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SUPPORT ME ON PATREON\n\nWATCH MUSIC is not a GENRE VIDEOS and MORE\n\nWe need to get sick. We need to be tired of the same stories again & again. History is NOW, and enough is enough. Too many artists \u2013 too many people \u2013 have been taken advantage of by those in power, pushed around & forced to either comply or risk major rejection. So many of us have been manipulated, exploited, stepped on, shunted aside \u2013 all for money & power.\n\nThat includes us fans, who are force fed opinions WAY MORE than we realize. Take this week\u2019s shining example, Liz Phair. She came roaring out of Chicago with an album that\u2019s now one of the top 500 greatest of all time. Then she faded. NOPE NOPE NOPE. That\u2019s the narrative we\u2019ve been fed by critics and the industry every step of the way. Thing is, IT\u2019S TOTALLY FALSE.\n\nI just listened to her entire catalog, and I\u2019ve come away with one overriding impression. She\u2019s always been herself, always done what she wanted, and always kicked ass at it. Whoever you think she is, she\u2019s not that. Or that\u2019s just a small part of her. Her output is kind of like Bowie\u2019s. Every album does something different. You have the deceptively raw & off the cuff sounding debut, Exile in Guyville. Whip-Smart proved she didn\u2019t just burn out all her creativity the first time around, and was here to stay. It added just enough tightness & difference to indicate she had more places to go. Whitechocolatespaceeggis an absolute songwriting & performing tour de force. She is the titan of making intimate, quirky lyrics & catchy pop melodies go together like they\u2019re meant to be. And don\u2019t overlook her guitar playing. This is my personal favorite.\n\nHer eponymous album was PANNED when it came out, because she dared to be power pop. Ridiculous. We\u2019re all so easily duped by production values, critics & fans alike. We think a loosey-goosey tossed off sound indicates more authenticity, and a polished put-together sound is shallower. They\u2019re both affects and it\u2019s all total bullshit. It shows how few critics ACTUALLY LISTEN beyond first impressions. It\u2019s why SO MANY ALBUMS that were first panned end up getting \u201creconsidered\u201d years later.\n\nSomebody\u2019s Miracle \u2013 it\u2019s Taylor Swift before Taylor Swift even got started. She takes the stereotypical \u201csinger-songwriter\u201d production mode and spins lyrics, intricacies, & vulnerabilities that would come to define pop songwriting. Funstyle \u2013 experimental and going wherever she wanted to. Weird & not afraid to say fuck-you to both genre constrictions and the industry. I suggest listening to this first. If you end up liking or loving it, all the other albums will fall right into place.\n\nThe point is, regardless of what story we\u2019ve been told or impressions we get before digging deeper, she\u2019s always been herself. Which is exactly what we should want every artist \u2013 and every person \u2013 to be. Every single thing she\u2019s done stands the test of time, because it\u2019s always honest & real. Dig in and give her all the listening & credit she deserves. And get ready for her long awaited new album to pop very soon.\n\nMy entire last project, REC\u2019s The Weird Objective, was dedicated to that same kind of genre fuck-you. It goes everywhere I wanted it to. And because it\u2019s 32 TRACKS, it\u2019s also kind of a fuck-you to the industry. Judge for yourself:\n\nREC \u2013 The Weird Objective - https://www.nickdematteo.com/rectheweirdobjective\n\nDo you remember Liz Phair? If you do, do you remember her as just a sexually explicit rabble rouser? Or do you know her hits more? Are there other artists you think deserve more credit for persevering despite misperceptions & mistreatment? Discuss dammit!\n\n\n--- \n\nThis episode is sponsored by \n\xb7 Anchor: The easiest way to make a podcast. https://anchor.fm/app\n\nSupport this podcast: https://anchor.fm/musicisnotagenre/support\nLearn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices