Music & More

To most of you reading this, the idea that you can hear a great song on the radio and then go buy it, either online or at a local store, might seem like the height of obvious. However, to an eleven year old in 1965 with a solid year of listening to top forty radio under his belt, this amazing revelation was unquestionably the next most life changing moment after seeing the Beatles on Ed Sullivan the year before. Shortly after that momentous night in February 1964, I quickly discovered top forty radio which was then playing all the Beatles hits and so much more. In 1964 Philadelphia, there was only one rock station, WIBG at 990 AM, commonly known as "Wibbage", and I listened to it as much as was humanly possible, even moreso in the summer when there were that many more hours available to listen. Check out this weekly WIBG survey from 1964 courtesy of the Herman's Hermits website . The WIBG top fifty for the week of November 16, 1964 RINGO - Lorne Green LEADER OF THE PACK -

WXPN kicked off this year's XPoNential Music Festival in fine fashion tonight with sizzling sets by James Hunter and Tower of Power. Like last year, all the music performed on the River Stage (the main stage) will be broadcast live on XPN and most sets (excepting Tower of Power) will be archived for on demand listening on the XPoNential Music website . Slo-Mo with Mic Wrecka opened the show. Added to the lineup at the last minute was Anthony Riley and the Reverend who did a three song set following Slo-Mo. Riley made the news recently when he was arrested by the Philadelphia police for singing too loudly in Rittenhouse Square. Introducing him at Wiggins Park, Helen Leicht invited him to sing as loud as he wanted, a real nice touch from XPN. Riley turned out to be a really capable singer, as this sample from the XPN live broadcast illustrates. Anthony Riley - A Change is Gonna Come (Live at Wiggins Park, 7/19/07) James Hunter demonstrated his unique ability to sound like a throwb

Although the Beatles will very likely be well represented in the WXPN 885 Most Memorable Musical Moments archive, their impact on popular music cannot be overstated. In six short years from 1963 to 1969 they either defined or redefined everything we know about rock and pop music and are largely responsible for much of what came after. On a personal level, the Beatles ignited my interest in music at a very young age; I am pleased to credit the Beatles with: The first rock music I ever heard. My first record album. My first rock concert. My first rock concert photograph. A lifelong obsession with music. The first rock music I ever heard was The Beatles on The Ed Sullivan Show, February 9, 1964. Many musicians credit this moment as providing their inspiration to become musicians. For me it was truly a life altering turning point in that it opened my consciousness to a world of music, culture, and a worldwide music community that I previously had no idea existed. I'm not sure how I

Following up three great years of 885 surveys and countdowns, WXPN has today launched this year's survey to determine the 885 Most Memorable Musical Moments of all time. Check in with other XPN listeners posting their moments on the WXPN discussion board . You may submit up to ten moments to the WXPN archive, including audio, video, or photographs through August 31st. From September 17th through 30th, listeners will be able to vote on the 100 best moments. WXPN staff will select the other 785 moments and the whole thing will be played back countdown style from October 2nd through 16th. Check the website for complete details. I will be participating as a guest blogger on the XPN site; I will post a memorable moment here each week that will link to the XPoNential Music memorable moments webpage . See you here, there, or on the XPN discussion board. Previous 885 results are archived for your reading pleasure: WXPN's 885 Greatest Artists (2006) WXPN's 885 Greatest Albums (2

Check out this new video of "Home" by Great Northern, just posted on Myspace. The song, the vocals, the performance, the production are all top notch. The video was directed by Josh Forbes and was animated by Man vs. Magnet. The screen within a screen effect is really cool. Great Northern are a very talented new band from L.A. Will post soon about their recent show at the Northstar Bar, and their excellent CD. Great Northern - Trading Twilight for Daylight Great Northern's myspace.

Posting about halfway through the telecast of today's Live Earth concerts to say that the technical quality of the production is breathtaking. It's like they took everything that was wrong with the coverage of Live 8 and did exactly the opposite. First and best, no blathering hosts. The show began at 4am EDT in the U.S. carried on several of NBC's cable channels, the best of which being Sundance and UHD which are both carrying the complete broadcast start to finish, Sundance for regular TVs, UHD for high definition screens. They're showing the concert sets in roughly chronological order, breaking for short films and messages about environmental issues with the occasional commercial break. The music is not only being respected by this broadcast, but it all looks and sounds great. The challenge to present 24 hours worth of concerts from every continent on the globe in such quality is a dramatic technological achievement. For those so inclined, the concerts are also being