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DISCID=e20c0710
DTITLE=Liz Phair / Whitechocolatespaceegg
DYEAR=1998
DGENRE=Rock
TTITLE0=White Chocolate Space Egg
TTITLE1=Big Tall Man
TTITLE2=Perfect World
TTITLE3=Johnny Feelgood
TTITLE4=Polyester Bride
TTITLE5=Love Is Nothing
TTITLE6=Baby Got Going
TTITLE7=Uncle Alvarez
TTITLE8=Only Son
TTITLE9=Go On Ahead
TTITLE10=Headache
TTITLE11=Ride
TTITLE12=What Makes You Happy
TTITLE13=Fantasize
TTITLE14=Shitloads Of Money
TTITLE15=Girls' Room
EXTD=Originally Released August 11, 1998 \n\nAMG EXPERT REVIEW: Follow
EXTD=ing the halfhearted reception to Whip-Smart -- good enough to ret
EXTD=ain her critical stature, not good enough to enhance it -- Liz Ph
EXTD=air slowly retreated from view, marrying and having a child. Towa
EXTD=rd the end of 1996, she began to work on her third album, but it 
EXTD=took her nearly a year and a half to compete it, due to a variety
EXTD= of reasons. When whitechocolatespaceegg (a reference to her baby
EXTD= boy's shiny bald head) finally appeared in late summer 1998, it 
EXTD=had been a full five years since Exile in Guyville, and nowhere w
EXTD=as that more apparent than in Phair's third album itself. Certain
EXTD= familiar elements remained -- her plain vocals, strummed guitars
EXTD=, and character songs -- but this was a brighter, cleaner, more c
EXTD=ontent Phair. There was none of the emotional turmoil that underp
EXTD=inned Exile and, to a lesser extent, Whip-Smart. Even if the song
EXTD=s concerned violent emotions, there is a studied distance between
EXTD= her and the songs here, whether it's the character study "Uncle 
EXTD=Alvarez" or "Johnny Feelgood," where the female narrator is beate
EXTD=n up and likes it. In other words, whitechocolatespaceegg is the 
EXTD=work of a craftsman, not an inspired work of brilliance like Exil
EXTD=e. And while that may alienate some hardcore fans, that's not nec
EXTD=essarily a bad thing, especially since the best moments -- "Big T
EXTD=all Man," "Baby Got Going," "Go On Ahead," "What Makes You Happy,
EXTD=" "Johnny Feelgood," and the Girlysound leftover "Shitloads of Mo
EXTD=ney" -- are tuneful and literate. Still, there's a distance, not 
EXTD=only in the lyrics but in the overly polished music, that makes w
EXTD=hitechocolatespaceegg difficult to embrace unconditionally, even 
EXTD=if it may be a stronger record than Whip-Smart.  -- Stephen Thoma
EXTD=s Erlewine\n\nAmazon.com Editorial Review\nLiz Phair's Exile in G
EXTD=uyville proved that a debutante-attractive woman rocker singing a
EXTD=bout oral sex could earn the attention of the mostly male rock pr
EXTD=ess corps. But Whitechocolatespaceegg confirms--much as her secon
EXTD=d album, Whip-Smart, attempted--that Phair can be a pop tunesmith
EXTD= as well. Her songs snap and crackle with giddy doses of '80s new
EXTD= wave, Buddy Holly pop, and Stones rock; her husky voice mostly o
EXTD=vercomes its previous, potentially off-putting wobble. And while 
EXTD=the clangy "Johnny Feelgood" recalls Phair's earlier tough-sex sc
EXTD=enarios, "Polyester Bride," which eavesdrops on a conversation be
EXTD=tween an advice-giving bartender and a wide-eyed female patron (m
EXTD=aybe this season's answer to Semisonic's "Closing Time"), is more
EXTD= demonstrative of Whitechocolatespaceegg's thematic maturation: l
EXTD=ess titillating but no less womanly. And no less feisty. --Neal W
EXTD=eiss \n\nRolling Stone\nInstruments twang out of tune, strings an
EXTD=d frets squeak with each chord change, and Phair's tenuous, conve
EXTD=rsational singing voice ... explores the dynamics of marital endu
EXTD=rance. \n\n\nAMAZON.COM CUSTOMER REVIEW\nTransition, July 21, 200
EXTD=5\nReviewer: Michael Stack (Watertown, MA USA)\n\nLiz Phair's thi
