From: Chicago, Illinois

Active: 1993–present

I first heard of her: in the press, actually.  Every magazine and alt weekly I read to find out about new music thought Exile in Guyville was the most bestest thing evar.  I listened to it on the Tower Records listening stations and thought it sounded dreadful.  When videos from the Whip-Smart album showed up on MTV I had to concede she’d improved, and I liked Whitechocolatespaceegg enough to buy it.  What little I’ve heard of hers since then hasn’t appealed to me, though.

Sound: back in my day, at least, it was pretty standard alt-rock, with one little twist: Liz Phair can’t sing!  Or if she can, she’s awfully shy about it.  Her range is tiny and she seems to have trouble carrying a tune.  When her songs are good it’s because the composition is good, not the execution.

Further listening: Here’s another track from Whitechocolatespaceegg, which is a pretty solid effort the whole way through, plus a lo-fi cover version of “Whip-Smart” that some people have enjoyed.

		“Polyester Bride” (1998)
		“Whip-Smart” (the Adriffs, 2004)