Dan Drago | photo courtesy of the artist
Fugazi to The Figgs: Listen to 25 O’Clock’s Dan Drago guest host What’s The Frequency on XPN
Leading up to his 200th episode of the 25 O’Clock podcast, Philadelphia’s Dan Drago made a return visit to XPN Studios last week to guest host the May edition of What’s The Frequency, the monthly 90s-adjacent music show hosted by John Vettese.
Active since 2014, Drago’s podcast spotlights the Philadelphia music scene; for his WTF set, he looked beyond Philly and back to his own youth, giving a snapshot of the podcaster as a young man with a two-hour playlist covering the musical tastes of his teens and early 20s.
It’s an eclectic grab-bag of music, true to the way Drago programs 25 O’Clock — folk to roots to punk to grunge, with particular spotlights on hip-hop (the Arrested Development / Digable Planets set is tight), jam bands (Phish and Rusted Root make notable appearances) and indie rock (the Liz Phair / The Amps set is another solid block).
Throughout the show, Drago weaves the music into his memories that range from hearing Ani Di Franco for the first time on a car ride with his father, getting pitched on Handsome Boy Modeling School while DJing on Fredonia Radio as a college student (88.9 WCVF in upstate New York), and seeing Fugazi at Rochester’s Harro East Ballroom in 1998.
Listen to the episode below, and check out Dan’s 200th episode of 25 O’Clock here. For his previous XPN visit, guest DJing on XPN Local, go here.
Ani DiFranco – “Out Of Range (live)”
Rusted Root – “Drum Trip”
Rusted Root – “Ecstasy”
The Tragically Hip – “Courage (For Hugh Maclennan) (live)”
Odds – “Satisfied”
Arrested Development – “Give A Man a Fish”
Digable Planets – “Pacifics”
Handsome Boy Modelling School – “Holy Calamity (Bear Witness II)”
Liz Phair – “Dogs of LA”
The Amps – “Full On Idle”
Fugazi – “Do You Like Me?”
Phish – “Tube (live)”
The Figgs – “Kiss Off”
Buffalo Tom – Stripes”
Soundgarden – “Face Pollution”
Nine Inch Nails – “Mr. Self Destruct”
Butthole Surfers – “Who Was In My Room Last Night?”
Pizzicato Five – “Happy Ending”