When preparing the songs for this week, I was shocked to see that I’ve featured Liz Phair only once on the blog to date.
That was more than two years ago when I chose ‘Stratford-On-Guy’ as Song of the Day #115.
It’s not that Liz Phair plays such a major role in my music collection that her absence on the blog is a surprise, it’s just that as I approach 1,000 songs of the day, I figured somebody like her would have at least found her way into two or three posts.
And that’s what gives me hope that I can continue this laborious song-a-day task indefinitely. If I can go 2 1/2 years and 922 songs and feature an interesting talent like Phair only once, I’m not bound to run out of material anytime soon.
I own three Liz Phair albums. The first is her celebrated debut, Exile in Guyville, which any self-respecting music nerd has to own to maintain cred. The last is her 2003 self-titled album, which featured a couple of radio hits (‘Why Can’t I?’ being the biggest) and prompted accusations that the former alt-rock goddess had sold out.
And in-between is the record I consider her best, 1998’s Whitechocolatespaceegg. That album is more polished, focused and mature than her early efforts. The frank sexuality of Guyville was ground-breaking and important in its way, but it doesn’t exactly resonate on repeated listens.
Whitechocolatespaceegg, though, features a number of songs inspired by Phair’s experiences with motherhood and divorce. You wouldn’t have seen a verse like this one, from ‘Go On Ahead,’ on her first two albums:
And you and I are in way over our heads with this one
It’s hard to admit it, but you hold me and I can’t feel you
We hurt but we smile
I promise I’ll make it back when the summer has warmed me awhile
Among my favorite tracks on the album is the one minor hit, ‘Polyester Bride.’ It has a halting, conversational quality I like, and a killer chorus.
To a certain bartender I’m lucky to know
And I asked Henry, my bartending friend
If I should bother dating un-famous men
And Henry said, “You’re lucky to even know me
You’re lucky to be alive
You’re lucky to be drinking here for free
Cause I’m a sucker for your lucky, pretty eyes.”
And then he said, “Do you want to be a Polyester Bride?
Or do you want to hang your head and die?
Do you want to find alligator cowboy boots they just put on sale?
Do you want to flap your wings and fly away from here?”
And I was sitting, not two days ago
Feeling lonely ’cause I’m just feeling low
And I asked Henry, my bartending friend
Why it is that there are those kind of men
And Henry said, “You’re lucky to even know me
You’re lucky to be alive
You’re lucky to be drinking here for free
Cause I’m a sucker for your lucky, pretty eyes.”
And then he said, “Do you want to be a Polyester Bride?
Or do you want to hang your head and die?
Do you want to find alligator cowboy boots they just put on sale?
Do you want to flap your wings and fly away from here?
“Princess, do you Really want to flap your wings and fly?
“Because you’ve got time.”
He keeps telling me, “You’ve got time.”
But I don’t believe him
“You’ve got time.”
I keep on pushing harder…
I keep on pushing farther away
Meet Me In Montauk 
I like her sound, and it’s hard to call her big hit a sellout when she casually throws in a very provocative frank sexual reference f bomb dead center in the middle of the pre-chorus.
I’m liking this song as well. Feel free to feature her again in the next 2 and a half years:)