The older I get, the more I realize that sass is less about attitude and more about survival and there is no artist that epitomizes that better than Liz Phair.

Liz’s first album “Exile from Guyville” was an ambitious song-for-song dialogue with the Rolling Stone’s “Exile on Main Street” where she dared to use the f-word and talk openly of sexual liberation when other angry girl rockers wouldn’t touch it with a ten foot pole.

Phair’s recording moved from protest to pop over the years and many of her die hard fans resented her fiercely independent song writing voice getting packaged by record label executives, but, can you blame her? Success feels good sometimes.

I just purchased her latest album, “Funstyle.” Released in 2010, I just couldn’t connect with it but I find that albums usually find you at the right time. And now is definitely the time.

“Funstyle” is the first record she has released from her new label and is about getting older and giving a big f-you to the establishment. With tracks like “Smoke” and “U Hate It” which borderline on musical theatre s to pop tunes like “My My,” Phair gives us an accurate depiction of the real life of a thoughtful adult, one that contains absurdity, banality, anger, and the fierce desire to find happiness in a world that seems to not give a shit about you at all.

You can buy “Funstyle” on iTunes and below are some tracks from the album along with some of my favorite tunes from her career.

Here is the entire “Funstyle” album on youtube:

“Somebody’s Miracle”

“Table for One”

“Extraordinary”

“Polyester Bride”

“Fuck and Run”

“Divorce Song”

“Supernova”

Not for the faint of heart, this is definitely an R rated song, “HWC”