Could all this "Liz Phair Sold Out" hubub really just be part of a marketing campaign?

although sadly the ratio of words written about this record to copies sold is probably going to wind up being something like 10000:1

Equally baffling to me is the Jewel make-over which is being spun as tongue in cheeck and wink-wink "ironic" although I think this was damage control and the sexy makeover was initiated as a serious marketing move by the label, which then tested badly, hence the attempt to Beck-ify it.

i don't even know anymore.

There's a reason the corporations are corporations, after all.

You should be set on fire for such blasphemy.

altho, "Stuart Saves His Family " was quite underrated...

Then you don't know much about marketing.

stolen from http://www.snpp.com/episodes/9F10.html

Quotes and scene summary

As the Flintstones theme blares, Homer's slumber at his safety console
is broken by the five o'clock whistle. With a Yabba-Dabba-Doo, Homer
leaps into his car (crashing through the window) and speeds off.

Simpson! Homer Simpson!
He's the greatest guy in history.
From the! Town of Springfield!
He's about to hit a chestnut tree!
-- Homer sings to himself, ``Marge vs. the Monorail''

And he's right. Crash!
At the plant, Lenny and Carl seal up another barrel of toxic waste.

TOXIC WASTE -- DO NOT EAT.
-- Warning labels save lives, ``Marge vs. the Monorail''

The two wonder where the waste gets taken. Carl figures it's buried in
an abandoned chalk mine. Lenny thinks it's sent to a Southern state
with a crooked governor. Once the two leave, Burns and Smithers cart
the barrel away.

Smithers: Well, sir, where should we dump batch [of nuclear waste]?
Playground?
Burns: No. All those bald children are arousing suspicion.
-- Monty's kids, ``Marge vs. the Monorail''

At the park, Burns tries to shove another barrel into a hollowed-out tree.
``The last tree held nine drums!'' He indicates another tree stuffed
with radioactive waste, glowing green, complete with purple tentacles
and really scary squirrels. Burns' nighttime undertaking is interrupted
by EPA agents.
In court (``Liberty and Justice for Most''), Burns is fined $3 million,
which he pays. On the spot. In cash.

Heh heh heh. Oh, Andy Capp. You wife-beating drunk. Heh heh heh.
-- Homer reads the funnies, ``Marge vs. the Monorail''

There will be a town meeting to decide how to spend the $3 million.
Lisa dreams of spending it on the public schools. Bart's dream
is also vaguely school-related. Marge thinks the money should be
spent on something the whole town should be proud of.
While everyone else is at Springfield Town Hall, Snake and his pals
rob their homes.

Quimby: We will now hear suggestions for the disbursement of the
two million dollars.
Lisa: Don't you mean million dollars?
Quimby: [looks around nervously, adjusts his tie] Of course.
million dollars.
-- ``Marge vs. the Monorail''

Maude suggests they hire firemen to put out the blaze on the east side of
town. (Homer nixes the idea.) Monty Burns (poorly disguised as Mr. Snrub)
suggest the money be invested back into the power plant. The idea is booed
soundly. With Smithers' help, he makes his escape.

Apu: I would like to see this money spent on more police officers.
I have been shot eight this year. As a result, I almost missed work.
Wiggum: [to himself] Cry-baby.
-- ``Marge vs. the Monorail''

While Marge presents her proposal to spend the money to fix up the
absurdly dilapidated Main Street, Mayor Quimby entertains himself
with pornographic playing cards. Abe tries to voice his objections,
but the crowd loves the idea and gives him credit for the idea.
Just as the vote is about to be taken, a fast-talking gentleman
introduces himself. Lyle Lanley plays the crowd like he's done it
a million times before.

We're twice as smart as the people of Shelbyville.
Just tell us your idea, and we'll vote for it!
-- Mayor Quimby, ``Marge vs. the Monorail''

He unveils a model of the Springfield Monorail, just like the ones
he sold to Ogdenville, North Haverbrook, and Brockway. Whence follows
a musical number.
[End of Act One. Time: 7:22]
Driving home, Bart and Homer chant ``Monorail'' as the car goes over
each pothole.

