That seems to be the agenda of this interview with Time Out Chicago. And the answer is four. Three strikes and she's calling you out. TOC opens by asking if Liz feels "burdened by [the] early success of Guyville," then asks if she "shares [fans and critics'] sense of disappointment," then asks for response to the general sentiment that she "had something and let it go." Here's question four:
TOC: What about the criticism that what made you musically distinctive gave way to a desire to make hits?
LIZ PHAIR: Um, gosh, you're cantankerous. [Laughs] Like, does it really bother you that people hate you? I mean, no really, does it really bother you that people hate you? [Laughs] Like, honestly, I don't spend a lot of time worrying about this stuff. It doesn't feel great, it's not fun, but at the same time, like, am I really gonna go out and fight all those battles?
TOC: Well, my question wasn't really how do you feel about people hating you. It's: What do you think about that criticism of your music?
LIZ PHAIR: Of course the style changed, and definitely Guy was special because it was unself-conscious in a way that I can never really be again. Maybe I'm not understanding what you're asking.
You can't feel badly for Liz in having to deal with incessant questions about Exile and its impact upon her, and her later life. That comes with the territory of re-releasing it. And playing it live. And it being a landmark album. But I'm glad she pushed back while keeping some humor about her; there's pressing a point and then there's tactful interrogation. TOC does move on, eventually, asking about the bong shot in the Guyville documentary ("I never got stoned. Like, it completely looks like I did--and I would've--but I was so worried that I was gonna fuck up the cameras that that whole documentary was shot sober."), and reveals her ideal circumstances for getting stoned:
Probably when I don't have any work to do and my son's at his dad's--or maybe a Dave Matthews show.
So that's how it is in the ATO family. Read the rest of the interview at Time Out Chicago. Also in case you missed it, you can grab the reissue's Exile-session bonus track "Ant In Alaska" here.