EXTD=rd album, the oddly titled "whitechocolatespaceegg", continued he
EXTD=r transition from alt-rock queen to alt-pop queen. Whereas "Whip-
EXTD=Smart" kept the same sort of feel as "Exile in Guyville" but with
EXTD=out the lo-fi production value, "whitechocolatespaceegg" begins t
EXTD=he brightening of her sound that would finish on her self-titled 
EXTD=release. \n\nLike "Whip-Smart", this album feels like a transitio
EXTD=n piece, its inconsistent, falls between a number of different st
EXTD=yles, and all-in-all doesn't make for a totally satisfying listen
EXTD=. The problem is that Phair seems unassured in her new direction,
EXTD= and several tracks reach back to her old alt-rock sound, but wit
EXTD=h the clean production, they come off as largely inauthentic. Whi
EXTD=le "Johnny Feelgood" finds its way around this problem (by being 
EXTD=a superb song), several tracks ("Big Tall Man", "Headache") don't
EXTD= make it. \n\nThe remainder of the album mixes somewhat overprodu
EXTD=ced pop songs ("White Chocolate Space Egg") with bizarre, but gen
EXTD=erally superb acoustic-guitar driven pop songs ("Polyester Bride"
EXTD=, "Uncle Alvarez"). \n\nWhile its neither the masterpiece that he
EXTD=r debut was nor the pop triumph that her self-titled album would 
EXTD=be, "whitechocolatespaceegg" has its moments, and is definitely w
EXTD=orth a listen.\n\n\nAMAZON.COM CUSTOMER REVIEW\nUnderappreciated 
EXTD=alternative-pop gem, April 16, 2005\nReviewer: M. McM "AOTT-TMF" 
EXTD=(Los Angeles, CA)\nLiz Phair's best album remains EXILE IN GUYVIL
EXTD=LE (1993), but for those of you looking for something more lush a
EXTD=nd tuneful, I'd recommend this one. It strikes a perfect balance 
EXTD=between Phair's earlier, groundbreaking work and the pop concessi
EXTD=ons of her recent self-titled album, LIZ PHAIR (2003). Unlike her
EXTD= recent work, these are not 'concessions'; the polished productio
EXTD=n complements her songs perfectly instead of embalming them, and 
EXTD=more importantly, this is a strong set of songs - the melodies ar
EXTD=e more engaging, but the words remain sharp as ever. \n\nAlmost e
EXTD=verything was written by Ms. Phair herself, without a single hack
EXTD= tunesmith mucking up her work. Phair is more than capable of wri
EXTD=ting great, tuneful, catchy songs - "Johnny Feelgood" swaggers wi
EXTD=th a strut worthy of the Rolling Stones, "What Makes You Happy" s
EXTD=hould've been a hit - and her first-person, observational songs r
EXTD=emain sharp as ever. The girl singing "What Makes You Happy" trie
EXTD=s to prove her boyfriend's worthiness to her mother, but undernea
EXTD=th the surface, she's really fighting her own doubts. On "Polyest
EXTD=er Bride," when a girl sinks under her brief moments of lonelines
EXTD=s (and begins to doubt single life), her male, bartender friend r
EXTD=eplies sarcastically yet sympathetically in order to set her mind
EXTD= at ease. On "Uncle Alvarez," the singer is tired of the banaliti
EXTD=es of her domestic life, and filters her frustration through the 
EXTD=imagined life of a dead relative. In "Go On Ahead," a girl tells 
EXTD=her husband goodbye as he goes off to some unnamed event, and dur
EXTD=ing that brief moment, the girl takes a good, hard look at her ma
EXTD=rriage, sitting precariously at a crossroads where some days they
EXTD='re closer than ever, and others they're dead to each other, and 
EXTD=she has no idea where the balance will ultimately shift. "Sh*tloa
EXTD=ds of Money" filters a neglected 'Girlysound' demo (from her hung
EXTD=ry-artist days) through her newfound status as indie-queen and cu
EXTD=ts apart old indie-cred cliches. On "Girls' Room," she finds some
