| LIZ PHAIR ESSAY |
| The sexual edge Phair is known for carries on, despite the toned-down rawness in songs like Ride (Well sticks and stones can break my bones/ And boys can make me kick and moan/ But when I want it autodrive, I get a ride/ From you), and Baby Got Going (Baby got goin� on a southern train, you know/ Fired up pistons drivin� below/ And the whole vibration, seat upholstery/ Silky underwear, oh conductor, let�s roll!). It�s clear Phair still addresses sex, but in a less coarse manner. Phair�s lyrics are more straight-forward, and less emphasis is made on wordplay. She seems to exchange wordplay with experimentations on writing from a male perspective, which she does in Big Tall Man, Baby Got Going, and Only Son. In Big Tall Man Phair seems to look at the stereotypical, macho male model, while tongue is planted firmly in cheek, with lyrics like "I�m a big tall man/ I cut the grass/ My left eye hurts/ I can be a complicated communicator." Phair tries to take the perspective of a male during sex with Baby Got Going, writing "She gets mad when it goes too slow, so I�m beggin� you man/ Keep-a-shovelin� that coal and let�s roll." And Only Son is an endearing portrait of a man who�s regrettably hurt his family (I�m the worst kind of son/ Bringing shame to my family� So goodbye, so long, I�m gone already� I�m losing my mind) and desires a sympathetic character to lean on (Won�t somebody hold me?). Phair accomplishes these experiments in language effectively, and it reflects maturity and refinement in her artistic persona. Another example of Phair�s straight-forwardness in her lyrics is her lack of imagery in her words; she tells rather than shows throughout the album. Though she doesn�t seem to need imagery in order for one to understand what Phair says in songs like Johnny Feelgood (Never realized I was so dirty and dry/ Till he knocked me down, started dragging me around in the/ Back of his convertible car�/ And I liked it) and Shitloads of Money (It�s nice to be liked/ But its better by far to get paid/ I know that most of the friends that I have don�t really see it/ That way/ But if you could give �em each one wish/ How much do you wanna bet?/ They�d wish success for themselves and their friends and/ That would include lots of money). The only song one might consider Phair put any imagery to use would be Baby Got Going where she uses trains as an analogy for sex (Baby got goin� but I can�t complain, you know/ It knocks me out when she acts so strange, its like a/ Big Mac truck cut across three lanes in my soul, conductor/ Let�s throw some metal down, roll!). That Phair is able to effectively rely less on imagery to reach her listeners helps affirm her maturity as a musician. Whitechocolatespaceegg is another glimpse into Phair�s life, and her language use reflects the maturity that motherhood and marriage brought her. Her language has moved beyond the mark of Blowjob Queen toward that of adulthood. As one reviewer put it, soon she�ll be writing pre-menopausal anthems, finding new ways to use language, while those of us still stuck in Guyville will wave our hats and cheer "You go, old girl!" BIBLIOGRAPHY Cool, Tall, Vulnerable, and Luscious; http://www.liz-phair.com. maintained by: Jenny Sayler. updated: 12/1/98. visited: 8/2/00, 8/13/00. All Music Guide; http://www.allmusic.com. maintained by: AEC One Stop Group, Inc. updated: 4/28/00 (?) visited: 8/2/00, 8/13/00. Aug. 13, 1999. "The 90 Greatest Albums of the 90s." SPIN Magazine. cover story *CMJ New Music Report *Rolling Stone review *: both can be found at CDNow at http://www.cdnow.com |