Liz had three GREAT albums. Nirvana had two...maybe three including Unplugged. One girl went very commercial. One lead singer shot himself. THAT"S Tragedy!!! (this posting is simply for entertainment value and to add to the convention. Any comparisons between Liz Phair and Nirvana in any scholarly way is strictly coincidental). THIS IS TRAGEDY!!!
I love that this Liz Phair thread in one day has already beaten those of Iron Maiden and the Alan Parsons project which have been up for a longer time.
Hah-hah...a thread on "Can pop artists ever be treated as serious" gets 151 views...a thread on Liz Phair, started today, gets over 2.500 views. Now playing on http://www.arielstream.com/]Ariel Stream[/URL]: Brand New Heavies - Never Stop
I think the fact that a pathetically silly topic like "Can pop artists ever be treated as serious" can get a fraction of the views that Liz Phair gets is amazing too.
1 day and 6 pages of discussion why all the conversation Liz's first three albums were THAT good the rest a big disappointment from what we were all expecting (whether sellout or not - didn't bring the goods) take the insight of Stratford on Guy, Divorce Song, Perfect World or the coy sexuality of Johnny Feelgood among others wow I saw her wcse (backing 2nd album Alanis) and Self Titled tours both excellent shows and she played mostly older material and really rocked out by the S/T album she had lost her stage fright and really played up her sexuality she was a bit absorbed though bringing a piano in taking up half the stage to play chopsticks (a rather simplistic piece) when she could have easily used her keyboard players rig
I'm not sure what you are saying and in retrospect I not sure what I said either. I think that it's obvious that pop artists can be serious. Whether it's The Beatles or Liz Phair.
I think you are referring to Comeandgetit. I agree, there are some great songs on it. There is a 10 track version that also contains the Carnivore 7" and a really great version of Can't Get Out Of What I'm Into, was a song from Girlysound.
There's no way that the Matrix album was a success - that's revisionist. It sold about the same as prior releases because fans are loyal, and she had built enough goodwill with her core fanbase that they were willing to buy it. I bought it, and it wasn't anywhere near good enough (or different enough, see, e.g., Rod Stewart) to get her many new fans. Net result, old fanbase dries up and career goes off a cliff. The interesting thing is that fans tend to be more forgiving of what I would call "noble failures". If you think of it, albums like Self Portrait, Trans, Metal Machine Music, bad though they may be, don't alienate fans the way albums like I'm In You, Blondes Have More Fun, or Give My Regards to Broad Street do. Not sure I understand why, but it's definitely different.
quote from this : http://consequenceofsound.net/2010/10/interview-liz-phair/ : Liz Phair has never been one to do as she’s told. From her 1993 debut Exile in Guyville, to her current release Funstyle, Phair has been consistently pushing the envelope of not only her own creativity, but her place in the music industry. She sung blatantly about sex when no other woman was, she refused to conform to the narrow boxes the music business placed her in, and she did the opposite of what people told her to do, just because she could. /unquote So, if she constantly wanted to be where she wasn't supposed to, it's normal that she didnot encounter big success. Anyway, as a basic frenchie, i find her very cute to say the least, and she did excellent stuff... wasn't she able to keep the level she had at start ? it happened to a lot of excellent people. BUT it does not make her a tragedy. for me Mickey Rourke is more like a tragedy ... but a (very) cute girl just trying to have fun in this hoorible music market is not. Does she have a huge talent like Amy ? i am afraid not . So no tragedy here once more. let me put a nice picture of this fantastic tragic girl, just convenient for these shores. Enjoy
Well, the answer to that question is obviously yes. Anyone who follows music knows that Madonna, Michael Jackson, Abba and (dare I say it) Paul McCartney - all huge teen stars in their day - are now in the RnR Hall of Fame. So, I didn't bother to read the post. Liz Phair's artistic gamble/suicide is much more fascinating.
All of these musicians are in it for the money. They can't make a living to be sincere? How many musicians make albums just for themselves? Don't they want to reach an audience? I would never knock anyone for making a buck.
"Doing it for the money" isn't the only issue. "Doing it poorly" is usually the problem. Look at the album in your avatar - Paul's duets with MJ were definitely for the money, but they were good enough to keep him in good standing with his fans. Broad Street on the other hand, was for the money, but it was also so bad that most fans left on the next flight out.
I believe you can be sincere in trying to make commerical music. Art and commerce are not mutually exclusive.
