Girly-Sound is the name under which singer-songwriter Liz Phair recorded three self-produced cassettes in 1991. The cassettes were later made available as bootlegs, some songs saw official releases, and the tapes were released in their entirety in 2018. Girly-Sound is also the name used to refer to the demos or bootlegs collectively. The recordings have been called "legendary" by Spin Magazine[2] and by AllMusic "one of the most popular and sought-after alternative rock bootlegs of all time".[1]
| Girly-Sound | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
 Artwork for Sooty | ||||
| Demo album (Bootleg) by | ||||
| Released | 1991 May 4, 2018 | |||
| Recorded | 1991 | |||
| Genre | ||||
| Length | 154:31 (Remastered version) | |||
| Label |
| |||
| Producer | Liz Phair | |||
| Girly-Sound chronology | ||||
| ||||
| Singles from Girly-Sound To Guyville: The 25th Anniversary Box Set | ||||
| ||||
| Review scores | |
|---|---|
| Source | Rating |
| Allmusic |   [1] |
Background
editRecorded on a 4-track cassette recorder in her childhood bedroom at her parents' house, copies of the tapes were initially given by Phair to only two people in 1991: friends and fellow musicians Chris Brokaw and Tae Won Yu. However, copies of the Girly-Sound tapes were passed from person to person and became something of a sensation in the American tape trading/zine subculture.[3] Brokaw later told Rolling Stone how he had urged Phair to record something and a few months later received a tape of 14 songs, with a second 14-song tape following a month later.[4] In 1992, Phair signed a deal with Matador Records on the strength of a demo tape she had sent them of six Girly-Sound songs.[4][5][6]
Reworking
editPhair has frequently gone back and reworked many of the songs for her studio albums throughout her career: she told Rolling Stone "I go in there and rip stuff off – it's like a library".[4] Much of Phair's debut album Exile in Guyville contains reworkings of songs from these tapes.[3] However, the content of some of these tracks was modified in ways that altered meanings and messages; in "Flower" the line "I'll fuck you and your girlfriend, too" was changed to "I'll fuck you and your minions, too."[7] In addition to this, the final chorus of "Bomb" which tells of a passenger on a plane sabotaging and taking it out was entirely removed; the title of the song was changed to "Stratford-on-Guy" and a new chorus was written. Reworkings of "Ant in Alaska" and "Wild Thing" appeared on the 2008 reissue of Exile in Guyville.[8]
Five songs were officially released in 1995 on the Juvenilia EP and a bonus disc of ten Girly-Sound songs was included with the physical release of Phair's 2010 album Funstyle.[5]
Bootlegs
editAlthough originally consisting of a total of three cassettes, the most common version of the Girly-Sound tapes that circulated among Phair's fans was an incomplete two-disc compilation of songs from all three tapes, released on the Bliss and Fetish bootleg label, and processed with harsh digital noise reduction. An earlier bootleg compilation of Girly-Sound material, Secretly Timid, was also circulated. Early in 2006, mp3s of first-generation copies of the first two tapes were introduced via Phair's online community, bringing to light the original track listing, correct song names, tape titles, and introducing a number of songs that did not appear on the previous Girly-Sound bootlegs. Information about the third Girly-Sound tape, Sooty, was elusive until the 2018 release of Girly-Sound to Guyville, in which it was presented in its entirety.
2018 release
editIn 2018, for the 25th anniversary of its original release, Matador Records released a repackaged edition of Exile in Guyville called Girly-Sound to Guyville which included remastered versions of all three Girly-Sound tapes.[9] At the same time, the tapes themselves were separately released digitally under the title The Girly-Sound Tapes.[10] This release omitted "Fuck or Die" and "Shatter" due to sample clearance issues.[11]
Critical reaction
editThis section needs expansion. You can help by adding to it. (March 2024) |
AllMusic rated the demos 4.5/5, noting some weak tracks but finding others "as tuneful and provoking as anything on her official albums".[1]
Three tape track listing
editYo Yo Buddy Yup Yup Word to Ya Muthuh
editAll tracks are written by Liz Phair, unless otherwise noted
| No. | Title | Length |
|---|---|---|
| 1. | "White Babies" | 3:06 |
| 2. | "Shane" | 4:46 |
| 3. | "Six Dick Pimp" | 3:19 |
| 4. | "Divorce Song" | 3:47 |
| 5. | "Go West" | 3:23 |
| 6. | "Don't Hold Your Breath" (Stylized as "Dn'tholdyrbreath") | 3:59 |
| 7. | "Johnny Sunshine" | 3:51 |
| No. | Title | Writer(s) | Length |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | "Miss Lucy" | 2:18 | |
| 2. | "Elvis Song" | 4:56 | |
| 3. | "Dead Shark" | 3:24 | |
| 4. | "One Less Thing" | 4:38 | |
| 5. | "Money" | 3:36 | |
| 6. | "In Love With Yourself" (Stylized as "In Love W/Yself") | 3:58 | |
| 7. | "Fuck or Die" |
| 3:20 |
GIRLSGIRLSGIRLS
editAll tracks are written by Liz Phair, unless otherwise noted
| No. | Title | Writer(s) | Length |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | "Hello Sailor" |
| 5:57 |
| 2. | "Wild Thing" |
| 3:41 |
| 3. | "Fuck and Run" | 4:31 | |
| 4. | "Easy Target" | 5:04 | |
| 5. | "Soap Star Joe" | 3:24 | |
| 6. | "Ant in Alaska" | 7:11 | |
| 7. | "Girls! Girls! Girls!" (Stylized as "GIRLSGIRLSGIRLS") | 6:56 |
| No. | Title | Writer(s) | Length |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | "Polyester Bride" | 7:39 | |
| 2. | "Thrax" | 4:35 | |
| 3. | "Miss Mary Mack" | 4:32 | |
| 4. | "Clean" | 3:59 | |
| 5. | "Love Song" | 6:20 | |
| 6. | "Valentine" | 4:15 | |
| 7. | "Shatter" | 6:51 |
Sooty
editSource:[12]
Track order was obtained from the 2018 Girly-Sound to Guyville release.
