XPNentially Better

Is WXPN the best radio station on the planet?

Lately I've tried to avoid using words like "best," "worst," "good" and "bad" when it comes to things like music. There's really only stuff you like and stuff you don't, and although people like Dave, Mr. Truck, and Almighty Yojo seem to exist in this world only to herald their favorite things as "the best" and their dislikes as "the worst," applying those terms to the arts is kind of silly. (This post is the worst thing Dave has ever read.)

But yeah, WXPN's the best.

Or at least it's the best for me, a perfect sampling of my favorite songs by my favorite artists. Might not be so fan-riffic for you. But check out yesterday's playlist.

Seriously, looking at All Saint's Day as just one day in a year's worth of good music, here's what you could have heard:

• The Band
• vintage Beasties
• my favorite Springsteen song ever
• Mayer Hawthorne
• Wilco (x 3)
• Trombone Shorty
• Grateful Dead
• Cracker
• all Rob's best-loved bands (Police, Bob Mould, Crowded House, Chilis, etc)
• Ryan Adams
• Ryan Bingham
• multiple Clash songs (including Dave's favorite)
• Iggy Pop
• 50 new songs including some we have recommended to you here before

...and it goes on. Hell, maybe it's just perfectly suited for me and hip, hip ladies like me. Not just the artists I like, but their best stuff, songs like "I Need to Know" and "What's the Story Morning Glory" and "Girlfriend Is Better" instead of always resorting to "Refugee," "Wonderwall," and "Burning Down the House." It's the only station I know to consistently play the Old 97's, which really is all I need to be interested. The only place you'll hear the Truckers followed by Foster the People followed by Buddy Guy.

Anyway, I've mentioned the station before at G:TB, but I got away from listening for much of this year. I'm hooked again. Through the WXPN app or WunderRadio (one of the coolest things technology has brought me in the history of my life) I can listen on my phone -- in the car or wherever. At work I stream it from the website. When I was in PA two week ago I did this really cool thing and used the FM function of my car stereo, tuning to 88.5 on my dial. It was like the future of music.

WXPN is a public radio station at UPenn in Philly, and it's been around for the last 20 years. Get some.

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Speaking of music...

I recently re-read Zman's take on the latest Mayer Hawthorne release as I was listening to it. The kid is good. (I actually mean Zman, but Hawthorne is also decent)... Rhett Miller with a live solo cover album coming out soon. Rob tells me he does "California Stars." Worlds colliding... Peter Bjorn & John might not be a one-hit wonder after all... Feist has taken over for Cat Power as the kinda hot, killer voiced chick I'd like to make mine. Much to her chagrin... RnRHoF has The Cure, G N' R, the Chili Peppers, and the Beasties, among others, on the list of nominees this year. They also have Heart... Wilco's new album is a B+ if you're a fan of the band's stuff, more like a B- if you're not. As with many of their albums, it's a grower. 20 listens over the last month and half and it's a lot better album than it was. The last song is 12 mellow minutes, but it might be the best on the record...