Whip-Smart

Whip-Smart is the second studio album by American singer-songwriter Liz Phair, released in 1994, the follow-up to Phair's critically acclaimed debut, 1993's Exile in Guyville. Despite not being as critically well received as her previous record, Whip-Smart debuted at No. 27 on the Billboard 200 and ultimately achieved gold status. As of July 2010, it had sold 412,000 copies. At the time of its release Whip-Smart received generally favorable reviews from music critics, figuring inside end of year lists, including those by the Los Angeles Times and Q Magazine. The album was ranked sixth for its year inside The Village Voice Pazz and Jop Poll. Although obscured by its famous predecessor, the album has gained more recognition with time and is largely considered a key record to Phair's legacy as an artist, along with her other two Matador Records releases and the Girly-Sound tapes. In 2003, the German version of Rolling Stone magazine placed the record at 95 on its list of greatest records since Autumn of 1994. In 2014, Rolling Stone named Whip-Smart the 18th greatest album of its year – considered by the magazine the peak of mainstream alternative rock. Phair was featured on the cover of Rolling Stone on the week Whip-Smart was released, and by 1994 and 1995, she made a frequent number of television appearances, including the Late Show with David Letterman, The Tonight Show with Jay Leno and MTV's 120 Minutes. In 1995, "Supernova" was nominated for Best Female Rock Vocal Performance in the 37th Annual Grammy Awards.