Call it a return from exile (after four years creating songs and a son) and a return to exile (the glory of '93's Exile in Guyville). While Phair wraps her bawdy gender wars in ribbons of rec-room rock, the hiatus helped her cull the best 16 of 36 tracks: "That's what gave me the ability to put together a strong record," she says, "because I could choose." (Aug. 11)