[[quoteright:350:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/Liz_Phair.gif]]

Elizabeth Clark Phair (born April 17, 1967) is an alternative/pop rock musician best known for her controversial, sexually explicit and emotionally honest lyrics. She was especially celebrated for her debut album, ''Music/ExileInGuyville''. In the '90s, she used a heavy production style with loud rock instrumental backings, and eventually became a famous name in AlternativeIndie circles.

In the 2000s, her music shifted to pop rock, which [[TheyChangedItNowItSucks wasn't well-received by many]]. Some critics, while reviewing ''Somebody's Miracle'', admitted that her self-titled album didn't deserve the backlash it got. She began composing music for television dramas, working on shows like ''Swingtown'' and ''In Plain Sight''. In 2020, she announced that she had signed with Creator/ChrysalisRecords; her first album for the label, ''Soberish'', was released in June 2021.
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!!Discography:

* ''Music/ExileInGuyville'' (1993)
* ''Whip-Smart'' (1994)
* ''Juvenilia'' (1995; [=EP=])
* ''whitechocolatespaceegg'' (1998)
* ''[[SelfTitledAlbum Liz Phair]]'' (2003)
* ''Comeandgetit'' (2003; [=EP=])
* ''Somebody's Miracle'' (2005)
* ''Funstyle'' (2010)
* ''Girlysound'' (2010; bonus compilation disc of demo songs to accompany the physical release of ''Funstyle'')
* ''Soberish'' (2021)

She's also famous for the ''Girly Sound'' (or ''Girlysound'') tapes, which contain Liz's pre-1993 lo-fi demos. It's one of the most sought-after AlternativeRock bootlegs.

