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Funstyle
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Funstyle Image
Metascore
51

Mixed or average reviews - based on 10 Critic Reviews What's this?

User Score
6.2

Generally favorable reviews- based on 17 Ratings

  • Summary: Liz Phair left Capitol Records in 2008. She released her latest batch of songs on the Internet in July 2010. The CD release includes the Girlysound Tapes, which are some of her earliest cassettes recordings.
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  • Record Label: Rocket Science
  • Genre(s): Pop/Rock, Adult Alternative Pop/Rock, Alternative/Indie Rock, Alternative Pop/Rock, Alternative Singer/Songwriter
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Top Track

U Hate It
Oh no, yeah "Hey, so I got the new Liz track... Have you heard it? Did you like it?" "No, I hate it" "You hated it?" "I hate it" "Yah, you hated it,... See the rest of the song lyrics
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Critic Reviews

Score distribution:
  1. Positive: 4 out of 10
  2. Mixed: 4 out of 10
  3. Negative: 2 out of 10
  1. PopMatters
    70
    Although the four infamous tracks might be regarded as novelties in the Liz Phair repertoire, the entire album plays as a fascinating experimental work of an artist trying to dodge your negative abuses by coming at it from unexpected angles.
  2. Los Angeles Times
    70
    These tough-to-decipher tracks don't feel like mistakes; they're attempts at something new, and any one could lead Phair somewhere interesting. Scattered among them are songs in which she sticks to what she does best, and they'll satisfy any fan who puts down her preconceptions and takes the time to find them.
  3. AllMusic
    70
    Not everything here works, not by a long shot, but the overall impression is that Liz Phair has finally reconnected with the spirit of Girlysound--which, contrary to popular opinion, wasn't all serious--and is on her way to once again being a compelling artist unafraid to take risks.
  4. Slant Magazine
    50
    Phair has never taken herself even half as seriously as the straight, white, male rock press always has, which goes a long way in explaining why she's disappointed so many since she was branded a rock goddess in the early '90s. And Funstyle, though interesting, is unlikely to change that.
  5. Austin Chronicle
    Mar 17, 2011
    40
    Hunted by cryptomusicologists with a zeal once reserved for Zimmerman's Basement musings and the Pixies' purple phase, this addition is alluring.
  6. The New York Times
    40
    It's a jumble of snarky (and funny) music-business skits and raps, junky computerized samples, tuneful near-pop songs with awkwardly overstuffed production, thudding cliches and, in tantalizing fragments, glimmers of her unsettling insight into character flaws, including her own.
  7. Pitchfork
    26
    Maybe Funstyle will be liberating for her; maybe, as with Self Portrait, her deck-clearing exercise will let her shake off aspects of the way she's understood that she finds burdensome. At the very least, it's a shrewd way to lower expectations. After this, whatever she does next can only be a pleasant surprise.

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User Reviews

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Score distribution:
  1. Positive: 4 out of 8
  2. Mixed: 4 out of 8
  3. Negative: 0 out of 8
  1. girlysounds
    Oct 22, 2010
    9
    Ever since Phair released what many critics agree is her best album, 1993â
  2. 2phat
    Oct 20, 2010
    9
    I like this record very much, and I'm glad Liz Phair has once again put out an album that she has complete control over. It's been awhile! Ms.I like this record very much, and I'm glad Liz Phair has once again put out an album that she has complete control over. It's been awhile! Ms. Phair has always marched to her own drumbeat, even when critics called her a 'sellout'. She probably has no business being in the alligator pool of the music industry, because the critics and many listeners expect something of her that she has no interest in providing. Strange to say, maybe, but her best songs hang right up there with Dylan's, IMHO. And... all her records have examples of this quality.… Expand
  4. mjs53
    Oct 19, 2010
    8
    The album is a mess. An uneven collection of solid Liz Phair music. Haphazardly thrown together, the album contains uproarious humor andThe album is a mess. An uneven collection of solid Liz Phair music. Haphazardly thrown together, the album contains uproarious humor and satire, beautiful ballads, flat out rock, a little R and B with some funk thrown in, pop, and some sonic experiments. It's fresh, original, interesting, and a return to Phair's early, loose Girlysound days, hence the inclusion of 10 Girlysound tracks to, without doubt, draw comparisons too. Not a great album, but a damn good one!… Expand
  5. ScarTissue1990
    Mar 11, 2012
    6
    I like this album, but I dislike it at the same time. It is a definite mess. But, I have to say, It is very creative. It is a creative album,I like this album, but I dislike it at the same time. It is a definite mess. But, I have to say, It is very creative. It is a creative album, just not Liz at her best.… Expand
  6. colbyD13
    Jul 28, 2022
    6
    This record is not the sh*t show everyone makes it to be. The experimental and new directions tracks hit well, it is just the talking songsThis record is not the sh*t show everyone makes it to be. The experimental and new directions tracks hit well, it is just the talking songs that do this album bad. Standouts include Bollywood, You Should Know Me, Bang! Bang!, And He Slayed Her, and Satisfied.… Expand
  7. BKM
    Oct 25, 2010
    5
    I have to give Liz Phair credit for trying something different on this album, but that doesn't mean that it isn't a gigantic mess. StandardI have to give Liz Phair credit for trying something different on this album, but that doesn't mean that it isn't a gigantic mess. Standard pop rock songs are mixed in with odd mixes of hip-hop, dance, R & B, etc. that are intended to serve as a skewering of the music business as well as our current pop culture obsessions. The problems is that the pop songs are substandard and the mash ups are just dreadful. Even if she's doing it in an ironic fashion, Phair should never attempt to rap. I respect the artistic ambition, but the results leave a lot to be desired.… Collapse
  8. dirtycomputa
    May 15, 2018
    5
    better than the last two records she released but still **** but at last it's a good ****

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