Eric Bazilian – Better Days | WXPN Philly Anthems

WXPN asked Philadelphia artists one simple question… What does independence mean today? The answers became Philly Anthems—twelve original songs commissioned from established artists and seven emerging musicians, each offering a different perspective on freedom, identity, belonging, and hope.

This summer and fall, WXPN will premiere each song, tell the story behind it, and introduce the artist who made it.

Eric Bazilian is a singer, songwriter, guitarist , multi-instrumentalist, arranger, and producer. He is a founding member of the Philadelphia rock band the Hooters and a multi-Grammy nominee. He wrote “One of Us”, a song first recorded by Joan Osborne in 1995 and plays guitar on “Time After Time,” originally recorded by Cyndi Lauper.

Here’s what Eric Bazilian had to say about the song:

“Better Times” started with five words,
over and over. I’d like to be able to say that “Better Times” came to me in a dream. It came, in fact, in the shower. Five words, over and over. Better times better come soon. I chased the idea in my head as I dried off, got dressed, followed it out of the house and into the studio, where I tried a bunch of things that didn’t work.

Then I sat down at the piano, started playing some chords, then a few more chords, until the idea decided to let me catch it. Several versions later, I’ve got a song in a style I’d never done before that I thought I could never sing. With some encouragement I proved myself wrong.

Don’t you just hate it when a writer says, “I’d rather let the song speak for itself”? Well, I’m here to tell you that I’m going to let the song speak for itself, hope somebody likes it and it makes them think kind thoughts.

Pre-save “Better Times” here: https://distrokid.com/hyperfollow/ericbazilian/better-times#40068019-ff18-4bdb-87b4-d51beb8ad566

Philly Anthems: https://xpn.org/philly-anthems/

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Philly Anthems has been supported by the Pew Center for Arts & Heritage
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