Liz Phair

Liz Phair burst onto the indie rock scene in 1993, riding a wave of hype and acclaim that heralded her Matador Records debut, EXILE IN GUYVILLE. Conceived as a song-for-song response to the Rolling Stones' EXILE ON MAIN STREET, GUYVILLE boasted clever, sexually explicit lyrics, punchy pop riffs, and lo-fi production, all pulled together by Phair's flat, matter-of-fact vocals. After two more albums that received lukewarm reviews, Phair finally took the plunge into all-out radio-friendly pop in 2003, signing to Capitol Records and working with Avril Lavigne's production team, much to the chagrin of many longtime fans, but scored a major radio hit with "Why Can't I?".

• rock
• pop