Phil Maq

I have decided to start this year’s Philbys on Monday, December 14th!

The Philbys are my annual awards to recognize brilliant musical achievment!

They consist of two one hundred count lists: one for songs, and one for albums.

Here’s a link to last year’s list:

2019 Philby Song Award Winners

To make sure that you stay up to date on any Philby activity, make sure that you “like” my Phil Maq Facebook page!

For the moment, I am going to stick to my rule of only including songs that I have played on my show, or, in some cases, on other shows or radio stations.

The majority of the songs will be from my weekly Faves Songs list.

In other words, if you’re not aware that I’ve broadcasted a song, chances are it will not be appearing on this year’s Philby list.

In general, I may not have done a show in nine months, but I still have plenty of songs to catch my attention and choose from for my Faves list.

Since I’ve never navigated through a pandemic, I don’t have a clue where we’re going, but if I feel I’m running out of songs, next year, from my pool of eligible songs, I will reevaluate things at that point.

Albums are a different story.

The rules will be changing for at least this year and 2021.

I will write more about that in another post.

However, I would suggest submitting something even if it doesn’t fall within the normal four year target span!

I would suggest reading the bottom section of the article for submissions.

The format I will follow starting on December 14th will be a Countdown from 100 to 1.

I will reveal one song and its place once a day, in consecutive order.

It won’t necessarily be at a set time.

I will post an update after every twenty songs, at a minimum.

Once again, to make sure that you stay up to date on any Philby activity, make sure that you “like” my Phil Maq Facebook page!

I am making the presumption that I will be back on the air, sometime during my blog countdown, and will then continue the Countdown on the air.

But if the pandemic prevents me from doing so, it may be a long, slow unveiling.

I’m OK with that, and I hope others will be, too.

I personally think that anyone is OK with recognition anytime it is given.

As far as “The Most Awesomest Song of the Day,” as well as “One of the Greatest Songs Ever Recorded” choices, they will be posted, but perhaps not as often.

To recap: Philby Song rules stay the same, Philby Album rules will be changing slighly, and The Philbys begin Monday, December 14th!

December 14th????!!!

That’s next Monday!

I’d better get even busier!

Please join me on the journey!

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Here’s a section on submissions:

The album selections are made from a sliding four year pool of music.

This year that pool is 2017-2020.

The song selections are usually from the same range, too, but I’m a little more open to almost anything, since over time, there have been plenty of older songs that have found new life years after they’ve been recorded, even ending up on hit movie soundtracks.

Needless to say, this year is going to be unlike any year.

However, I have arrived at the realization that there will be issues every year no matter what I plan.

One of the reasons that I use a multiple year submission scale is that just getting music out to the world is sometimes difficult for an artist.

A lot of them are not really wired for self promotion.

Making music is totally different than drumming up interest in it, especially for independent musicians.

Yes, there are promoters that can help with that. And nothing against promoters because they have a role to play. But they cost money, and the artist already had to pay to record the music, and may not be prepared for the process of promoting it.

After looking at how some other independent awards are handled, I figured a four year window allows me enough time to serendipitously run across someone’s music.

I have told this story several times, but I try very hard to listen to everything that is submitted.

Although I work on my list, starting literally on January 1st, using a four year sliding window, I carry over what would qualify from the prior years.

Up to this point of the year, I just reached my largest batch of albums.

So, it’s basically a little over the number I used last year.

But let’s talk about this year, which is absolutely the weirdest year ever!

I haven’t even done a show for almost months!

I haven’t any idea how this will affect either list.

However, I will come up with something that makes sense.

And as large as my working list is, I know I have room for more.

I can never have enough!

Therefore, I am accepting entries for Philby consideration!

So, if you’ve made some music dating back as far as 2017, I will accept that music for consideration.

If you have something older than 2016, send that, too, but identify the release date. I’m always looking for GREAT music.

For the Philbys, I’m looking for full albums.

However, if you only have a single, I’ll accept that, too. Don’t forget that I also have a Philby Hot Songs list, and more artists are releasing singles these days.

But please don’t send me an incomplete album if you have one.

So, please don’t edit for me.

I hate that and I might not even check out the item. I don’t know why anyone would only send selected songs instead of their whole work of art for consideration.

Please don’t send me links to listen to music. That’s not how I listen to music.  And I probably won’t listen to it if you send me a link to stream it. Either send me the album to download or request my mailing address to send a physical copy.

Every year I say that if your item came out later than May, it may not end up on this year’s list. So it’s possible that submissions entered now may only be considered for 2021. (It sounds so good to think of 2020 being finished!)

However, this year will be totally different than other years. I have not received any where near the amount of releases that I normally do.

It might be an excellent year to send a submission.

I will accept any genre of music. I like a variety of styles, even on the same album!

So, please e-mail your mp3s, and please make sure it is an mp3 only, to phil@philmaq.com.

If you want a physical address or have other questions, please e-mail me at the same address. Because selections will be considered for more than a single year, there isn’t an expiration date at the present.

If you want someone who will actually listen to your music, I am that person.

If you want some recognition for working hard and baring your soul, that might be me, too. I can’t make any promises, but I will listen to your music.

If you are reading this and are not a musician but know someone who is, please forward this to them.

Good luck to all who participate!
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My weekly radio show “Prime Time Theme Attic,” can be heard Mondays, 8P-10P ET when it returns.

(Here’s the link for when that day comes: http://rdo.fm/r/4qntu)

It almost always includes a weekly countdown of my favorite albums or songs  and some shows feature two countdowns!

If you like what you see, don’t forget to spread the word by hitting the “like” button on my Facebook page, Phil Maq!