Song of the Day 5/5: Liz Phair, “Cinco de Mayo”
Cinco de Mayo, like St. Patrick’s Day, is observed more in the United States than in the country it honors, and for much the same reason: Beer.
The Mexican military victory over a French army has been celebrated in the U.S. since it happened, back in 1862, but it only broke into the wider culture in the ’80s, when beer and liquor companies started advertising it. Now Cinco de Mayo beer sales rival the Super Bowl’s. On the plus side, nobody dyes it green.
“Cinco de Mayo” appeared on Liz Phair’s second album, “Whip-Smart,” in 1994. Critics raved over her debut, “Exile in Guyville,” the year before, and generally like the follow-up while noting it didn’t break any new ground.
Phair’s original lo-fi sound fell out of favor, but when she got slicker production on later albums, critics were lukewarm to dismissive about the results. She got back in their good graces with her most recent LP, 2021’s “Soberish,” her first new music in more than a decade.
