Girly Sound

Girly-Sound

Demo album (Bootleg) by Girly-Sound

Recorded

1991

self-released

Girly-Sound chronology

Girly-Sound
(1991)

Exile in Guyville
(1993)

Professional ratings
Review scores
Source	Rating
Allmusic	^[1]

Girly-Sound is the name under which singer-songwriter Liz Phair recorded several self-produced cassettes in 1991. The cassettes were later made available as bootlegs and some tracks have been officially released. Girly-Sound is also the name used to refer to the demos or bootlegs collectively. The recordings have been called "legendary" by Spin Magazine^[2] and by AllMusic "one of the most popular and sought-after alternative rock bootlegs of all time".^[1]

Background

Recorded on a 4-track tape recorder in her childhood bedroom at her parents' house, copies of the tapes were initially given by Phair to only two people: Chris Brokaw and Tae Won Yu. However, copies of the Girly-Sound tapes were passed from person to person and became somewhat of a sensation in the American tape trading/zine subculture.^[3] Brokaw later told Rolling Stone how he had urged Phair to record something and a few months later received one 14-song tape, getting the second 14-song tape a month after that.^[4] In 1992, Phair signed a deal with Matador Records on the strength of a tape she had sent in consisting of 6 Girly-Sound songs.^[4]^[5]^[6]

Reworking

Phair has frequently gone back and reworked many of the songs for her studio albums throughout her career: she told Rolling Stone "I go in there and rip stuff off – it's like a library".^[4] Phair's debut album Exile in Guyville is largely a reworking of songs from these tapes.^[3] However, some of these tracks were modified in ways that altered the meaning and made them more mainstream-acceptable: in "Flower" the line "I’ll fuck you and your girlfriend, too" was changed to "I’ll fuck you and your minions, too", removing the queer subtext.^[7]

Five songs were officially released in 1995 on the Juvenilia EP and a bonus disc of ten Girly-Sound songs was included with the physical release of Phair's 2010 album Funstyle.^[5] Additional tracks appeared on the reissue of Exile in Guyville.^[8]

Bootlegs

Although originally consisting of a total of three cassettes, the most common version of the Girly-Sound tapes that circulated among Phair's fans was an incomplete two-disc compilation of songs from all three tapes, released on the Bliss and Fetish bootleg label, and processed with harsh digital noise reduction. An earlier bootleg compilation of Girly-Sound material, Secretly Timid, was also circulated. Early in 2006, mp3s of first-generation copies of the first two tapes were introduced via Phair's online community, bringing to light the original track listing, correct song names, tape titles, and introducing a number of songs that did not appear on the previous Girly-Sound bootlegs. The third Girly-Sound tape and information of its complete contents remains elusive. As a result, the tapes are still one of the most sought-after alternative-rock bootlegs.

Critical reaction

AllMusic rated the demos 4.5/5, noting some weak tracks but finding others "as tuneful and provoking as anything on her official albums".^[1]

Three tape track listing

Yo Yo Buddy Yup Yup Word to Ya Muthuh

All songs written and composed by Liz Phair.

Side A
No.	Title	Length
1.	"White Babies" (also known as "Black Market White Baby Dealer")	3:15
2.	"Shane"	4:49
3.	"6 Dick Pimp" (also known as "Willie the Six-Dicked Pimp" and "Give Me My Boyfriend Back")	3:25
4.	"Divorce Song"	3:54
5.	"Go West"	3:42
6.	"Don't Hold Your Breath" (also known as "If I Ever Pay You Back" and "Don't Hold Yr Breath")	4:15
7.	"Johnny Sunshine"	4:01

Side B
No.	Title	Length
1.	"Miss Lucy"	2:37
2.	"Elvis Song" (also known as "Elvis, Be True")	5:02
3.	"Dead Shark"	3:32
4.	"One Less Thing"	4:46
5.	"Money"	3:43
6.	"In Love With Yourself"	4:04
7.	"Fuck or Die"	3:20

Girls! Girls! Girls!

All songs written and composed by Liz Phair.

Side A
No.	Title	Length
1.	"Hello Sailor"	6:08
2.	"Wild Thing"	3:54
3.	"Fuck and Run"	4:38
4.	"Easy Target" (also known as "Do You Love Me?" and "It's in My Kiss")	5:07
5.	"Soap Star Joe"	3:25
6.	"Ant in Alaska" (also known as "I Know it's Not Easy")	7:13
7.	"Girls! Girls! Girls!"	7:28

Side B
No.	Title	Length
1.	"Polyester Bride"	7:46
2.	"Thrax"	4:47
3.	"Miss Mary Mack"	4:33
4.	"Clean" (also known as "Never Said")	4:00
5.	"Love Song"	6:25
6.	"Valentine"	4:19
7.	"Shatter"	6:51

Untitled Tape 3

(Original order of tracks is unknown)

All songs written and composed by Liz Phair.

