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Exile is a state of mind. Not just a physical space. The original 1972 Rolling Stone’s release “Exile on Main Street” was born in Keith Richard’s French mansion because the band was forced to flee their home country of England due to the amount of tax evasion the British government expected the band to pay. Liz Phair came along in 1993 and gave her feminist song-by-song response to the Stone’s musical milestone. This was the first record of the two that I came in contact with shortly after it’s early 90s release. I totally empathized with the feeling of alienation within a particular communityor scene, Just as Liz described the typical Guyville (Wicker Park area of Chicago) male rockers all wearing jeans/flannel and dominating the local music scene, Circuitville (Tampa Bay area of Florida) is infested with superficial gym rats and twink boys branding themselves with clothing labels and losing themselves in debaucherous circuit parties. But rather than playing the victim of circumstance, Liz and I decided to write our ways out of our physical surroundings. We escaped exile. Just like the Stones. Liz’s response to Main St is song by song. When I originally conceived building upon the ‘Exile’ concept, I felt it necessary to make my record a song-by-song response to both records as well. Then I realized something. I’m not Liz Phair. I’m also not the Rolling Stones. Although the songs on this record are fewer than 18, the obvious reason for this is because all of them are intense, somewhat lengthy and involved to listen to. I want to give you just enough to make you feel like revisiting it later. In any case, you will make that assessment in the very first listen. Exile could be a state of mind that you can identify with and revisit a great deal. Thanks for listening. |