Liz Phair Explains Her New Album ‘Funstyle’

Liz Phair Explains Her New Album ‘Funstyle’
On July 4, Independence Day here in the US, rocker Liz Phair released a new album of songs titled Funstyle on her official website without any pomp or circumstance … the songs just popped up on her site for download. Almost as soon as the songs became available, fans began to discuss the newly released [...]

On July 4, Independence Day here in the US, rocker Liz Phair released a new album of songs titled Funstyle on her official website without any pomp or circumstance … the songs just popped up on her site for download. Almost as soon as the songs became available, fans began to discuss the newly released songs, critics pounced upon the album (some critics actually got what Liz was trying to convey with the album) and everyone was left wondering what the hell is going on with Liz Phair. Liz has since updated her official website with a message to fans that kind of explains what the release of Funstyle means. Here is that explanation in full:

How To Like It.

You were never supposed to hear these songs. These songs lost me my management, my record deal and a lot of nights of sleep. Yes, I rapped one of them. Im as surprised as you are. But here is the thing you need to know about these songs and the ones coming next: These are all me. Love them, or hate them, but dont mistake them for anything other than an entirely personal, un-tethered-from-the-machine, free for all view of the world, refracted through my own crazy lens. This is my journey. Ill keep sending you postcards.

-Liz

Wow. To be honest, I didn’t know what to make of the album after the first listen … I wasn’t sure if it was meant to be taken as a joke, a serious album or something in between. I had guessed that this collection of songs were outtakes that Liz put together to poke fun at her critics but to learn that these songs lost her management and record deal is very telling. It sounds like Liz was hoping her new record deal with ATO Records would afford her the freedom to write and record whatever she liked … and when she turned in these songs for release, she found that not to be the case. In all honesty, the more I listen to the album the more I see the old Liz Phair expressing herself … while the songs may be very different in tone and subject matter, they sound like they were made in much the same way as Liz‘s first collection of songs (the now legendary Girlysound songs). I am most encouraged by her promise of the songs “coming next” as well as the promise on her website of “TOUR DATES COMING SOON!!!” I’m all for more music and a tour … oh yes, sir, I am.

Additionally, Liz gave an interview to Ken Lee who runs the fantastic Liz Phair fan site Mesmerizing and talked at length about her new music and what’s to come next. After the jump, check out a few excerpts from that interview …

Ken: So why did you put out Funstyle when you did?
Liz: I literally thought of doing it on Tuesday [June 29th] of last week and found a company that would release it for Independence Day. I felt I couldn’t move forward without releasing what was controversial

Ken: So will there be more releases like this in the near future?
Liz: I have no idea. So far I like the evolving marketing plan we have. I like a transparent process… I’m a process junkie, artwise.

Ken: How many have purchased/downloaded the album so far?
Liz: 6 or 7 hundred I think.

Ken: Nice… Were you surprised at how immediate the reaction was to the album even though it was released on the holiday weekend?
Liz: Totally. I wanted the push of having it out there so I didn’t chicken out, but thought I could ramp up to working over the next few months, which I will, but of course, in being so naive I show my age ;)

Ken: Througout 2008, it was reported you were working on an album for ATO and that you were working with Jeff Trott — are the some of those recordings on Funstyle?
Liz: I didn’t include Jeff’s and my stuff yet, but I plan to continue to update the music as it goes along. I don’t know why. Making a track listing for me is like trying to write a story for the heroine as she goes through several environments. The emotional journey is what ties it together for me. I love the songs. I literally slap my knee I’m laughing so hard at some and others, I just drift off into pure, intimate emotion.

Ken: Some of the songs on Funstyle remind me of Girly Sound in the sense that they’re looser and the writing seems very un-self-conscious. Do you see any parallels between the two?
Liz: 100%. You’re not the first one to say that and I am grateful others see the parallel. The freedom to be charged at both ends of the spectrum: whacky and dark, is very true to my nature. I am, for better or worse, a lover of contrast and extremes. I always wanted to be a painter when I was at school, but black and white charcoals of extreme subject matter was what I excelled in.

Ken: What are you listening to these days? Is what you’re listening to helping to inspire you on tracks like “Smoke”, “Bollywood”, “My My”, “Beat Is Up”, and “U Hate It”?
Liz: I think composing music for TV shows unleashed a new creativity in me. The freedom to easily and quickly create soundscapes. If you picture a soup, and you throw in a new sense of marrying music to picture, as in scoring, and then a dash of writerly instinct as I work on my novel, it felt very good to work in a ‘sort of’ new medium: song/story/sound. Plus, good for getting out frustrations.

Ken: Did you play a lot instruments on the album?
Liz: Yes, a ton. I’m the guitar and the bass on “And He Slayed Her” (Andy Slater-hahahaha) and “Oh Bangladesh”, “Miss September”, “You Should Know Me”, etc. One I’m particularly proud of is the chopped up keyboard riffs on “Beat Is Up”.

Liz: A propos of nothing, I was invited to be a part of an exhibit at the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame honoring midwestern artists, and I had to dig through my storage space which I haven’t looked through since I moved to LA for interesting old artifacts and found all these old DAT tapes circa WhiteChocolateSpaceEgg that very well could have a Girly Sound worthy repository of unreleased songs on them… I think that could be cool to circulate for free.

Ken: Who was involved with the album? Were your writing partners “Doc” Dauer and Evan Frankfort participants? Who else?
Liz: Evan and I did the Funstyle ones; Doc, Evan and I did “Satisfied”; and Dave Matthews did “And He Slayed Her”, “You Should Know Me”, and “Oh Bangladesh”. You can hear Dave’s gorgeous and lonesome guitar on those three. All songs on Funstyle represent great magical sessions of musical collaboration. I love my job.

Ken: On “U Hate It”, you thank lots of people… including Stephen Colbert. Is there any contention with the folks you thanked, or was it just a playful thing?
Liz: No, I’m just messing around. There’s no animosity there. Irony, but no animosity.

Ken: For the record, when I first heard “U Hate It”, I immediately thought of Chicago critic Jim DeRogatis.
Liz: Well I am absolutely positively 500% sure he does, in fact, hate it.

Ken: Will you be touring for Funstyle?
Liz: Yes! I am looking forward to how on earth we can possibly create Funstyle. I’m playing in Vegas October 3rd at Matadors Birthday Bash and will go from there. It will be fun.

Ken: Will you be selling Funstyle in a physical (i.e. CD) release during the tour?
Liz: Yes, we will release CDs in the fall, probably October, but we have excitement coming to the website before that — surprise treats.

Ken: Have you decided to release it on a label, or release it independently?
Liz: Independently on Rocket Science.

You can read the full text of this interview at Mesmerizing HERE. Holy shizz, this is amazing! So Liz does confirm that she has new music to come both on her website and in physical CD form. She also promises to hit the road in October … which is very exciting. AND it sounds like she’ll be releasing a bunch of tracks from the Whitechocolatespaceegg era … for free! I am really loving her attitude about all of this new music. It feels like she is really willing to run with all this new freedom now that she is unconstrained from record contracts and labels. Funstyle is a crazy mix of music … I can’t wait to hear what she’s got planned for us next.

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