November 9, 2026. 39.95461, -75.16623. See the updated map here. See all the blog posts here.
I think if you find yourself blaming handicapped people for an inconvenience you feel, then you should take a step back and consider what inconveniences they are feeling every day. And then take another step back and consider how stupid the layout of the Christmas Village is already, and wonder whether it's even worth it whether you can go into the stalls or not. And then take one final step back, into the street, and get run over by the car that the mayor's valet driver uses to get her to work every day on the city's dime will you're schlepping it on the goddamn train that's late again.
November 4, 2026. 40.0241, -75.07709. See the updated map here. See all the blog posts here.
Commuting is the fucking worst. Pam had jury duty and then got picked for a one-day trial, so she had two days of commuting from the NEast, and it fucking broke her. She's been in bed at 8 PM both nights with splitting headaches. Spent the whole El ride (which she only ended up on because traffic into the city was unreasonable) with her eyes closed. I confirmed that this is what it's like every day. I said that it gets easier the more you lean on the idea that our mayor will one day die unloved. And thank god it isn't raining!
November 1, 2026. 40.07508, -75.0661. See the updated map here. See all the blog posts here.
Anything I said in this column yesterday about not feeling "home" in this neighborhood or whatever, you can throw all of that out the fucking window when I step eighty feet to the right and end up in the woods. Maybe I forgot about this crucial aspect of the 'hood because it doesn't even feel like it's part of this world, let alone part of the subsection of the city in which I live. I'm jealous of my kids for growing up adjacent to this. Think of a childhood that runs through these paths, these bridges, this creek. They'll enjoy it (once they stop bitching and moaning about literally everything, including the woods, as we walk through it).
A column about music, and about how the music informs our lives. Today's author is Joe. See the previous songs HERE.
"Gonna Fly Now"
Bill Conti
from Rocky: Original Motion Picture Score
1976
I love XPN's annual countdowns. Some are better than others, but all of them are fun to think about and chat about and argue about. Like this one, whose submissions are due today—the Top 885 Songs from Movies and TV. An absolutely ridiculous countdown, bordering on nonsensical. E.g. what, you're gonna be comparing "Twist and Shout" from Ferris Bueller with the fucking theme song to The Munsters? So fucking stupid.
But I love it. There are so many options that you can easily come up with like seven different Top Tens if you wanted to. The mishmash of movies and TV really does a disservice to the formation of these lists. Who cares though! I don't. The mishmash of movies and TV and music does the worst disservice of all, because, like, am I supposed to be ranking the music itself, or its placement in the episode/film, or the episode/film itself? I don't give a fuck! There's no rhyme and reason! That's fun!
I'm not even going to be upset when the song that is today's official Song of the Day ends up at number one on their countdown, as cliché as the pick is. I'm not voting for it, but only because too many other people are voting for it. I instead like to use these lists as a way of getting some personal, niche picks in there, even though I know that such a list won't make a dent in the countdown. Unless I juke the stats, of course. (Ironically, that song that I crowbarred into the 2024 countdown has since taken on some cultural cache via the gay hockey drama, and has a legitimate shot at making this countdown without any tomfoolery from yours truly.)
I'm going to rank my choices below because I'm asked to rank them, but you should know that there's really not a way to compare any of this stuff. Too many factors. I'm going to give a tiny blurb, especially because such a countdown actually requires explanation, where other countdowns wouldn't. Like, if you were wondering why a song was on the Top 885 Songs of the 21st Century countdown, the answer is "it's a good song." But with the Top 885 Songs from Movies and TV, you have to explain what movie or TV episode it's from. That's a requirement. So I will abide by the rules and explain where explanation is needed.
HONORABLE MENTIONS / DISQUALIFIED:
"Running up That Hill (A Deal with God)" is a fantastic song, but it would only be eligible for this list because it became re-famous from a dogshit TV show, sincerely the worst television series of all time and it's not even close.
