LIZ PHAIR

I'm competitive, so I don't like to feel marginalized by the people who sell a lot of records.

So how does Liz Phair feel about Lana Del Rey? Well, as a recording artist, I've been hated, I've been ridiculed, and conversely, hailed as the second coming. All that matters in the end is that I've been heard.

I love stretching myself musically.

I remember even getting kicked out of a bar once because I was too loud and obnoxious.

I wear clothes that most people in the Midwest would probably deem inappropriate at my age. And I rock a bikini all summer long. I know that it's not normal, but I just don't care. I live once.

I just don't fit into the box.

People hang their hopes on you fitting into their CD collection in way that they have made a space for, but I'm playing a longer game than that.

The other day I was reading a blog and I linked over to Streisand's Web site, and it was amazing politically. She's so insightful and incisive. And she also says whatever she wants.

I knew that collaborating on songwriting would be difficult for a lot of people, because I was known very much, for my independence and the fact that I wrote these quirky songs that were not typical structure, not typical sound - you know, really original stuff.

I don't know why it surprises people that I surprise them.

I'm just out of touch with new music in general, and I only know about it if I'm hanging out with someone that knows about it, or I catch it on YouTube.

My nails are a disaster. If I play guitar when my nails are long, I just tear them off.

I'm known for being annoyingly gender-focused. It's always been my platform.

I love scoring. Putting music to picture is a rewarding challenge and one that relies on interpretation of emotion - as in, what is the pivotal feeling in a scene and which character's point of view is driving it at any given moment?

I am just like you and everyone else. I am trying to live my life as best I can.

My identity has everything to do with me and my instrument. It doesn't have to do with what production style I use, or how many people played on it, whether it's sparse or grandiose or whatever. And I'm social, frankly.

When you love what you do, you're happy just doing it!

I think good art happens on that edge between comfortable and in a lot of pain, you know what I mean?

Am I coasting on some early success? Yeah. It was a good lucky break for me. But I would rather earn my way back again than simply conform to what people are expecting.

Like, I kind of developed my musical style in a vacuum. Even though I listen to a lot of stuff, the way I wrote was in my bedroom, really privately. It's still the way I write, actually.

Picture being forced to talk endlessly about your feelings and listen and care when what you needed was just to get something done.

The big news already broke. The file-sharing and all that stuff, it's a done deal. And I think figuring out how to make that a fair exchange for the people that make music is still an issue.

You're really creative when you're in an environment that you don't know how to handle. So collaborating was like that for me. I think that was one of the reasons why I knew I was gonna get a challenging reaction.

All parents gush about what it's like to be a parent. I love it.

My career has been riddled with controversy, which I never fully understand.