joshthevegan

Liz Phair's debut might not sound all that shocking today, but when it was released in 1993, hearing a woman sing frankly about sexuality, feelings of inadequacy, confidence in the face of adversity, and disappointments in relationships was something completely new. The "Guyville" in the title was either a reference to the male-dominated independent music scene of Chicago (of which she was a part) or the American independent music culture of the time at large depending on which interview with Phair you believe, but either way, the record was the ultimate expression of femininity and the whole spectrum of what that could mean.

On the most infamous song from the album, "Flower", she sings, "Every time I see your face I get all wet between my legs, every time you pass me by, I heave a sigh of pain. Every time I see your face I think of things unpure, unchaste. . .", but on "Fuck and Run" she wonders, "And whatever happened to a boyfriend? The kind of guy who tries to win you over? And whatever happened to a boyfriend, the kind of guy who makes love 'cause he's in it? . . . I want all that boring old shit like letters and sodas. . ." The album opens with "6' 1" in which Phair is so confident she feels nearly a foot taller than she actually is, but then on "Divorce Song", her self esteem isn't as rock solid, as she worries that her relationship problems might be all her fault. Exile In Guyville, in other words, is as honest and revealing a record about the confusing feelings of young adulthood as any person could hope to make.

The cover of this album is the perfect pairing for this powerful and important recording. Rather than smiling coquettishly at the camera with gobs of make up on (like many female artists were/are encouraged to do) Phair is shouting at the camera, her face largely hidden by shadows. This looks like a candid shot of a person that is simply fed up with her surroundings, and really, isn't that what Exile is all about?

The sad P.S. to this landmark is how Liz Phair didn't even seem to heed her own advice about being true to one's self. As her career went on, she made more and more concessions to the music industry's demands for female musicians to "be successful". Rather than ramble on and on about her slow decline, I'll simply leave the cover of her self-titled album from 2003 here for you to compare to the image above. That alone sums it up pretty succinctly.