"Never Said" by Liz Phair

Birthday wishes go out today to Liz Phair, whose 1993 debut album* Exile in Guyville gave the double-Y chromosome sound of grunge an X or two to contend with - 18 songs' worth in fact - and none too soon...

Universally hailed by critics as one of that year's best, Exile in Guyville boasted sales of 200,000 that year (and some 450,000 to date) despite little radio play and no evident singles. Rather, the album plays best as a cohesive whole, taking the listener on a journey not unlike its cultural predecessor, the Rolling Stones' classic 1972 album Exile on Main Street.

*Previously Phair had released such offerings as 1991's Girly Sound on cassette only, in the tried-and-true lo-fi format best known to artists just starting out.
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