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Liz Phair — What Makes You Happy
Album: Whitechocolatespaceegg
Avg rating:
6.3

Your rating:
Total ratings: 695









Released: 1998
Length: 3:27
Plays (last 30 days): 0
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But don't worry, Mom
I met him in a restaurant
And all this time, I've been getting to know him

He's got an ex-wife in Pasadena
And sometimes she's a mess
To deal with
But mostly, we've been living here uninjured

There's a silence, and she says,
"Listen here, Young Lady
All that matters is what makes you happy
But you leave this house knowing my opinion won't
Make you love me if you don't care to"

I'm sending you this photograph
I swear this one is gonna last
And all those other bastards were only practice
I feel the sun on my back
I smell the earth in my skin
I see the sky above me like a
Full recovery

"Listen here, Young Lady
All that matters is what makes you happy
But you leave this house knowing my opinion won't
Make a difference if you're not ready" (2x)
Comments (185)add comment
 Steely_D wrote:

There's a silence, and she says:

"Listen here young lady
All that matters is what makes you happy..."

I feel the sun on my back
I smell the earth in my skin
I see the sky above me like a full recovery



love it. 

this whole cd was fabulous. i think i wore it out when it came out.
Posted 2 months ago by lily34    [ Reply ]
This song would be so much better if the artist could sing. Or write. Or play a guitar. The fact is, the artist came from a rich Wilmette family and had the economic resources to throw at the Double Door and a studio until the artist had a recording contract.
Posted 8 years ago by snitramc    [ Reply ]
 Shmelo wrote:
This song is unmitigated shit.

 
I take it she met you in a restaurant and you have an ex in Pasadena. Sorry things didn't work out.
Posted 8 years ago by Geecheeboy    [ Reply ]
This song is unmitigated shit.
Posted 8 years ago by Shmelo    [ Reply ]
There's a silence, and she says:

"Listen here young lady
All that matters is what makes you happy..."

I feel the sun on my back
I smell the earth in my skin
I see the sky above me like a full recovery
Posted 8 years ago by Steely_D    [ Reply ]
It seems there's a bit more sexism on this thread than I usually see.

Thread summary-

Liz Phair (reminds/annoys/titllates) me like:

Tori
Kate
Alanis
Madonna
Ani
Fiona

Recognize artists for their art, not their junk. 
Posted 8 years ago by Bone    [ Reply ]
Her song Table for One is very good, too.  Always have liked her music.
Posted 8 years ago by ScottN    [ Reply ]
i know, i know, i know..... falling in love with a hot female singer is SOOOO cliched......... so shoot me, alright?
Posted 10 years ago by gjr    [ Reply ]
Love this chick Very Deeply.
Crazy hot wild woman music.
Posted 10 years ago by gjeeg    [ Reply ]
 Byronape wrote:
While I applaud Liz for not falling into the over-sexualized pop star routine in order to sell albums, I just have never liked her music.  It's to much bubble gum pop for me.  Maybe I have just not heard enough of her stuff, but what I have heard has never hit with me.
 
"Not falling into the over-sexualized pop star routine in order to sell albums"?!?  
To quote Bender, *that* activates my hilarity unit!  Did not not hear about the reinvented Liz a few years ago, when she openly admitted in interviews that she had made peace with using her sexiness to sell albums, including gracing her a album cover as a sex-kitten with a strategically-placed guitar?
Posted 11 years ago by window    [ Reply ]
Finally some rock and roll on RP!
Posted 11 years ago by Shesdifferent    [ Reply ]
While I applaud Liz for not falling into the over-sexualized pop star routine in order to sell albums, I just have never liked her music.  It's to much bubble gum pop for me.  Maybe I have just not heard enough of her stuff, but what I have heard has never hit with me.
Posted 11 years ago by Byronape    [ Reply ]
love this album!
Posted 11 years ago by fbdesign    [ Reply ]
 TJS wrote:
This is my favorite LP album.
 
same. love it from start to finish.
Posted 11 years ago by lily34    [ Reply ]
......No Thanks. Never liked her before, surely less now!
Posted 11 years ago by aspicer    [ Reply ]
This is my favorite LP album.
Posted 11 years ago by TJS    [ Reply ]
 shakitten wrote:
Wow. Haven't heard Liz in a long time. Didn't miss her.
 
i tell you what, this girl is scary
Posted 12 years ago by cohifi    [ Reply ]
Wow. Haven't heard Liz in a long time. Didn't miss her.
Posted 12 years ago by shakitten    [ Reply ]
I'm outta here.  
Posted 12 years ago by terrapin52    [ Reply ]
 treatment_bound wrote:
Once again, RP is ignoring an album that put a specific artist "on the map".  Why aren't there any songs from



here?
  Lots of potty mouth on that one? {#Mrgreen}


Posted 12 years ago by KurtfromLaQuinta    [ Reply ]
 SchoepTone wrote:
I hear a bit of Madonna in there as well. Anyone else?
 
