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"Never Said" is a song by American singer-songwriter Liz Phair from her debut studio album Exile in Guyville (1993). It was released as the lead single from the album in 1993 by Matador Records.

Writing and inspiration

"Never Said" was written collaboratively between Phair and Brad Wood. Phair intended to write a "big radio hit" for Exile in Guyville, stating that she believes the fifth song on an album's track listing is the most important song. The song was written as an answer song to The Rolling Stones's 1972 single "Tumbling Dice", with Phair commenting that she wanted to create a "female version" of the song. "Never Said" was originally written under the title "Clean" for Phair's GIRLSGIRLSGIRLS bootleg cassette. In an interview with Rolling Stone, Phair said that the concept of the song was developed through her observations of members from the alternative rock band Urge Overkill and how she can be just as "unaccountable". However, Phair has also stated that the song can more broadly relate to the music scene as a whole. She further explained the meaning of the song:

just kind of like about the music scene and how catty it was. People were always getting upset about something that someone had said about their band or whatever the latest gossip was. To me, I love the way that song is speaking in a rock shorthand. Like, “I ain’t done nothing wrong, I never said nothing.” There’s something insouciant and punk rock to just overtly speak in street language or street lingo or something. There’s just something that I always liked about that.

Composition

Phair has described the song's lyrics as "about the music scene and how catty it was. People were always getting upset about something that someone had said about their band or whatever the latest gossip was", and given every song on Exile in Guyville is supposed to be a response to The Rolling Stones album Exile on Main St., "Never Said" was a parallel to "Tumbling Dice" in that "I could be just as unaccountable" in not saying certain things, just like men are regarding going out with as many women as possible.

Airplay

"Never Said" received substantial play on college radio stations, and eventually went into rotation on mainstream alternative rock stations, including WTCX and WLOL.

Music video

The official music video for "Never Said" was shot at Chicago's Garfield Park Conservatory by Katy Maguire. The video includes footage of Phair pretending to drown in the water and strolling through a greenhouse, an animated photo strip in which Phair is shown making funny faces, and two boys giggling in a dark room.

Legacy

"Never Said" continues to be highly regarded by many critics. In a retrospective review of "Exile in Guyville," The New Yorker's Bill Wyman reflected that the song "contains one of Phair’s most enduring tricks, stirring in youthful, almost adolescent concerns to a very adult admixture, worked out over another set of enticing chord changes The song’s not about truth or lies, and not whether you believe the character but whether, in the end, you understand that, lying or telling the truth, she’d probably say the same thing." PopMatters' Joe Vallese reflected that "Phair was aiming not high, but pointedly, wishing to prove herself capable and courageous to select naysayers in the Chicago indie scene." MTV commented that Phair "comes across like your cool big sister who's home from college and showing off her newfound grown-up skills."

In 2007, the song was listed as the 89th greatest song of the 1990s by VH1.

Credits and personnel

Credits and personnel are adapted from the Exile in Guyville album liner notes.

• Liz Phair – writer, guitar, vocals
• Brad Wood – bass guitar, drums, producer
• Casey Rice – lead guitar

References

1. ^ Ganz, Caryn (May 21, 2010). "He Said, She Said: How Liz Phair Took the Rolling Stones to 'Guyville'". Rolling Stone. Retrieved December 12, 2020.
2. ^ Spanos, Brittany (May 4, 2018). "Liz Phair Breaks Down 'Exile in Guyville,' Track by Track". Rolling Stone. Retrieved December 12, 2020.
3. Liz Phair Breaks Down ‘Exile in Guyville,’ Track by Track
4. He Said, She Said: How Liz Phair Took the Rolling Stones to ‘Guyville’
5. Brennan, Carol; Gibner, Jason. "Phair, Liz (encyclopedia entry)". Encyclopedia.com. Retrieved 2 March 2017.
6. Borzillo, Carrie (5 March 1994). "Can Radio Handle 2 Modern Rock Webs?". Google Books. Billboard/Nielsen Business Media. Retrieved 2 March 2017.
7. ^ Vallese, Joe (28 May 2013). "Strange Loops Liz Phair – "Never Said"". PopMatters. Retrieved 2 March 2017.
8. Wyman, Bill. ""Exile in Guyville" at Twenty". The New Yorker. Conde Nast. Retrieved 2 March 2017.
9. Snyder, Julene. "Ushering in the Era of Estrogen". MTV. Viacom. Archived from the original on March 3, 2017. Retrieved 2 March 2017.
10. "100 Greatest Songs of the 90's (TV Movie 2007) - IMDb". IMDb. Amazon. Retrieved November 16, 2021.
11. "VH1's '100 Greatest Songs of the 90s' Grunges Up as Nirvana's 'Smells Like Teen Spirit' Takes the #1 Spot". PR Newswire. Cision. Archived from the original on March 24, 2014. Retrieved November 16, 2021.
12. Exile in Guyville (Inlay cover). Liz Phair. Matador. 1993. OLE 051-2.{{cite AV media notes}}: CS1 maint: others in cite AV media (notes) (link)

External links

• "Never Said" at AllMusic

• 1993 debut singles
• Liz Phair songs
• Matador Records singles
• Songs written by Liz Phair
• 1993 songs
• Song recordings produced by Brad Wood