Pitchfork

Yes, everything you've heard about Liz Phair's Exile in Guyville being one of the greatest albums of all time is true. The songs really do hit that hard. The lyrics really are that good. And the perspective of a smart woman navigating her way through the indie rock scene really is that necessary, even today.

Fifteen years after its Matador Records release in 1993, Exile in Guyville is getting the reissue celebration it deserves. On June 24, ATO Records will beef up the album with four bonus tracks from the original Guyville sessions as well as an accompanying DVD.

The bonus tracks: the solo cut "Ant in Alaska", a song inspired by the Troggs' "Wild Thing", the full band cut "Say You", and an untitled solo instrumental. "Ant in Alaska" and "Wild Thing" have both been previously attributed to Phair's notorious pre-Guyville "Girly Sound" demos.

The DVD: Guyville Redux, a documentary about the making of the album, with a focus on the indie scene in the Wicker Park neighborhood of Chicago, out of which Phair sprung in the early 90s. In the documentary, Phair herself interviews a series of luminaries connected to the scene, including radio/TV personality Ira Glass, actor John Cusack (whose role in High Fidelity pretty much epitomized the kind of guy Phair disses on Exile in Guyville), Steve Albini, Matador's Gerard Cosloy and Chris Lombardi, Guyville producer Brad Wood, members of Urge Overkill, and John Henderson of Chicago label Feel Good All Over.

And who do we have to thank for all of this Liz Phair goodness? Why, Dave Matthews, of course! Matthews is one of the co-founders of ATO Records, which in addition to putting out the reissue has signed Phair for a new studio album due in the fall. (Yes, she is no longer on Capitol Records.) AND Dave introduces the Guyville Redux DVD.

So between this, My Morning Jacket, and Radiohead, is it finally time to stop hating Dave Matthews?

Exile in Guyville reissue:

Original tracklist:

01 6'1"
02 Help Me Mary
03 Glory
04 Dance of the Seven Veils
05 Never Said
06 Soap Star Joe
07 Explain It to Me
08 Canary
09 Mesmerizing
10 Fuck and Run
11 Girls! Girls! Girls!
12 Divorce Song
13 Shatter
14 Flower
15 Johnny Sunshine
16 Gunshy
17 Stratford-on-Guy
18 Strange Loop

Bonus tracks:

19 Ant in Alaska
20 Wild Thing
21 Say You
22 [Untitled instrumental]