She would kick Madonna a**, even the overly muscle Madonna.

Posted 12 years ago by xtalman    [ Reply ]
 NO
I hear a bit of Madonna in there as well. Anyone else?
 


Posted 12 years ago by neuticle    [ Reply ]

But mom, I'm sending you this photograph 
I swear this one is going to last 
And all those other bastards were only practice 



Posted 12 years ago by vandal    [ Reply ]
I hear a bit of Madonna in there as well. Anyone else?


Posted 12 years ago by SchoepTone    [ Reply ]
 ziggytrix wrote:

So you're saying it isn't a phair comparison? {#Rolleyes}
 
That's funny sh*t! {#Lol}
Posted 12 years ago by peter_james_bond    [ Reply ]
 drife wrote:
Liz Phair blows, and that ain't a good thing. She belongs in the same dungeon as Ani Defranco.
 
I'd love to be stuck in that dungeon . . .
Posted 12 years ago by gillespp    [ Reply ]
Once again, RP is ignoring an album that put a specific artist "on the map".  Why aren't there any songs from



here?
Posted 12 years ago by treatment_bound    [ Reply ]
nice 90's flavor
Posted 12 years ago by hifi    [ Reply ]
Johnny Feelgood is my fab, But this is good.
Posted 12 years ago by Kemoc    [ Reply ]
 Eric_Denison wrote:
Liz Phair... who woulda thought I'd like Liz Phair.  Not bad at all!
  That's pretty much what my brain did a second ago!


Posted 13 years ago by Ranaeph    [ Reply ]
 dogpound wrote:
She paved the way for Alainis and Avril, and those gals dropped the ball.

Please, they're not even on the same court.
 
So you're saying it isn't a phair comparison? {#Rolleyes}
Posted 13 years ago by ziggytrix    [ Reply ]
 Moak wrote:
{#Ask}  Hmmmm, loaded question
Anyway, 'Guyville' seems to be the accepted classic, but I think this album is better in a lot of ways.



 

For what it's worth I like it better than Guyville...
Posted 13 years ago by gandalfbmg    [ Reply ]
She paved the way for Alainis and Avril, and those gals dropped the ball.

Please, they're not even on the same court.
Posted 13 years ago by dogpound    [ Reply ]
Liz Phair blows, and that ain't a good thing. She belongs in the same dungeon as Ani Defranco.
Posted 13 years ago by drife    [ Reply ]
{#Ask}  Hmmmm, loaded question
Anyway, 'Guyville' seems to be the accepted classic, but I think this album is better in a lot of ways.



Posted 13 years ago by Moak    [ Reply ]
I think this was the last good song she's written. Makes me just want to jump around the house.
Posted 13 years ago by hulabell    [ Reply ]
 sirdroseph wrote:
Musically......meh, but ohhhhh what I would do with her!!!{#Hearteyes}
 
Assuming, of course, that she'd allow herself to be within ten miles of you if she knew the way your brain works. {#Lol}
Posted 13 years ago by Cynaera    [ Reply ]
Listen to your mum.
Posted 13 years ago by plaice3    [ Reply ]
Musically......meh, but ohhhhh what I would do with her!!!{#Hearteyes}
Posted 13 years ago by sirdroseph    [ Reply ]
I have her first demo album.... hearing this here... I smile
Posted 14 years ago by ddbz    [ Reply ]
Hey Bill! Could you play something else from Liz? I've only heard this, as far as I know. Am I the only one who wakes up wearing different clothes, with a plane ticket in my pocket from a place I've never been? Happened twice last week...{#Think}
Posted 14 years ago by crockydile    [ Reply ]
 Cruzan wrote:
what "would make me happy" would be to not have to hear this American Idol type fluff on my favorite Internet radio station ;-)
 

Please tell me you are not serious.
Posted 14 years ago by phishnet    [ Reply ]
 lily34 wrote:


same.
 
I agree. This is a really good album. Does she have any other ones?
Posted 14 years ago by rabaak    [ Reply ]
what "would make me happy" would be to not have to hear this American Idol type fluff on my favorite Internet radio station ;-)
Posted 14 years ago by Cruzan    [ Reply ]
...transformers make me happy, so does robotech and the marvel superheroes roleplaying game...

