Pitchfork: Liz Phair Preps Album and Tour

Steve Albini is never wrong. In 1993, he wrote in to the Chicago Reader and called bullshit on their Albums of the Year list, which included Chicago residents Liz Phair, Urge Overkill, and the Smashing Pumpkins. The letter enraged readers, with one even shooting back, "In 10 years, when some band you really love cites Liz, Urge, and/or the Pumpkins as major influences, you're gonna feel low, man. Really low. Just remember that."

Fast forward 10 years. Phair has remained the easiest of those three targets; three albums later, her promising debut Exile in Guyville seems to have been the anomaly in an otherwise lackluster discography. But shit, does Phair even care? She's currently more successful than she's ever been, with a Now That's What I Call Music-certified hit under her belt, and she's telling anyone who'll listen that that was always the point. If Albini feels bad about anything, it'll be that Phair is close to 40 and still looks pretty good in very little clothing, while he looks as Albini as ever.

As reported last month, Phair's fifth album Somebody's Miracle is set for release on October 4. While Phair has said the album will sound less slick than her 2003 self-titled record, it still remains to be seen whether it'll coax back any of her Exile-era fans. Tracklist:

01 Leap of Innocence
02 Wind in the Mountain
03 Stars and Planets
04 Somebody's Miracle
05 Got My Own Thing
06 Count on My Love
07 Lazy Dreamer
08 Everything to Me
09 Can't Get Out of What I'm Into
10 Table for One
11 Why I Lie
12 Lost Tonight
13 Everything (Between Us)
14 Giving It All to You

Phair has an extensive fall tour planned to support the new record. There isn't an official name for it; this writer recommends "THE MILF HUNTER 2005 TOUR".

08-18 San Francisco, CA - Cafe Du Nord
08-19 San Francisco, CA - Swedish American Hall
10-06 Ft. Lauderdale, FL - Revolution
10-07 Orlando, FL - House of Blues
10-08 Tampa, FL - Janus Landing
10-10 Atlanta, GA - Roxy Theatre
10-12 Washington, DC - 9:30 Club
10-14 Boston, MA - Avalon
10-16 Philadelphia, PA - TLA
10-17 New York, NY - Irving Plaza
10-18 New York, NY - Irving Plaza
10-22 Montreal, Quebec - Caf� Campus
10-23 Toronto, Ontario - Phoenix
10-25 Chicago, IL - Vic Theater
10-26 Milwaukee, WI - Pabst Theater
10-27 Minneapolis, MN - First Avenue
10-29 Denver, CO - Gothic Theater
10-31 Dallas, TX - Gypsy Ballroom
11-01 Austin, TX - La Zona Rosa
11-07 Los Angeles, CA - House of Blues
11-08 San Francisco, CA - Fillmore
11-11 Vancouver, British Columbia - Commodore Ballroom
11-12 Seattle, WA - Neumo's
11-13 Portland, OR - Crystal Ballroom
11-15 Anaheim, CA - House of Blues
11-16 San Diego, CA - House of Blues