EXTD=thing timeless out of an ordinary, schoolgirl gossip session. \n\n
EXTD=The album has a large number of collaborators, including R.E.M. (
EXTD=minus Michael Stipe) on "Fantasize," famed producer Scott Litt on
EXTD= half of the tracks, and future Wilco member Leroy Bach (who make
EXTD=s key contributions on tracks like "Uncle Alvarez"). To their cre
EXTD=dit, they never overwhelm the music. \n\nFinally, the album's unc
EXTD=haracteristically rich and intricate production makes this the mo
EXTD=st listenable album Phair's ever produced. Even a lesser track li
EXTD=ke "Headache" is not without its charm - it's graced by a Devo-li
EXTD=ke synth part that's both obtuse and catchy. Everything is done t
EXTD=o a tasteful degree, and the music never gets too glossy, like it
EXTD= does on the recent LIZ PHAIR. \n\nIt's a shame WHITECHOCOLATESPA
EXTD=CEEGG didn't find the chart success it deserved, and a greater sh
EXTD=ame some fans actually dismissed it for being too 'poppy.' Had th
EXTD=is been the work of an unknown artist, it would've been hailed as
EXTD= a break-through. As of this writing, a number of used copies are
EXTD= going for less than $2, but as a mid-priced album, it's very aff
EXTD=ordable as a new CD and well worth the money. This album deserves
EXTD= a second look.\n\n\nAMAZON.COM CUSTOMER REVIEW\nIt's a Shame It'
EXTD=s Her Worst-Selling Record..., June 21, 2004\nReviewer: Rudy Palm
EXTD=a "The Writing Fiend" (NJ)\n\nAfter an extensive break, having a 
EXTD=son and getting divorced, "Whitechocolatespaceegg," which arrived
EXTD= at #35 on Billboard's Top 200 albums chart, surprised many Liz P
EXTD=hair fans in summer of 1998. Though its tongue-in-cheek lead sing
EXTD=le "Polyester Bride," didn't see the success that her breakthroug
EXTD=h single, 2003's "Why Can't I?" (which entered the Hot 100 Septem
EXTD=ber 11, 2003 at #76, eventually peaking at #32, her first and thu
EXTD=s far only Top 40 hit) had, one thing was clear: She could create
EXTD= songs that were easy to listen to and difficult to turn off...th
EXTD=at's right...POP MUSIC! :::Gasp:::\nEven though this is extremely
EXTD= far from the slickly-produced but excellent self-titled album fr
EXTD=om last year, this is essentially its foreshadower; "Liz Phair" t
EXTD=ook the formula of this album and amplified it. Indeed, with "Whi
EXTD=p-Smart" back in 1994, she proved with songs like "Jealousy" and 
EXTD="Supernova," her first song to make the Hot 100 (#78), that she c
EXTD=ould stick to guns; pushing the envelope with themes that near-co
EXTD=mpletely dealt with sex while still crafting radio-worthy fare. "
EXTD=Whitechocolatespaceegg" is far more mainstream than anything she 
EXTD=released previously, but it walks the balance beam between indiev
EXTD=ille and Top 40 land carefully; in fact, perhaps too carefully, w
EXTD=hich could explain why it has been her least-embraced release.\n\n
EXTD=From the opening title track, which many agree is in reference to
EXTD= her then baby son, to the awkward "Girls Room," this album is a 
EXTD=mix bag of different infectious styles that without a doubt has a
EXTD=t least one song to please every listener. "Big Tall Man" is a hi
EXTD=larious, extremely catchy tune likely inspired by her ex-husband,
EXTD= while "Love Is Nothing" and "Johnny Feelgood," melodically, soun
EXTD=d like something you'd hear after popping a coin into a jukebox i
EXTD=n a 50's-style restaurant. Other tracks, like "Go On Ahead" are l
EXTD=yrically reminiscent of "Exile In Guyville" in their examination 
EXTD=of relationships, while the likes of others such as "What Makes Y
EXTD=ou Happy" or "Baby Got Going" are so downright catchy that it's a
EXTD= true shame they didn't mark Phair's arrival at mainstream radio.
