THESE DAYS, WHEN LIZ Phair isn't tending to her 5-month-old baby, Nicholas, or mixing vocal tracks for her new album, she likes to relax in front of the television, watching the Weather Channel. "I'm so busy now that I can't really watch regular TV," she says in a rare spare moment. "I like the Weather Channel because it feeds you small bits of cool information rapidly. I'm a huge storm fan. There's some amazing tornado footage they've been showing from Texas recently."

It's understandable that Phair is drawn to tornadoes. The last two and a half years have been a whirlwind for the queen of indie rock: She got married, bought a home in Chicago, became a mom and recorded her upcoming country-tinged album, Whitechocolatespaceegg, with producer Scott Litt. (The album is tentatively due out in the fall.)

Not surprisingly, motherhood has changed Phair's life. But she says that becoming a parent actually made it easier to write and record: "I've become more daring. I'm tired all the time that I don't give a fuck; I'll try whatever. I used to cringe any time I heard my voice. Now I just sit back and laugh, and enjoy it."

Still, making music is hard work. Phair likes to blow off steam by swimming at her old high school pool. "I pretend I'm in celebrity swim-offs, and I'm passing Courtney Love and Veruca Salt, and winning the gold medal. It makes me speed up and finish faster. Everyone in the pool just thinks I'm really competitive."