Liz Phair was born and raised in the American Midwest. After feeling the cultural trappings of the languid geographical region, Phair decided to strike out with her boyfriend and move to San Francisco - where the two had aspirations of becoming professional artists. After this West Coast migration didn't prove as successful as the two imagined, they moved to Chicago, where Phair started penning original songs and selling charcoal drawings on the streets of the windy city. Soon she was picked up by the seminal indie label Matador and her debut LP Exile from Guyville helped her become a prominent fixture on the indie scene in the early 1990s. However, as Phair's career progressed, she focused on a more pop-friendly sound which some of her original fans consider overtly crass.