Marge: I still think we ought to spend the money to fix Main Street.
Homer: Well, you should've written a song like that guy.
-- Another song-and-dance, ``Marge vs. the Monorail''

Mr. Lanley takes his spiel to Lisa's class, where he answers questions
from the students. Lisa asks a hard-hitting question, and Lanley smartly
plays the man, not the ball, by complimenting Lisa on her astuteness,
and never actually answering the question.

You there, eating the paste.
-- Lyle Lanley calls on a student in Lisa's class, ``Marge vs. the Monorail''

Homer watches a television advert for ``Truckasaurus: The Movie'',
starring Marlon Brando as John Truckasaurus (celebrity voice impersonated).
Then follows an ad (using somebody who looks startlingly like Homer as
a demonstration) recruiting people to become monorail conductors.
Homer decides that being a monorail conductor was his life-long dream.
At the hastily-put-together Lanley Institute of Monorail Conducting...

Lanley: Before we begin, is anyone here an investigative reporter?
Man: I am. And she is.
-- Why they're still writing for the Springfield Shopper,
``Marge vs. the Monorail''

He asks them and their hidden camera to leave.
At home, Bart quizzes Homer from his study book.

True or false? You can get mono from riding the monorail.
-- A difficult question on the MCATs (Monorail Conductors Aptitude Test),
``Marge vs. the Monorail''

Homer gets the question right. Bart expresses his admiration.

Homer: Do you want to change your name to Homer, Junior?
The kids can call you Ho-Ju!
Bart: [appropriate pause] I'll get back to you.
-- Not to be confused with Ho-Ho's, ``Marge vs. the Monorail''

Barney guides a crane in placing the train on the track. He turns to
wave to Homer, which the crane operator interprets as the sign to drop
the train. The train falls, crushing a house. ``Aw, I hate that sound.''
In bed, Marge reads a book.

Marge: According to this book, the monorail goes over 150 miles an hour!
What if something goes wrong?
Homer: ``What if.'' What if I stepped in the shower and slipped on a bar
of soap? ... Oh, my God! I'd get killed!
-- ``Marge vs. the Monorail''

Homer goes into salacious mode, but Marge isn't interested.
At the Lanley Institute, the lesson concludes.

MONO = ONE
RAIL = RAIL
-- Lesson at the Lanley Institute of Monorail Conducting,
``Marge vs. the Monorail''

Otto asks who gets to be conductor. Lanley consults his notebook
(in which he has drawn a picture of himself driving to Tahiti with
a pickup full of cash) and arbitrarily selects Homer as the monorail
conductor.
While Homer shows off the steering compartment of the monorail, Marge
finds an opossum family in the fire extinguisher compartment. (No
fire extinguisher is to be seen.)
Marge goes to visit Mr. Lanley's office and, finding no one inside,
lets herself in. There, she finds Lanley's notebook. She is startled
by the appearance of Mr. Lanley. ``How much did you see?'' ``Um,
nothing incriminating.'' Lanley's demeanor brightens. ``Good!''
Marge quickly excuses herself.
She drives to North Haverbrook, ``Where the monorail is king!'',
claims the billboard. It is a run-down town, where the locals are
reluctant to discuss the monorail. She is startled by Sebastian
Cobb, whom Lanley hired to build the monorail. He shows her what's
left of it. When asked what can be done, he answers, ``You just better
have a damn good conductor.''
Homer has locked the keys to the train inside. A bent coat-hanger
doesn't seem to help, so Homer tells Bart, ``Get a rock.''
[End of Act Two. Time: 13:27]
At the grand opening of the Springfield Central Monorail Station,
Kent Brockman reports on the myriad celebrities on-hand for the
occasion, including a tattered Lurleen Lumpkin, fresh from her
(so to speak) stay at the Betty Ford Clinic.

