Count On My Love - Liz Phair

Count On My Love - Liz Phair

3:41

Somebody's Miracle, 2005

Written by Liz Phair and John Shanks

I was a huge, huge Liz Phair fan back in the day, but I pretty much stopped listening after four albums.  The fourth, the self-titled one, while not terrible, was comparatively a disappointment compared to the shock, awe, and pure genius of her first three.  The little I've heard that followed did not make me want to investigate further.  This song is fine enough, an indie rock love song, smooth and polished, with Phair's thin vocals sounding tired.  She's never been a technically great vocalist, but on her early albums, she used that quaver in her voice to produce a raw, fierce sound, and belted out ferocious lyrics.  The words here, in contrast, are basic and simple.  "You can count on my love / An umbrella when it's raining."  A far cry from "Flower."

Why I Lie - Liz Phair

Why I Lie - Liz Phair

3:21

Somebody's Miracle, 2005

Written by Liz Phair

At one point, I thought Liz Phair was one of the greatest and most impressive, arresting, and original talents going.  Then she released her eponymous album, and it smacked of derivative teen pop, an attempt to grab onto some of that Avril Lavigne popularity.  Not my thing.  But this follow-up has the wry, brash, open lyricism of Exile in Guyville, but with a sturdier, more commanding vocal.  This song opens Phair's head and examines why she self-sabotages romantic relationships.  "I can't help myself / It's a special combination / Of predatory instinct and simple ill will."

Supernova - Liz Phair

Supernova - Liz Phair

2:49

Whip-Smart, 1994

Written by Liz Phair

A love song, the Liz Phair way.  "Your eyelashes sparkle like gilded grass / And your lips are sweet and slippery / Like a cherub's bare wet ass."  It's hardly Sonnet 18, but Phair's wry, deadpan vocals over sludgy, fuzzy guitar riffs and bendy, talking guitar lines make it sound immediate and important.  It's muscular, it's catchy, it captures young infatuation and lust, and it doesn't hurt that at the time of this release, I personally would have given anything I owned just to be in Liz Phair's presence for an hour.

Hey Lou - Liz Phair

Hey Lou - Liz Phair

2:42

Soberish, 2021

Written by Liz Phair and Brad Wood

Who's Lou?

A not entirely light-hearted jab at Lou Reed.  "What's inside that heavy head? / Are you on the junk again? / Your eyes look dead / But your mouth keeps moving on and on."  She accuses him of "acting like an asshole" and "talking shit about Warhol again."  Phair's vocals are great here and the peppy melody, with handclaps and echo, keep it from being too heavy-handed.