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!!Liz Phair provides examples of:
* [[AnswerSong Answer Album]] + PerspectiveFlip: A rare non-narrative example: ''[[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Exile_in_Guyville Exile in Guyville]]'' was intended as a song-by-song reply to Music/{{The Rolling Stones|Band}}' ''Music/ExileOnMainSt.''. Try not to think about it too hard, since some of the song counterparts don't make sense. She did give an interview to ''Rolling Stone'' where [[https://web.archive.org/web/20100619123602/http://www.rollingstone.com/music/news/14639/89656 she elaborated on the parallels]].
* BreakupSong: "Divorce Song."
* CelebritySong: "Hey Lou," about Music/LouReed.
* CensoredTitle: "H.W.C." (abbreviation for "hot white cum", the phrase used in the song).
* ConceptAlbum: ''Funstyle'', according to Liz. The thread that is sewn in all 11 songs is the power of collaboration and doing music for fun.
* CountryMatters: Had no problem saying it in "Dance of the Seven Veils".
* CoverVersion: ''Juvenilia'' has a cover of "Turning Japanese", originally by The Vapors, and one of the bonus tracks on the 2008 reissue of ''Exile in Guyville'' is a cover of "Say You" by Lynn Tait and the Jets.
** Also contributed a cover of "[[Series/TheBananaSplits The Tra La La Song (One Banana, Two Banana)]]" to the compilation tribute album, [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-JvB5AL59fM Saturday Morning Cartoons' Greatest Hits]].
* CreepyMonotone: Delivers some of her most sexually explicit lyrics with this on "Flower."
* DeadpanSnarker: Liz is not a snarker, but she can sound like one when she sings. See "Chopsticks", for example.
* DesignStudentsOrgasm: [[https://img.discogs.com/ym_c2w3Ro8OOzFvl0W-npwvo19M=/fit-in/300x300/filters:strip_icc():format(jpeg):mode_rgb():quality(40)/discogs-images/R-2349586-1278759811.jpeg.jpg The original cover for]] ''Funstyle'' (the physical version changed it), which WebVideo/ToddInTheShadows described as "computer vomit cover art", and which reportedly was done as a dig on Music/{{MIA}}'s ''[[https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/pt/4/4f/Maya-M.I.A.jpg Maya]]'', which has a similar cover.
* EpicRocking: Some of the ''Girlysound'' demos.
* GenreRoulette: ''Funstyle'' is her most diverse album. It contains Indian-styled hip-hop ("Bollywood"), soulful chanting set to what sounds like the outside of a party ("Smoke"), {{funk}}-rock ("My My"), adult contemporary a-la ''Somebody's Miracle'' ("Miss September", "Oh, Bangladesh", "Satisfied"), indie rock ("You Should Know Me", "And He Slayed Her"), space-y rock ("Bang! Bang!") & ethnic dance music played over a Chicago housewife talking crap & some guru ("Beat Is Up").
* HappilyAdopted: At birth. She has notably never sought out her birth parents for any kind of confrontation or reconciliation, and considers her adoptive parents to be her real family.
* IntentionallyAwkwardTitle: "Hot White Cum" (although it's officially titled "H.W.C."), "Fuck and Run", "Shitloads of Money", "Six Dick Pimp", "Fuck or Die"
* IntercourseWithYou: Almost anything by her fits this trope quite nicely, except for ''Somebody's Miracle'', which, actually, didn't have a single explicit song on it.
* LiteraryAllusionTitle: The title of "Dance of the Seven Veils" is taken from Creator/OscarWilde's play ''Theatre/{{Salome}}'' and the song is sung from the perspective of the play's eponymous character (who was originally from Literature/TheBible, which doesn't actually specify what kind of dance she performed).
* LongestSongGoesLast: ''Funstyle'' closes with "U Hate It" (4:58).
* LyricalDissonance: "Divorce Song" is sadder than it sounds.
* MoneySong: In "Shitloads of Money," Liz foreshadowed her shift from indie darling to mainstream wannabe by declaring, "It's nice to be liked/But it's better by far to get paid."
* MusicIsPolitics: ''Funstyle'' has a few tracks where Liz mocks the record industry and how she was being treated.
* NewSoundAlbum: Her self-titled went from alternative to a more pop, radio-friendly rock. And then there's ''Funstyle'', which is half throwbacks to her old sound, half jokey songs that are as silly as they get.
* NonAppearingTitle: She has a couple, including "Chopsticks", "Strange Loop", and "Table For One".
* NonIndicativeName: "Flower" is probably the most vulgar song named after a plant ever.
* PissTakeRap: Liz actually raps in "Bollywood". Of course, it's all in good fun and not meant to be taken seriously.
* PowerPop: A lot of her full-band material fits in the category quite easily.
* PrecisionFStrike: In "Smoke":
-->'''Bouncer:''' You're ''not'' getting in.\\
'''Liz:''' Fine -- fuck you!
* RecordProducer: Both the generally liked (Brad Wood) and the less so (The Matrix).
* SelfTitledAlbum: It reflected her controversial move towards pop-rock music.
* ShoutOut:
** From Music/JohnMayer to Creator/StephenColbert on ''Funstyle''. Also, the title of ''Exile in Guyville'' was partially inspired by Urge Overkill's song about leaving the Chicago indie scene, "Goodbye to Guyville", as well as Music/{{The Rolling Stones|Band}}' ''Music/ExileOnMainStreet''.
** One of the lyrics of "Stratford-on-Guy" is "And I was pretending that I was in a Music/{{Galaxie 500}} video."
* SillyLoveSongs: Averted for the most part; Liz is ''not'' known for love songs. PlayedStraight with "Supernova", one of her biggest hits:
-->''You walk in clouds of glitter and the sun reflects your eyes\\
And every time the wind blows, I can smell you in the sky\\
Your kisses are as wicked as an F-16\\
And you fuck like a volcano, and you're everything to me''
* SongStyleShift: "Johnny Sunshine" abruptly shifts from a rough-and-tumble rock sound to soft, melodic harmonizing.
* SpokenWordInMusic: There's a lot of this in ''Funstyle.''
* TakeThat: "And He Slayed Her" and "Satisfied" are {{Take That}}s at former Capitol Records boss Andy Slater.
** "U Hate It" was written when her management heard "Bollywood" and got upset, instead of laughed.
* TheSomethingSong: "Divorce Song," "Elvis Song."
* ThreeChordsAndTheTruth: ''Girlysound'' is all this. ''Exile in Guyville'' had some guitar-only songs, like "Glory", "Dance of the Seven Veils", and "Gunshy".
* WeWillUseWikiWordsInTheFuture: ''whitechocolatespaceegg'' and ''Comeandgetit''.
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