tsop

Take those letters for whatever you want.

The "real" meaning is The Sound of Philadelphia, i.e. the soul music coming out of Philadelphia in the '70s. The producers most associated with it are Kenny Gamble, Leon Huff, and Thom Bell. You can read about philly soul over on All Music, which has got to be one of my favorite and most visited websites.

Today, though, TSOP was more fittingly the streets of Philadelphia. So much walking today. Cities really are best seen on foot, you know (bikes are great, too, but Philly isn't super-bike friendly). I never cease to be astounded at how the character of a street can change in just a matter of blocks. Market St. for example, goes from financial firms, banks, and the like, to porno theaters in less than five blocks.

Then again, maybe the first meaning of TSOP was just as appropriate, considering I was listening to Larry Gold's Presents Don Cello, a sort of rundown of key soul artists from Philadelphia, past and present, produced by Gold.

It occurs to me this post has been a bit meandering. But that's how I tend to think of cities... organic and to be explored on a whim. And though I've lived within twenty miles of Philadelphia for well over half my life, I don't know it nearly well enough...