EXTD= The lyrics to the former are sung so perfectly; she gets an A+ f
EXTD=or the acting job: "But mom, I'm sending you this photograph/I sw
EXTD=ear this one is gonna to last/And all those other bastards were o
EXTD=nly practice". How can you not love this woman?\n\nAlthough it is
EXTD= her least successful record, "Whitechocolatespaceegg," with its 
EXTD=sing-along choruses and insightful lyrics (and at times appropria
EXTD=te lack thereof) deserves a second chance.\n\n\nAMAZON.COM CUSTOM
EXTD=ER REVIEW\nAnd they lived happily ever after. Maybe., November 22
EXTD=, 2000\nReviewer: Beau Yarbrough (Hesperia, CA)\nI'm a lucky guy:
EXTD= I discovered Liz Phair's classic "Exile in Guyville" when I, lik
EXTD=e Liz, was a single, looking for that one great relationship and 
EXTD=commitment. Her songs of pain and longing and hope spoke to me li
EXTD=ke few albums ever have.\nAnd once I'd found that relationship, a
EXTD=nd was months from getting engaged, outcame the long-awaited -- a
EXTD=nd worth the wait -- "whitechocolatespaceegg," which talks about 
EXTD=what "Happily Ever After" really constitutes. As the song says, "
EXTD=Love is Nothing Like They Say."\n\nWe get the vintage Liz Phair t
EXTD=rippy lyrics -- "the Russian Army marchin' through my head" -- po
EXTD=ttymouth talk and unflinchingly sharp look at relationships, thro
EXTD=ugh good times and bad. But Liz changes it up, with bouncy kid-fr
EXTD=iendly songs, wistful bar-ready tunes, and just plain silliness. 
EXTD=Her lyrics are sometimes more accessible, sometimes much denser, 
EXTD=but clearly the product of an artist who has grown both in her cr
EXTD=aft and personally since she recorded a legendary set of tunes on
EXTD= a four track in college.\n\n"Whitechocolatespaceegg," in many wa
EXTD=ys, is the perfect companion to "Exile in Guyville." It's what co
EXTD=mes next. The princess has found her prince, and now has to figur
EXTD=e out what the rest of her life is like. She remains a sexual, co
EXTD=mplicted being with ambitions and desires and, most of all intell
EXTD=igence.\n\nThis is the soundtrack for the young turk (male or fem
EXTD=ale) who has grown up but not forgotten how rock and roll can spe
EXTD=ak to you and provide insight and richness to life. An instant cl
EXTD=assic.\n\n\nAMAZON.COM CUSTOMER REVIEW\nliz, domesticated variety
EXTD=, August 4, 2000\nReviewer: "doloreshaze" (Gambier, Ohio USA)\nWo
EXTD=rshipping Liz Phair is probably the closest I come to religion, b
EXTD=ut with that said I have to admit that there are some real stinke
EXTD=rs on this album. It pains me to say this, but I think Liz did he
EXTD=r best work in front of a 4-track in her dorm room, and though sh
EXTD=e's had flashes of brilliance since then that far outshine any ar
EXTD=tist she's been compared to, she still can't top those pure, raw,
EXTD= unproduced inspirations. I hope all the Liz fans out there can g
EXTD=et their hands on girlysounds and other non-album recordings. Thi
EXTD=s album is of course still worth buying but for god's sake perma-
EXTD=skip the title track and the kitchy "polyester bride." (About tha
EXTD=t song...I have this fantasy of Liz sitting in the office of some
EXTD= fat cat music exec who's holding her album and saying, " Nice tr
EXTD=y Ms. Phair...but now could you go into the studio and record a r
EXTD=adio-friendly hit?" In the fantasy Liz doesn't want to cave so sh
EXTD=e records PB as sort of a joke, like, 'As if i can really write a
EXTD=nd sing a song this badly!') The upside is that Liz still has the
EXTD= most honest voice in modern music, and that alone is worth the p
EXTD=rice of admission.\n\n\nAMAZON.COM CUSTOMER REVIEW\nI'm hooked on
EXTD= Liz, September 3, 1999\nReviewer: A music fan\nI just discovered
EXTD= Liz Phair and find her music as overwhelming as the Dead and the
