I’ve been working on this year’s Philby list since Thanksgiving weekend. Truth be told, I’m always working on my year end lists. It just becomes more intense after Thanksgiving. I always have a list going for the year, and I add potential “nominees” as I hear them.
Most of the post Thanksgiving work centers around making sure I didn’t leave an album off the list that I felt should have been included. (It happens every year, and so far I have caught it.)
But I like to keep time frames “loose.” A lot of albums are released towards the end of the year –especially big name acts. Who even seriously has time to listen to them as the holidays get closer?
One of my requirements is that I have to play at least one track off of the album to be considered for eligibility. Since I do two shows a week now, that has become a lot easier to do. But I don’t feel that it’s fair to me or my listeners or to the artists themselves to bump someone I’ve been playing all year just to be replaced by something “new and shiny.”
This even works in the case of “should be big name acts.” Some of the artists on the list have had a more recent release. Although it would appear that I’m “off my game” by posting an older album, I would prefer to list the one I’ve been playing rather than the one I haven’t even touched. There’s always next year for the newer release.
I’m not trying to bore you with details. I’m just trying to explain a little more of my selection process. As I’ve said before, I work on this process year round. I would hate, at this moment, to have time specific parameters like “January 1—December 31.” Music doesn’t even arrive at the station from promoters and artists on that time frame.
Music should be fun and have a serendipitous sense of magical discovery for the listener, just like it does for the musicians making it. Adhering to a strict time limit would be the equivalent of punching a clock. In other words, actual work. And anyone who listens to my show or knows me, knows that “I ain’t into time, man!”
Tune in to 89.3 FM (WHFR) in the Dearborn-Detroit area, Public Radio and Tune In Players, and with this exclusive Philby Award link http://www.whfr.fm/images/stream_audio.html
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61. Three Big Ones—The Secrets (DetroitSecrets)
62. Gravity—Arjun
63. I Was Told There Would Be Pie—Jen Houston
64. Aragon Mill—Si Kahn and The Looping Brothers
65. Reign of the West—The Grave Jinglers
66. Eventually—Super Heater
67. Naturally—Raina Randolph
68. Live at Roscoe’s—Detroit Johnny—O
69. Highly Irregular—Whistler’s Father
70. Little Vixen—Sigrid Christiansen
71. Leaving Boston—Christa Gniadek
72. The Madcat Midnight Blues Journey—Peter Madcat Ruth, Drew Howard, Mark Schrock, Michael Shimmin
73. Shadow Trails—Linda McRae
74. California Nights—Best Coast
75. Good Luck, Bad Karma—Best Behavior
76. Choose to Be Human—Xposed 4Heads
77. Dragonfly—Great Caesar’s Ghost
78. Outskirts of Love—Shemekia Copeland
79. 18th and Volstead—The Vaude Villains
80. Talk—Jon Pousette—Dart
81. Capricorn—Happy Fangs
82. Histories of Things—Calvin Becker
83. Stumbling Towards the Light—Eric Banaan
84. The Power, The Glory, and The Monkey Time—George Stephen Kelly
85. Surf Noir—The 427s
86. Get Well—Birth of Joy
87. Multitudes—James Houlahan
88. What I Did—Hey Mavis
89. Pole Barn Rebels—Pole Barn Rebels
90. New Mexico Dirt—G.S. Harper
91. World War Trio, Pts. 2 and 3—Consider the Source
92. Dr. Hyperstein—Redtenbacher’s Funkestra
93. The Black Sky Sequined—Colorway
94. Crazy Neighbors—Crazy Neighbors
95. A Valentine to the Future—Telamor
96. Up Close at Faraway Sound—The Brother Brothers
97. Dirt—Lucid
98. Weirdo Shrine—La Luz
99. Waves—Big Brother Smokes
100.Beat the Champ—The Mountain Goats