missä rollarit irstailee, Liz kertoo seuraamuksista ja kääntää katseensa... Mau-sanonko-mitä?

OK

I’m a cunt in springtime.

Exile in Guyville is Liz Phair's debut release, but was not her first musical project. She first released a few limited release EP under the name Girly-Sound. This debut was created as a track-by-track response to the Rolling Stones' Exile on Main Street. The album was very well received critically, and topped many "Album of the Year" lists. Commercial success came more slowly, but it did come. Phair writes guitar-centered, indie rock songs, that use the elements that made the Stones' work famous: vivid story-telling, solid guitar riffs, in sparse, blues-based rock songs.

Now here’s an album that’s on my list. I love how stripped down some of these songs are, very simple guitar parts made a little more complex with effects. She’s such a great songwriter, a shame she decided to go the generic pop star route later on.

A classic. A nice listen, but doesn’t quite hit a five for me.

Absolute classic album. I used to play this album and her Whip-Smart album constantly back in high school. Been a huge fan of Liz Phair ever since. Absolute perfection here!

Nej tack. Det här var inget vidare. Ville mest att skivan skulle ta slut.

Njae, det här var inte jätteimponerande, framförallt eftersom hon inte sjunger så bra. Tycker att Never said var hyfsat bra, men i övrigt var det rätt slätstruket.

Felt a bit too 90’s but I spun it twice so it must be alright.

A very cool feminist response to the only Rolling Stones album that I ever really liked (well supposedly - reports vary about whether Liz Phair actually meant it as a track by track reaction to "Exile on Main Street" but it's definitely a marketable idea). Phair takes a relatively lofi and minimalist approach here, pulling elements from 60s blues rock and the 90s indie scene. During my first few listens to this album, there are a few stand out tracks but it doesn't quite reach the status of the 90s indie bands that she's criticizing. The more I listen though, the more I heard a deep foreboding throughout the album. The song that really struck me was "Canary" which has a really beautiful bleakness to it and is now the quiet centerpiece to the whole thing to me. It needs a little extra to be a perfect album, but it's painfully close.

Y'know, coming into this album, my biggest frame of reference for Liz Phair and her music was her album of weirdo goof tracks, FUNSTYLE. The one where she rapped. The one where she said "You're being a peñis — colada, tha is." The one she lost her record contract over. And it's like, as much as I thought that was a weird reference to go into such a critically acclaimed indie darling with, I figured at the very least it'd provide a good perspective for my expectations. "I've seen the bottom of the barrel when it comes to this woman's work — it can only be uphill from me." And, yeah, of course this album is better in every conceivable way. It's not like "Beat Is Up" is a hard song to top. Like, just talking about this thing on a pure melodic, instrumental level, it's a pretty good indie rock. I mean, it goes harder on the "rock" side of indie rock than I've come to typically expect from indie rock albums, so that's a huge plus in my mind. On that alone, I'd score this album big points. Goodness, I don't even have a problem with Liz Phair's voice; it fits in real damn well. It's when we come to the lyrics, though, that I hit a bit of a snag. To be crystal clear, I do not think they're bad. The distance between these songs and "peñis colada" is so vast, I shouldn't have to bring it up. But... I'unno. Part of me feels like this where the **inverse** expectations are hitting. Like, I'd long heard that the lyrics on this album are brash and confrontational; where even if they're not about her, they still paint such a vivid and complex portrait of a woman. Big feminist vibes that the wrong people are gonna take too much of an issue with, y'know? I mean, maybe it's just that I'm not much of a lyrics-first gal, or that my autistic ass has a hard time understanding lyrics even when I do try and pay attention to them. Heck, I might just be dumb, 'coz these don't strike me as necessarily complicated lyrics, despite the complex picture they're supposed to paint. I just... Didn't find myself terribly impressed by them? Like, OK, it's not like I can't hear why critics went so gaga for them, but... Like, in a world where I hadn't heard FUNSTYLE first, I still think I'd be trying to figure out why these didn't hit as hard for me as I expected them to. If nothing else, I don't think expectations are 100% to blame. I mean, the ones I had for Radiohead's KID A in general were a lot higher than I had for this thing's lyrics, and I still managed to come out of that believing the hype. When it comes to this album, then... Well, let me say that there **were** a couple of songs that did hit lyrically for me. There was "Soap Star Joe", for one. And "Divorce Song" — well, dang, add in that hot-ass harmonica and it's probably my favorite song on the whole album. But ultimately, I'm left thinking about the opinion I had on The Rolling Stones' EXILE ON MAIN STREET, which this album was infamously claimed to be a song-by-song response to. How I feel about that album as a whole is kind of how I feel about this one's lyrics — "it's far from bad, but this is the best thing they've ever done?" Big 3 energy. Still, though, how unimpressed I am with the lyrics hardly detracts from my overall feelings about this album. It's still really good indie rock. I mean, heck, I enjoyed this album overall more than I did EXILE ON MAIN STREET, so if nothing else it wins on that front. It's more than worth a listen, and certainly it's a better thing to know her by than FUNSTYLE. Like, goodness, if I were here, I'd rather everyone forget about **that** mess. Seriously, "peñis colada." I can never get over it, I swear.

Pretty good 90's indie rock. 4.5 bumped down to 4.

I’m at a 4.5 that I think I’ll bump up to a 5. Very early on, when I was sort of making mental comparisons, my brain went to Alanis Morrissette, and specifically, how she’s able to project her voice to get the emotional pull of a track across. Her vocals on “Jagged Little Pill” are sort of a benchmark for me, as far as 90s women-led rock goes, and while I don’t expect artists to match her, I think the way she uses her voice to really drag the most of out of the lyricism & instrumentals are sort of a standard to go by. This album slowly but surely challenges the idea of “power = emotion” as a benchmark, and it did eventually succeed. Liz Phair is not Alanis Morrissette, nor is she trying to be; the more apt comparison, perhaps, is like Joni Mitchell deciding to tackle Nirvana. Alanis Morrissette projected herself as more of an iron woman, ready to take on the struggles of the world with a “look at me now” demeanor that better fit the cultural imprint of 1995. Liz Phair, on this album, projects herself as sort of a battle-tested, scarred but still standing woman, coming from a place of confidence, yet projecting a light air of insecurity, adding a sincerity to the whole thing that feels unique compared to some of the other women-led rock albums we’ve gotten. These are more thoughtfully written tracks, and the introspection present on the lyrics overrides the need for a more powerful vocal performance. That’s not to say Liz Phair doesn’t have good vocals on this album, because she does; a little shakier, a little more nasal-y, not as pitch-perfect on the held notes as it could be, but that vulnerability lends itself to each track in a good way. Instrumentally, I do think this album doesn’t quite find a set identity, but that’s not necessarily a bad thing – there’s a lot of variety between piano-driven tracks, acoustic stuff, more Blues Traveler-y instrumentation, Sheryl Crow-esque stuff, and obviously, a lot of Nirvana. It jumps around a bit, but the core messaging of each track is what keeps the album afloat, and she can adjust really nicely to each style, still all guided within “rock” itself. It is a bit long at 55 minutes, and I do think it treads water a couple of times in the subject matter, but it’s not enough for me to really bump it down to a 4. I would rather leave it at a 4.5, if only because for my own personal tastes, the vocal presence is still a little short for me, and occasionally, the lyricism is a bit too broad to paint the picture she’s going for, but it’s too good of an album to give it a 4. It’s a solid 5, and I do recommend it – you have to be in the right sort of frame to accept her brand / musical projection of femininity, but it’s a very rewarding album once you get deeper into it. I really liked it.

