''Funstyle'' is the sixth

album An album is a collection of audio recordings issued on compact disc (CD), vinyl, audio tape, or another medium such as digital distribution. Albums of recorded sound were developed in the early 20th century as individual 78 rpm records co ...

Liz Phair Elizabeth Clark Phair (born April 17, 1967) is an American singer-songwriter. Born in New Haven, Connecticut, Phair was raised primarily in the Chicago area. After graduating from Oberlin College in 1990, she attempted to start a musical career ...

, independently released on her official website on July 3, 2010. A CD version was released on October 19, 2010 on Rocket Science Records. It includes a bonus disc containing ten songs from her Girly-Sound tapes.

Background

''Funstyle'' was Phair's first album after leaving Capitol Records. Phair posted the following message on her website:

You were never supposed to hear these songs. These songs lost me my management, my record deal and a lot of nights of sleep.
Yes, I rapped one of them. I'm as surprised as you are. But here is the thing you need to know about these songs and the ones coming next: These are all me. Love them, or hate them, but don't mistake them for anything other than an entirely personal, un-tethered-from-the-machine, free for all view of the world, refracted through my own crazy lens.
This is my journey. I'll keep sending you postcards.

The lyrics that appear on Phair's arm on the album cover are partial lyrics to the songs "Satisfied", "Bang! Bang!", "Miss September", and "Bollywood". A music video was made for "And He Slayed Her", and premiered on May 21, 2012.

Reception

On the

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website

Metacritic Metacritic is a website that aggregates reviews of films, TV shows, music albums, video games and formerly, books. For each product, the scores from each review are averaged (a weighted average). Metacritic was created by Jason Dietz, Marc ...

, ''Funstyle'' has a score of 51 out of 100, which indicates "mixed or average reviews". Though the album's reviews were not generally positive, it was better-received than her self-titled 2003 release. Some reviews of the album were complimentary.

Allmusic AllMusic (previously known as All Music Guide and AMG) is an American online music database. It catalogs more than three million album entries and 30 million tracks, as well as information on musicians and bands. Initiated in 1991, the databa ...

's Stephen Thomas Erlewine awarded the album 3 and a half out of 5 stars, remarking "it’s actually terribly refreshing to hear Phair so loose," and stating the album shows that Liz Phair "is on her way to once again being a compelling artist unafraid to take risks." Likewise, a review by Tiny Mix Tapes praised the album and stated: "she has crafted above all else an experience, and one that is entertaining and rewarding in ways that few records can be." Other reviewers were far more critical of the album, however. ''

Pitchfork A pitchfork (also a hay fork) is an agricultural tool with a long handle and two to five tines used to lift and pitch or throw loose material, such as hay, straw, manure, or leaves. The term is also applied colloquially, but inaccurately, to ...

'' awarded the album 2.6 out of 10, called it "baffling," and stated that the album was ultimately "a shrewd way to lower expectations". Notably, however, Pitchfork gave ''Funstyle'' a higher rating than either of Liz Phair's preceding two albums. ''

The A.V. Club ''The A.V. Club'' is an American online newspaper and entertainment website featuring reviews, interviews, and other articles that examine films, music, television, books, games, and other elements of pop-culture media. ''The A.V. Club'' was cre ...

s Michaelangelo Matos was equally negative, stating that the tongue-in-cheek songs "aren't especially listenable" and "the seven straighter songs those experiments surround have just as little to recommend them."

Track listing

; ''Funstyle'' (CD version) ; ''Funstyle'' (digital download version) ;''Girlysound''

Personnel

* Liz Phair –

vocals Singing is the act of creating musical sounds with the voice. A person who sings is called a singer, artist or vocalist (in jazz and/or popular music). Singers perform music (arias, recitatives, songs, etc.) that can be sung with or withou ...

guitar The guitar is a fretted musical instrument that typically has six strings. It is usually held flat against the player's body and played by strumming or plucking the strings with the dominant hand, while simultaneously pressing selected strin ...

bass guitar The bass guitar, electric bass or simply bass (), is the lowest-pitched member of the string family. It is a plucked string instrument similar in appearance and construction to an electric or an acoustic guitar, but with a longer neck and ...

keyboards Keyboard may refer to: Text input * Keyboard, part of a typewriter * Computer keyboard ** Keyboard layout, the software control of computer keyboards and their mapping ** Keyboard technology, computer keyboard hardware and firmware Music * Musi ...

* Dave Matthews – guitar

References

External links

* {{Authority control 2010 albums Liz Phair albums Albums recorded at Robert Lang Studios Self-released albums Experimental rock albums by American artists