Summer festivals are upon us. Many festivals. Kind of watered down, no? So it’s time to take a look at the beasts of the east: All Points West, and Download Festival. OK, no, The Download Festival is nowhere near the project All Points West is. I mean, Radiohead, Underworld, The Roots, Girl Talk, and Animal Collective could all take the cake as a headliner, and you would have a great time. But Saturday brings... [continue]

The 76ers drafted Marreese Speights, a 6'10", 250-pound center from Florida, with their only pick in the draft last Thursday. Speights is only 20 years old, and is a bit of a mystery entering the draft as a sophomore who had little college experience, having playing time blocked by NBA lotto-picks Al Horford and Joakim Noah. The pick is hard to project based on his experience. ESPN analyst Jay Bilas mentioned (in the 30 seconds... [continue]

In a jumble of misunderstood credential arrangements, I arrived at the Popped! Philadelphia music festival last Saturday more or less as a spectator with a photo pass. No interviews, no all-access backstage pass, no video cameras, and not even an idea to give the Phillyist world an artsy camera perspective of the small details involved in being there. Despite my skepticism of the changed nature of this festival, and the frustratingly unorganized course leading... [continue]

The annual Popped! Philadelphia Music Festival is upon us, and if going green is the new indie rock, Popped! is getting some major cool points. Unlike last year, Popped! is not just a music festival about Philadelphia and the bands that make up our music community. This year, and possibly moving onto future Popped! festivals, it’s about creating a sustainable music festival, and educating concert-goers on how to make necessary changes for the better of... [continue]

You know those days where it seems that there are like four good bands playing on one night? And they’re all really good? Saturday, June 7, is that day. Personally, this brings to mind one of the few concepts that I learned in my macroeconomics class – opportunity cost. Even if you go to one of these shows and plan your day carefully, you can’t see it all! The Roots, Gnarls Barkley, Sharon Jones and... [continue]

Attention college students who dig indie ethic! You like your indie rock. You like your city. You probably have an opinion on Vampire Weekend. And you probably hate how much tuition costs! The Popped! folks know you have no money, and are somewhat forgiving. So, stop being pissed off that tickets to Saturday’s big show are $32.50, and get ‘em for $25. Hm, what? How can you get these tickets? I guess that would be... [continue]

Philadelphia, let's start acting like real basketball fans. For those who don't know, we'll point it out: the Sixers currently hold the seventh place spot in the Eastern Conference. They’ve won 10 of their last 13 games. With 21 games left to play before the season goes post-style, the Sixers are playing good basketball, and are on their way to the playoffs. Yes, it might seem a little premature to say the word that should... [continue]

The Phillyist Staff had so many ways to countdown to 2008 that we found ourselves with quite a few leftovers on this, the final day of 2007. So enjoy this afternoon's glut of lists from your friendly neighborhood bloggers, and we'll see you next year! You know those songs that take over your headphones for weeks at a time? Well, the youngest alternative-rocker on the Phillyist staff decided to put all those infectious tunes into... [continue]

The Phillies have signed free-agent Brett Favre…er, 33-year-old outfielder Geoff Jenkins (see the resemblance?) and 30-year-old starter/reliever Chad Durbin, continuing a rather dulling off-season for the Fightins. Is there any reason to get excited about these two players? Um, maybe…if the Phillies front office knows something we don’t. But that’s never really the case with these middle-of-the-pack guys. Do you still remember Rod Barajas? I didn’t. I had to look him up. Kyle Lohse?... [continue]

If you haven’t heard already, Phillies shortstop Jimmy Rollins is the MVP of the National League. And there is absolutely no one that’s more deserving of the award, except for Rockies left fielder Matt Holliday. You can argue for any player winning the award. Rollins gained 16 first place votes, finishing with 353 points, edging out Holliday’s 11 first place votes and 336 points. This year’s MVP voting was precarious in that J-Roll wasn’t...... [continue]

It’s still hard to believe. The Phillies have found their way into October, alive and thriving. And they are National League East champions. Sounds a little foreign, but we’d be lying if there wasn’t a sweeter sound in Philadelphia. The moment when Brett Myers struck out Wily Mo Pena, threw his glove straight into the air, and his teammates mobbed him was a defining moment for this Phillyist. After years of hearing Harry Kalas drone...... [continue]

The last time we saw The National was on their gigantic tour with Arcade Fire. In the midst of The National’s set at The Tower Theater, this Phillyist was overtaken. “This is the best band ever,” we thought. Well, we were thinking that until Arcade Fire came on and blew our ears off…but we knew the band was going to be something worth loving. And shortly thereafter, Internet critics began to think along the same...... [continue]

There are songs that just capture you, and you can’t resist finishing. Whatever the preoccupations of the moment - whether it’s that insatiable ear searching for new music, or something you hear on the Internet on the way to something else – there are songs that are too engaging to allow for any interruption. This was precisely the case when we first heard the title track “23,” by Blonde Redhead. When trying to describe the...... [continue]

If you’re Travis, making an entrance through the front of the Electric Factory and weaving your way through an audience is an easy way to stir up some excitement. Simultaneously playing “Gonna Fly Now,” (The “Rocky” Theme) by Bill Conti makes for an even better introduction. Jump up and down on stage with your fists in the air, and you’ve got your Philly fans pulling for you to be good. Show that you’ve got...... [continue]

It’s finally over with. The Phillies have lost their 10,000th game. That being said, and accepted, it barely matters to the realist who watched the Phillies get hammered by a score of 10-2, thereby losing a game to the Mets and the Braves in the NL East standings. At least they didn’t really tease us into thinking they could win the game. The Phillies have long had the most losses of any sports franchise in...... [continue]

They’re responsible for a half decade of pretty, meta-melodic British acts like Keane, Aqualung, and that band that was burned as the answer to the question, “You know how I know you’re gay?” It’s been quite some time since Travis has been an active name in music. More recently, they’ve been getting less attention as influencers, and more for their new album The Boy with No Name. It’s been 3 years since their last record,...... [continue]

June 28 - Ryan Adams is in his own little world. It’s this world of genius and unpredictable behavior on the stage that makes you lose your own sense of pride. God forbid that you piss him off; everyone is pulling their best audience etiquette, hoping for smidgen of appreciation from Adams. For a guy who’s famous for walking off stage because of less than par crowds, his music is endearing as hell. Ryan...... [continue]

The Sixers have spent the past decade being too small and individualistic on the court, dumb-witted and stubborn in the front office, and unwilling to change with the times in both areas. All of that changed last season. They got rid of their star players. For quarters at a time, they ran the court and shared the basketball. Andre Miller looked like a poor man’s Steve Nash, and Kyle Korver made enough plays away from...... [continue]

From the very start of the off-season, Philadelphia Flyers GM Paul Holmgren has been aggressively and effectively re-tooling a franchise in need of a do-over. In other words, the current team is the product of a plan that seems a little too smart for the Flyers, with one transaction win coming after the other. The orange and black have always been able to bring in big names, but have they ever been this good at... [continue]

-Ryan Howard has always been a great home-run hitter, but before yesterday, we couldn’t call him anything more than "2005 NL Rookie of the Year," and "2006 NL MVP." Boo hoo, we know. But let’s face it, there have been countless rookie greats and MVPs since we’ve been born, and we don’t care to put Howard in the same category as Barry Bonds, because Bonds is a clown. We could introduce him as the...... [continue]