comebacks

Liz Phair’s Management, Record Label Not a Fan of Liz Phair’s Rapping

Liz Phair’s, um, unconventional new album, Funstyle — which was released with no advance warning on her website over the Fourth of July weekend and features what some segments of the Internet have very loosely termed “rapping” — has led to splits with both her management and record label, according to Liz Phair. It didn’t all happen this week, though, as the previous sentence makes it seem: Her label ATO dropped her “almost a year ago,” she told The Wall Street Journal today, because “the people who were still there didn’t like, or didn’t know, what to do with the music I was making, so we just stalled out and I asked to leave.” She also released the following statement on her website:

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.

Okay, two thoughts: (1) Phair’s willingness to do whatever the hell she wants to do — even if what she wants to do is make half-baked semi-autobiographical, self-deprecating joke-pop — despite a complete understanding of how strongly her fans will react continues to impress, and (2) the single, “Bollywood,” sounded more like talking to us, but if she herself says she’s rapping, then, okay, she’s rapping.

Okay, two thoughts: (1) Phair’s willingness to do whatever the hell she wants to do — even if what she wants to do is make half-baked semi-autobiographical, self-deprecating joke-pop — despite a complete understanding of how strongly her fans will react continues to impress, and (2) the single, “Bollywood,” sounded more like talking to us, but if she herself says she’s rapping, then, okay, she’s rapping.

How to Like It [LizPhair.com]
Liz Phair: Why I Left My Record Company [Speakeasy/WSJ]
Liz Phair: New Album “Lost Me My Management and My Record Deal” [Pitchfork]

Liz Phair’s Management, Record Label Not a Fan of Liz Phair’s Rapping