The theme song to The Office, which is culturally significant and instantly recognizable, and, even though I think The Office is massively overrated and not necessarily bad but probably the most cringeworthy show of all time (cringe in the way people like it, not the subject matter itself), I don't think TV show theme songs should be eligible (even though they are, and will be legion on this countdown)
The song that plays at the end of the Bluey episode "Pass the Parcel," mostly because I couldn't find what it was called or even if it's an actual full-sized song, and not because of any feelings I have about the show (the best kids' show of all time but the way other adults act like this is a legitimately great show in its own right recently has me backing away from any good will I have toward it, for better or worse, but I suppose that's a me problem, not a Bluey problem) or the episode (despite everything that I said in the last parenthetical, I still stand by the fact that "Pass the Parcel" is straight-up one of the best episodes of television in any genre).
"Out Tonight" from RENT, which is probably my favorite song from any musical at this point, and it's from a movie, but I don't think Broadway musicals should be considered, since "movie" is usually from an adaptation, so "movie" wasn't its original medium.
"Where Is My Mind?" by Pixies from Fight Club, and a thousand others, that are good songs but not great songs from good but not great movies, but which have somehow found their way onto any "best needle drops in movie history" list you could find on the internet, and which will, naturally, find their way to the top of this countdown as well.
Top Ten Favorite Songs from Movie and TV (Off the Top of My Head in This Moment in Time)
10. "Tomorrow Never Knows" by the Beatles
My best and most fully formed and most closely held opinion is that all TV sucks and that I hate watching TV. But that's not entirely true. There are six exceptions to this rule. There are six TV shows that transcend the base medium of filthy television and manage to become ART. Those shows: The Sopranos, Mad Men, Lodge 49, BoJack Horseman, The Leftovers, The Bear. Any show not listed on here SUCKS. If you're saying "what about Breaking Bad?!" right now then you should know I think you're a fucking philistine. Anyways, this song was good in Mad Men. I liked that the ad agency was like "we can't get an actual Beatles song for our commercial, it's just not possible!" and then Mad Men got an actual Beatles song for its episode-ending montage.
9. "On My Way" by Alex Lahey
Most of these songs are on here because of something they mean to me, as formulated by their placement in the visual media but more importantly their placement in my life. The Mitchells vs. the Machines was the first family comedy we got into as a family, and so hearing this song makes me think about my own family and how much I love them. Corny! Yeah!
8. "Genius of Love" by Tom Tom Club
I bet you the theme song from It's Always Sunny is gonna make the countdown. It'll deserve it too. But my vote goes for the song from the Season 12 finale, which feels like it encapsulates everything that makes this show one of the best of all time (but not art, see above).
7. "September" by Earth, Wind & Fire
I feel like I've written about this before somewhere on the blog, but I don't feel like looking for it now. "September" is the linchpin song of Robot Dreams, and is used so well in that perfect film that it singlehandedly pulled this song from the depths of "I can't fucking stand this shit anymore" and turned it into "this is one of the greatest songs of all time."
6. "I'm a Survivor" by Reba McEntire
Strip away the thousands of layers of irony, please, and consider this song for what it is: a great song. Grannies Gone Wild Day is in a couple weeks, so I don't need to rehash the GGW project right now. But I should say now that I'm bending the "no theme songs" rule, because my submission is the studio version of the song, that I am assuming that the show Reba uses at some point in the hundred-plus episodes of the series that I will never see.
5. "Can You Picture That?" by Dr. Teeth and the Electric Mayhem
"Favorite Song" wins out over "Best Song" every time on lists like this. "Rainbow Connection" is the better song, maybe the straight-up best movie song (i.e. "song made specifically for a movie") in history, if I'm being honest. But "Can You Picture That?" is my favorite. It's the only movie song that's ever made the transition from movie to iPod. As we all know, that is a serious indication of how much I love this song!!!!!!
4. "I've Got a Golden Ticket" by Charlie Bucket and Grandpa Joe
I sang this song for an audition one time. I was a very unserious thespian, and was mainly just doing it to talk to girls. That's my personal anecdote for this song, but the real story here is that the scene where Charlie finds the golden ticket is one of the best scenes in movie history. Just rewatched it a couple weeks with my kids (it was their first time, and they were only down because they had been watching a reality show competition that was themed like Willy Wonka... don't ask, because I didn't ask either...), and all four of us went fucking nuts when the golden ticket is revealed. Movie magic, baby. Deserves a song on this countdown to honor it.