2/5 some interesting songs but not my style, not an album I will come back to.

heard this many times in the past, will rate anyway 6'1'' - 4/5 Help Me Mary - 3/5 Glory - 4/5 Dance of the Seven Veils - 4/5 Never Said - 5/5 Soap Star Joe - 5/5 Explain It To Me - 4/5 Canary - 4/5 Mezmerizing - 5/5 Fuck and Run - 5/5 Girls! Girls! Girls! - 3/5 Divorce Song - 5/5 Shatter - 4/5 Flower - 5/5 Johnny Sunshine - 5/5 Gunshy - 4/5 Stratford-On-Guy - 5/5 Strange Loop - 4/5 Average score: 4.3/5 liz phair my beloved

Boring

Listened Before? N It's seriously hard to believe that this is her debut album. Very well made and well written. Very charged lyrics and apparently a scathing response to Exile on Main Street by the Stones. I really love this. Added to Library? N Songs added to playlist: Fuck an Run

I really couldnt get on with this, I don't think she's got a great voice and lyrically it's just not really anything special

I've always wanted to like this album more than I do. An early-thirties father of three young girls when this came out, I wanted it to give me insights into what I myself had always done wrong as a man and use this knowledge to help my daughters not become the disappointed women Phair so often writes about here. Alas, though I can see certain flashes of brilliance, instead of insights, I've mostly only ever heard anger. Instead of guidance, grievance. I still blame mostly myself for my lack of understanding. But after more than thirty years, I'm resigned that I will never change enough to truly appreciate what others see here. My daughters have turned out fine despite those limitations on my part, thank goodness.

Good little album. I do wish it went a little harder - the hits are really the only memorable songs here.

Decent listen.

Enpä olisi uskonut että tykkäisin tästä, kun yleensä tällänen s&s-homma ei purase. Ehkä tää kevyt sähköisyys jotenkin toimii mulle. Ei nyt nelosen arvoinen mutta solid kolmonen. 3/5

aivan kelpo yksinkertainen poprock-levy! 4/5

I bought this back in the day...but it never became a favorite. Couple bangers but didn't resonate, and I left it on the shelf. Today it really does resonate. This is incredible. Fantastic! This gets back in the rotation! What was I thinking back then?

I've been avoiding Liz Phair for all the wrong reasons, but this album is actually pretty awesome. Has some grunge vibes.

Like if Elliot Smith wasn't such a downer. Raw, honest, interesting as hell

I think this does deserve a spot on the list, but mainly for Voice and sentiment. The storytelling is great. Phair's singing voice is clear and pure. Jangly guitars of their time and can alternately be uplifting or annoying. Overall feel gets a bit repetitive song to song.

Not even one of the best 1001 albums released that year

I enjoyed this. It's a good, solid album. Vocals, instrumentals, all decent. Nothing too fancy or pretentious. Just good music. Four stars because she seems to be interested only in making good music, not in being "clever".

Nothing spectacular

Interesting rock album. Somewhat unique, but has a nice sound. Decent

Honestly some of these albums have an ability to take u back to an epic microcosm of music in culture in history and this album 100percent does that. This takes u str8 backto 1992 and in the best way possible. i would put this album in any situation. too cool.

I remember having several friends in college who loved this album and I just wasn't into that type of music at the time. Since then, I've come back to it on occasion and appreciated it a lot more. It's pretty great songwriting, edgy, but tight. Not quite grunge but in the same ballpark. I'm part of the crowd that didn't like her move to pop in the 2000's.

I like it. Nice vocal. Nice music. perfect album.

I like this sound and feel. Great mid-90s throwback that I haven’t listened to before. Good lyrics. Some nice melodies as well.

Indie rock debut from the 90s. Easy, fun singer-songwriter rock with a cool edgy voice. Very good in a laid-back way.

Solider Indie Pop mit guter Stimme aus einem Mix von Kate Bush und Suzie & Banshees. Gut durchzuhören aber auch nich fesselnd.

This album is the sonic equivalent of the quiet girl in High School that has no friends. So, you go talk to her and try to befriend her. Then, you find out why she has no friends.

This is rather uneven. The songwriting is good. It all falls down in the vocals. These are her songs but the delivery is uninspiring. The vocals need to be on point and perfectly pitched or where limited be distinctive so that you think, yeah I get it. Both are absence here.

I find that singer-songwriters tend to be a little hit-or-miss, and how well they are appreciated depends more upon the listener than the artist. This album felt like more of a miss for me personally, but I can see how it would speak more to other people. Favorite Track: Soap Star Joe

She's not a very good singer but her vocals seem to work in this context. I enjoyed this album and liked the vibe. 3.5/5

Me gustan las letras medio picantonas pero la música... eh? Otra vez este estilo? Nota: 2.2

This would be so much better if Liz Phair could carry a tune

I liked this!

Well, it's not offensive, but it's not an album that particularly grabs me. It's too long.

I've tried to listen to this album many, many times over the years because all indications are I should absolutely love this album. Unfortunately, her superb songwriting skills are almost nullified by her sound. Usually a bad vocalist will get some leeway from a great band or vice versa - she doesn't get the benefit of either. Add it to the list of albums I really wish I could love.

Mhm, and why exactly should I care?

Background music. Booooo

4/5

Really wish I connected more with this. I've tried it a few times over the years, because I love the music of so many of her contemporaries. It falls flat with me, though, minus a few that stop me in my tracks (Fuck And Run, Divorce Song, Never Said).

This femcel cannot sing.

Some songs were really good. Didn’t think all of them were great, but overall very solid album. 3.5

Albumi #153, 20.02.2025 Liz Phairin debyyttialbumi julkaistiin vuonna 1993. Ihan mukavankuuloista indierämpytystä.

Love the guy.

"Exile in Guyville" is a fantastic album, blending meaningful lyrics with a raw, punk-influenced sound. Every track feels intentional, making it a great listen from start to finish. Favorite song: Divorce Song Least favorite song: None—every track is solid. Album artwork: A great cover that perfectly suits the album’s tone.

Decent indie. Some shaky tracks here and there but otherwise decent.

There is that one album that are so good and hard to replicate on future recordings that they become a career defining album. Exile In Guyville is Liz Phair's definitive album. Seemingly coming out of nowhere, Phair's debut album contained songs she previously recorded on her own, lo-fi bedroom recordings that were known as the Girly-sound tapes. I've heard these tapes and though the songs had potential, the sound quality and performances were rough, so to transform these pieces into what Exile became was amazing. The album is a fully realized concept and the songs and performances were outstanding, it's hard to believe this was her first professional recording. Start to finish, it's great record and while many consider the 90's as the decade of Nirvana and Green Day, I would say Liz Phair is the most important, making people take notice of the rise of indie-DIY musicians, that gave space and a platform for interesting unique indie artists. Definitely, a game-changing record.

1/2

Ok

Might listen again.

I had listened to this once, years ago, but none it sounded familiar until the song Flower. Did it (and a couple of others) have to be so crass? Yeah, she’s trying for shock value with her nipple on the album cover too. That only gets you so far. You still have a sometimes monotone disinterested singing voice, but sometimes she sounds like Sheryl Crow. Too bad, some of the songwriting is good. I had to turn on some 1960s girl group music in to wash the nastiness out of my ears. Best track: Never Said

love

I don't know what to think. I thought this sounded like a gentle courtney love. Or a harder version of Alanis Morrissette. She certainly sounds like a rock girl. But I got kinda bored. And she doesn't sing that well either. I guess the importance of this album lays on the risque lyrics. Kudos to her. Sexism was awful in the 90s. But I didn't really like this album musically.

7.5/10

Ni fu ni fa

Very 90’s, very horny, very edgy with a dash of snarl. Good stuff 4 stars

5/5. An excellent collection of short songs, akin to the main street version, except with a more slowed down and down to earth approach. There is a sense of calling people out, mostly men, while also being a girl's girl. It's aggressive without her raising her voice a lot, just very direct about her feelings. It sounds a lot like a lot of soft rock indie artists today so most likely an inspiration for those newer bands. I honestly don't have many notes. This genre can suffer from annoying or boring songs but each one was well written and enjoyable to listen to. Also a great repeat listen, you always find something new to like. Best Song: Never Said, Divorce Song, 6'1"

Didn't really get anything out of this. Expected different for some reason but it felt like generic 90's singer-songwriting pop crap. 3/10

Didn't really capture my attention, and the fact that it's almost an hour long certainly does not help.

musically atrocious. I'm sure she's a very nice person, but this is not very good.

Ok I think, but thinking back after listening to this a couple of hours ago, completely unmemorable

Loved this album. The almost spoken word style vocals and very clean yet muddled production created a really cool sound. The lyrical content was raw and filthy, made me feel like I was in her shoes. Just a great album.