...i haven't played with any of them in over twenty years, though...
Posted 14 years ago by mandolin    [ Reply ]
 Eric_Denison wrote:
Liz Phair... who woulda thought I'd like Liz Phair.  Not bad at all!
Yeah, this album is way, way more accessible than her early stuff. Personally, it's my favorite of her output.

Posted 14 years ago by lmic    [ Reply ]
I am sure my teenage daughter would like it {#Rolleyes} {#Mrgreen}
Posted 14 years ago by 4merdj    [ Reply ]

Such a great debut album and then...this!



Posted 14 years ago by chyk5    [ Reply ]
Liz Phair... who woulda thought I'd like Liz Phair.  Not bad at all!
Posted 14 years ago by Eric_Denison    [ Reply ]
 Middleton wrote:
This cd is in my Top 5 for road-tripping, and sounds better and better the louder you turn up the volume.  It has successfully kept me awake for multiple late-night/all-night drives. 

{#Jump}

 

same.
Posted 14 years ago by lily34    [ Reply ]
Thanks, Bill....I needed that.  {#Dancingbanana}
Posted 14 years ago by pinklife    [ Reply ]
 kyleminor wrote:
I think I finally figured out where Madonna got her "new" sound.
 
wow .. excellent connection comment

Posted 14 years ago by lemmoth    [ Reply ]
Shrill.
Posted 14 years ago by Papernapkin    [ Reply ]
what Liz Phair needs
Posted 14 years ago by davin    [ Reply ]
This cd is in my Top 5 for road-tripping, and sounds better and better the louder you turn up the volume.  It has successfully kept me awake for multiple late-night/all-night drives. 

{#Jump}

Posted 14 years ago by Middleton    [ Reply ]
 Papernapkin wrote:
Sounds like a teeny bopper tune.
  But a good teenybopper tune I think


Posted 14 years ago by Wizzuvvoz    [ Reply ]
There is some good music on this album. Never really liked Liz until someone gave me this cd. Now I like her a lot
Posted 14 years ago by rabaak    [ Reply ]
Sounds like a teeny bopper tune.
Posted 14 years ago by Papernapkin    [ Reply ]
 toterola wrote:
I'm sorry, but I never "got" Liz Phair. She just seems really... mediocre to me. Like someone recorded by a music company in reaction to someone else.

But, different strokes, huh? {#Neutral}
 
This is because, according to your place of origin, you have not yet arrived.  Patience, my friend, patience...

Posted 15 years ago by goodpunk    [ Reply ]
 enidualc wrote:
ahhhh lizzzzz. exactly what i needed to hear in this exact moment! .
 
I see you're from Guyville, were you exiled?  :o)


Posted 15 years ago by goodpunk    [ Reply ]
"Listen here, young lady, all that matters is what makes you happy": sounds like my mom!  Liz Phair's older stuff ROCKS the house.  Ahhhh, that feels good!
Posted 15 years ago by goodpunk    [ Reply ]
makes me happy!
Posted 15 years ago by songbirdfemme    [ Reply ]
I think I finally figured out where Madonna got her "new" sound.
Posted 15 years ago by kyleminor    [ Reply ]
I'm sorry, but I never "got" Liz Phair. She just seems really... mediocre to me. Like someone recorded by a music company in reaction to someone else.

But, different strokes, huh? {#Neutral}
Posted 15 years ago by toterola    [ Reply ]

If Liz Phair is happy then I am too.  Woot!