All tracks are written by Liz Phair, unless otherwise noted
| No. | Title | Writer(s) | Length |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | "Gigolo" | 3:25 | |
| 2. | "Flower" | 2:48 | |
| 3. | "Batmobile" | 3:10 | |
| 4. | "Slave" |
| 3:50 |
| 5. | "Open Season" | 2:59 | |
| 6. | "Whip-Smart[12]" |
| 3:30 |
Re-recorded songs
edit| Year | Album | Song |
|---|---|---|
| 1991 | Chinny Chin Chin: 4 N.Y. Bands | "White Babies" |
| 1993 | Exile in Guyville | |
| "Divorce Song" | ||
| "Johnny Sunshine" | ||
| "Wild Thing" | ||
| "Fuck and Run" | ||
| "Soap Star Joe" | ||
| "Ant in Alaska" | ||
| "Girls! Girls! Girls!" | ||
| "Clean" (as "Never Said") | ||
| "Shatter" | ||
| "Flower" | ||
| "Bomb" (as "Stratford-on-Guy") | ||
| 1994 | Whip-Smart | "Shane" |
| "Go West" | ||
| "Thrax" (as "Jealousy") | ||
| "Whip-Smart" | ||
| "Chopsticks" | ||
| 1996 | Kids in the Hall: Brain Candy Soundtrack | "Six Dick Pimp" |
| 1998 | whitechocolatespaceegg | "Money" (as "Shitloads of Money") |
| "Polyester Bride" | ||
| "Thrax" (as "Tell Me You Like Me") | ||
| 2005 | Somebody's Miracle | "Gigolo" (as "Can't Get Out of What I'm Into") |
- "Ant in Alaska" and "Wild Thing" were both re-recorded for Exile in Guyville, but did not appear until the 2008 reissue; "Wild Thing" only appeared on advanced promotional copies of the reissue.
- The verses in "Thrax" were reused in "Jealousy", featured on Whip-Smart. The interludes were rewritten and used for "Tell Me You Like Me", recorded during the whitechocolatespaceegg sessions.
- "Gigolo" was re-recorded as "Can't Get Out of What I'm Into" for Somebody's Miracle, though the song was only included on the Japanese release and advance promotional copies.
Song appearances
edit| Year | Album | Song |
|---|---|---|
| 1995 | Juvenilia | "California" |
| "Batmobile" | ||
| "South Dakota" | ||
| "Dead Shark" | ||
| "Easy" | ||
| 1997 | Chasing Amy Soundtrack | "California" |
| 2010 | Funstyle (bonus disc) | "Miss Mary Mack" |
| "White Babies" | ||
| "Elvis Song" | ||
| "Valentine" | ||
| "Speed Racer" | ||
| "In Love With Yourself" | ||
| "Wild Thing" | ||
| "Love Song" | ||
| "Don't Hold Your Breath" | ||
| "California" |
- Fragments from "In Love With Yourself", "Johnny Sunshine", and "Money" appeared on the "Supernova" single, condensed into one track called "Combo Platter (Girlysound)". The "Johnny Sunshine" fragment is played backwards.
References
edit- ^ a b c "Liz Phair – Girlysound". AllMusic. Archived from the original on September 23, 2012. Retrieved September 13, 2012.
- ^ "Liz Phair: Exile in Guyville", Spin, 15:9 (Sept 1999) p125
- ^ a b Reilly, Dan (September 8, 2010). "Liz Phair Releasing Rare Girly Sound Demos With 'Funstyle' LP". Spinner. Archived from the original on October 11, 2018. Retrieved September 13, 2012.
- ^ a b c Dunn J. That girl. (cover story). Rolling Stone. October 6, 1994;(692):42
- ^ a b Breihan, Tom (September 7, 2010). "Liz Phair Finally Releases Girlysound Tapes". Pitchfork. Archived from the original on October 5, 2012. Retrieved September 13, 2012.
- ^ Buckley, Peter, Rough Guide To Rock, p786
- ^ Keenan, E. (2010). "If Liz Phair's Exile in guyville made you a feminist, what kind of feminist are you?: Heterosexuality, race, and class in the third wave". Women & Music: A Journal of Gender and Culture. 14: 45–71. doi:10.1353/wam.2010.0004. S2CID 191477695.
- ^ "Phair Signs To ATO, 'Guyville' Reissue Due". Billboard. Archived from the original on June 1, 2014. Retrieved September 13, 2012.
- ^ Records, Matador. "Matador Records Store | Official". Matador Records. Archived from the original on March 16, 2018. Retrieved March 16, 2018.
- ^ "Girly-Sound To Guyville: The 25th Anniversary Box Set". Archived from the original on October 24, 2021. Retrieved June 16, 2018 – via Amazon.
- ^ @PhizLair (March 15, 2018). "@gloriousnoise Those lyrics ~understandably!~ didn't sit well with the Johnny Cash org. When I made those tapes I n…" (Tweet) – via Twitter.
- ^ a b c d "Girly-Sound To Guyville: The 25th Anniversary Boxset Deluxe Reissue + Girly Sound Cassettes". Matador Records. Archived from the original on March 17, 2018. Retrieved March 17, 2018.
External links
edit- Listen to Girly-Sound; Girly-Sound official website Archived 2011-08-31 at the Wayback Machine