3. "Like a Friend" by Pulp
The Venture Bros. would find itself at the top of a list of "Favorite TV shows that are just good stories, and aren't necessarily 'art' like the six shows I listed before." Great show, a fun show, a well-made show, a show cut down before its time was truly over (which is funny because it was on the air for 21 years). The end of Season 4 is soundtracked with this song, and perfectly encapsulates what makes this such a special show. But I can't tell you to watch it, because that would ruin what happens. And I can't tell you to start The Venture Bros. from the beginning and make your way up to that special moment, because I fucking hate TV and I would never recommend a TV show to you because I'm not a fucking loser.
2. "Slow Ride" by Foghat
I could probably make an entire Top Ten Songs from Movies and TV list from just my favorite movie alone, even if you drop the song sung by the sexual abuser. "Slow ride / take it easy" is the lyric that best gets to the heart of Dazed and Confused, though, so "Slow Ride" wins out over "Tuesday's Gone" et al. It's the best culmination of good song, good movie, good placement in the movie, and good placement in my life with this movie. Everything working together. If there is justice in this world, Dazed and Confused will rule XPN's countdown.
1. "Let the Mystery Be" by Iris DeMent
Yes, it was a theme song! It doesn't matter! Also, only the theme song for the second season! Also, wasn't made explicitly to be a theme song! Also, it works as not only a theme song for The Leftovers as a show but also as instructions on how to interpret art in general! It's not the answers you should seek, but the emotions you feel on the endless quest to understand! Also, it doesn't matter! None of this matters! The countdown is silly! We can have fun with it! The sometimes theme song to a great TV show is at the top of this list! I don't know! Who cares!!!!
As of this writing, you can make your submissions HERE.
October 28, 2026. 39.95775, -75.15923. See the updated map here. See all the blog posts here.
What a cliché! How many skyline pictures does one city need?!
Still... can't deny the beauty of it. Especially on such a clear and sunny day. Especially when you successfully play hooky on a large work meeting and spend it chatting with a friend, and then make the slow walk back to the office, and stop to take a picture, because it's all just so goddamn beautiful, this whole fucking city, and every life contained within it.
October 21, 2026. 39.95297, -75.16567. See the updated map here. See all the blog posts here.
Setting of the meeting: repurposed college classroom, one I've been in for way too many boring-ass work meetings and trainings before; I go right to the back, as far back as I can, straight to the corner, far enough away that I'm used for help to figure out whether the speaker needs a microphone (i.e. "can you hear me? joe, can you hear me?").
Kind of surreal, when you think about it—and I do, today, a lot, because this is boring shit and my mind has a way of wandering, latching onto big thoughts, to get through the petty small thoughts that assault me during meetings like this—that I'm sitting here, in the shadow of the ancient building that marks the center and heart of this city, one of the most famous cities in the world. Like, that someone in fucking Omaha or Hamburg or Istanbul can pick up a tourist pamphlet for Philadelphia, U.S.A., and they'll see a picture of this building, and here I am, living my humdrum fucking life right next to the same building. Almost impossible to rectify those two realities. But I tried, because the meeting was boring as fuuuuuuuuck.
(Substance of the meeting: repurposed as fiction, here on this blog, eventually—close readers will recognize it when it arrives, others will be confused and let it pass by and forget about it forever.)
October 17, 2026. 39.94924, -75.1489. See the updated map here. See all the blog posts here.
The idea of "map of free bathrooms in the city" is one that floats around everyone's skulls at least once in their lives (I think it made it onto an episode of Seinfeld too, didn't it?). But the idea will never actually be borne out. Free bathrooms are too fickle. The map itself would require community input that is way less easier to obtain once those community members have empty bladders. It's all supposed to just live in your head, anyway. The heads of people who often find themselves in the position of having to pee and not knowing where to go to do so. I decided to pee before driving home from book club and found myself going back into the hotel that was adjacent to (connected to?) the bar we were at, down the plush stairway into a labyrinth of hallways on the basement level, with a free bathroom, right there, available to anyone who wants to walk right in. I filed it away, mentally, but, like, what are the chances that I'll find myself in this area of the city with this full of a bladder ever again? Not impossible, but unlikely. And so the file is shredded and I continue on in a world where bathrooms are elusive and every public pee feels like a quest.
