Story and Photos by Phil Bonyata
So Liz Phair has sold out. She has abandoned her indie rock queen status in favor of selling more records and appearing on the cover of every magazine that think they can sell more copies with her gorgeous legs screaming "buy me!" Why do so many female artists on the commercial wane have to cash in their "artistic integrity" and turn themselves into sex kittens just to sell more records?Hello Sheryl, Jewel and Alanis. Liz brought on "we're only in it for the money" producers The Matrix, who have written Avril Lavigne's entire catalog, to produce her latest generic pop release Liz Phair. Liz let The Matrix write her entire album and turned her into a sorry Avril wannabe. Why is she emulating the very people who are doing a pretty bad imitation of herself!
Liz made some major waves in the indie community with the release of Exile In Guyville, a hard indictment of the sexist hipsters in the movement. The album made some waves selling over 400,000 copies. Her "loyal" fans say they were betrayed. What they don't understand is that Liz Phair has always made catchy pop songs with infectious hooks (saying "fuck" in your lyrics doesn't make it indie or dangerous) - the problem is she decided to dress like a pop star.
Strutting onto the Rave stage dressed in a tight-fitting jean mini skirt, cow patterned spike heels and low cut tank top - the 36 year old has laid claim to one of rock's sex symbols du jour. Slowly strumming her guitar and the hearts of many in attendance the band kicked off with "6' 1"" (off of Guyville). Phair's command and understanding of her overt sexuality made for a flirty and confident stage presence. She roamed the stage purring out the jagged-edged lyrics to "Polyester Bride" and "Supernova." Her guitar pickings were mostly icing on the bands' cake. It's imperative to make a sexy chick look "respectable" with a guitar in hand. "Why Can't I?" off of Liz Phair came off pretty plastic with it's overdubbed lyrics and dull delivery. "Fuck and Run" got the audience worked up with it's feminist response to our male dominated society. Even the older stuff sounded like "middle-of-the-road" pop. And there's the rub. Liz Phair was never groundbreaking or even very creative. So why beat on her now. Pop music is about catch and hook - and that she does well. It just sounds so much better when you look hot in a mini skirt.
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