Liz Phair is the fourth studio album by the American singer-songwriter Liz Phair, released on June 24, 2003, on Capitol Records. It was produced by Phair with Michael Penn, Pete Yorn, R. Walt Vincent and the Matrix songwriting team. Liz Phair departed from Phair's earlier lo-fi sound for more polished pop production and songwriting. Phair said she wanted to earn more money from her work, and hired the Matrix, who had produced songs by pop acts including Britney Spears, the Backstreet Boys, Ricky Martin and Avril Lavigne. The Matrix co-wrote four songs, including the singles "Extraordinary" and "Why Can't I?". Liz Phair debuted at #27 on the Billboard 200. "Why Can't I?" entered the Adult Top 40 and Hot Adult Contemporary charts, and its music video placed Phair in heavy rotation on VH1 for the first time. The album received mixed reviews, including negative reviews from the New York Times and Pitchfork, who both accused Phair of selling out and mimicking younger artists. In 2019, the Pitchfork critic Matt LeMay apologized for his review, saying he had failed to appreciate Phair's willingness to try different approaches. By July 2010, Liz Phair had sold 433,000 copies. It was certified gold in the United States in 2018. Background Phair released her debut album, Exile in Guyville, in 1993. With a raw, lo-fi sound and "punk-feminist" lyrics, it was acclaimed by critics and was eventually certified gold. Her subsequent albums Whip-Smart (1994) and Whitechocolatespaceegg (1998) were less successful. In 1999, the major record label Capitol acquired Matador, the independent label that had released Phair's albums. Phair said the acquisition complicated her work, as it gave her "12 more people I had to talk to on top of the people I was already talking to, who had different aims themselves". The Matador staff she had worked with left, leaving her under pressure at Capitol. Phair described seeing manufactured bands achieve success while she had no "indie-cool group" to advise her. According to Phair, the CEO of Capitol, Andy Slater, told her: "I'm giving you a shot and if you don't take the shot, there's nothing much I can do for you." For her fourth album, Phair - by this point in her 30s - wanted to "feel more like an entrepreneur, not just a dumb artist", and be better rewarded for her work. She said: "I think with many artists there is a gambling