"Why Can't I?" is a song by American singer-songwriter
Liz Phair
Elizabeth Clark Phair (born April 17, 1967) is an American rock singer-songwriter and musician. Born in New Haven, Connecticut, Phair was raised primarily in the Chicago area. After graduating from Oberlin College in 1990, she attempted to sta ...
. It was released on May 5, 2003, as the lead single from her
self-titled fourth album. It reached number 32 on the US
''Billboard'' Hot 100, becoming Phair's highest-charting single and only top-40 single. The song was certified gold in the US, having sold 500,000 copies there.
Writing and inspiration
"Why Can't I?" was written by Liz Phair and
The Matrix
''The Matrix'' is a 1999 science fiction film, science fiction action film written and directed by the Wachowskis. It is the first installment in the The Matrix (franchise), ''Matrix'' film series, starring Keanu Reeves, Laurence Fishburne, Ca ...
. Phair released "Why Can't I?" in hopes that she would expand her audience and attract more listeners to its parent record, ''
Liz Phair
Elizabeth Clark Phair (born April 17, 1967) is an American rock singer-songwriter and musician. Born in New Haven, Connecticut, Phair was raised primarily in the Chicago area. After graduating from Oberlin College in 1990, she attempted to sta ...
'' (2003). In an interview with ''
Vice
A vice is a practice, behaviour, Habit (psychology), habit or item generally considered morally wrong in the associated society. In more minor usage, vice can refer to a fault, a negative character trait, a defect, an infirmity, or a bad or unhe ...
'', Phair explained: "My hope was that someone would hear the song in the gym and buy the record and then start buying my albums and sort of have an awakening."
Composition
"Why Can't I?" is written in the key of
B major
B major is a major scale based on B. The pitches B, C, D, E, F, G, and A are all part of the B major scale. Its key signature has five sharps. Its relative minor is G-sharp minor, its parallel minor is B minor, and its enharmonic equi ...
and has a
tempo
In musical terminology, tempo (Italian for 'time'; plural 'tempos', or from the Italian plural), measured in beats per minute, is the speed or pace of a given musical composition, composition, and is often also an indication of the composition ...
of 81 beats per minute. It follows a chord progression of B–B/A–Gm
7–E
(add 2).
Critical reception
Chuck Taylor of ''
Billboard
A billboard (also called a hoarding in the UK and many other parts of the world) is a large outdoor advertising structure (a billing board), typically found in high-traffic areas such as alongside busy roads. Billboards present large advertis ...
'' called the song a "melodic adult
pop
Pop or POP may refer to:
Arts, entertainment, and media
* Pop music, a musical genre
Artists
* POP, a Japanese idol group now known as Gang Parade
* Pop! (British group), a UK pop group
* Pop! featuring Angie Hart, an Australian band
Album ...
/
rocker" and a "knock-out, stand-out, break-out record that adult top 40 should take right home." Matt LeMay of ''
Pitchfork
A pitchfork or hay fork is an agricultural tool used to pitch loose material, such as hay, straw, manure, or leaves. It has a long handle and usually two to five thin tines designed to efficiently move such materials.
The term is also applie ...
'' said that with the "cookie-cutter rock/pop background" it could easily pass for
Michelle Branch
Michelle Jacquet Branch (born July 2, 1983) is an American singer, songwriter and guitarist. She won a Grammy Award for Best Pop Collaboration with Vocals with Santana for their 2002 single, " The Game of Love".
As a solo recording artist, Bran ...
."
Mary Huhn of the ''
New York Post
The ''New York Post'' (''NY Post'') is an American Conservatism in the United States, conservative
daily Tabloid (newspaper format), tabloid newspaper published in New York City. The ''Post'' also operates three online sites: NYPost. ...
'' called the song "a breathless romantic confection, and very un-Phair-like".
Mim Udovitch of ''
Slate
Slate is a fine-grained, foliated, homogeneous, metamorphic rock derived from an original shale-type sedimentary rock composed of clay or volcanic ash through low-grade, regional metamorphism. It is the finest-grained foliated metamorphic ro ...
'' called the song an "almost parodically basic power ballad" but stated that the chorus is "hooky".
Keith Phipps of ''
The A.V. Club
''The A.V. Club'' is an 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 created in ...
'' criticized the song, referring to it as "an embarrassingly awkward marriage of dumbed-down Phair songwriting and every tired production trick of the last year". Adrien Begrand of ''
PopMatters
''PopMatters'' is an international online magazine of cultural criticism that covers aspects of popular culture. ''PopMatters'' publishes reviews, interviews, and essays on cultural products and expressions in areas such as music, television, ...
