Coudal flags an amazing picture of the city from 36,000 feet. On the subject of photography, the recent article by Phillip Gourevitch and Errol Morris on Sabrina Hartman, who took many of the infamous Abu Ghraib photos, is a must-read. On the subject of Liz Phair (see title), Chicagoist has an entertaining thread on whether or not she’s a good guitarist. If she is, much of the credit is owed to Brad Wood, whose murky, indie-Daniel-Lanois sound pushes her early work over the top; you may have noticed that This American Life has been using bits and pieces from Exile in Guyville as occasional music for years. To be contrarian I’d say she’s a better singer than guitarist–like a lot of smart singer-songwriters with limited voices, she pays a lot of attention to emphasis and timing and manages to be just as expressive, or more so, than people who can actually sing.
Then again I’m the only person in the world who thinks her best album is Whip-Smart (“Shane,” “Nashville,” the title track), so take it for what it’s worth.