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#885countdown Talk: What makes a song “the worst?”

Journey clowning around in the 80s. Many people think they wrote some of the worst songs ever, others stringently defend them. Or so we hear.
Journey clowning around in the 80s. Many people think they wrote some of the worst songs ever, others stringently defend them. Or so we hear.

As we’re winding down the 885 All Time Greatest Songs countdown playback, we’re also looking forward to part two of the countdown – the playback of the 88 Worst Songs. The notion of “best,” “greatest” and “worst” are, of course, quite subjective. Which will explain why (partial spoiler alert) there will be some songs on both the 885 All Time Greatest and 88 Worst Songs. As Paul Simon once said, “one man’s ceiling is another man’s floors;” or – to put it a slightly different way – “one person’s trash is another’s treasure.”

As we get ready to play the worst songs (as voted on by the WXPN community) tomorrow starting at 10 a.m., we want to know: “what exactly makes a worst song?” Continue reading →

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The best 24 or 25 tweets we’ve seen about the #885countdown (so far)

The above tweet by Philly illustrator Matt Friedman showed up in our Twitter feed yesterday, and nicely sums up the beauty and hilarity of WXPN’s 885 Greatest Songs of All Time countdown. With music jumping all over the spectrum, it sometimes feels delightfully random; with like a bazillion Beatles selections ranking so far, it also feels somewhat predictable; and then, out of nowhere, there will be this sick transition between “Penny Lane” and “Rebellion (Lies)” by Arcade Fire, and you’ll be like “holy cow that was amazing” and you keep listening. It keeps you hooked. Equally addictive is the #885countdown hashtag on Twitter, where some amazing conversation and commentary has been unfolding. Here is some of the best of what we’ve seen so far. Continue reading →

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Philebrity’s Joey Sweeney picks his five All Time Worst Songs for the 885 Countdown

885 countdown
Foo Fighters

With voting for the XPN’s 885 countdown ending tomorrow, we’re bringing you some local celebrity lists to help inspire your own picks for the 885 All Time Greatest (and Worst) Songs.  Philebrity editor (and local musician) Joey Sweeney zealously submitted, in all caps, his five choices for All Time Worst Songs, which you can check out below.  Contribute your own All Time Best and Worst songs list here before voting ends tomorrow.

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6ABC’s Matt O’Donnell picks his five All Time Greatest Songs for the 885 Countdown

885countdown
Asia

It’s time for another countdown, and we invited 6 ABC Morning News Anchor Matt O’Donnell to give us a list of his top five picks for XPN’s 885 All Time Greatest Songs.  You can contribute too, but voting ends tomorrow so go here to get your list of the best (and worst) songs in today.  Check out Matt’s five favorites below and stay tuned for the countdown playback, beginning October 20th. Continue reading →