Secretly Timid: The Girlysound Recordings

Secretly Timid was one of a few bootleg releases that saw fairly wide distribution throughout the US in the mid to late 90s. It was generally found in large, local record stores or occasionally at flea markets and the like.

This particular release featured 20 of the original songs Liz recorded for the Girly-Sound cassettes. While not the complete Girly-Sound collection, it was the only release available that featured this many of the original songs on CD, even if they were transferred from rather poor cassettes. However, for thirsty Liz fans, it was the best there was at the time.

Like most of the bootleg releases of the 90s, Secretly Timid looked like a legitimate release, as it featured full-color front and back cover art, and the disc was screen printed professionally. However, the lack of a UPC code and any reference to Matador was a tell-tale sign of it being an unofficial release.

Prior to the Girly-Sound to Guyville box set being released in 2018, the titles of many songs from the Girly-Sound recordings have varied from release to release—even from Liz herself. For example, “Speed Racer” is officially titled “Suckerfish.” What is listed below is how they appeared for this release.

Released: 1995
Label: Empire Records
Format: CD
Country: USA
Availability: Rare

The inside cover has a picture of Liz with Lou Barlow with the following:

According to legend, Liz recorded the Girlysound material in her bedroom at her parents’ suburban Chicago home following her return from a stint in San Francisco. The first cassettes were reportedly recorded and released on a dare though some material was written during her undergrad days at Oberlin. All tracks originally released on Girlysound cassettes.