WXPN is the best radio station in Philadelphia, and because the bar is set so low, it isn't even close.
(I'm not going to waste your time talking shit on those other radio stations, even though I'm drunk and I am pretty tempted to do so. I'm not even going to talk shit about XPN, even though there are a lot of lame music blocks throughout the day, and some shit-talking would be totally warranted. No. I'm going to speak only positively about this radio station in the paragraph(s?) below.)
What sets XPN apart from its shitty peers is the sheer scope of its musical library. 99% of the time I listen to music, it's coming out of my homegrown iPod classic, with 11K songs that I like. XPN is the only station to come close to matching the variety that music-listening should entail. They made their point by playing their entire library A-Z, 24/7, and taking like three weeks to do it. WMGK could probably do it in like fifteen hours.
Another thing that sets them apart is their commitment to the music community. Sure, Radio 104.5 is gonna blow their load when, like, blink-182 comes through town or something. But WXPN comes off as more caring, more local, more excited about legitimately good music. For the most part, when I go to a concert, simply because of the type of music I love and want to see live, I'll see an XPN banner hanging at the venue.
They care about their community. They care about the 28-year-old who steals all his music just as much as they love his dad who listens to XPN exclusively while delivering mail (unless it's pledge week, in which case he listens to the illegally download music his son put on his iPod). They care about the listeners and the artists. Even if the artist is some obnoxious asshole.
So I guess what I'm trying to get to, my point, after a few Hamm's Special Lights, sorry, my point is that XPN cares, and one of the ways they show they care is by having a weekly "Free at Noon" concert, most Fridays. The description is accurate. It starts precisely at noon. And it is free.
When I say XPN plays the best music in Philly, I mean that probably, ehhhh, 40 percent of their musical choices are fucking great. The rest are pretty terrible. (Radio 104.5 and WMGK are probably 20%, WMMR is 10%, Q102 is 5%)
But so there aren't that many Free at Noon concerts I'd legitimately desire to see, even though it's free, and even though I have Fridays off from work.
I can assure you that Waxahatchee is 100% an artist that I'd desire to see. Maybe even need to.
And guys, the band (all women) fucking ripped today. It helps that the new album, Out in the Storm, is one of the best of the year, and poignant and hard-hitting break-up album for the ages. But seeing the whole band live, rocking out so hard, it really lifted the album up yet another notch. The band flew through probably eight out of the ten songs on the album in a half hour, and those 30 minutes felt like two. FUCK, Katie Crutchfield is so goddamn good. Even that aforementioned hypothetical mailman dad was rocking out while listening LIVE and delivering mail.
Like I said, most of the time I'm plugged into my iPod (honestly, my most prized possession after, I dunno, my wedding ring maybe?), but regardless, I'm so fucking glad Philly has XPN. It really is a music community.
Love,
Joey
Postscript: I've done 50 new things this summer so far, and I've had a lot of good memories already. But my summer wouldn't be SHIT without great music in my ears. Here are the songs (from 2017) that are fueling my summer so far.
Wahatchee's "Silver" duh
Great Grandpa's "Fade"
Haim's "Want You Back"
Broken Social Scene's "Protest Song"
Single Mothers' "High Speed"
Paramore's "Hard Times" yes this Paramore album is the tits, don't let anyone tell you otherwise
Dan Auberbach's "Malibu Man" et al., seriously, I fucking hate the Black Keys, but this solo album is THE album of the summer
Bleachers' "I Miss Those Days" because any song that talks about missing the good ol' days will most likely be a good song in my books, yes even that Sheeran song, fuck.
(Sandy) Alex G's "Bobby" the best song of the year so far without drums, maybe the best song, full stop... alright I guess we're doing blurbs for these songs now, I didn't originally plan on doing that... I'll probably steal most of this for my Year in Review for music, since no one is reading this blog anyway...
Charly Bliss' "Glitter" Pam says this sounds like cartoon music, she can't appreciate higher-pitched female voices, this shit is dope
Kendrick Lamar's "DNA." I haven’t felt this loopy about a rap verse since Kendrick’s "Drank" verse as his conscience, but yoooooo, the coda to this song is bonkers
White Reaper's "Judy French" KISS LIVES
Alright, that's enough, I'm tired and drunk, goodnight.
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