October 15, 2026. 39.95333, -75.1665. See the updated map here. See all the blog posts here.
Remember when there were big plans to fix up Suburban Station, make it some sort of social hangout hub, with bars and restaurants? I don't think I'm making this up. I'm pretty sure it was deeply in the works before COVID happened and pulled the guts out of basically any plan like this. Some plans made a comeback. Others, like the alleged Suburban Station plan, were permanently buried and forgotten about. I think about it every time I walk into any isolated, desolate space down here. Imagine what this huge fucking space could look like, instead of empty floor and a nuts shop. Imagine if people actually hung out down here, instead of walking quickly through it and escaping as soon as possible.
October 5, 2026. 40.07506, -75.08421. See the updated map here. See all the blog posts here.
How many board meetings did it take to move the trash can from the front of the building to the side? Was the subject header of the Outlook invite "new anti-homeless initiative" or something? Not saying that Wawa executives have a fiscal responsibility to treating the hoagie-eaters of this city with any respect, but I do think that we, as human beings, maybe have the moral responsibility to consider what it means to have people begging for change in front of the Wawa, and to maybe come up with a kinder solution then "let's take away the structure on top of which they keep their food while they beg." Like maybe there's a better solution to keeping our neighborhoods safe than paying a cop to play Candy Crush on his phone next to the deli counter. I don't know. It's easy to talk the talk like this. I just don't have many solutions that allow me to walk the walk satisfactorily. Walking the walk would be a group effort, large-scale and long-term investments in the well-being of our community by ensuring basic needs are met. Which isn't something we has a human race have figure out yet. Don't mind me, I'm just eating a shitty soft pretzel and minding my own business.
September 22, 2026. 39.95103, -75.15377. See the updated map here. See all the blog posts here.
I would say an important, maybe even a pivotal, moment of my life happened here, though "pivotal" is probably stretching it unless you're talking about finances specifically. Yes, indeed, yes, a pivotal financial moment happened, here in this space, at that SEPTA fare window yonder, approximately twelve and two-thirds years ago, when I coincidentally followed a coworker to the El after our shift at the radio station (not that kind of radio station, you know the one I'm talking about, ACAB and all that). She went first, and showed the teller her dispatchers ID, and the dead-eyed man behind the glass didn't look down as he pressed a button and a little "ding" from the turnstile indicated that she (god, what was her name, Amanda I think?) was good to go, good to go through, for free, one gratis ride on the El, in whichever direction she chose. This blew my fucking mind. You mean I didn't have to pay? I showed the dude my ID, and he let me on too, just like that.
From then on, for maybe the next five or six years and occasionally after that, it was a constant battle of trying to be discreet, trying to find the right teller with that same dead-eyed uncaring look, trying to cover the expiration date on a long-expired ID, paying only when I absolutely had to. How much money did I save, over those years? I have no way of knowing. Had to be in the thousands, I would guess. It required some morality scaling, sure, which probably meant I fit in more at that police station than I realized at the time. But I wasn't pushing the button, and I wasn't stealing. I was just asking for a free ride, and more often than not granted one. Good luck to us all as we do whatever we can to survive out there.
September 17, 2026. 39.95416, -75.16595. See the updated map here. See all the blog posts here.
This is me, experimenting.
To be very clear: I am experimenting with camera angles, and NOT with explosives. I am chilling with a friend in LOVE Park instead of Dilworth Park because Dilworth Park has been evacuated due to a bomb threat, which I have NOTHING to do with. "Wouldn't it be nice if we weren't under threat of bomb because we were working from home?" some city employees might be asking. But not me, I'm not asking that. I'm not threatened, nor threatening. I'm just trying out tilting the camera, like what if I tilted it enough so that the foregrounded table's edge was straight along the line on the 3x3 grid, even if that meant that City Hall was crooked in the background?
But that's all that's going on here. I am not in the bomb threat zone, and had nothing to do with creating that zone. And if you had questions for me about whether I had anything to do with a bomb threat at City Hall, then I think many or maybe even most of those questions can be answered with this "I did NOT call in a bomb threat" blog post, which I'm writing now, and which you are reading now. Thanks for reading, and for understanding that this is a photo blog post only, and that I'm just here in LOVE Park by coincidence, nothing more.