I liked this album for the most part

Smart and snarky singer-songwriter alt-rock. The songs are pretty stripped down and put a spotlight on Liz Phair’s wry delivery and attitude. Not totally for me but pretty good.

I've only recently gotten into Liz Phair and I'm really into her sometimes aggressive / sometimes standoffish energy. Even from looking at the album cover and reading some of her song titles (although this album only maybe has one that gives off that vibe- "Fuck and Run") you kind of understand her a bit, which is cool. I enjoyed this album throughout. There really wasn't anything that I heard that felt like a drag and I think with more listens I'll like it even more. Great album cover. Very 90's with the added texture to her skin, that font that is slightly comic-y, and oh yea you can see just a little bit of her nipple.

Not sure what it specifically was with this but I kinda liked it.

I like this album. It's got a punk vibe, but a calm sing song-y presentation. Borderline spoken word verses suits the music well and definitely feels very 1993 which it is. 4/5. Stratford-On-Guy stands out to me, great song.

I was looking forward to this album when I saw it come up, as I remember really liking it a lot when it came out. There really was nothing else like it to my knowledge at the time and it kind of blew me away. Listening to it again now and the highs are really high (Never Said is an all-timer) but there are some really slow parts that take away from the whole.

Album - Exile in Guyville Artist - Liz Phair Genre - Indie Rock/Lo-fi Heard it before? - N Heard OF it before? - Y While unfairly dismissed by some critic somewhere as "female Pavement" or "the prequel to Alanis Morrisette," both unfair claims, I found this album to be one of great importance...but not to me. I am a male. I will never have to experience the issues discussed in the writing here. And ultimately I think that's what soured my reception of it. It does what it sets out to do in that regard. Still, it can procure tuneful moments (6'1", Fuck and Run, Never Said, Divorce Song) but never seems to get a consistent pattern or idea down, outside of the lyrical themes of course. 6/10

I hate this album. It’s not the worst I’ve had on the list but definitely in the bottom 3

This is a soft 4 for me. Parts of it were fun, others felt a bit all over. The album was fairly cohesive and I think overall, the instrumentals were good and the vocal work was decent. 'Soap Star Joe' was my fave from the lot.

Solid bedroom rock before there was a term for it. Personally I never get much from these types of albums. I don't know if I'm just not the target audience, but the mildly crunchy guitar riffs and formulaic song structures just ware on me after a while. I think this record is fun, maybe even deserves a spot on this list, but I'm not in a hurry to get back to it.

History will rightly remember Exile in Guyville for breaking barriers for women and energizing Chicago's scene with its lo-fi authenticity, even if some of us find the actual music less compelling than its influence.

I get the grittyness in the album, but really not for me, but not horrible.

It's good all the way. I liked it even better second time I listened than the first time.

How did I not know about Liz Phair - so good!

Lo volveria a escuchar: no Tiene skips: si Favoritas: Glory, Fuck and run, Shatter Nunca habia escuchado a Liz Phair, y la verdad no me encanto. La produccion se siente bastante simple pero suena muy bien, y a pesar de que hace que algunos temas esten buenos y se sientan bastante livianos, muchos otros se sienten muy vacios. La voz me gusto en varios temas, pero en otros senti que hacia cualquier cosa. Igual, no es un genero que a mi me encante, y eso tiene que ver mucho en como lo senti. 4/10

I liked a few of the songs, but there were many that just sounded like first take demos. Minimalism has its place, but these tunes just bored me.

I thought the lyrics were actually pretty good for a lot of the songs. The name of the song wasn't sung over and over again or at all, sometimes. She has said in interviews that many of these songs are not about her, and that gave her a lot of freedom. I really liked the sound she had for each of the songs. Each one was different, but still in her style. Enjoyed the album a lot, and am interested to hear more. Top tracks: "6' 1", "Never Said," "Soap Star Joe," "Mesmerizing," "Divorce Song"

This album is so early 90's, just like The Lemonheads' It's a Shame About Ray. Rocked up alt folk or folked up alt rock. People gushed about that one just like they gushed about Liz Phair's debut and I don't quite get it. I enjoy it, it's got a nice simple rhythm, and she has some clever lyrics, even explicit lyrics (yeah, I caught what you did on Dance of the Seven Veils and Flower). But otherwise, it's a bit plain. There's nothing overly deft about the musicianship or her vocals. She just does a good job of capturing something raw with a bit more gusto. So kudos to that. Is there much more to say though? Favorites were 6'1, Never Said and F*ck and Run (the only two that made my best of alt rock list for 1993), Soap Star Joe, Divorce Song, Flower, and Strange Loop. A respectable, albeit average album, in my opinion.

Decent songs with meh singing. I'm generally not a fan of slacker out of tune singing. I don't outright dislike the album (hence the 3 rather than a 2), it just didn't pull me in, particularly on close listening (decent as background). It's kind of a shame, because most of the songs sounded good but her singing dragged it down repeatedly for me. Moving on. Tracks I liked: Never Said (catchy track, but I wish she didn't do the slacker singing thing), Divorce Song, Shatter, Johnny Sunshine.

not something i’d revisit in full, but it’s a interesting body of work. pulled me in and kept my interest throughout

Even with the large amount of music I’ve heard, I still always feel a little out of the loop compared to some. Like Alanis Morrissete. Many speak very highly of her and the hit debut Jagged Little Pill. Yet I’ve never heard a second of any song from it. Something similar could be said about this debut record from Liz Phair. I may have seen her around somewhere, but nothing she’s done sticks out to me. And after hearing this, I don’t know if there is anything particularly special about her in the first place. The writing process behind this is kind of interesting. It has the same number of tracks, and is nearly as long as Exile on Main St. by The Rolling Stones. And apparently this was made as a direct companion record to that album. These songs were written to be replies to the originals. I’m personally on the side of most people. As in, I don’t really see it. Like for example, my favorite song on the Stones record is track six, titled Sweet Virginia. Which would make the song Soap Star Joe the companion song. And I don’t think they could be further apart. The style of music here leans way more in an indie slowcore lo-fi direction. Which is world’s apart from the rambunctious party atmosphere in which every song on Exile is drowning in. I think Liz is most definitely a competent songwriter. And objectively the music here isn’t bad. She reminds me of Courtney Love in a way. She’s saying such potently strange and evocative things, especially in regard to being a woman. But her delivery is so monotone it almost feels like she doesn’t even care. I just think this is the flavor of indie slacker rock in which I enjoy, and it’s a little too minimalist in places for me. But none of these songs are technically bad. Except for maybe Flower. Rating: 6/10

feels like its targeted to women vocals could be better music good

It's very early 90's indie, and I normally appreciate early 90's indie, but I'm not enraptured about Liz Phair and don't quite understand how it's such a critically-acclaimed album. I must say the instrumental opening of Canary was very nice, though.

I wasn't sure I was into this at the beginning, then it clicked into place for me. A tor de force in angry girl rock, the attitude of fuck it I'll do what I want, say what I want, not worried about convention or being easy to listen to. I really think it kicked open the door for a lot of other bands and artists that would emerge throughout the rest of the 90s and beyond. And the fact that this came out in the early 90s when there was really a derth of good rock music is also striking. Unfortunately, I did find that it started to overstay its welcome. 18 songs is just so much, I'd have rather listened to 12 really strong songs. Still, have to bump it to 4 stars.

Poetic and emotional but too hard to get into the music for me

For some reason I like and dislike this one at the same time. It's very boring and interesting too. I am very confused.

Not bad but lyrics weird sometimes

Light-feelkng pop-rock with a singer-songwriter tilt

Bought this new when it came out. Why? So long ago, I don’t remember. No tracks that stand out. Her voice is below average. Lyrics are a bit self obsessed. What gives? Was I trying to be sensitive to emerging chick-powered indie rock? Or was I suckered by some Rolling Stones review? (Which I learned long ago is just another bullshit advertising Mag selling the industries wares) Just another in the long list of bad buys.

