Dear listeners,
Over the weekend, I made a solemn vow to the football gods: If the Eagles won the Super Bowl, then the next Amplifier playlist would be made up entirely of songs by artists from Philadelphia. The football gods upheld their end of this bargain — in case you haven’t heard, the Eagles absolutely trounced the defending champion Kansas City Chiefs, 40-22 — so today I will uphold mine with 10 tracks from the City of Brotherly Love (and the brotherly shove).
Across all sorts of genres, Philadelphia has a rich musical history and a vibrant musical present. The sound of Philadelphia soul defined the early 1970s (even David Bowie wanted a piece of the action), and its heirs adapted its influence into a neo-soul boom that took off in the late 1990s. Philly has long had a thriving underground music scene, too, as evidenced by its tight-knit indie-rock community and its reputation for eclectic, innovative hip-hop.
This playlist is certainly not meant to be definitive. Since I limited myself to just 10 tracks, I tried to avoid the obvious, which is to say you will hear neither “Motownphilly” nor the “Fresh Prince of Bel-Air” theme song. Today’s playlist does, however, feature some familiar local luminaries (Patti LaBelle, the Roots) alongside some younger artists (Jazmine Sullivan, Tierra Whack, Alex G) who are updating the sounds of the city for a new generation.
I restrained myself from including the Eagles Victory Song, though, so I suppose you will be able to enjoy this playlist even if you are not a fan of the new N.F.L. champs. It definitely hits different if you’re wearing your Kelly green, though. So fix yourself a cheese steak (wit or witout), pour yourself a tall glass of wooder and press play.
My style fortified by all of Philadel-phi,
Lindsay
Listen along while you read.
1. Daryl Hall & John Oates: “You Make My Dreams (Come True)”
Daryl Hall and John Oates met when they were both students at Temple University in the late 1960s, and though the brotherly love between them has eroded in recent years, they proudly repped their Philly roots throughout their commercial peak. This giddy, outrageously euphoric hit from their 1980 album “Voices” sounds like winning the Super Bowl.
2. Patti LaBelle: “New Attitude”
In South Philadelphia born and raised, the iconic soul singer Patti LaBelle is such a prominent native of the city that, in 2019, the 200 block of Broad Street was renamed “Patti LaBelle Way.” Not only is she an Eagles fan, but she’s also an artistic collaborator: In 2023, LaBelle performed a duet with the offensive tackle Jordan Mailata (a fine singer in his own right!) on a rendition of “This Christmas” that appeared on a holiday album by the Philly Specials.
3. Alex G: “Gretel”
Though he grew up in the suburb of Havertown, the prolific singer-songwriter Alex G relocated to Philadelphia for college and in the years since has become a notable name in the city’s thriving indie-rock scene. When I interviewed him several years ago, at a waterfront park by the Delaware River, a fan recognized him and reacted as though an Alex G sighting were a local rite of passage: “I just moved to Philly and — what do you know!”
4. Jazmine Sullivan: “Pick Up Your Feelings”
The Grammy-winning R&B singer Jazmine Sullivan has a serious Philly musical pedigree: Not only is she a graduate of the Philadelphia High School for the Creative and Performing Arts, but her mother, Pam Sullivan, was a backup singer for Philadelphia International Records. (We’ll hear from that label later in this playlist.) This hit from Sullivan’s great 2021 album “Heaux Tales” is a showcase for her no-nonsense personality and her singular sound, which updates the long tradition of Philly soul (and Philly neo-soul).
5. Schoolly D: “P.S.K. What Does It Mean?”
Considered by many people — including Ice-T — to be the first ever gangster rap song, the gritty “P.S.K.” by the Philly M.C. Schoolly D is a landmark for a city with a deep hip-hop history. Its cavernous, reverb-heavy production was arguably as influential as Schoolly D’s bars. In an interview to commemorate the song’s 30th anniversary in 2015, he compared the recording process to the “more cowbell” skit from “Saturday Night Live”: “I swear to God it was like that. ‘More reverb. More reverb.’”
6. The Roots: “What They Do”
You can’t have a Philly playlist without the Roots, the long-running hip-hop collective that has made the long journey from South Philly all the way to “The Tonight Show.” This smooth, funky 1996 single is from the group’s appropriately titled third album, “Illadelph Halflife.”
7. Tierra Whack: “Only Child”
The 29-year-old Philly rapper Tierra Whack broke out with her wildly imaginative 2018 visual album “Whack World,” an eclectic collection of brief songs brimming with outré ideas. On subsequent releases, like this moody but endearingly cartoonish 2019 single, she has continued to embody Philadelphia hip-hop at its most spirited and forward-thinking.
8. Hop Along: “The Knock”
Frances Quinlan, the founder, guitarist and lead singer of the Philly-based rock band Hop Along, has been a fixture in the local indie scene for the past two decades, and she’s certainly one of its most powerful vocalists. This blistering opening track from Hop Along’s 2015 album “Painted Shut” backs up that claim.
9. Kurt Vile: “Wakin on a Pretty Day”
Once a member of the beloved long-running local rock band the War on Drugs, the voluminously coifed singer, songwriter and guitarist Kurt Vile has, over the past decade and a half, become a recognizable and respected solo artist. Bliss out with this nine-and-a-half-minute jam from his 2013 album “Wakin on a Pretty Daze,” the cover of which featured a Fishtown mural created by the street artist Steve Powers.
10. MFSB: “Love Is the Message”
I told you we’d get to hear from Philadelphia International Records. The now-defunct label — founded by the celebrated producing duo Kenneth Gamble and Leon Huff, along with their collaborator Thom Bell — was the center of the lush Philly soul sound throughout the 1970s. MFSB (short for “Mother Father Sister Brother”) was the label’s official house band, and it released a string of immaculately arranged albums during Philadelphia International’s heyday. This smooth, oft-sampled classic is the title track from MFSB’s most successful album, though the LP contains an even more recognizable track that was later used as the “Soul Train” theme song. That track’s title says it all: “T.S.O.P. (The Sound of Philadelphia).”
The Amplifier Playlist
“10 Songs That Celebrate the Sound of Philadelphia” track list
Track 1: Daryl Hall & John Oates, “You Make My Dreams (Come True)”
Track 2: Patti LaBelle, “New Attitude”
Track 3: Alex G, “Gretel”
Track 4: Jazmine Sullivan, “Pick Up Your Feelings”
Track 5: Schoolly D, “P.S.K. What Does It Mean?”
Track 6: The Roots, “What They Do”
Track 7: Tierra Whack, “Only Child”
Track 8: Hop Along, “The Knock”
Track 9: Kurt Vile, “Wakin on a Pretty Day”
Track 10: MFSB, “Love Is the Message”
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