Liz Phair

Elizabeth 'Liz' Clark Phair, born on April 17, 1967, is a prominent American singer-songwriter known for her influential contributions to the indie rock genre. After completing her studies at Oberlin College in 1990, Phair initially sought to establish her music career in San Francisco but ultimately returned to Chicago. There, she began self-releasing a series of audio cassettes under the moniker Girly-Sound, which garnered attention and led to a pivotal recording contract with Matador Records.

Phair's debut album, *Exile in Guyville*, was released in 1993 to widespread acclaim and has been recognized by Rolling Stone as one of the 500 Greatest Albums of All Time. She followed this success with *Whip-Smart* in 1994, which earned her a Grammy nomination for Best Female Rock Vocal Performance, and *Whitechocolatespaceegg* in 1998. In 2003, she released her self-titled album on Capitol Records, marking a shift towards a pop rock sound, which broadened her audience but drew mixed reviews from critics.

In 2009, Phair ventured into television composition, scoring the CBS series *Swingtown* and creating the theme for NBC's *The Weber Show*. Her work in this realm continued with contributions to *The 100*, *In Plain Sight*, and the CW's *90210*, for which she received the 2009 ASCAP award for Top Television Composer.

After releasing *Somebody's Miracle* in 2005, Phair transitioned to independent music with her sixth album, *Funstyle*, in 2010. In 2018, a retrospective of *Exile in Guyville* was announced, featuring remastered tracks from her original Girly-Sound demos. She continued to evolve her artistry with the release of her seventh studio album, *Soberish*, in 2021.