Welcome to Gloria's new blog column, posted around once a month, in which she offers some recommendations and insights into the music she's been listening to. This is Through My Ears.
What the summer has looked like for me musically. The album reviews are very short, but they are all worth checking out!
Just Dropped
(my favorite new releases)
Inferno by Boards of Canada
It's been thirteen years since Boards of Canada released a new album, and this was well worth the wait. It's a little weird and absolutely spellbinding.
Where the Echoes Bloom by Alia
I mean this as a compliment, but it sounds like the kind of music aliens would make if they were inspired by tiki bars and film scores from Earth from the 1950s-60s.
FATHERS by FATHERS (Nate Smith, Keifer, CARRTOONS, and Kenny Beats)
Such a groovy little jazz record, put out by an absolute supergroup of musicians.
Still Spinning
(old(er) albums on constant rotation)
Untitled (Black Is) by Sault
A really stunning album that blends spoken word, hip hop, Afrobeats, gospel, and funk, among other genres. This album came out in 2020, when a lot of the world was in protest against systemic racism; the lyrics reflect emotions that were present at that time, from resilience to rage.
Tuff Times Never Last by Kokoroko
This album is so intimate, immersive, and warm. It weaves together group harmonies and a rich blend of Afrobeat, soul, and funk into a deeply personal ode to their roots.
Pet Sounds by the Beach Boys
A quintessential summer album. If you haven't listened to the Beach Boys in a while, no matter how good you remember them being, they are better. Those harmonies are pure comfort.
Live and In-Person
(quick concert reviews)
Yebba
Date: June 1, 2026
Venue: Union Transfer
Opener: Astyn Turr
Really an incredible performance. Yebba's voice is so soulful and captivating, and the band and her backup singers were so tight. Some artists remind you that your voice truly is an instrument, and she is one of them.
Yebba
Wild Nothing
Date: June 15, 2026
Venue: Underground Arts
Opener: Deakin
This was a cool show! They performed their debut album Gemini in full as part of a "sixteenth anniversary" tour—an odd number until you learn the backstory. A planned tenth anniversary tour got derailed by COVID, then a fifteenth anniversary attempt got pushed back when Jack Tatum had a baby, so sixteenth anniversary it was, lol. Deakin of Animal Collective opened, rounding out a genuinely fun night of dream pop.
Wild Nothing
Derya Yıldırım & Grup Şimşek
Date: June 19, 2026
Venue: PhilaMOCA
I discovered Derya Yıldırım & Grup Şimşek last year, and was blown away by their blend of traditional Anatolian folk with modern psychedelic rock. This show lived up to my every expectation. The music was captivating, but hearing Yıldırım speak about her inspiration made it even more powerful, much of it rooted in the displacement of growing up in the Turkish diaspora in Germany. You could feel that pull to preserve tradition while living far from its source throughout the performance.
Derya Yıldırım & Grup Şimşek
Book release for Cosmic Music: The Life, Art and Transcendence of Alice Coltrane by Andy Beta
Date: July 23, 2026
Venue: Solar Myth
There are a lot of events celebrating John Coltrane this year in Philly for "Coltrane 100," as it would have been his 100th birthday in September. However, this event was solidly focused on Alice, his wife. This was mostly a book release, so the first part was a talk with the author, Andy Beta. His book focuses on how Alice Coltrane was a brilliant musician in her own right, a huge driving factor in how John Coltrane got his work done, and the archivist of his work. She apparently was also a guru who opened an ashram in California after moving out of their Strawberry Mansion home. I'm fuzzy on the details since I didn't read the book yet, but really what a varied life! The book talk ended with a performance from Surya Botofasina, a spiritual student at her ashram, who frequently collaborates with Carlos Niño. You could feel his connection with the divine throughout the performance. Seriously, it was breathtaking; even if you don't believe in god, you would have felt it.
Allah-Las
Date: July 24, 2026
Venue: Underground Arts
Opener: Rahill
Allah-Las brought exactly the vibe you'd hope for from a surf-pop, psych-rock band: laid-back but with a polished sound that never lost its cool. Watching the members trade instruments throughout the set made their chemistry the real highlight of the show. It all seemed so effortless and was the perfect soundtrack for a summer night.
