Rock Me by Liz Phair

Shock horror: the queen of indie-rock meets the titans of teen pop! Liz Phair became an underground sensation with the 1993 album Exile in Guyville, widely considered a masterpiece of low-fi, confessional pop with a decidedly adult slant.

After a few years of cult-hero status, Phair decided it was time to make a full-fledged hit record and enlisted some unlikely collaborators: The Matrix, the production team best-known for making teen-friendly hits with Britney Spears and Avril Lavigne. “Rock Me” was one of the results, a fizzy and poppy track that sounded like nothing Phair had done before - but what could be more appropriate for a song about robbing the proverbial cradle and wanting to play Xbox on the guy’s floor?

Not all of Phair’s fans got the joke, but she explained things nicely when she told a reporter, “It’s a pop record, dammit!” As it turned out, the Matrix did give her a hit single, but “Rock Me” wasn’t it: “Why Can’t I” was the song that wound up hitting the charts.

Phair said that she was convinced to work with the Matrix when she learned that one of its members, Lauren Christy, was also in her 30s and a mom.

Beware the false endings! Just when you think the song is over you’ll get more Overdrive. So until you stop getting Overdrive at what feels like the end, keep playing!

Working on her next record. On her most recent national tour, Phair returned to her roots and played the Exile in Guyville album all the way through.