It’s a shame that this record isn’t as widely known. It’s an amazing debut from an artist who seems fully formed already. There’s a dark wit and brilliance to Liz’s writing. I really enjoyed this.

lo-fi rock

Another recording where I am left feeling like I should like it more than I actually do. It is very raw, personal and utterly profane. I am glad to.have heard it to hear this pint of view, but once was enough...

An obviously well constructed album that just misses being my type of thing.

I liked Explain it To Me the first time I heard it, and I still do. The rest is fine.

Liz Phair...how come I can't think of any of her songs. I feel like I should know some. I guess we'll see. Why Can't I. That's the one I've heard. Not on this album but yeah. Well I do like the 90s guitar sound in here. So this was good, not quite a 4 but a solid 3. I especially liked the lyrics in Flower.

Starts off fairly average, but I feel like it is just a baseline for how much Liz expands over the rest of the album. Her coming out with this in 93 is strong, sets the tone for her career. Well done.

Powerful and strong. But funny and playful, I thought. Perhaps in a way that those following in her wake aren’t.

It's quite a variety of different genres which I quite liked which kept things nice and varied, like the piano in Canary. I didn't like the folk and pop rock aspects of it Her voice was ok in some songs, but worse in others. She sometimes reminded me of that hippie chick that sings in the TV show Friends

Brilliant.

Really dug her lo-fi sound

I admire the ability on this record to make all the songs sound distinct from each other. Really good arrangement. No song overstays its welcome, but the album as a whole is just a tad long. I’d’ve preferred she spend more time on a couple of her stronger songs to make them really special. I think she would have had something undeniably exemplary. Great vocals, instrumentation, and production. Lyrics are iconic. I really enjoyed this album. I’d only heard “Fuck and Run” before, but heard great things about Liz so I’m glad this met my expectations. 4/5

Pleasant songs

Whiny vocals are my thing and I love that music, but this just feels like an unrefined version of it. Lyrics don't hit, instrumentals don't hit. If she had a couple more years she would be awesome, but it just isn't there yet.

I liked this album. An artist I had heard of but never actually listened to. Very raw production, vocals, and lyrics. I don’t really buy The Rolling Stones response thing. Highlights were Help Me Mary, Never Said, Mesmerizing, Fuck And Run, and Gunshy.

Cool

Barely tolerable singing and indie rock-pop singer-songwriter tunes. Stands out with, let's call it “feminine” flair and is quite easy on the ears throughout.

The sound is "Early 90s sitcom interlude"

No surprises here, not necessarily a negative but there was nothing that brought it out from just background music.

I appreciate this album’s place and Liz Phair as an artist. Love some songs on this album and find others to drone on a bit.

Songs like Flower with multitracked vocals are the most interesting here. Musically this doesn’t do much for me and there is not enough time in a day to really unpack it lyrically. Ultimately this feels meandering to me and many if the songs end with out resolving.

Nah. not my thing. I didn't find the music interesting at all.

I think the biggest problem this one has is just becoming steadily unremarkable as the years moved on.

Grunge/Alt Some shades of Hole and Nirvana. Good songwriting. 2nd half dragged a bit for me

Pretty enjoyable and could certainly see why people like this.

Pretty decent overall.

Incel girl grunge. Didn’t care for it

Terrible - no idea why this album is on this list.

Enjoyed it overall. Standout songs: Mesmerizing Divorce Song Strange Loop

Phair enough.

Le genre d'album qui ne m'a pas séduit à 100% mais que je ne peux pas m'empêcher d'avoir été accroché. À plusieurs moments ça frôlait des styles que je n'aime pas, mais c'est fait avec tellement d'assurance et de cohésion que le produit final est vraiment intéressant. Le genre d'album qui mériterait une seconde écoute. 7.5/10

Didn’t speak to me

det är trevligt. hon är cool, några för många sömnpiller kanske.

Haven’t listened to this in years. Lyrically and musically still makes me feel nostalgic and like I’m in a 90s teen movie

I had never truly listened to Liz Phair until this album popped up here and I was very glad to have had this opportunity.

I really enjoyed this album. There is so much emotion in every song.

How have I never heard this album? It must have been influential to a lot of the music I listen to now. I just can’t believe this isn’t talked about more. I’ve heard of Liz Phair and I’ve heard this album title before but I never listened to her/it. This album rules. I honestly think a ton of indie music owes a lot to this album and Liz Phair.

Meh

Like a more indie rock version of riotgrrl kinda stuff 2.5

A great indie album. An amazing voice, lyrics that are sometimes funny and sometimes poetic (but always fresh), and peak indie rock melodies from the time before the genre became too self-referential.

Bunch of background music

Blown away.

I didn't care for the singing on this one. Meh.

Loved this provocative album.

I think this album and the writing are good, but I just don't love Liz Phair's singing. If I was bigger on Indie and Lo-Fi music, I'm sure this would be a 4 or 5 star album.

Grand. No real stand outs.

This one surprised me, found myself getting more into it as the album went on and had to listen to it again. Really nice 90s alt rock/pop.

Wow, deze muziek is echt vaag. Van een beetje pop-achtig, naar kattengejank, met tussendoor wat hallucinaties. Ik vind het niks, haha.

There was a year there when this record was permanently in my CD changer. It was probably this, Tori, Bjork, PJ Harvey and the Pulp Fiction Soundtrack. Makes me want to dig out the box of zines. It’s been 30 years and this still fucking rocks.

This sounds very much of its time. Glory is a good song...it has an Elliott Smith vibe. This is a good album and you can still hear the influence in indie rock today. A lot of later 90s acts owe Liz Phair a debt of gratitude. I bet Fiona Apple had this on repeat in 1993. Fuck and Run is a great song. I thought I remembered this album better than I do. It's good though, great album cover. I'm not sure if there even was a single off this album that got a ton of airplay but I do like this album. The lyrics to Flower are hysterical. It's hard to pick a favorite song, a lot of good candidates, Johnny Sunshine might be it though.

November 19, 2024 HL: "Never Said", "Shatter", "Divorce Song", "Canary" Not sure what it is about that track, but right at "6'1"" I was prepared to dislike this album, as sometimes happens with 90's alt/lo-fi releases on this website. Yet despite my misgivings, I ended up impressed with Liz Phair's debut. Having read about some career drama (self-titled album, the Pitchfork 0.0 blah blah), it's refreshing to actually listen to her work. "Never Said" is perhaps the poppiest tune, and MAYBE I'd overlook it on 90's nostalgia radio but it's a much needed bright spot amidst moodier, grungier pieces. "Explain It To Me" and "Canary" are curious ballads in the middle of the album, the former awash with cozy reverb and the second with wintery piano. "Shatter" makes a couple electric guitars sound cavernous, the eerie canons of "Flower" and "Johnny Sunshine" evoke both the Go-Gos and PJ Harvey. A couple songs (out of 18) seem unfinished & inconsequential, but there's enough strong ones that I won't dwell on them.

Courtney Love’s softer, less bratty twin sister.

It’s the Rosetta Stone between alternative music and indie rock. I have a huge crush on Liz Phair. Very pleased that this album made it.

Reminds me of PJ Harvey very much, who debuted 2 years before, or a more folky version of Nirvana. Lots of people in the comments complain about the singing. I don't agree. It suits the music. It's the blues. Great for about half and hour, then I got bored. That means it's around twice as long as it should have been. Favorite song: flower

holy peak

It was alright

Sounds so much like Hole! And it goes on a little bit too long. But I liked it.

Overrated

Annoying

Shit

While raw in delivery, Ms. Phair's writing and musical wit shine through. It's difficult for me to be objective about this album among the fog of nostalgia, but I dig it.

Per the Wikipedia blurb: "in 2020, it was ranked No. 56 by Rolling Stone in its 500 Greatest Albums of All Time list." WTF??? This album was fine. It was not bad; I did not dislike it. But the 56th best album of all time? Go home, Rolling Stone, you're drunk. Or, more likely, you're conflating different and good. 3.0. This album is the threest three that ever threed.

I am a fan of this record.

I can see that somewhere, this is someone's favorite album and has been for 30 years. It's not mine though.

