![\"New](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/NO-Best-Of-Rest-Of.jpg\")
New Order: \u201cThe Best & The Rest Of New Order\u201d (COURTESY OF LONDON RECORDS)<\/p>\nAs the country basks in the afterglow of celebrating its 250th anniversary, WXPN is keeping the party going the best way it knows how: through music.<\/p>\n
The station continues to provide the soundtrack to America\u2019s semiquincentennial with the announcement of Philly Anthems, a new project supported by The Pew Center for Arts & Heritage that brings together five acclaimed Philadelphia musicians and sevenemerging local artists to write and record 12 original songs.<\/p>\n
Inspired by the enduring themes of freedom and independence, the project will feature new music by Christian McBride, Devon Gilfillian, Eliza Hardy Jones, Lady Alma, and The Hooters\u2019 Eric Bazilian, who kicked off the series earlier this week with his stirring new single \u201cBetter Times.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI was honored to be asked to be a part of the Philly Anthems project,\u201d Bazilian said in a statement. \u201cI considered it a challenge to write something from a modern and relevant perspective about the state of our union. I put heart and soul into \u2018Better Times,\u2019 and hope that it lands well for the listeners of WXPN, and wherever people are listening.\u201d<\/p>\n
Alongside the five artists that represent the region\u2019s rich musical landscape across jazz, rock, soul and folk, the project will also feature songs from seven emerging artists.<\/p>\n
Among them are Grace Gardener, Black Buttafly, The Bul Bey, James Everhart, Sug Daniels, Moustapha Noumbissi and The Flying Vees, who were announced this week on-air as the winners of the 24 Hour Song Challenge \u2013 Philly Anthems Edition.<\/p>\n
Earlier this summer, nearly 350 songwriters accepted the challenge to write and record an original song in just 24 hours, inspired by the prompt \u201cFreedom.\u201d As the grand prize winner with the composition \u201cWorkman\u2019s Song #1,\u201d The Flying Vees will receive a $5,000 honorarium, a performance slot at this year\u2019s XPoNential Music Festival and Philly Music Fest, and a song on the upcoming \u201cPhilly Anthems\u201d album.<\/p>\n
\u201cWorkman\u2019s Song #1\u2033 explores how working people in America often must defer their experience of freedom because they have to work so hard just to get by.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe received a lot of positive feedback during the voting process, and it felt validating to have our song resonate with so many people and to have the support of the city we love so much,\u201d The Flying Vees collectively said. \u201cThis song embodies the spirit of Philadelphia, which is a community of working-class people. No snobs, no phony balonies. That\u2019s what this song is really about: having to work hard and putting off your leisure time to another day.\u201d<\/p>\n
Philly Anthems is the newest chapter in WXPN\u2019s four-part Soundtrack to America\u2019s 250th initiative, joining The Philly 250, World Cafe\u2019s Sense of Place: Philadelphia, and Sound of History in celebrating the region\u2019s musical legacy and its continuing influence.<\/p>\n
\u201cAs we celebrate America\u2019s 250th anniversary, we wanted to do more than look back,\u201d WXPN General Manager Roger LaMay said. \u201cPhilly Anthems is about creating something new, giving Philadelphia artists the opportunity to reflect on themes in the Declaration of Independence that resonate today through original music and add new songs to the city\u2019s remarkable musical legacy. We\u2019re excited to share their songs and stories with audiences over the coming months.\u201d<\/p>\n
New Philly Anthems songs will premiere throughout the rest of 2026, with the project culminating in the release of a 12-song vinyl album on Record Store Day 2027 and two concerts to be announced at a later date.<\/p>\n
Vinyl of the Week<\/p>\n
Keep an eye on this spot as each week, we\u2019ll be looking at new or soon-to-be-released vinyl from a variety of artists. It might be a repressing of a landmark recording, special edition, or new collection from a legendary act.<\/p>\n
This week, it\u2019s a best-of collection supplanted by a \u201crest of\u201d from one of the most popular synth-pop acts in music.<\/p>\n
New Order: \u201cThe Best & The Rest Of New Order\u201d (COURTESY OF LONDON RECORDS)<\/p>\n
New Order: \u201cThe Best & The Rest Of New Order\u201d<\/p>\n
New Order has just released \u201cThe Best & The Rest Of New Order,\u201d bringing together, for the first time, the band\u2019s acclaimed compilations \u201c(The Best Of) New Order\u201d and \u201c(The Rest Of) New Order.\u201d<\/p>\n
The new collection features fully remastered audio alongside an expansive selection of remixes, including many previously unreleased, from the likes of Sub Sub, Richie Hawtin and Joe T. Vannelli.<\/p>\n
Both albums will be released Fiiday as separate vinyl formats with remastered audio cut at Abbey Road.<\/p>\n
In addition, the three-LP set \u201c(The Rest Of) New Order\u201d compiles all 12 songs from the CD and original vinyl release for the first time. Both are pressed on 140-gram vinyl.<\/p>\n