EXTD= Airplane were to me 30 years ago. It's interesting that she evok
EXTD=es the same kind of reactions as the best of the cutting-edge roc
EXTD=kers of the late 60s -- either you love her or hate her, there's 
EXTD=no in-between. My favorite Liz lyric: "It's nice to be liked, but
EXTD= it's better by far to be paid."\n\n\nAMAZON.COM CUSTOMER REVIEW\n
EXTD=Whip Smart and Happy, October 25, 1998\nReviewer: A music fan\nMe
EXTD=t whip smart first -- smitten. Juvenile raw yet sharp-smart and l
EXTD=yrical. Wow. fit my mood like a glove. Then Exile. Shit this chic
EXTD=k's smart sexy...appropriately ornery...but vulnerable...and writ
EXTD=ing her own rules. I'm in awe now. WCSE?...have to admit I was sc
EXTD=ared. Heard she'd gotten happiness...married, a young'un. Figured
EXTD= it out. Well, sure sounds like it...this one's way happier. Not 
EXTD=as edgy. Helen Reddy even creeps in! But after few listens I'm mo
EXTD=re in love than ever. Liz -- you sound great, your writing's rich
EXTD=er and more complex...and if you keep coming up with bits like WM
EXTD=YH I'll always be at the front of your line. Newbies -- buy every
EXTD=thing and get ready to wear out your disk spinner.\n\n\nAMAZON.CO
EXTD=M CUSTOMER REVIEW\nAs confused as the title; Liz runs on empty, A
EXTD=ugust 23, 1998\nReviewer: A music fan\nI remember thinking after 
EXTD=I first heard "Guyville" that she would never top it. "Whip Smart
EXTD=" was good, but a let down. This, I fear, is just a let down. And
EXTD= worse yet, it's where Liz becomes what we always feared she woul
EXTD=d: the whiny spoiled rich kid suburban indie rocker brat. With li
EXTD=nes like "Should I bother dating unfamous men" and "Better send s
EXTD=ome money to the Alma Mater" or "All these babies are born to the
EXTD= wrong kind of people" and "It's nice to be liked but it's better
EXTD= by far to be paid" delivered without so much as even a hint of i
EXTD=rony, how can anyone relate or care about this except maybe Eddie
EXTD= Vedder or the Smashing Pumpkins? Liz is too good to deliver a co
EXTD=mpletely worthless album, but for me this is only redeemed by "Jo
EXTD=hnny Feelgood" (a throwback to "Guyville") and "Ride." The rest j
EXTD=ust seems like bored experimentation to figure out what to do nex
EXTD=t. And anytime you have to call out R.E.M. to breathe some life i
EXTD=nto your album, you know you're in trouble. Tell us Liz, just who
EXTD= are the wrong kind of people, and do you want them to buy this s
EXTD=orry cd to help you make sh*tloads of money? I'm sorry I did.\n\n
EXTD=\nAMAZON.COM CUSTOMER REVIEW\nLiz Phair on having babies and husb
EXTD=ands, August 22, 1998\nReviewer: A music fan\nThis record is unfo
EXTD=rtunately hard to review without using Exile in Guyville as a sta
EXTD=ndard. Five years after that masterpiece, Liz seems to be trying 
EXTD=to transcend her indie roots (as evidenced by the lyrics to both 
EXTD="Polyester Bride" and "Shitloads of Money"), without alienating h
EXTD=er core hipster audience. The result is frightening -- the new Li
EXTD=z is a Liz who takes advice from a guy bartender (who tell her sh
EXTD=e's lucky to even know him and calls her "princess," to boot!); s
EXTD=ings about getting knocked around by some guy and liking it; and,
EXTD= worse of all, in the snoozer "Go On Ahead," makes commitment and
EXTD= motherhood seem about as exciting as a stay in a rest home. Over
EXTD=all, there are about six good songs on this record - "Fantasize,"
EXTD= a clever, half-mumbled ode to a forbidden love, is among the bes
EXTD=t - but the other ten are almost indigestible.\n\n\nHalf.com Deta
EXTD=ils \nContributing artists: Bill Berry, Mike Mills, Peter Buck, S
EXTD=cott McCaughey \n\nAlbum Notes\nPersonnel: Liz Phair (vocals, gui
EXTD=tar, piano); Scott Litt (acoustic guitar, violin, harmonica, keyb