I get the context of this album and remember it from it's original release. I am just not a fan. This album, for it's songwriting, feels flat to me.

From what I read about this album, it certainly deserves a place on the list. On paper, I should have liked this, but the stripped down, apathetic/angsty grunge-adjacent quintessential 90s thing just wasn’t working for me this time. I feel like I should have liked it.

I was not familiar with this artist, but this was a decent listen. Vocals were just meh but the early 90's indie rock feel was awesome. I would listen again.

pre: omg do I have thoughts I love this album. I've listened to it a million times and listen to it a million more. I'm sure it's not everyone's cup of tea but it is mine. A couple of thoughts while trying to listen critically: 1) the phased guitars sound really dated, and the production overall sonuds more like a street corner busker than a studio album. Not sure if that's a bad thing or not. 2) I have always been dismissive of the "It's a response to Exile on Main Street" line. But this time through I think I could build a case about taking a feminine position in the world vs the hyper masculine Stones album.

My wife owns her next album Whip-Smart, but I was not familiar with this one. I can see the appeal, but I don’t think I’m the target audience. I respect her musical contributions, feminine strength etc, but it’s not doing much to grab me. Certainly there is nothing wrong with the album; I generally like lo-fi, stripped down works, but this just doesn’t stand out for me.

Lived with this album since college - don't know how/why I bought it originally. My best guess would be reading "it's a female answer to Exile On Main Street" (which I love too). I don't think that was her intention - maybe just a takedown of the old boys rock and roll collective. Probably more about all the dumb male indie musicians she knew from Chicago.... Regardless, love the low fi production, it fits the album so well. And her lyrics are great, the sarcasm and wit on Soap Star Joe alone just blows me away every time. Can't recommend it enough, it's a winner.

Just fine. Nothing really stood out as too great or too terrible.

Not a bad album, but pretty non-exciting. There was a bunch of meh throughout, although if this was during the 90s, people would be jamming to it, and still, I feel like they would have jammed more to other things but it's okay. It was fine just playing in the background, and it was quite annoying that three songs towards the end of the album weren't available on Spotify, so I had to go and find them manually. Not that they were worth it but it just made things more tedious, as this album was longer than an hour. There were some okay songs but there were other ones where nothing happened and it was a whole drag, and it was just not great.

Man, this is the most early-90s sounding album I've heard in a long time. Her voice is a mixture of apathy and angst, like April Ludgate singing about how much she doesn't care about love. The guitar is almost completely clean+chorus+reverb throughout. While a nice, nostalgic time capsule, it fails to really grab my attention, and her voice gets old.

never heard of. Better than I thought. soft grunge rock

Really pleasantly surprised by this one. I’m normally not a fan of 90s grungy guitar girls but this is really interesting while still being very pleasant on the ears. I’m completely on the fence between a 4 and 5 but will lean towards the high end, so that I can remember to revisit this again in the future.

This was alright. I think I need to listen a few more times to make up my mind but I liked the strong 90s sound

I actually got into this one. It reminded me of being a teenager again. Not because I listened to this then but because it was kind of angsty and amateurish.

Corri de mais um indie sem pegada, interesse.

Saved Prior: Fuck and Run Off Rip: Shatter, Flower Cutting Edge: None Overall Notes: Some girls don't have fun

I must be missing the point of this dirge rock. If albums were colours, this would be beige.

my apologies ms phair I was unfamiliar with your game

помимо того что я знала про Лиз (она поёт вот этим неприятным голосом который закос под Кортни Лав и Блондшел, только без ммм позиции последней) ещё оказывается ооочень хорни (я ожидаю это у Мигеля, но тут?) и в принципе мелодично но слушать я такое вряд ли смогу. но три звезды!)

Ok

27/10/24 Never heard of this artist before and it was an okay listen.

I kind of had expectations because the title, the album cover, even the name all looked wicked cool to me. But this failed to captivate me or leave an impression. I genuinely don’t remember how these songs sound. Which is a shame.

I enjoyed this well enough, she reminded me of someone but I couldn’t/still can’t place it. Favorite track was ‘Never Said’

Decent music, mediocre lyrics, bad vocals.

Auch Frauen können schlechte Musik machen.

Tracks 4,5,6 are a dope back to back to back. soap star Joe is one of my favorites so far Flower is super interesting and minimal. Light BGVs and rhythmic melody with rhythmic minimal guitar stabs Gunshy is dope too

Indie pop poetry wasn't captivated by this but liked Fuck & Run a lot

Incredible. Soothing yet invigorating at the same time. Love her vocals and the simple stripped back production. Great songwriting from beginning to end

Ультра-альбом, который сто процентов повлиял на кучу современных инди-рок звезд всех мастей. Очень честная и при этом крутая музыка. Лучшая песня - Girls! Girls! Girls!

C’est correct I guess, y’a rien de vraiment spécial qui ressort et qui me frappe au visage quand j’écoute ça

This gives me sort of Social Distortion vibes, but I can’t get along with it. It feels like this is your buddy’s sister’s band in high school and everyone is just going to see them because they’re hot. It’s not really objectively bad on any level, I’m just not really moved by it in any way.

Somehow I find this album to be simultaneously underrated and overrated. It's really good 90s alternative/grunge but it's also not the second coming like a lot of people act. It's so entwined with the sexism of the time (both to its benefit and detriment) that it's tough to get a truly accurate read on it. Regardless, it's definitely a good album at the very least.

It's fine. Not a classic. Her voice can be grating at times but the songwriting is solid and the content at times suits her limited range. Very 90s.

"Exit in Guyville" is the debut album by American singer-songwriter Liz Phair. The album was produced by Brad Wood and Phair and was recorded at Idful Music Cotporation in Chicago. Indie rock and lo-fi are the Wiki-genres. Yep. The album concept combines small town mentality with the Chicago Wicker Park music scene. The songs are sequenced to match the Rolling Stones' "Exile on Main Street." Commercially, the album hit #196 in the US and was critically well-received. "6'1"' opens the album. Fast strumming guitar, bass and drums. Hey, this does has a Stones' sound to it. Phair's deadpan vocals and a tambourine. On the surface, you might think she's attracted to a man of that height but she hates him. She continues the hate on the next song "Help Me, Mary." This time she targets friends who have rules.... She's not giving in. More straight-forward rock. A melodic guitar is one of the highlights of the first single "Never Said." Harmony and backing vocals. Keepin' the rock thread going and a decent response to "Tumbling Dice." This song addresses the music scene and comments made. She never said nothing. "Fuck and Run" definitely carries the Stones' torch. Phair expresses regret about "it" happening again. She wants a relationship but this particular action has happened throughout her life. The album's lyrical tone changes a little at the very end. "Gunshy" has electric guitar strings and a droning synth background. Subdued as she's relegated to the normal life. The second single "Stratford-on-Guy" might have her best lyrics. A snare drum and electric guitar. Phair with rapid, emotionless vocals describing the wonder of flying into Chicago as a movie and being n a Galaxie 500 video but that noise just disappears shortly later as she goes into that grid. I find it hard to believe that these songs are not personal as Phair says that they are based on fictional characters. Well, she comes out swinging lyrically, in your face, but there are more subdued songs. The focus of this album are the lyrics as she takes aim at early 90 guys, the social scene, the music scene and bad relationships but points the thumb backwards with living the humdrum life and random meaningless sex. Lo-fi is a good description of the music as it is tripped down with vocals being the only thing layered. There's a variety to music with acoustic and electric guitar-driven, bluesy, and piano-driven songs and even an electronic song. This is a great and original album. I don't think she topped this but I do like some of her later songs. Two days in a row for one of the best albums of the 90's (at least early 90's for this one).

Good

3.5☆/5 10.12.2024

Really liked this.

Couldn’t really get into it 3

The dirge-like grunge voice dates this within a few seconds of play and I found the first few songs dull. The blow job-cunt lyrics provoke in the pointless manner beloved of my generation, and the de rigeur Prozac’d detachment in their delivery gets grey quick along with the wash of nondescript guitar on most of the tracks. Still, there are touches - the blast of harmonica on “Soap Star Joe”, the surprisingly cute guitar solo of “Mesmerizing” - that break monotony, and “Never Said” is a decent yell-along. The record has enough rockers here to make a strong 35 minutes.

