Liz Phair

Girly-Sound to Guyville

Elizabeth Clark Phair was born on April 17, 1967 in New Haven, Connecticut, grew up partly in Cincinnati and then Winnetka, Illinois, graduated from New Trier High School in 1985 and from Oberlin College in 1990 with a degree in art history. After a year in San Francisco she returned to Illinois and recorded songs on a four-track in her bedroom as Girly-Sound; in 1991 she made three cassettes, Yo Yo Buddy Yup Yup Word to Ya Muthuh, GIRLSGIRLSGIRLS and Sooty. She sent Matador a six-song tape in 1992 and was signed by co-president Gerard Cosloy.

Exile in Guyville was recorded in 1992 and 1993 at Idful in Chicago with Brad Wood and released in 1993; Whip-Smart (1994) debuted at 27, Juvenilia (1995) was an EP, and Whitechocolatespaceegg (1998) followed. She played Lilith Fair in 1998 and 1999, and opened for Alanis Morissette in 1999. Liz Phair (2003, Capitol) brought the single "Why Can't I?", 32 on the Hot 100, and sell-out criticism, for which Pitchfork's Matt LeMay apologized in 2019; Somebody's Miracle came in 2005. A 15th anniversary reissue of Guyville came on ATO in 2008, and she composed for television, winning a 2009 ASCAP award as a top television composer. Funstyle (2010) was independent, the Girly-Sound to Guyville box set came on May 4, 2018, her memoir Horror Stories on October 8, 2019, and Soberish (2021, produced by Brad Wood) is among her best-reviewed since Guyville.

She toured Guyville for its 30th anniversary in 2023, including the Ryman in Nashville on November 27, and co-headlined The Flannel and The Fury with Sleater-Kinney in 2026. Setlist.fm lists 439 setlists. Wikipedia says she has sold over five million records worldwide, and her influence has been traced to Phoebe Bridgers, Frankie Cosmos and Jay Som.