No.	Title	Length
1.	"Flower"	2:38
2.	"Suckerfish^[9]" (also known as "Speed Racer" and "Go, Speed Racer")	1:41
3.	"Open Season" (also known as "Beg Me")	2:49
4.	"Slave" (also known as "What Makes You a Slave" and "Sometimes a Dream (Is What Makes You a Slave)")	3:45
5.	"Bomb^[9]" (also known as "Stratford-on-Guy")	3:11
6.	"Gigalo" (also known as "Can't Get Out of What I'm Into")	3:15
7.	"Whip-Smart^[9]" (also known as "Double-Dutch")	3:20
8.	"Easy" (also known as "It's Not That Easy")	3:13
9.	"South Dakota"	4:15
10.	"California" (also known as "Why I Left California")	2:38
11.	"Chopsticks"	1:51
12.	"Batmobile" (also known as "Fire Up the Batmobile")	3:06
13.	"Tell Me You Like Me"	Unknown

Re-recorded songs

Year	Album	Song
1991	Chinny Chin Chin: 4 N.Y. Bands	"White Babies"
1993	Exile in Guyville
		"Divorce Song"
		"Johnny Sunshine"
		"Wild Thing"
		"Fuck and Run"
		"Soap Star Joe"
		"Ant in Alaska"
		"Girls! Girls! Girls!"
		"Clean" (as "Never Said")
		"Shatter"
		"Flower"
		"Bomb" (as "Stratford-on-Guy")
1994	Whip-Smart	"Shane"
		"Go West"
		"Thrax" (as "Jealousy")
		"Whip-Smart"
1996	Brain Candy Soundtrack	"6 Dick Pimp" (as "Six Dick Pimp")
1998	whitechocolatespaceegg	"Money" (as "Shitloads of Money")
		"Polyester Bride"
		"Thrax" (as "Tell Me You Like Me")
2005	Somebody's Miracle	"Gigalo" (as "Can't Get Out of What I'm Into")

"Ant in Alaska" and "Wild Thing" were both re-recorded for Exile in Guyville, but did not appear until the 2008 reissue. The latter only appeared on the advanced promotional copy of the reissue.
"Thrax" was partially re-recorded as "Jealousy" and included on Whip-Smart, and as "Tell Me You Like Me" for whitechocolatespaceegg, with the latter being left off its respective album.
"Gigalo" was re-recorded as "Can't Get Out of What I'm Into" for Somebody's Miracle, but was only included on the Japanese release and advanced promotional copy.

Song Appearances

Year	Album	Song
1995	Juvenilia	"California"
		"Batmobile"
		"South Dakota"
		"Dead Shark"
		"Easy"
1997	Chasing Amy Soundtrack	"California"
2010	Funstyle (bonus disc)	"Miss Mary Mack"
		"White Babies"
		"Elvis Song"
		"Valentine"
		"Speed Racer"
		"In Love With Yourself"
		"Wild Thing"
		"Love Song"
		"Don't Hold Your Breath"
		"California"

Fragments from "In Love With Yourself", "Johnny Sunshine," and "Money" appeared on the "Supernova" single, condensed into one track called "Combo Platter (Girlysound)". The "Johnny Sunshine" fragment is played backwards.

References

1 2 3 "Liz Phair - Girlysound". AllMusic. Retrieved 13 September 2012.
↑ "Liz Phair: Exile in Guyville", Spin, 15:9 (Sept 1999) p125
1 2 Reilly, Dan (Sep 8, 2010). "Liz Phair Releasing Rare Girly Sound Demos With 'Funstyle' LP". Spinner.
1 2 3 Dunn J. That girl. (cover story). Rolling Stone. October 6, 1994;(692):42
1 2 Breihan, Tom (September 7, 2010). "Liz Phair Finally Releases Girlysound Tapes". Pitchfork.
↑ Buckley, Peter, Rough Guide To Rock, p786
↑ Keenan, E. (2010). "If Liz Phair's Exile in guyville made you a feminist, what kind of feminist are you?: Heterosexuality, race, and class in the third wave". Women & Music: A Journal of Gender And Culture 14: 45–71.
↑ "Phair Signs To ATO, 'Guyville' Reissue Due". Billboard. Retrieved 13 September 2012.
1 2 3 http://www.mesmerizingtoo.com/news_2008-01_05.html

External links

Listen to Girly-Sound; Girly-Sound official website

Liz Phair

Discography

Studio albums	Exile in Guyville Whip-Smart whitechocolatespaceegg Liz Phair Somebody's Miracle Funstyle

Singles	"Never Said" "Stratford-On-Guy" "Carnivore" "Supernova" "Whip-Smart" "Jealousy" "Rocket Boy" "Polyester Bride" "Johnny Feelgood" "Insanity" "Why Can't I?" "Extraordinary" "Everything To Me"

Extended plays	Juvenilia comeandgetit

Related articles	Girly-Sound

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