Lke catching up with an old friend today, knew every word even though it has been years; a constant in the office CD pile through 93/94. The original and best of its kind, some choice lyrics and tunes throughout the whole 18. "Divorce Song" remains an all-time favorite. Shame she never did anything close to this afterwards.

I tried. But that monotone and the dreaded lo-fi mad it too much of a chore.

This seemed like an album of incomplete thoughts. SOme decent tunes and guitar playing but I wasn't impressed. It seemed very pedestrian. So I read about it to try and understand what made it special. A lot of it seems to be tied up in the lyrics. SO I looked at them. So she is one of those that speaks from a girl and womans perspective as you might expect from a guy. That's been done before and it can have impact. This reads like pages from a girl's diary. And although I do find it compelling hearing a woman talk about guys and sex and relationships, I fell others have done it better and with more emotion...at least some emotion. You want some of that? Try Chrissie Hind's Tattooed Love Boys. This falls flat.

**Album Review: _Exile in Guyville_ by Liz Phair** _Liz Phair's 1993 debut album, Exile in Guyville,_ is one of the most significant releases in the history of indie rock, marking a pivotal moment for female artists and singer-songwriters of the era. It is an unapologetically raw, provocative, and intricate examination of the intersection between personal relationships, gender dynamics, and self-empowerment. Here's an in-depth analysis of the album, focusing on its lyrics, music, production, themes, and influence, along with a fair assessment of its strengths and weaknesses. --- ### **1. Lyrics** The lyricism in *Exile in Guyville* is one of its most striking aspects, standing out for its honesty, wit, and daring confrontation of topics often considered taboo at the time. Phair's writing is deeply personal, intensely self-aware, and at times, deliberately vulgar. The album's narrative is loosely structured as a song-by-song response to the Rolling Stones’ _Exile on Main St._, but instead of following a strict storyline, it chronicles Phair's exploration of life as a young woman, blending vulnerability with defiance. Phair’s approach is unapologetically frank, particularly in how she addresses sexuality. Tracks like "Flower" and "Fuck and Run" shocked listeners in the early '90s with their unfiltered expression of female desire and disillusionment. In "Flower," for instance, Phair subverts male-dominated perspectives of sex, singing explicitly about wanting sexual power. The song's bluntness is disarming and emblematic of Phair’s broader challenge to gender norms, presenting herself as both desiring and dominant in a way rarely heard in female-fronted indie music before this time. On "Divorce Song," Phair captures the devastating subtleties of a failing relationship, illustrating the emotional tug-of-war with incisive lines like, "It's true that I stole your lighter, and it's also true that I lost the map / But when you said that I wasn't worth talking to, I had to take your word on that." These lines reflect her signature mix of irony, bitterness, and humor. Phair's use of conversational language is one of the album's most compelling features. She writes as if she's having an intimate conversation with the listener, allowing her lyrics to oscillate between poetry and prose. This creates an emotional resonance that feels honest and unfiltered, as though she's not singing *at* the listener, but *with* them. #### Pros: - **Raw honesty:** Phair’s unflinching approach to sexuality and relationships made her stand out from contemporaries. - **Conversational tone:** The casual, almost journal-like style creates intimacy with listeners. - **Subversion of gender norms:** Phair's lyrics challenge conventional depictions of women in music, portraying them as complex, flawed, and powerful. #### Cons: - **Lack of cohesion:** At times, Phair's narrative can feel disjointed, a result of her freeform lyrical approach. - **Crudeness:** The explicitness of some lyrics may alienate more conservative listeners. --- ### **2. Music** Musically, *Exile in Guyville* spans several styles, from lo-fi indie rock to alt-country and pop-tinged ballads. The album's sound is intentionally unpolished, rooted in the lo-fi indie aesthetic of the early '90s, where gritty production and a DIY ethos were prized over studio gloss. Phair’s guitar work is simplistic but effective, often relying on minimal chord progressions to carry her melodies. This musical simplicity serves as a canvas for her lyrics, allowing them to take center stage. For example, "Never Said" rides a jangly, upbeat riff, balancing pop sensibility with a rough indie edge, while "6'1"" opens the album with a more aggressive, distorted guitar line that sets the tone for Phair’s confrontational attitude. While the lo-fi production is intentional and gives the album its raw energy, the arrangements can sometimes feel sparse or underdeveloped. Many tracks, such as "Help Me Mary" or "Glory," feature basic instrumentation with Phair's vocals and guitar taking the lead, creating a sense of intimacy but also revealing the limitations of her minimalist approach. One of the most striking aspects of the album's sound is Phair's vocal delivery. She doesn’t have a traditional "pretty" singing voice, and that works in her favor. Her delivery is often detached, deadpan, and matter-of-fact, heightening the conversational tone of the album. On tracks like "Stratford-On-Guy," her nonchalant vocals complement the dreamy, atmospheric guitar, creating a languid, almost hypnotic effect. #### Pros: - **Diverse influences:** Phair mixes indie rock with pop, alt-country, and folk, showcasing her versatility. - **Lo-fi charm:** The raw, unpolished sound adds to the album's authenticity and aligns with the ethos of early '90s indie. - **Vocal delivery:** Phair’s understated singing style enhances the intimacy and directness of her lyrics. #### Cons: - **Simplistic instrumentation:** Some tracks can feel musically underdeveloped, with repetitive structures. - **Production quality:** While the lo-fi aesthetic is a strength, it can also detract from the overall listening experience, as the album can sound rough around the edges at times. --- ### **3. Production** Steve Albini’s influence looms large over the indie rock scene of the early '90s, but it was Brad Wood who co-produced *Exile in Guyville* with Phair. The production is sparse and intentionally raw, reflecting Phair’s desire to retain the feel of her original four-track demos. There’s a sense of immediacy in the sound, as if the listener is in the room with Phair, witnessing these moments as they unfold. Wood's production approach lets Phair’s voice and guitar remain at the forefront, with minimal embellishments. The tracks are often stripped down, emphasizing intimacy over polish. This choice is central to the album's identity—it feels as if it was made by Phair on her own terms, outside of the commercial pressures of the music industry. However, the lo-fi nature of the album sometimes borders on amateurish, which is part of its charm but also a limitation. The drums, in particular, can sound thin or distant, and some of the mix lacks the depth that more polished production might have brought. This is especially noticeable on songs like "Soap Star Joe," where the muddy sound can feel a bit monotonous. #### Pros: - **Authentic production:** The raw, lo-fi sound reflects Phair's DIY ethos and the indie rock scene of the time. - **Focus on intimacy:** The stripped-back production places emphasis on Phair's vocals and lyrics, enhancing the personal nature of the album. #### Cons: - **Lack of depth:** Some tracks could benefit from more dynamic arrangements or fuller production. - **Inconsistent mixing:** The lo-fi aesthetic works in some tracks, but in others, it can feel overly simplistic or underproduced. --- ### **4. Themes** _Exile in Guyville_ is an album rooted in themes of female empowerment, vulnerability, and defiance. Phair wrote the album as a response to the hyper-masculine indie rock scene, where she felt women were often sidelined or objectified. In response, she crafted songs that placed a woman’s perspective front and center, tackling themes like sex, love, frustration, and self-doubt. At its core, the album is about agency—both in relationships and in Phair’s own artistic expression. Songs like "Fuck and Run" address the emptiness of casual hookups, where she longs for emotional connection amidst a culture of detachment. The frustration with gendered power dynamics in relationships runs throughout the album, particularly in "Divorce Song," where she navigates the emotional complexities of breaking up, not with anger but with resignation. Phair also frequently flips the script on male-dominated narratives. In "Flower," for example, she adopts a traditionally masculine perspective on sexual conquest, making the listener uncomfortable in a deliberate attempt to expose double standards. However, the album isn't just about anger or rebellion. There’s a deep sense of vulnerability in tracks like "Canary," where Phair reflects on the pressures placed on women to maintain a façade of perfection, singing, "I always sing, you want a song / So here’s a song for you." It’s a quiet moment of introspection, adding nuance to an album otherwise filled with sharp edges. #### Pros: - **Feminist themes:** The album boldly addresses gender dynamics and challenges the male gaze, making it groundbreaking in its time. - **Nuanced exploration of relationships:** Phair captures the complexities of love, sex, and heartbreak with wit and insight. #### Cons: - **Occasional thematic repetition:** Some songs cover similar ground in terms of subject matter, which can make parts of the album feel redundant. --- ### **5. Influence** _Exile in Guyville_ has had a lasting impact on the indie rock scene and beyond, particularly for female artists. Phair opened doors for women in a male-dominated genre, showing that it was possible to write music that was both confessional and confrontational. Her unpolished aesthetic and unabashed lyrical content helped redefine what was considered "acceptable" for female songwriters, inspiring a generation of musicians like Fiona Apple, Cat Power, and later artists such as St. Vincent and Courtney Barnett. The album’s raw, lo-fi sound also played a key role in shaping the DIY ethos that would continue to influence indie music throughout the '90s and 2000s. By eschewing traditional production values and focusing on emotional authenticity, Phair became a symbol of artistic freedom and independence. #### Pros: - **Pioneering for female artists:** Phair’s unapologetic voice helped pave the way for future female musicians in rock and indie genres. - **Influence on indie rock:** The album's lo-fi, DIY approach became a template for many artists seeking authenticity over commercial success. #### Cons: - **Niche appeal:** While highly influential, the album’s rawness and overtly personal content may limit its appeal to mainstream audiences. --- ### **Conclusion** *Exile in Guyville* is a landmark album that challenged the conventions of indie rock and pushed boundaries in terms of gender politics, musical expression, and lyrical honesty. Its rawness, both musically and lyrically, was revolutionary in its time, though it can sometimes feel uneven or underdeveloped. Still, Phair’s debut remains a crucial work in the history of alternative music, one that continues to inspire musicians today with its bold, unfiltered approach to art.

