The Musical Advent Calendar - An Introduction

And so finally it is here.

It was way back in May I first thought of this, blurting out the idea in the pub before the idea was fully formed.

It went something along the lines of me counting down my top 25 albums of the year through December, and calling it an advent calendar (It was later pointed out to me that a traditional advent calendar has only 24 doors).

That was before this blog had even been created, but once it was, we had a place to actually do this, and what's more, a place to get others involved.

Before I really knew what I was doing, I'd created a panel of 10 people, and here we are.

So, starting tomorrow, and running every day until Christmas Eve, each of us will announce our top 24 of the year, reaching the all important No. 1s on Christmas Eve.

Then, as if that wasn't enough, on Christmas Day, using a complex scoring system not yet fully devised, we'll figure out some kind of cumulative chart.

If all my plans come to fruition, there'll be a special follow-up on Boxing Day too...

I've had everyone's lists in for a few days now. When we first set out, there were worries we'd be overlapping far too much to make this interesting, but I don't think that's been the case, and I've been more than a little surprised by a lot of the picks, including some of the No. 1s. (Yes, this is my way of trying to get you to stick with us throughout December).

Oh yes, and by tomorrow, one way or another, I'm going to try and make this blog look a little bit more Christmassy. Not that I know how to do that...

So, who's on the panel?

Ali Mason - The man behind Ali Mason's The Blog has been obsessing over his Top 24 since the idea was first put to him in June. Don't over-analyse the results, please. He can't take it. You can also follow his work here.

Rory Dollard - A man who makes part of what he calls a living from advising professional footballers what to listen to. Without revealing what it is, it should be noted that Dollard declared his number one to be Album of the Year last year, several months before it was even released. You can also follow his work here.

Dom Farrell - The lead guitarist and songwriter for Manchester's Fox Force Five admitted this project dragged him away from his preferred plundering of back catalogues.

Andy Welch - TV and music journalist who practically insisted on getting involved in this after being consulted by a confused Dollard pondering his own list. He admitted that reviewing up to 10 albums a week leaves him a little overloaded, but we figure anything he can still remember from that massive pile must be worthy of inclusion. You can also follow his work here.

Guy Atkinson - Usually to be found listening to albums in darkened rooms, Guy continues his endless search for the perfect pop album. You can also follow his work here.

Pranam Prabhakar - Songwriter, guitarist, and Chief Noise Engineer for the delightful Crooked Rooks.

John Skilbeck - A man who specialises in listening to bands so obscure they've not heard of themselves. You can also follow his work here.

Matt Collins - A singer/songwriter who, after forming various bands over the years, can now be found under his own name. Also, being a charitable type, he encourages all to check out his day job. You can also follow his work here.

SP - My partner in blogging and former DJing crimes, SP makes a welcome return to Ragged Glories for the festive period. You can also follow his work here and here.

Me - And finally, little old me, who apologises to the rest of the panel for this whole idea. I never knew it would get this, well, involved...

So without further ado, let's get this started. Tomorrow, that is...