'' compared the song to
Avril Lavigne
Avril Ramona Lavigne ( ; ; born September 27, 1984) is a Canadian singer and songwriter. She is a key musician in popularizing pop-punk music, as she paved the way for female-driven, punk-influenced pop music in the early 2000s. List of awa ...
, referring to it as "a note-for-note retread of Lavigne's "
Complicated".
Music video
The video was directed by
Phil Harder and was released in June 2003. It features a jukebox where an unknown man puts a coin in the jukebox where Liz Phair appears on every record cover on the jukebox indicating the song's lyrics.
Track listing
* CD single
# "Why Can't I?" – 3:28
# "Jeremy Engle" – 3:10
# "Fine Again" – 2:47
In popular culture
The song was featured in the films ''
How to Deal
''How to Deal'' is a 2003 American romance film, romantic comedy-drama film directed by Clare Kilner and starring Mandy Moore, Allison Janney, and Trent Ford. The film is based on Sarah Dessen's novels ''That Summer (Dessen novel), That Summer'' ...
'' (2003), ''
13 Going on 30'' (2004), and ''
Win a Date with Tad Hamilton!
''Win a Date with Tad Hamilton!'' is a 2004 American romantic comedy film directed by Robert Luketic, written by Victor Levin and starring Kate Bosworth, Topher Grace, Josh Duhamel, Gary Cole, Ginnifer Goodwin, Sean Hayes and Nathan Lane. T ...
'' (2004). On television, it was featured on ''
The O.C.
''The O.C. '' is an American teen drama television series created by Josh Schwartz that originally aired on Fox in the United States from August 5, 2003, to February 22, 2007, with a total of four seasons consisting of 92 episodes. The serie ...
''
season 1 episode "The Debut" (2003), the ''
Laguna Beach: The Real Orange County'' episode "18 Candles" (2004), the ''
Tru Calling
''Tru Calling'' is an American Supernatural fiction, supernatural Drama (film and television), drama television series which aired on Fox Broadcasting Company, Fox. Original episodes aired between October 30, 2003, and April 21, 2005; however, t ...
'' episode "Past Tense" (2003), the ''
October Road'' episode "Let's Get Owen" (2007), and the ''
Everwood
''Everwood'' is an American drama television series created by Greg Berlanti. Berlanti, Mickey Liddell, Rina Mimoun, Andrew A. Ackerman and Michael Green served as executive producers. The series aired on the WB from September 16, 2002, to Jun ...
'' episode "Just Like in the Movies" (2003).
Credits and personnel
Credits and personnel are adapted from the ''
Liz Phair
Elizabeth Clark Phair (born April 17, 1967) is an American rock singer-songwriter and musician. Born in New Haven, Connecticut, Phair was raised primarily in the Chicago area. After graduating from Oberlin College in 1990, she attempted to sta ...
'' album liner notes.
*
Liz Phair
Elizabeth Clark Phair (born April 17, 1967) is an American rock singer-songwriter and musician. Born in New Haven, Connecticut, Phair was raised primarily in the Chicago area. After graduating from Oberlin College in 1990, she attempted to sta ...
– writer, lead vocals
*
The Matrix
''The Matrix'' is a 1999 science fiction film, science fiction action film written and directed by the Wachowskis. It is the first installment in the The Matrix (franchise), ''Matrix'' film series, starring Keanu Reeves, Laurence Fishburne, Ca ...
– writer,
production
Production may refer to:
Economics and business
* Production (economics)
* Production, the act of manufacturing goods
* Production, in the outline of industrial organization, the act of making products (goods and services)
* Production as a stat ...
,
arrangement
In music, an arrangement is a musical adaptation of an existing composition. Differences from the original composition may include reharmonization, melodic paraphrasing, orchestration, or formal development. Arranging differs from orchestr ...
,
recording
A record, recording or records may refer to:
An item or collection of data Computing
* Record (computer science), a data structure
** Record, or row (database), a set of fields in a database related to one entity
** Boot sector or boot record, re ...
, additional vocals
* Krish Sharma – drum recording
*
Serban Ghenea
Serban Ghenea () is a Canadian audio engineer and mixer. He has been nominated for a Grammy Award a total of 45 times and has won 21 times.
Early life and education
Ghenea was born in Romania, and in 1976 he moved to Montreal with his family. H ...
–
mixing
*
Corky James – guitars
*
Victor Indrizzo – drums
* Wizardz of Oz – additional vocals
Charts
Weekly charts
Year-end charts
Certifications and sales
Release history
References
{{Authority control
Liz Phair songs
2003 singles
2003 songs
Capitol Records singles
Music videos directed by Phil Harder
Song recordings produced by the Matrix (production team)
Songs written by Graham Edwards (musician)
Songs written by Lauren Christy
Songs written by Liz Phair
Songs written by Scott Spock