Allah-Las
Jill Scott
Date: July 29, 2026
Venue: The Met
Opener: Arnetta Johnson
This was, hands down, my favorite concert of 2026. Every detail felt intentional, from the opener down to the smaller details like the sets and projections used in the performance. Scott moved effortlessly between new songs off To Whom This May Concern, older fan favorites, and storytelling that pulled the whole room in. Her love for Philly radiated through the performance. Fittingly, the performance ended with her being honored with a key to the city.
Newport Jazz Festival
Date: July 31-August 2, 2026
Artists seen:
Friday: Angine De Poitrine, Mohini Dey, Yebba, Chief Adjuah, Robert Glasper with Bilal and Ari Lennox, Vulfpeck
Saturday: Butcher Brown, Maya Delilah, John Scofield and Dave Holland, Nate Smith, Snarky Puppy, Gotts Street Park, Gary Clark Jr., Jonathan Batiste Trios, Sonny Miles on a Trane feat. Kamasi Washington and Chief Adjuah
Sunday: Nduduzo Makhathini, Marquis Hill, SML, Flea and the Honora Band, Thundercat, Herbie Hancock
My partner and I left for Newport Jazz Fest on Thursday evening with one single-day pass between us—my pass for Friday—but somehow we managed to get there every day. On the way up, he got off the waitlist for Friday, then I found two reasonably priced resale tickets for Saturday. By the end of Saturday, we still didn't have Sunday tickets. A local radio station was running day trips there and had a booth at the festival. I asked if they had any extra tickets and if it would be possible for us to get two. And they had extras and gave them to us! That alone was such a cool part of the experience. It's a really amazing weekend full of music; it's great for both seeing acts that you love and discovering new artists. Nate Smith was the musical director this year, so a lot of amazing drummers were featured. I legitimately can't pick a highlight of the weekend.
September 10, 2026. 40.00649, -75.16092. See the updated map here. See all the blog posts here.
One idea I had—or have, I guess, though I think by the end of this paragraph, I'll have convinced you that it's a bad idea that should be put to bed—was that my kids and I should make a list of every public playground in the city, and play on all of them. I think that would be fun, a good excuse to explore, a good way to get to know our city better, a cool way to get the kids to appreciate public works, etc. etc. But I'm also acknowledging that not many people's brains work this way. Ya know, the finding comfort in the idea of making a list and completing the list and documenting the experiences along the way. And to be clear, I'm talking about completing the full task. I know there are people who love the idea of the "big task," and love making plans about them, but then are also just as comfortable letting such projects wither and die before completion. I don't know if any of my kids are like me. I remember last summer they were bored so I tried to get them to draw one picture a day for a whole month, with plans to provide a different prompt for drawing each day and to put all the pictures together into a book or something. But they bailed on that after like two days. I think that they would probably love the third playground we hit up and would probably hate the thirty-third playground we hit up. So throw it in the bin of bad ideas, and chalk it up to me still learning about myself and all the ways I feel like a fucking freak.
July 27, 2026. 40.02388, -75.07766. See the updated map here. See all the blog posts here. The photos continue to look like shit on Blogger, click to see a better version.
I can see it in my mind: the rain beginning, then picking up speed, the hail falling sharply, the winds blowing, the lightning cracking; the tree falling at the exact angle so as to block the train tracks; a train stopping completely before crashing, stopping safely, no harm, except for the inconvenience; the radio signal back to the station, the rerouting of various train routes, the stupid decision to send one particular train down a different track, nonsensical as it is.
I can see it through my own eyes: the number for "minutes left" turn from green to orange to red; the young employee, cheerful, smiling, announcing my doom; the internal clock on the worst day of work jump up a full out; my body sagging as I slink toward an alternate mode of transportation; the rain pelting the subway car as it hits the open air and brings me toward the station crowded with the hoi polloi, all of us coming home from work, exhausted, defeated, despaired.
July 3, 2026. 40.02741, -75.10994. See the updated map here. See all the blog posts here.