Gets stronger with every listen

its fine! I think Phair's vocal delivery just doesn't work for me.

It's okay. Not particularly memorable for me, despite the sex-laden lyrics.

Didn’t enjoy too many songs

I can appreciate 90s grunge but woof hard to listen to when she’s seemingly purposely trying to not sing well

Amazing.

Ugh

Laughably bad singing - seriously bar-karaoke-level talent on the mic. Whole album is pretty forgetful and probably went on 15 minutes too long. 4/10.

I remember when “Why Can’t I?” came out in 2003 and was everywhere all the time. Everyone complained that Liz Phair had sold out, but I had no idea who she was or what the fuss was about. I just didn’t really care for the song. That’s still the only song of hers I knew until putting on Exile in Guyville. This album is like a stripped down version of something Sheryl Crow might do if she had the edginess of Courtney Love instead of the sanitized edginess of “All I Wanna Do.” Which is kind of ironic considering Liz Phair seemed to be a bookish good girl in real life and this album was largely an exercise in creative writing. Yet somehow she manages to come off as authentic and vulnerable on these songs. They’re well crafted, well sung, and form a cohesive album that’s enjoyable to listen to. They’re a little grungy, a little poppy, and a little bluesy. I can’t speak to the claims that it’s a response to Exile on Main Street by the Rolling Stones because I mostly avoid their music (though I know I’ll have to get to it at some point for this challenge), but it’s still an impressive debut album either way. 4/5 (probably a 4.5)

Album 546 of 1001 Liz Phair - Exile In Guyville (1993) Rating : 4.5 / 5 I just really like this album. A higher rating than might be expected but it is what it is. An extra half point just for being a favorite.

A decent listen actually I was impressed

A bit too low-fi for me. Might have enjoyed this in 1993, but not enough to grab me these days.

It grew on me I'd go for 3.5 if I could

This was a big record if you worked in an indie record store in early 1990's. I was immediately interested because of her connections to one of my favorite bands at the time, Urge Overkill. Specifically, the album title is a mash-up of a great Stones album (Exile on Main St) and a great Urge Overkill song (Goodbye to Guyville). Phair also hung around the same Chicago indie rock scene as UO and I think maybe they helped her get her start. She used to tell people the album is a song-by-song response to Exile on Main St, but I think that was a red herring intended to get more people to talk about and listen to it. Also, for many years I harbored a conspiracy theory that Liz Phair is the little sister of UO's Nash Kato (look them up - they look a lot alike, no?). I have spent an irrational amount of time unsuccessfully researching this and still feel unsatisfied that I haven't been able to prove it....yet. This record was a big part of the early 1990's wave of women indie rockers and in that respect she was a bit of a pioneer. Unfortunately, the songs aren't very interesting and her singing is unappealing to me - always feels like she is singing in too low of a register and that she has about a 3 note range. Is this like the Elizabeth Holmes thing where a trailblazing woman believes she needs to artificially lower the pitch of her voice in order to be taken more seriously? Also, there is an emotional distance in her voice that reminds me a little of how when you're a teenager sometimes it's cool to be apathetic. The weirdly low tones and too cool to care attitude remind me a little of Courtney Love, and not in a good way. The record was also a big part of the early 1990's wave of lo-fi indie rocker movement - essentially, people who make records that sound like they were recorded in their apartment while their roommate was sleeping - but at the same time unfortunately the sounds aren't all that interesting, to my ears at least. I think there are people who will tell you this record was greatly influential on them, but it was a 'you had to be there' kind of thing in my opinion. Although she still makes records, I doubt she has acquired a new fan since 1995, and once these people die this record will be forgotten. Ozymandias of indie rock?!?

I'd kind of wondered when we'd get Liz Phair--and am a bit shocked that we only got one album by her, although I am belatedly realizing that I've always conflated her name with the Lilith Fair phenomenon--but I've never really enjoyed her music, unfortunately. It's a fine album, but it doesn't really do it for me. I thought her hit "Never said", "Soap star Joe" and "Flower" were probably the highlights of the overly long album. I almost regret having read the Wikipedia entry for this album, as it actually made me like both the album and Liz Phair *less* in the end. I have no idea who was involved in writing that entry, but it's incredibly confusing, poorly written, and doesn't really paint a very positive or thoughtful portrait of her. And I agree with the critics who challenge her claim that this album is "a song-by-song reply to the Rolling Stones' 1972 album "Exile on Main St." It just isn't that focused or interesting, I'd say. Sorry, Liz Phair!

Loving this album is one of my guilty pleasures. Her voice isn't great, the guitar isn't great, but the whole, somehow, is. Perfectly captures a woman's experience in a particular time and place.

Not something i'd listen to again. The singers voice was very monotone, she may have a good voice, but i couldn't tell. It lacked emotion.

Generic 90s BS… and can we talk about the lyrics to Flower?

A really cool vibe with a mix of rock and 90s pop. I really liked it! This one’s going on my usual rotation. The Vibe: You’re a college kid who’s just trying to figure things out (and by things, I mean the opposite sex)

Liked it a lot, I love her vocals.

Phair to middling.

Don't teenage feminists deserve good music too?

Not my genre

I know this album is well regarded critically, but I am not a huge fan of her voice, the instrumentation is jangly, and the lyrics are fairly explicit at times. Sure, the overall package was somewhat groundbreaking, it's always interesting to hear from a strong female songwriter, but I didn't find it all that compelling as a finished product for listening.

I like prog rock. One of the common sentiments I hear is "it's overindulgent, and records are unbearably long compared to other genres". Well. What the hell is there in this record that makes it need to be an hour long? Jesus christ.

2024-09-19...

This is just crap. What is this

This came out when I had a CD changer When this album came out, I had a five CD changer that had a spiral mode: you could put in discs and it would play the first track from each desk the second track from each desk, etc. So I put in the Rolling Stones “Exile On Main Street”, and this CD and listened in spiral mode. It was very cool to hear her response to each Stones track throughout the whole album.

Saying negative things about this feels misogynistic. So I'll just say it wasn't for me.

Aggravating, sad and a bit crap

Reminded me of car rides with my dad growing up!

I knew surprisingly few of these songs. For such an acclaimed album to be out when I was in my 20s and for me to not be familiar with most of it tells me it did not grab my attention enough back then for a reason. I don't find it interesting. Sure, it's good. But not my vibe.