EXTD=oards, bass, drums, programming, background vocals); Brad Wood (g
EXTD=uitar, organ, keyboards, bass, drums, hand claps, drum programmin
EXTD=g, background vocals); John Hiler (guitar, piano, organ, keyboard
EXTD=s, programming, loops, background vocals); Jason Chasko (guitar, 
EXTD=piano, bass, drums, background vocals); Scott Bennett (guitar, or
EXTD=gan, bass, drums); Ed Tinley (guitar, hand claps); Nathan Decembe
EXTD=r, Peter Buck, Scott McCaughey (guitar); Troy Niedhart (accordion
EXTD=); Randy Wilson (keyboards, programming); LeRoy Bach (acoustic ba
EXTD=ss); Tommy Furar, Mike Mills (bass); Bill Berry (bongos).\n\nProd
EXTD=ucers: Brad Wood, Jason Chasko, Scott Litt, Liz Phair.\nEngineers
EXTD= include: Ed Tinley, Blaise Barton, Brad Wood.\n\nLiz Phair's thi
EXTD=rd full-length album comes four years after her previous work, an
EXTD=d it is inevitable that the singer-songwriter who redefined women
EXTD='s boundaries within the form is in a different stage of her life
EXTD=. She has, in the meantime, gotten married, had a child and, oste
EXTD=nsibly, settled down and reflected. Thus, introspection defines t
EXTD=he WHITECHOCOLATESPACEEGG Liz Phair--less confrontation and more 
EXTD=examination is the maturing motto. No longer looking to put horny
EXTD= little indie-rock males down with sinister, well-chosen observat
EXTD=ions, she's examining her own desires ("Perfect World"), her life
EXTD=-giving experiences ("Only Son") and familial priorities ("Uncle 
EXTD=Alvarez").\nStill, rest assured that Phair hasn't gone completely
EXTD= VH-1. SPACEEGG has more of a visceral off-the-cuff kick than the
EXTD= Sheryl Crows of the world will ever muster. The Mick Taylor-era 
EXTD=Stones are still the main musical reference--particularly on "Joh
EXTD=nny Feelgood," a four-on-the-floor ode to a roughneck the narrato
EXTD=r can't forget, cooing "I like it" at the thought of his bad-boy 
EXTD=ways--but there's also a stab at weirdo analog synth-pop ("Headac
EXTD=he") and a full-on blues boogie ("Baby Got Going") that's infecti
EXTD=ous in its simplicity. These are the sounds of Phair's diversific
EXTD=ation as an artist.\n\nIndustry Reviews\n4 Stars (out of 5) - ...
EXTD=The softer songs...are engagingly intimate....The harder, more up
EXTD=beat numbers are playful and pop-y, with just enough dry humor to
EXTD= keep them from floating away....WHITECHOCOLATESPACEEGG explores 
EXTD=the dynamics of marital endurance...\nRolling Stone Magazine (08/
EXTD=20/1998)\n\n6 (out of 10) - ...Phair's lyrics appear to have been
EXTD= retooled for mass consumption, too--the fucking and blowjob vign
EXTD=ettes displaced by a series of marriage and parenthood/chilhood r
EXTD=eferences. This 'maturity' isn't a surprising development...\nSpi
EXTD=n (09/01/1998)\n\n3 out of 5 - ...these 16 songs still have enoug
EXTD=h melody, attitude and wit to make Alanis Morisette and her ilk s
EXTD=ound like whiny brats.\nQ (04/01/1999)\n\n...Even when the music 
EXTD=stomps around and Phair turns cheeky, she is, at heart, something
EXTD= of a sentimentalist....Ultimately, she's closer in spirit to bra
EXTD=iniac singer-songwriters like Paul Simon or Joni Mitchell than to
EXTD= any of the idiosyncratic bands with whom she shares a record lab
EXTD=el... - Rating: A-\nEntertainment Weekly (08/14/1998)\n\n...WHITE
EXTD=CHOCOLATESPACEEGG is easily the Liz Phair set least rhythmically 
EXTD=soulful....the Phairest songs here are about relationships with m
EXTD=en...\nVibe (10/01/1998)\n\n\nROLLING STONE REVIEW\nIn 1993 a twe
EXTD=nty-six-year-old Liz Phair burned her image onto the post-feminis
EXTD=t landscape with Exile in Guyville, an album that perfectly captu
EXTD=red the experiences of young women stranded between puberty and a
EXTD=dulthood. Phair herself embodied the contradictions of contempora
