Although Exile in Guyville was grudgingly celebrated as one of the year's top records by Spin and the New York Times, it was also some people's idea of an abomination- a mockery of the Rolling Stones' most revered record and a rare glimpse into the psyche of a shrewd, independent, strong young woman. For these crimes, Phair was quite literally run out of her home town of Chicago, enduring a flame war by writers who accused her of being boring, inauthentic and a poor musician.
With Exile in Guyville, Phair spoke for all the girls who loved indie rock but felt deeply unwelcome there. Like all great works of musical art, Exile was a harbinger of the shape of things to come- Phair may have undermined the male ago, but she also unleashed a new female one. For the sake of all the women artists who have benefited from her work - on behalf of Sleater Kinney, MIA and Miley Cyrus - it's high time we go back to Guyville.