"THE PHILLY SOUND"

You know, I've been a list geek ever since my first subscription to Spin magazine when I was like 13 years old. I remember making a "Top 100 Songs of All Time" list around the same time, 1989 or so. I don't know where that list is these days, but I seem to remember Aerosmith's "Dream On," Simon & Garfunkel's "The Sound of Silence" and Public Enemy's "Black Steel in the Hour of Chaos" were the top three. Sixteen years later, I'd have a hard time putting the soundtrack to a Buick (or Cadillac for that matter, thanks Zeppelin) in a list, but Simon & Garfunkel are timeless and Public Enemy hasn't left my rotation.

With this preface, I'd like to segue (not Segway, you stupid $79 spending idiots riding up the Parkway) into a double CD collection of Essential Philadelphia songs I humbly titled "The Philly Sound" (so as to avoid hassle from our favorite South Street Entertainment District developer and Atlantic City restaurateur -- I'd like to meet you and take your picture, Kenny!). Anyway, it's easy to note what's missing, but I did my best to make it true to Philadelphia's musical tradition, whether the songs are on the corny (Chubby Checker) or obvious (Elton John) side. Some may think otherwise, but I have a good taste in music goddamnit, and The Philly Sound meets my standards.

DISC ONE:
1. MSFB - TSOP
— Soul Train, baby. Soul Train.
2. John Coltrane - A Love Supreme Pt 1 (Acknowledgement)
— The soundtrack of 33rd Street.
3. Bill Haley & the Comets - Rock Around the Clock
— Haley moved to Philly from Michigan, made a local name for himself with his Comets, then went to New York to record this 50s anthem.
4. Slim Gaillard - Fitzwater Street
— Bridging big band and jazz in 1940. The Clef Club of Jazz is Broad & Fitzwater to this day.
5. The Orlons - South Street
— Where do all the hippies meet? South Street, South Street. Where's the phillyskyline suite? South Street, South Street.
6. Chubby Checker - The Twist
— Hey man, they're still twisting at 9th & Wharton.
7. The Delfonics - La La Means I Love You
— La la la. What can one say about such a nice song?
8. Astrud Gilberto & Stan Getz - Quiet Nights
— He's from Philly, she moved to and lives in Philly.
9. The Stylistics - People Make the World Go Round
— Dude. This is a top 20 song ever made by anyone. Ask Spike Lee.
10. The O'Jays - Back Stabbers
— Yeah yeah, coulda done "Love Train," but this is truer to 70s soul.
11. Soul Survivors - Expressway to Your Heart
— Surely they were singing about I-76 -- it was TSOP's first #1 hit.
12. Billy Paul - Me and Mrs Jones
— No description necessary.
13. Stanley Clarke - School Days
— The black Frank Zappa? This funky song rocks -- this from the same man who scored Boyz N The Hood.
14. Harold Melvin & the Blue Notes - The Love I Lost
— Oh man, could Teddy Pendergrass sing.
15. Jim Croce - Operator
— Lots of Philly roots for a guy who wrote "New York's Not My Home."
16. Todd Rundgren - Hello It's Me
— Upper Darby reprazent! Just don't bang that effing drum all day or I'll bang off my head.
17. Labelle - Lady Marmalade
— Voulez-vouz? Oui.
18. Hall & Oates - She's Gone
— Listen. I could gush all day about Hall and Oates. I love these guys, in the non-ironic, non-gay sense, but that's not to say that Daryl Hall is not an attractive man. I wish John Oates would grow his mustache back, though. Oh yeah -- "She's Gone" is the best song from the best album from the best duo in music history, and they call Philly their home.


DISC TWO:
1. Bill Conti - Gonna Fly Now
— You knew it was coming.
2. Elton John - Philadelphia Freedom
— Ok, I realize this is track #1 for Captain Obvious. But hear me out -- this was 1976. This was Philadelphian American pride. This was Elton John's coming out announcement -- "Philadelphia freedom took me knee high to a man, yeah, gave me peace of mind my daddy never had." Indeed, Reginald.
3. David Bowie - Young Americans
— Sigma Sound, West Philly, HOLLA!
4. Teddy Pendergrass - Love TKO
— Like I said, dude could sing, but keep your eyes on the road man, Lincoln Drive is curvy.
5. The Hooters - And We Danced
— Yeah, I know.
6. Dead Milkmen - Bitchin' Camaro
— If this isn't a Philly time capsule, what is? Uhh, what's the Sandbar?
7. Cinderella - Gypsy Road
— Thank you, Delco. Thank you.
8. Schoolly D - Saturday Night
— Just another one of them wild, wild Saturday nights . . . in Parkside.
9. Cool C - The Glamourous Life
— Ooh oooooooooooh! Shout to my man Warren Kaos on this one.
10. DJ Jazzy Jeff & the Fresh Prince - Summertime
— A place called The Plateau is where everybody goes.
11. G-Love & Special Sauce - I-76
— Wonder if they re-do the lyrics for "East or West River Drive is right for you" these days . . .
12. Ween - Freedom of 76
— This is the greatest band on the face of the planet. And they stole the Liberty Bell!
13. Marah - Streets of Philadelphia
— Sorry Boss, I love you to death, but these country honks do your song a wee bit better.
14. Burning Brides - Heart Full of Black
— The power trio, for the masses.
15. Capitol Years - Mounds of Money
— The future of rock and roll. What about your friends?
16. Pink - Get the Party Started
— Feh. Believe me, I know. But I thought she would kick my ass if I didn't put it in the mix.
17. Jill Scott - Gettin' in the Way
— Chill Jill, on the other hand -- a winner every time. See you up in Fairmount, lady.
18. The Roots, Dice Raw & Beanie Sigel - Adrenaline
— Now see, this one was terribly hard to pick. I had "Distortion to Static," "Proceed III" (with Bahamadia), a handful of tracks from Illadelph Halflife, plus "Roc the Mic" by Beanie Sigel and Freeway, but again, what with the space constraints, I had to narrow it down. So, I went with the Philadelphia hip hop anthem, the one with The Roots, Dice Raw AND Sigel. I know it leaves Freeway, Eve, Young Gunz, Jedi Mind Tricks and all sorts of others out there, but hey man, this is about history.
19. Boyz II Men - It's So Hard to Say Goodbye to Yesterday
— Even "Motownphilly" was a bit too cheesy for my style, so this one seemed like a fair compromise, as well as a nice closer.

So there you have it, the unofficial phillyskyline.com unofficial soundtrack . . . unofficial. It's not commissioned, it's not earning me or anyone any money, it's just what I thought of one night when thinking of Philly music and what I should load on my ipod next. (Don't worry, I'll never write "iPod" . . .) I feel bad for having shafted the likes of Mario Lanza, Marian Anderson, Uri Caine, Mazarin, Delta 72, the Trauma Queens et al. There's only so much room on two tapes. Err, CDs.