If you turned the radio on in 2014 you most likely happened to hear some portion or something about the XPN 885 Countdown. Their listeners sent in ballots of their top 10 songs of all-time and it was then compiled into a list of the greatest 885. I thought it was an interesting project but when it came to the top 100 songs I was disappointed by how repetitive and safe it ended up being. It sparked an idea in my head that a smaller sample size of a more focused group would end up producing a much more interesting list. I got drunk one night in October, sent 9 old friends a group message and the Philly 10 Top 100 was born.
When I tried to think of 9 people to ask to participate in the project, I was amazed at how easy it was to pick the group that I collaborated with. There was literally no one in the Philly 10 that I had to search my brain to add, and no one who I wished I could have included but left out. This is a definitive group of friends who I've known for over half my life and I grew up with in the Philly punk/hardcore/metal scene. I've played in bands or jammed in some capacity with over half the members of the group, and couldn't count the number of shows I've been to total with all the members combined. We all had similar tastes in music at some points in our lives, although we've all grown quite a bit since then and have branched out in other directions.
This shared history the Philly 10 brings with the different ways our tastes have evolved since we were kids helps shape this top 100 into a fascinating list. One question we all discussed right from the start was if this was a list of what we thought the top 10 songs were objectively or our top 10 favorites. I tried to leave this up to each individual voter as much as possible. My opinion is that complete objectivity is impossible and if our personal tastes were going to shine through regardless, we might as well put them on full display. I think the end result strikes a good balance with plenty of historically significant songs, but tons of fun more obscure picks as well.
One thing I love about this list is how few love songs it contains and in particular songs about heartbreak. The old cliche is that every song is either about falling in love or breaking up and this list proves otherwise. While these are topics that certainly appear in some songs, I think the overall themes that prevail are change, redemption, courage and compassion. The story this list of songs tells me as I listen through it is one about finding our place in this world despite all its faults while appreciating all its beauty.
Unfortunately there was no way to create a listenable playlist that would include the exact 100 songs we selected. I've made two different versions to try to include as many of the songs as possible. Between Grooveshark and Spotify every song on the list is covered except those by the Beatles. Because of course the consensus greatest band ever wouldn't have their songs accessible for easy listening. Otherwise, if one song is missing on one version of the playlist you're listening to, you can switch to the other and find it there. One important thing to note is that the selections were not ranked in
any particular order. Every member got 10 songs with the first choice
being just as important as the tenth. The list below and the playlists are alphabetized just to organize them in some fashion, but feel free to listen back in any order you see fit.
The only thing I have left to say is to give a huge thanks to Jordan Berk, Tom Brown, Phil Bryer, Elliott Dougherty, Kenny Harris, Bill McCarthy, Daniel Sean O'Brien, Jeff Sheerin and Makoto Sasaki. I've spent countless hours listening to music, playing music, and talking about music with you dudes and this list was a culmination and continuation of that conversation which never ends. Let's revisit this down the line and see how our tastes have changed by then. In the meantime, let's let the music speak for itself.
