Remember Liz Phair?

Yeah, some of us do. And while most of us were out on the Fourth of July doing actual fun stuff, there were actually a few people refreshing Liz Phair’s website over and over again, despite her last contribution to the music industry, and thus relevance, being in 2005.

Five years ago, she put out an album that not many people cared about. Because the amount of people who cared had significantly waned since her last effort, so had her cash flow. Now, on America’s birthday, Liz Phair comes at us with Funstyle, a piece that is such a blatant effort to stay relevant that Phair actually comes right out and says as much. The record features Phair rapping and playing various percussive instruments that is normally acceptable if a musical act has a ton of money and just doesn’t care anymore. The problem with Funstyle is just the opposite—Phair does care, a lot. She’s selling the album online for $5.99 and wants people to download it.

    This is completely backwards from the aforementioned formula, where an artist has paid their dues writing radio rock jams for years on end, finally has a comfortable pad of cash and can now do whatever they want. This should be henceforth known as the “Beatles phenomenon.” Liz Phair, however, is not the Beatles, nor is she rich. So, why the cash grab with a sudden burst of experimental flair?

    The answer is simple. In today’s new business model, where exceptional songwriting in the field of alternative music must be employed in order to stay afloat, the hacks get separated from the capable in a hurry. Liz Phair is one of those hacks, and in the years to come, we’ll find more of them popping up here and there.  You’ve been warned.