Weekend Guide: 11.13.2020

Nov 13, 2020

It was great to see Philadelphia come up big on the national stage last week. I no longer live in Philadelphia, but it is my favorite city in America. Every American city contains multitudes - so making a long pro/con list seems trivial - although the pros would far outweigh the cons in this case. I’ll just state the obvious, Philly is more than just cheesteaks and Eagles fans.

Last week Philadelphia did what it does best, giving a big old “Fuck you” to everyone who looks down on it as second tier. It got me thinking about Philly’s cultural touchstones. Everyone knows the hits - they all start and end with the working class and have some sort of Horatio Alger story arc. But, there are some outliers (Silver Linings Playbook!).

Earlier this year I had the pleasure of stumbling on a very Philly book in a very Philly used bookstore (Mostly Books on 5th and Bainbridge). God’s Pocket by Pete Dexter is about Philadelphia in the 70s - a murder, a tight lipped South Philly neighborhood, corner bars and their blackout patrons, sex and an overzealous reporter looking to make good.

It reads fast and paints the best picture of South Philly i’ve ever read. Admittedly, not a whole lot has changed in fifty years in parts of South Philadelphia. Each pocket distinct and super unique - the people, the homes, the corner stores, the language - the nuance of each completely lost on outsiders. So, God’s Pocket reads a bit more current than you would expect. But, since it was written by a Philadelphian, about an isolated section of Philadelphia, it carries the same pugilists punch you would expect of an underdog.

*If you would rather skip ahead it was adapted for the silver screen in 2014. It stars Phillip Seymour Hoffman, Christina Hendricks and John Turtturo. Three class acts! I have not watched the movie so I am unable to vouch.

God’s Pocket is unpredictable. Much like the city it’s set in, it zigs when you want it to zag. Or maybe it just R5’s it right to the blood and guts and gets out before you know what hit you. Either way, its unapologetic. It echos the ethos of a song once sung by Philadelphia Eagle great, Jason Kelce:

"No one likes us. No one likes us. No one likes us. We don't care. We're from Philly. F–ing Philly. No one likes us. We don't care. No one likes us. No one likes us. No one likes us. We don't care. We're from Philly. F–ing Philly, No one likes us. We don't care."

Great things happen in Philadelphia.

This weeks playlist contains ten Philadelphia based hits. I have included a poem I wrote at the tail end of the images.