Quimby: And now, I'd like to turn things over to our Grand Marshall,
Mr. Leonard Nimoy.
Nimoy: I'd say this vessel could do at least Warp Five.
[appreciative laughter from the crowd]
Quimby: And let me say, ``May the Force Be With You!''
Nimoy: [annoyed] Do you even know who I am?
Quimby: [indignant] I think I do. Weren't you one of the Little Rascals?
-- ``Marge vs. the Monorail''

Lisa spots Lanley lugging suitcases of cash into a taxi. She asks him
if he's going to ride the monorail, but he seems to be in a bit of a hurry
to leave.
Homer (dressed in a bizarre uniform) fires up the engines and disengages
the brake. Inside the engine, we see a gear slip off its axle, a
belt snap, sparks fly, and a Seld-M-Break rubber hose stretched to the limit.
Marge and Mr. Cobb arrive...

Marge: We're too late!
Cobb: I have stopped for that haircut. Sorry.
-- Cut, too, the quick, ``Marge vs. the Monorail''

In the luxury car of the monorail (complete with painting of the Hindenburg
disaster), Leonard Nimoy tells Star Trek anecdotes to an obviously
uninterested gentleman. At Homer's suggestion, Bart sticks his head out
the window. (Bart pulls it back in just in time.)
The Seld-M-Break hose finally snaps, and the train accelerates out of
control. The ``Springfield Monorail'' sticker peels off, revealing
a ``1964 World's Fair'' sign. The brake lever fails to work. Quimby
wants to take charge of the situation, but Wiggum refuses to let him.

Quimby: Watch it, you walking tub of donut batter!
Wiggum: Hey, I got pictures of you, Quimby.
Quimby: You don't scare me. That could be ass!
-- ``Marge vs. the Monorail''

To resolve the constitutional crisis, the two go to town hall.
According to the town charter, as town constable, Wiggum gets a pig
every month, as well, as ``two comely lasses of virtue true''. Quimby
takes a closer look, ``Hey, how many broads do get?'' The two
fight over the charter as the monorail zips past.
One technician suggests cutting the power, but alas, the monorail
is solar-powered. (``Solar power. When will people learn?'')
But miracle of miracles, Springfield suffers a solar eclipse!
The train grinds to a halt, and all celebrate. The eclipse
ends, and the train speeds off again.
Lyle Lanley's nonstop flight to Tahiti is interrupted by a brief stop
in North Haverbrook. Once the plane touches down, the townsfolk
storm the plane and repay Lanley for his work.

Homer: Are we gonna die, son?
Bart: Yeah, but at least we're going to take a lot of innocent people.
-- "Marge vs. the Monorail"

Marge calls Homer on the radio. Mr. Cobb tells Homer to find an anchor
of some sort. Homer looks at Bart and envisions him as an anchor.
"Think harder, Homer." Homer takes a lariat from a passenger, ties it
to the metal `M' from the monorail sign and heaves it overboard. Bart
reminds him that he should tie the loose end of the rope to the train.
The `M' anchor rips into the ground, destroying everything in its
path. It chops down Springfield's Tallest Tree, sending it crashing
onto Jebediah Springfield's Birthplace. Dr. Hibbert explains to
Siamese twins that an operation to separate them is a long and
costly procedure. The anchor rope rips through them, separating
them cleanly. The makeshift anchor passes in front of ``Ye Olde
Anchor Shoppe'', owned by Captain McAlister. (``You call that an
anchor?'') It eventually hooks onto a giant donut atop a donut shop
and brings the train to a stop.

Donuts. Is there anything they do?
-- Homer, ``Marge vs. the Monorail''

The passengers exit on the emergency inflatable slides (in the event
of a water landing...), and Leonard Nimoy notes, ``My work is done
here.'' He beams out.
As the camera pulls away from the scene, Marge's voice narrates:
``And that was the only folly the people of Springfield ever embarked
upon. Except for the popsicle stick skyscraper. And the 50-foot
magnifying glass. And that escalator to nowhere.''
The magnifying glass focuses the sun's rays on the skyscraper, igniting
a fire. Meanwhile, people rise to the top of a huge escalator, only
to fall off when it reaches the top.
[End of Act Three. Time: 20:42]

A story in Wednesday's paper about Liz Phair incorrectly picture Sheryl Crow, instead of Phair.