I love Liz Phair - her music, her personae, her pointed point of view, her potty mouth, and well, her human-ness. From refreshingly up-front sex kitten to wife and mommy, one might say she's run the gamut. She's living her life out loud, as it were, and we've been invited along for the ride. So far, it's been more than worth the price of admission.

Liz Phair is a forthright chameleon. Through three albums over six years, her music has, depending on where she was at in her life, honestly, brutally or subtly reflected what she was feeling, where she was going, whom she was pissed off at, or whom she wanted to give a big hug to. In any context, though, her songs are beautifully layered stories whose meanings aren't too hard to grasp as long you listen with a loving ear.

On her virgin (tongue planted firmly in cheek) release, Exile in Guyville (Matador 1993), we met a "girl," ready to take on a male-dominated world. She did a damn fine job - unpretentiously shocking the puritanical, breaking a lot of outdated rules - to wit, women don't talk dirty, women don't rock as hard as men, they don't know "what they want," and they don't really say what they mean or mean what they say. When Liz Phair said she wanted to be your blowjob queen, you believed her. She's funny like that. When she said she wanted a boyfriend, you felt better knowing you weren't the only one. Intimate conversation and straightforward language never sounded better. Oh, and on the way, she, managed to catch the ear of an industry in dire need of a wake up call. Not bad for a gal who just had a few things to get off her chest (a chest which she also unabashedly and proudly displayed on Exile's cover).

Therapists say that you've gotta recognize it, talk about it, and accept it before you can get over it and grow up. Liz Phair talked a lot about it on Exile; she lived through it, and in 1994 shared the fruits of her labor with a fan base ready for more. On Whip-Smart (Matador 1994) -Liz sounded happier, and half a million copies sold suggested the fans were happy too. The sad confessional ramble was replaced by a stronger, wiser and more pointedly upbeat sound -- both lyrically and musically. On Exile, the sparse instrumentation suited her simpler message (or reflected her baser needs). On Whip-Smart, the more upbeat, guitar-driven sound heralded the more complex message - a boyfriend, yes, but make that a thinking, mature, honest Man-friend, please. How refreshing it was to hear our "girl" grow into a "woman."

Backed by a strong and supportive band, she began to overcome the crippling stage fright that had sabotaged her already spotty touring career, and was inspired to self-produce the video for "Supernova." A star was re-born (or at least introduced to the MTV generation).

Phair took a breather for four years. In that time she married film Editor Jim Staskausas, whom she'd met while making the video for "Stratford-on-guy." In 1996, smack dab in the middle of recording Whitechocolatespaceegg (Matador 1998), baby Nick arrived on the scene. Who would doubt that he'll grow, with the benefit of his mother's wisdom, into a Good Guy (for operating instructions, open Whip-Smart, proceed directly to track 10, push play...).

But married life, domestication and motherhood haven't spoiled the outspoken girlywoman-goddess we've come to know, love, and relate to. Whitechocolatespaceegg is a self-contained, cohesive, and ultimately complex ball of life. "White Chocolate Space Egg," the song, signals a change for Phair- coming from a dream Phair had while pregnant - it's delightfully confusing -- is she lamenting a lost lover or having a subconscious chat with her unborn baby? It's hard to tell. But, ultimately, there's charm in the quandary ("Don't be shy baby, don't be careful with me/Let it go, let it soak me down"). Motherhood has infused Phair's writing with a welcome spirit of adventure. These days Liz Phair can be found touring with the Lilith Fair, and according to various reports, worrying about dressing too much like a girl and fitting in. She's everything Lilith could be -- a spontaneous combustion of woman incarnate - happy, angry, sexy, loving, forthright, outspoken, insecure, strong, complex, you name it. I think she'll fit right in.

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