My song of the day is “Gunshy” by Liz Phair, off her 1992 debut album Exile in Guyville. The entire record, which was critically acclaimed, makes disillusionment sound hot, lovely and cool.
Liz Phair is one of the most underrated guitarists of all time. I love the originality of self-taught musicians. Her melodies are as unexpected and distinct as Joni Mitchell’s.
Dig that guitar, picked until it’s half-banjo, half-harpsichord. That confiding voice. Those unexpected lyrics:
See-monkeys, do-monkeys
Story of my life
Send three bucks to a comic book
Get a house, car and wife
Get it? That wordplay, which sounds like a throwaway, is the sign of a clever, connection-making mind. See monkeys turns into sea monkeys in the above verse.
And then there’s that little epiphany, small as a breadcrumb but painfully relatable: “Seems like the small things are the only thing I’ll fight.”
Wait for it. This song takes a complete U-turn mid-way, melodically and rhythmically. I love multi-plot songs.
—Sarah Torribio
See more songs of the day curated by Sarah Torribio HERE
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