Liz Phair's ambivalent return to 'Guyville'

DISCUSSING THE landmark 1993 album "Exile in Guyville" earlier this month, Rachel Martin, host of NPR's "The Bryant Park Project" program, blurted out a list of emotions the album evokes for her: "A young woman's really kind of raw ambition, her disappointment, it's her lust, it's her joy." Liz Phair, its creator, responded in a tone that was kind but mildly corrective. "Don't forget sadness," she said. She added that when she listens to "Guyville" now, "My heart goes out to the person I was."

By Ann Powers

June 22, 2008