Posted 15 years ago by Wilmshurst    [ Reply ]
Her ''Exhile in Guyville'' is being re-released in a few days. Great album. Liz rules. Wish she'd do some new stuff.
Posted 15 years ago by Odyzzeuz    [ Reply ]
what makes me happy? hear your voice, liz. thank you.
Posted 15 years ago by mefrombrazil    [ Reply ]
lizy borden with an ax.... space eggs? ok :-)
Posted 15 years ago by kayaksurf4fun    [ Reply ]
Never heard this song but strangely enough I had white chocolate space eggs for breakfast.
Posted 15 years ago by bettaSplendens    [ Reply ]
ahhhh lizzzzz. exactly what i needed to hear in this exact moment! .
Posted 15 years ago by enidualc    [ Reply ]
this is as good as it's gonna get from Lil Lizzie
Posted 15 years ago by thewiseking    [ Reply ]
Always liked this song. 7.
Posted 16 years ago by Waybo    [ Reply ]
Zing! I wake up!
Posted 16 years ago by linden    [ Reply ]
Garbaj
Posted 16 years ago by davin    [ Reply ]
I always liked Liz Phair & her music..but she can't really sing all that well (if that makes any sense)... The only song I really remember off this album is the single "Polyester Bride", and RP hasn't played it since 2001? I guess a little Liz lasts a long time.
Posted 16 years ago by treatment_bound    [ Reply ]
Liz is one white hot woman; she's gut the rare courage to be sexually free and expressive and wild of mind. So, so rare in american culture. A true free spirit.
Posted 16 years ago by gjeeg    [ Reply ]
I love Liz Phair.
Posted 16 years ago by Odyzzeuz    [ Reply ]
PULLLLEEEEAAAASEEEEEE - THIS IS HORRIBLE!!!!!
Posted 16 years ago by cafortier    [ Reply ]
Sounds like ass.
Posted 16 years ago by jhorton    [ Reply ]
my girl!
Posted 16 years ago by enidualc    [ Reply ]
steeler wrote:
Ah, the dirty version of Sheryl Crow.
ha! sheryl crow wishes!
Posted 16 years ago by lily34    [ Reply ]
Excellent advice, hope I do as well by my children when I have them.
Posted 16 years ago by Arianrhod    [ Reply ]
queenjill wrote:
I'm not sure I'd agree that EIG was "hyping sex to 14 year old girls." The whole album is about how unsatisfying relationships are, about the emptiness and loneliness that she was feeling, and her dissatisfaction with the casual sex lifestyle she seemed to be living at the time (or at least was singing about). I suppose if you were a 14 year old girl listening to it, you might not "get" that, though.
I agree. I think she is de-hyping sex. "I want a boyfriend" and all those creepy wonderful songs really speaks to those 14-40 year olds who have had botched up sexual experiences time and time again.
Posted 16 years ago by stinkyhippie    [ Reply ]
steeler wrote:
Ah, the dirty version of Sheryl Crow.
Yes, well put! I always thought of her with all the hip angry of Ani DiFranco bit in a sexy Hetero sort of way.
Posted 16 years ago by petercroob    [ Reply ]
bokey wrote:
You can be the one to save her.YOU will never wind up being one of "those bastards".Because you're ,you know,different.(until she starts projecting all her all her loser ex's mistakes on you and you find she doesn't get that her Mom is a psycho who made her nuts )
You speak from experience, don'cha?
Posted 16 years ago by Darkmatter    [ Reply ]
Love her voice! gimme some supernova please :)
Posted 16 years ago by jenakle    [ Reply ]
Sell-out or whatever you want to say, I still like her music.
Posted 16 years ago by rbigelo    [ Reply ]
Ah, the dirty version of Sheryl Crow.
Posted 16 years ago by steeler    [ Reply ]
I love this song!! Play it again.
Posted 16 years ago by bobbyghanouj    [ Reply ]
i love this song, but everything after this album is just such a disaster
Posted 16 years ago by membeth    [ Reply ]
"This one is going to last and all those other bastards were only practice" ---heres your chance guys. You can be the one to save her. YOU will never wind up being one of "those bastards". Because you're ,you know,different. (until she starts projecting all her loser ex-mistakes on you and you find her Mom is a psycho who made her nuts ) I like this song and the perspective it's written from.
Posted 16 years ago by bokey    [ Reply ]
mmmmmmmmm my girl liz
Posted 17 years ago by enidualc    [ Reply ]
tony620d wrote:
you cant spell oxymoron with 'moron'
When implying that someone else is a moron you might try to remember an apostrophe to make your contraction correct. Also, did you mean to say "without" rather than "with"?
Posted 17 years ago by tuesdayj    [ Reply ]
fncll wrote:
Ahh... love the pre-sellout Liz...
Wouldn't the purists among us say everything after "Exile in Guyville" is post-sellout?
Posted 17 years ago by lmic    [ Reply ]
queenjill wrote:
I'm not sure I'd agree that EIG was "hyping sex to 14 year old girls." The whole album is about how unsatisfying relationships are, about the emptiness and loneliness that she was feeling, and her dissatisfaction with the casual sex lifestyle she seemed to be living at the time (or at least was singing about). I suppose if you were a 14 year old girl listening to it, you might not "get" that, though.
