Phillies 2008 World Series Anthem 'Unstoppable' Reimagined for 2022

Philadelphia's super-group, Guerrillaelphia, have released a driving and celebratory updated version of their 2008 World Series hype anthem, "Unstoppable" with a shout along chorus that exclaims, "there's just no stopping us! It's all Philly tonight! It's all Philly!"

The song is a sonic throwback to over-indulgence with distorted guitars, stadium rock vibes, the Eagle's Jason Kelce, Phillies announcer Harry Kalas and nods to Live Aid and Led Zeppelin cassettes in old Corvettes that is bound to please and get the heart pumping of any Phils fan pregaming the Series this week. If Robyn's "Dancing on my Own" is the feel good sing-a-long after a Phillies win, "Unstoppable" is the locally-sourced, organically made, pre-game rallying cry for the hometown crowd.

When the Phillies won the NLCS title this season, several fans asked McCloskey if there would be an updated "Unstoppable" for 2022. The bandleader did what he does best and assembled thirteen of Philly's finest musicians for an epic all-night session, cutting the new version live to tape to create a massive throwback stadium rocker with nods to Philly Soul in the choruses and 80's anthem rock in the verses.

The song kicks off with excerpts from Jason Kelce's legendary speech from the Eagles 2008 Super Bowl parade and closes with the heart-warming voice of the late, great Phillies announcer, Harry Kalas, calling the Phils 2008 World Series win. With McCloskey on guitar and vocals the track includes rapper Kuf Knotz, drummer Chuck Treece, bassist Tom Spiker, guitarist Ross Bellinoit, organist Adam Flicker, vocalists Sarah Biemuller, Hannah Taylor, Ali Wadsworth and G. Love and the big brass sounds of Snacktime.

During the 2008 Phillies win in the NLDS, McCloskey wrote over an ascending chord progression, "there's just no stopping us, the mere thought is just preposterous." Simple enough and seed was planted for what would be become a bona fide Philadelphia sports anthem. He said of the moment, "At that point, the last time the Phils won the World Series was in 1980. My entire generation spent our lives watching a baseball team knowing that, at some point in the postseason, they were going to lose. It never occurred to me until that moment in 2008, that we maybe could win it all. It felt like the whole city dared to believe for the first time in decades that we were the team of destiny. We wanted to capture that feeling of anything being possible. Plus, it was a chance to write a jock jam..."

The songwriter took his original demo of "Unstoppable" to his long-time collaborators, Treece and Spiker, with whom he recorded his second album, Northern Liberties. They recorded the basic tracks before sending it to G. Love who contributed additional vocals, harmonica, and guitar. Serendipitously, Philly rapper Kuf Knotz was in the studio with G at the time and contributed the first verse.

The result was adopted by Phillies fans who rapidly shared it online where it caught the attention of regional radio stations and was played widely across all formats. Going under the moniker, Guerrilladelphia, the band was asked to perform the song live on Fox 29's Good Day Philadelphia and on WMMR's Preston and Steve Show. It was ultimately embraced by the Phillies organization and played at Citizen's Bank Park before every home game.

McCloskey's new version of "Unstoppable" is not your typical jock jam faire. Filled with Philly nostalgia from driving to Veteran's Stadium blasting a Led Zeppelin cassette to the massive Live Aid Concert in '85, the ghosts of Philly sports past converge with the present-day tailgaters in the JETRO Lot and the pre-gamers on the mechanical bull at Xfinity live to pour into a modern day Roman coliseum to ring the bell so hard it cracks. The songwriter and his raggle-taggle group of merry makers in Guerilladelphia and Snacktime have given Phillies fans a hype track worthy of the moment.

2022 has also been a remarkable year for McCloskey. On the heels of the release of his new album, The Chaos and the Beauty, he and the cast of It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia sold out two nights at The Met as well as selling out his album release show at Ardmore Music Hall in October. McCloskey and his band made appearances on WXPN's Free at Noon and WMMR's Preston and Steve Show.

His song, "First in Flight," is currently in rotation on WXPN and has over one million spins. The band will be playing a song at the Last Waltz Tribute at the Electric Factory on November 25th and their annual holiday show at Johnny Brenda's on December 16th will wrap up the year.

 

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