EXTD=ry chickdom: She cursed sexism while reveling in her own sexualit
EXTD=y, acted tough but suffered from debilitating stage fright.\n\nTh
EXTD=e five years since have been frenetic for Phair in ways that have
EXTD= nothing -- and everything -- to do with her music. After releasi
EXTD=ng 1994's smoother Whip Smart, Phair caught the first bus out of 
EXTD=Guyville, got married and gave birth to a son. Now she's back wit
EXTD=h her long-awaited third album, but Exile-era Phair fans beware: 
EXTD=Mama's got a brand-new bag. Ever the confessional songwriter, Pha
EXTD=ir continues to write her life, and right now her life centers ar
EXTD=ound one guy and the baby boy whose bald head quite possibly insp
EXTD=ired her new album's title.\n\nWhile most indie rockers are beefi
EXTD=ng up their sound with gratuitous electronic gadgetry, Whitechoco
EXTD=latespaceegg opts for a more tactile sound. Instruments twang out
EXTD= of tune, strings and frets squeak with each chord change, and Ph
EXTD=air's tenuous, conversational singing voice takes the occasional 
EXTD=half-octave nose dive. The softer songs, most of them produced by
EXTD= Scott Litt, are engagingly intimate, as though Phair had curled 
EXTD=up on your couch, guitar in hand, to share a little tale or two. 
EXTD=The harder, more upbeat numbers are playful and pop-y, with just 
EXTD=enough dry humor to keep them from floating away.\n\nAs always wi
EXTD=th Phair, it's the lyrics that tell the real story. Where Guyvill
EXTD=e graphed the disintegration of love in tracks such as "Divorce S
EXTD=ong," Whitechocolatespaceegg explores the dynamics of marital end
EXTD=urance. The presumably autobiographical "Go on Ahead" ponders the
EXTD= strain put on a marriage by childbirth ("One night is lovely, th
EXTD=e next is brutal/And you and I are in way over our heads with thi
EXTD=s one"). In granting her mate the freedom to "go on ahead," Phair
EXTD= reaffirms her matrimonial bond with the simplest of troths: "I b
EXTD=elieve we have things to do/I believe in myself, and I believe in
EXTD= you."\n\nThis doesn't mean that Phair is free of internal confli
EXTD=cts, however. On the quiet, lilting "Perfect World," she confesse
EXTD=s to still wanting an impossible array of superwomanish attribute
EXTD=s: "I want to be cool, tall, vulnerable and luscious." Nor has sh
EXTD=e lost her taste for sexual danger -- "Johnny Feelgood" and "Love
EXTD= Is Nothing" show that she doesn't mind getting roughed up a litt
EXTD=le, if necessary. Most telling are the tracks in which she sorts 
EXTD=out the present by sifting through her past: "Shitloads of Money"
EXTD= updates a cut from her early Girly Sound tapes with the added pe
EXTD=rspective of a pop star; the breezy, rocking "Headache" turns Guy
EXTD=ville's "Fuck and Run" inside out as the song's protagonist tells
EXTD= a potential paramour, "You can take me home/But I will never be 
EXTD=your girl." On "Polyester Bride," Phair the wife revisits her tum
EXTD=ultuous teenage self, asking her (via another character), "Do you
EXTD= want to be a polyester bride?/Or do you want to hang your head a
EXTD=nd die?.../Do you want to flap your wings and fly away from here?
EXTD="\n\nPhair's younger fans may not be able to relate to the world 
EXTD=according to mom. But years from now, they may well hoard copies 
EXTD=of Whitechocolatespaceegg and marvel at its prescient insights in
EXTD=to their post-hipster lives. By then, of course, Phair will have 
EXTD=reared her space egg and traded in her empty nest for an RV and t
EXTD=he open highway, her stereo cranked up as she belts out a host of
EXTD= pre-menopausal anthems. And those of us still flailing in the de
EXTD=serts of Guyville will wave our hats as she passes, cheering, "Yo
EXTD=u go, old girl." (RS 793 - Jul 30, 1998)  -- NEVA CHONIN
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