Is that a nip on the cover? This was ok, kind of refreshing to not have this be fully autotuned. 2*

What a great musician.

I had never heard of Liz Phair before and I thought this album was great. Reminded me a bit of Sinéad O'Connor? Almost a 4 but definitely a 3!

Hearing this for the first time and I’m not getting the hype? It has lots of the ingredients I normally love, but it just didn’t do it for me.

An interesting listen. Good songs. I need to listen again.

Brilliant, and a clear influence on a bunch of artists I love

Good alb7m

Very 90s, and not in the best way. It’s not a bad album, but for all the love it gets, I’m not seeing it.

#326. While playing the game Street Sk8er on the PS1 entirely too much back in middle school, I heard the Weston song 'Liz Phair' probably a hundred times and there's a line where he says "you look real pretty in your video/ and you write better songs than anyone I know," and while I can't speak to the first half, the second half has proven to be a lie. None of these songs are better than... anything. Now there was that one song she wrote that you couldn't get away from all year, but I know that's not the one he was singing about, because that song wasn't out yet. And about that, while we're on the topic, this is YET ANOTHER one hit wonder that they put on this list but they didn't choose the album that the one hit is on. Nah dog, just pick an album at random and throw it on there, itll be fine. Why has that happened so much so far on this list? Why do we treat the customers the way we do? Because fuck 'em, that's why. 2/5: mid af Song added to playlist: Never Said I've created a playlist on Spotify that consists of the best and/or my favorite song from each of the albums in this book. This list can be found here if you are interested: https://open.spotify.com/playlist/7MAXDGLWlwLkFLb8veGfkA?si=FqkQQPgZTFWG0jAUJXLFZA&utm_source=copy-link

Don’t know what I expected but it was much better than expected. Some deep cut gems in here that caught me on a day and got their hooks 🪝 n me.

Top 5 album of the 90s. If you don;t like this you probably loved some pure shit like Aerosmith or the Eagles. It's true.

I literally only know of Liz Phair because Todd in the Shadows did a video about how she immolated herself by moving from whatever the fuck this album is to something "more popular" in style. Listening to this I wonder what the hell she could have done much worse. Detuned guitars seem abound, and then it strays toward noise rather than tune or melody. On some tracks I might even be tempted to say there was some country trying to creep around the edges of some of the bluesier bits. Six tracks in and I'm a ungrippered. It's not as actively bad as I initially thought, and reading through reviews suggests that it might be about the lyrics - but I have zero desire to dig any deeper. I can safely say I've tried it, and now I'm moving on. No harm no foul, if it's your thing then bonza.

It did a decent job of keeping me entertained throughout. I could see this one growing on me but thought it was just alright on first listen Rating: 3.4

A lot to like here. Original and raw. I dug it. Close to a four for me.

Refreshing rocking style singer songwriter

Not bad. Yet not massively gripping. Wanted to like it more due to it's reputation.

I had the completely wrong expectations of this album after seeing the album cover. It had me expecting UK rap, as she seems to give the impression (at least to my eyes) of a UK rapper. I was very wrong. This is the perfect balance of raw alternative rock and catchy melodies. It reminded me a lot of Plumtree, who I had a bit of an obsession with once upon a time. I went into this expecting not much, and it ended up blowing me away. Fantastic!

OK indie

I’ve always been baffled by this album. When I first started getting into music in my own, you naturally look up lists of greatest albums to see where to start. I was a huge fan of grunge and nineties rock so perfect, look up best albums of the 90s and here, this album keeps showing up. And I listened to it. And I didn’t get it. I didn’t hate it, but nothing about it screamed one of the greatest albums of all time. Now that I’m older, and have opened my mind to some albums I had rejected and loved them (I’m sorry Hole) and now…I still don’t get it. It’s honest! Awesome. Plenty of people write honest and open poetry. It doesn’t get this acclaim, even if the words are more beautiful. It’s raw! Okay? So were a lot of albums at the time. It’s a woman’s voice! True! And I can definitely see that being a factor for its popularity and acclaim. It’s just. There were women’s voices before, contemporaneous, and many after, and…those voices were just better at writing songs. At the end of the day you can make as powerful and important message as you can, but if the music isn’t interesting or good…who cares?

Bummer Liz Phair kinda ended up being a poser because this is so good. I fucked with this hard back in 2021 so it was nice to revisit it with new ears.

I was not at all into this. Simplistic lyrics, predictable other than the absolute smut of the last song. Out of nowhere! Found it annoying

I do quite this album and I knew it a bit beforehand. Fuck and Run comes up on my spotify a lot. But I wouldn't say I love this album, it's just quite cool and atmospheric.

I will admit that this was a fair bit better than I thought it would be going in, but the album also wore out its welcome with me about 2/3rds of the way through

🤷🏼‍♂️

Unexpected this one - it didn't pass consciousness in the UK. It's a really interesting album. Lo fi, but tuneful and engaging.

I see the importance of this and how much is owed to Liz Phair by modern artists, but... you can definitely tell this is the beginning of something in that it's not quite what it could be.

I feel like I write this a lot but this is another album I feel like I should have heard but had not. I can hear Best Coast, Dum Dum Girls and other artists like that all over this album. It's amazing the influence is so clear. Phair's voice can annoy some people but it is the female version of the 90's slacker singing voice made popular by...pretty much every early grunge artist/band. Exile in Guyville was a little more chill than I had expected from a song-by-song response to Exile on Mainstreet. It's a very aspirational album with 18 tracks on a debut album being very aggressive. As such, it feels like it rain out of steam a bit at times. Otherwise, this album deserves to be in the book because it's good enough of an album and was very influential.

I mean it's not my jam, and I can't really relate to any of the lyrics. But all the same made me feel like a bad bitch

There’s a lot to love here. A remarkably impressive debut. Could listen to Mesmerizing on repeat.

After listening to this album a few times, I find the musical elements quite good. It has a very indie, raw, and stripped-down production. However, the lyrics come off as juvenile to me. I understand that she’s making a cultural statement and challenging norms, but it seems her lyrics are praised more for their shock value. I can see how a younger generation full of angst might enjoy this, but to me, the lyrics feel immature.

Exile in Guyville is the debut studio album by Liz Phair, originally released in 1993. Indie-rock darling Liz Phair sure made a splash with her debut album "Exile In Guyville". I wasn't born yet in the 90s, but I can imagine this record was a big deal. Indie/alternative rock was, and still is, a male-dominated genre. Phair sure made a statement that women belong in the genre with this record. However, I think this record should be remembered for more than just "this girl made a good record in a male dominated genre". It has catchy hooks and good songwriting overall. Multiple tracks had big hit potential. I also really think this album is the birth of that "bedroom pop" sound that is so popular today!

I didn’t dislike necessarily but was never fully into it either. I really wonder what the guy in Flower looked like lol

This is what Courtney Love wanted to be but surpassed. This is almost insufferable. Her later stuff is way better, more produced.

Interesting, but leans too heavy into the singer songwriter stuff that I don’t care about. But, mainly influential so should be heard once before death

This album just about saved my life when’s it first came out. I was her exact target demo and this was released during a tough life year for me. Her “I am going to create music that tells my truth no matter that it sounds like nothing anybody else is doing” attitude was and remains inspirational. Thirty years later I am a bit more aware of some vocal shortcomings, that musically it may not live up to some five star albums. But I remember what this album meant. And I can hear what this album meant to female rockers decades later. Liz Phair paved the way with this one. It is historically significant and emotionally powerful.

Fuck this album is great. Love the lyrics/songwriting so so much. Not only unique in writing but also in sound, 90's alt rock, but with an air around everything making it stand out above the rest, production is solid

Appreciate this album more for what it was in 1993 rather than as something I enjoy in 2024. Fuck and Run is so catchy but the rest of the album isn't particularly memorable.

Surprised by this album. Id like a few of her songs but she is a full amazing artists more than just a few hits. This album is really good short and varied songs with really good lyrics. Im a new fan of Liz

Notable tracks: Fuck and Run, Never Said, Glory