the song "flower" on EIG does not make sex seem unsatisfying and when I saw her as a teen at very small venues she was pretty sexual - portraying her sexuality in a very postitive fashion. I guess "hyping" it may be the wrong phrase but I was reflecting some other commentor's sentiment. :)
Posted 17 years ago by mrrmt    [ Reply ]
Wow! I haven't heard this song for a zillion years! It seemed to be a mix tape fav with all my pals back in the day... I thought LP had been eavesdropping on my phone calls with my mom when I heard this the first time.
Posted 17 years ago by tuesdayj    [ Reply ]
I really like this whole album. Course, I'm one of those who has enjoyed her more, the more mainstream she's gotten.
Posted 17 years ago by lmic    [ Reply ]
Liz is just a ball of sex waiting to explode. She has my vote.
Posted 17 years ago by Land_Shark    [ Reply ]
Thought I was listening to Madonna for a second.
Posted 17 years ago by weevilkinevil    [ Reply ]
hoooooooohummmmmmmmmmm
Posted 17 years ago by MahlerTheMartyr    [ Reply ]
Can you dumb the lyrics down anymore?
Posted 17 years ago by savoyard    [ Reply ]
I like listening to this song.
Posted 17 years ago by RobRyan    [ Reply ]
dmax wrote:
Heh. This is a girl who's screwed up too many times ("I swear / all those other bastards were only practice") and is trying - unsuccessfully - to reassure her mom. "There's a silence...and she says 'Listen here young lady...'" Her mom has given up on her ne'er do well daughter. I think Phair can't sing worth poop (which is somewhat endearing, like Dylan) but writes pretty complex songs, with a reasonably gritty quality to them. She paved the way for Alainis and Avril, and those gals dropped the ball.
Word.
Posted 17 years ago by Daveinbawlmer    [ Reply ]
At least she doesn't whine and bitch like Aimee Mann, Aimee does the same damn song over and over lately, Liz mixes it up.
Posted 17 years ago by Daveinbawlmer    [ Reply ]
mrrmt wrote:
actually, she's always been hyping sex to 14 year old girls. in the early 90s when exile in guyville was released i was 14ish and stunned, fascinated by the intense sexual content. BUT, it was far more low key indie than her new stuff, in which the sex feels FAR less real and way more manufactured/produced for a reaction.
I'm not sure I'd agree that EIG was "hyping sex to 14 year old girls." The whole album is about how unsatisfying relationships are, about the emptiness and loneliness that she was feeling, and her dissatisfaction with the casual sex lifestyle she seemed to be living at the time (or at least was singing about). I suppose if you were a 14 year old girl listening to it, you might not "get" that, though.
Posted 17 years ago by queenjill    [ Reply ]
TheLoneIguana wrote:
or monotony without 'tony'.
good one!
Posted 17 years ago by Vogelfrei    [ Reply ]
tony620d wrote:
you cant spell oxymoron with 'moron'
or monotony without 'tony'.
Posted 17 years ago by TheLoneIguana    [ Reply ]
marktberry wrote:
Um, she's married.
but the song's about being single is it not?
Posted 17 years ago by daveesh    [ Reply ]
Um, she's married. daveesh wrote:
it must be tough to be young, hot and single. poor liz!
Posted 17 years ago by marktberry    [ Reply ]
"I see the sky above me like a full recovery..." This whole album is amazing.
Posted 17 years ago by vvlee    [ Reply ]
it must be tough to be young, hot and single. poor liz!
Posted 17 years ago by daveesh    [ Reply ]
GaryG wrote:
This is from back when she wasn't hyping sex to 14 year old girls.
actually, she's always been hyping sex to 14 year old girls. in the early 90s when exile in guyville was released i was 14ish and stunned, fascinated by the intense sexual content. BUT, it was far more low key indie than her new stuff, in which the sex feels FAR less real and way more manufactured/produced for a reaction.
Posted 17 years ago by mrrmt    [ Reply ]
Well, that was fun.
Posted 18 years ago by wondertoofar    [ Reply ]
rah wrote:
it would be interesting to hear this followed by "boys better beware" by the dandy warhols
wow i was just listening to that while the execrable "Brick" Ben Folds was drearying up the RP!! excellent suggestion
Posted 18 years ago by tammaye    [ Reply ]
it would be interesting to hear this followed by "boys better beware" by the dandy warhols
Posted 18 years ago by rah    [ Reply ]
Ahh... love the pre-sellout Liz...
Posted 18 years ago by fncll    [ Reply ]
Aww, Liz. She's like an old friend.
Posted 18 years ago by tinkerbelly    [ Reply ]
This is from back when she wasn't hyping sex to 14 year old girls.
Posted 18 years ago by GaryG    [ Reply ]
thewiseking wrote:
Now this is what a good pop song sounds like.
you cant spell oxymoron with 'moron'
Posted 18 years ago by tony620d    [ Reply ]
So sad, I keep wanting to hear her music but everytime I get busy at work I hear her songs without really noticing until after the fact. Are her songs so generic that I don't notice them?
Posted 18 years ago by psycholynx    [ Reply ]