President Magill talks tunes passions on WXPN

Penn President Liz Magill embraced her interior radio DJ on Friday, joining WXPN host Kristen Kurtis on the 9 a.m. hour of the “Friday Early morning Mixtape” and curating a playlist of 13 tunes.

The playlist spans a number of eras and genres: from the folk-rock of Bob Dylan in the 1970s, with “Tangled Up in Blue,” to the funk of Prince in the 1980s, with “Let’s Go Nuts.” 

“I appreciate new music of all stripes, all kinds. In conditions of me as a songs listener, I would say I get really obsessive when listening to a little something I really like,” Magill said all through the broadcast. “I’m confident I’ve listened to the track ‘Paul’ by Major Thief at the very least a thousand periods when I was actually into it. As we ended up driving in excess of below, I was reflecting on when Tracy Chapman’s ‘Fast Car’ came out on that album I most likely listened to that a thousand periods as properly.”

Magill noted that her spouse and friends are comparably “less obsessive” than she is. She additional that with new music, she’s most attuned to and moved by the temper of a music, more than the lyrics. 

“Mostly, what the tunes conveys and evokes to me is a feeling of mood and emotion,” she stated. “That’s the form of music listener I am.”

She also described acquiring some inspiration from her small children. Her son, she discussed, plays the drums and is in a band—and double checked to make certain she knew about The Roots right before shifting to Philadelphia. 

During the conversation with Kurtis, Magill also gave specific shout-outs to the Penn New music Office—including new presidential assistant professor Tyshawn Sorey—and Penn alumnus John Legend. She mentioned that vital to her is how “broad and deep the adore of audio operates in the metropolis and at the College.” 

With a nod to WXPN, which is a radio service operated by Penn, Magill, who moved to Philadelphia and turned the University’s president in July, claimed: “Even persons who do not know Philadelphia know WXPN. I consider ‘rhythms not algorithms’ suggests it all this is a genuine tunes lover’s corner of the airwaves. WXPN exemplifies Penn’s motivation to neighborhood engagement and we are incredibly proud of what you do in this article.”

Kurtis and Magill also touched on the Philadelphia foods scene, as well as Magill’s starting-of-the-semester bustle of acquiring to know learners, employees, and school on campus and turning out to be acquainted with the metropolis as a total.

Magill closed with assistance for students as the semester receives underway.

“This is an opportunity to be open up to new and unanticipated activities and possibilities,” Magill stated. “You can by no means be certain when and in which you might fulfill your new heroes. And when you do, reach out and commence a conversation. It could adjust your life.”

“I cherished speaking about tunes with President Magill,” claimed Kurtis following the exhibit. “It was pleasurable to join with her about artists we each enthusiastically enjoy, and she place jointly an impeccable playlist.”

Magill also made time through the weekend of Sept. 16 to knowledge the XPoNential Audio Competition at Camden Waterfront—a major enterprise just about every yr by WXPN, that includes set up and up-and-coming artists. 

“WXPN is a beloved support to quite a few,” Magill said. “Being aspect of Friday’s plan with Kristen was terribly pleasurable, and to expertise firsthand the tough perform and determination of the WXPN crew all through the XPoNential Music Pageant was extraordinary. I am so very pleased of this business and all it signifies for tunes fans, for Penn, and for Philadelphia.”

Underneath, obtain an prolonged playlist from President Magill.