Here's what I think about whenever I cross this intersection, here at F and the Boulevard, which is surprisingly often, since this is the turn that seems to be the most efficient way to get off the Boulevard and through to our home in the Northeast: My old neighbor, Mr. Callaghan, just some fucking guy up the street, a wife and two kids who were slightly older than me, one day coming home from wherever, work probably, and getting shot, here at this intersection, except the bullet was slowed down enough while shattering his car window that it didn't pierce skin, just blew a hole in his jacket and stopped, no injury, a new lease on life—
Ah shit I already talked about this, didn't I? I did. It's too easy to repeat when you're spending all your time looking back. In fact, that's basically been this column's m.o. over the past, what, ten days? "This is a place I am, and it's also a place I once was." Isn't that weird? How many places in my life are just repeats of places that I've been to already in this short 37 years of life? In My Place is an exploration of the past, the present, the future, but they all end up being the same when you stay in the same city all your life. These boundaries keep you here, spinning in circles. Where did that bullet come from? Maybe the question is not where, but when.
June 30, 2026. 39.95723, -75.16531. See the updated map here. See all the blog posts here.
Sometimes I try to see it from a fresh perspective: this, our city, maybe looking up and seeing William Penn for the first time, trying to feel what that might mean to someone. Maybe it wouldn't mean anything. There are ostensibly thousands of tourists in our city this summer to see grown men groan as they try to kick a soccer ball and are lightly tapped by their fellow crybabies and fall to the ground in faux pain, these tourists who for some reason like this folly but nevertheless are here, in the greatest city on earth, and look up from their maps and allow the statue atop City Hall to catch their eye, gaping then saying something in a foreign tongue about the wonder of this strange new place, the history, the drama, the depth of emotion one might feel when they tether their heart to a place and a feeling, here in Philadelphia.
The whole "Philly reputation" thing is totally played out. Once the national population got wind of "jawn," it was all over. I'm not grumpy about it. Have your fucking cheesesteaks in Seattle, I don't give that much of a shit. I don't care if people think they are going to get beat up at the Linc, or need to dress the Rocky statue in their own team's garb, or listen to some asshole Kelce's dumbass podcast, or try to use jawn in a parody of a Philadelphia accent. Everything is commoditized these days, why not the reputation of a city. Whatever, I give up. What you can do, if you're worn out like me, is just let it collapse into the personal. Let Philadelphia be to other people whatever they want it to be. For me, it's been good to me, and I'm glad I'm still here. —Joe
"L.E.S. Artistes" by Santigold
from Santogold, 2008
I don't know why I legitimately thought that Santigold was British until this week. I was shocked to learn that she grew up in Mount Airy and attended Germantown Friends School, which I walk past almost daily. Wild. I loved this album when it came out in 2008. I'm still floored that she's from Philly. Did everyone else know this but me? —Gloria
"Freedom of '76" by Ween
from Chocolate and Cheese, 1994
Damn, we already did "Streets of Philadelphia" on MMM, didn't we? Hmmm. It's funny that no one I've talked to has provided me any excitement about the 250th. Sports fans are happily retreating into soccer (despite JMK's very good point last week that everyone is pretending). My dyed-in-the-wool liberal friends are disgusted by the country. My dyed-in-the-wool neo-con friends are disgusted by the country. Locals don't have a lot of faith in CP and her merry bureaucrats. Supposedly there will be hundreds and hundreds of block parties around the city; surely not a recipe for bedlam. —Sunny
"4th of July, Philadelphia (Sandy)" by Cymbals Eat Guitars
from Pretty Years, 2016
I claimed at one point that this was the best song of the '10s, and even if I relitigate the list in three and a half years, it would still be a lock for the top five. Sometimes I forget about it, but then I listen and get choked up all over again. It's about escape, but it's about escape within, not without. So the story takes place entirely in Philadelphia, but when the protagonist finds something else, it's a different frame of mind, briefly. That all happens in Philly too, though. We're here forever. No one could possibly want to leave, right? Even when a scary uncle threatens you with a gun? —Joe
"Frankford Ave" by Post Play
from Post Moves EP, 2022
(not available on Spotify!)
