Six Feet One

[sachem_head]

Of the songs I put on that tape, the one that's now lodged itself in my head is Liz Phair's "Six Feet One." I don't know when it was when I first heard Liz Phair. I'm sure it was after Juliana Hatfield and the Breeders and Throwing Muses. She's in that same era

Comments

[littlevisigoth]

i think i'm with you on Juliana v. Alanis. i don't particularly loathe Alanis, and i'm not too into Liz Phair, but i think my sentiments probably run along the same lines as you (maybe not for the same reasons, though). i have to admit that my fixation with Juliana Hatfield stems largely from extreme sexual attraction, and not just because she's physically attractive (all three are, in their own ways). her voice and her lyrics strike chords that are particularly appealing to me. she puts on this cute-sy, innocent, yet rough around the edges persona, and continually indulges in self-deprecation, almost like she's fishing for compliments in the minds of her listeners. i for one am a sucker for all that.

[sachem_head]

I like Juliana Hatfield's music more than Liz Phair's, I think. I own more of Juliana Hatfield's albums (if you count the Blake Babies, too) and I've seen her live at the Iron Horse. I think I was actually a little scared of Liz Phair, and her frank sex talk. That whiff of danger.

All three mine that same territory. That same, "All that macho rock n' roll bullshit? I'll throw it right back at you." There's another woman I've heard recently, Amy Rigby, who reminds me of them. Except she's the older, housewife singer-songwriter version.

[pkhentz]

I have no especial Alanis-loathing. I don't even really go in for the "that's not ironic!" thing. I never bought Jagged Little Pill, and never really was tempted to. It is pretty solid pop, what kept me from really giving it a fair shot was the undertones of calculation. I came into the Juliana Hatfield-Throwing Muses thing a bit later than you two did, but that was still a good year or two before Alanis. She just came through with her publicity blitz just after the major labels gave the east-coast alternative women a half-hearted shot, and achieved what I thought they should have, financially. Alanis just will never have that rush she has for other people, that "new thing." I know many people, whom I respect, who just think she's the bee's knees. I don't loathe her, but I can't get behind that.

[sachem_head]

Maybe you're right, pkhentz, and it's all about the indie cred. Maybe it's about that elusive "authenticity." I like to think that there's something genuine, vulnerable, "real" in Liz Phair and Juliana Hatfield that's missing in Alanis. Less pretense, maybe? It could also be an "in crowd, out crowd" thing. Alanis has always been "in," and it's hard to feel sympathy for her. For me, anyway.

Maybe this says it all: Alanis re-released the 10-year anniversary unplugged edition of "Jagged Little Pill" and it's on sale at Starbucks.

For the record...

[bird_prophet]

...I was neither defending Alanis nor trashing Liz Phair. And I rarely listen to Alanis Morrisette, actually. In fact, it happens very infrequently, and it happens mainly when I'm really really angry about men in general (sorry, guys). And I think that it's not about her style, or anything else. In fact, I'll agree, it IS a bit off-putting. And about Juliana Hatfield: I didn't like her the first time I heard her mainly because everything she sang sounded totally off key. Really, that's what it was. That irks me

[sachem_head]

bird_prophet, you clearly do have something to say on this matter. And I'm glad for your two cents.