This is such a fun song. It samples the SEPTA announcement "doors are closing" from the El. It's dreamy and atmospheric, which is probably not what words you typically use to describe anything related to SEPTA. Post Play is made up of John Raphaele and Sweater, who (I think) run both Subsurface and the record store Impressions. Very Philly, very cool. —Gloria
"Wedding Singer" by Modern Baseball
from Holy Ghost, 2016
I've always wanted to take a huge map of Philadelphia and put pins all over it and tell stories from each pin. I'll get around to it eventually, maybe not anytime soon. I need to time to let the idea marinate some more. It's been sitting in my brain for a decade now, and in that time, the thing that's evolved is that I've let go of the idea of it being comprehensive. I think now that I would choose maybe 100-200 pins, and stick to that, and tell stories, and not just make those stories the "important" ones either. Kind of like how MoBo sings about a random night when they didn't have subway fare and couldn't make it home from Tasker-Morris. Probably not the greatest night of their lives, but something small to remember, to put on a map with specific lyrics about a subway stop. —Joe
"Silver" by Waxahatchee
from Out in the Storm, 2017
I'm not a purist when it comes to the definition of "Philadelphians," not by any means. Totally cool with people moving here and falling in love and wanting to stay. It's that kind of city. I'm also cool with people staying here for a few years and then trying somewhere else and taking a part of Philly with them as they travel. Philadelphia is for everyone. That's what "brotherly love and sisterly affection" means. The depth and breadth of this town is infinite. Take a piece, like Katie Crutchfield did, after Alabama and before Kansas. I insist. If you were ever here, you are from here. —Joe
"Norf Side" by Jill Scott ft. Tierra Whack
from To Whom This May Concern, 2026
Pretty much lifting this right from my other column, haha. Jill Scott blends funk, soul, and poetry on To Whom This May Concern. The rhythms are infectious, and the whole thing flows so well. The standout song for me is "Norf Side." I listened to her ode to North Philly on repeat when I first heard this album. If you didn't listen to it yet, you should. —Gloria
"Christian Street" by Marah
from Kids in Philly, 2000
No deep cuts today, all hits ("hits" relative to this blog and the music it typically traffics in, you get it). This is one of the greatest songs of all time, and it's one of the most, if not the most, Philly song of all time. It basically acts as a panorama of South Philly at the turn of the century, and it features the fucking Mummers. You ever been down to Two Street to see the Mummers' after party on New Year's Day? It's mayhem. Bunch of drunk fucking losers causing mayhem and destruction. You know what you don't ever see on Two Street on New Year's Day? Any police presence. Unlike the Pride Parade, where the police are out there roughing people up for fun. Fuck the police, fuck the mummers. Don't worry—this blurb is very Philly too. "I hate cops" is something that any Philadelphian worth a damn would say. —Joe
"The Liberty Bell," written by John Philip Sousa
performed by the Band of the Grenadier Guards, 1967
I don't think of the Liberty Bell when I hear this. I think of watching Monty Python with my dad. My mom always went to bed early when I was a kid; she was asleep by like 9 PM. But even when I was like four or five, I remember being up later than her because my dad was in charge of bedtime and wasn't so concerned about being asleep on time. So we'd watch Monty Python's Flying Circus on tapes or a Flyers game if they were playing. He would always sit in a rocking chair, and I would be on our brown velour floral couch; maybe one of my sisters would join us. But when I was five, they were middle school and junior high, too old and too cool to hang out with a kindergartener and their dad. —Gloria
"Bury Me in Philly" by Dave Hause
from Bury Me in Philly, 2017
It's America's birthday this week. Philly started it, 250 years ago. I think this is why trump was afraid to make a big ICE staging in Philly—because he was afraid we were going to end the American experiment just like we started it. Don't worry, ICE was still here, and still threw a bunch of innocent people in the back of vans. You just didn't hear about it, because the Eagles were on. Fuck ICE, Stop the Killing of Palestinian Children, Go Birds. Happy birthday, America. I'll be here in Philadelphia until your deathday, or mine. We can celebrate then too. —Joe
NEXT WEEK: "Clap Your Hands! (but I feel so lonely)" — Songs involving handclaps (chosen by Joe)
June 19, 2026. 39.98238, -75.11333. See the updated map here. See all the blog posts here.
Nostalgia for the Port Richmond backyard, all those rears of homes backed up against one another, the wild wires running through, the morbidly curiosity for all those BBQ grills and folding chairs scattered about on the other side of the fence, the alleyway, all those vines held back, one summer at a time. There's just something about city living in this particular way that makes me feel at peace.
