2013 marks encore of Our Music Year

When the fans yell until they’re hoarse and won’t leave the venue, the musicians come back on stage and play a little more.

That’s the definition of an encore.

That’s how I view what will appear every day in the pages and the website of the Daily Republic this year.

See, in 2012, I completed a massive undertaking: I listened to an album that was new to me every day for one year.

I called it “Our Music Year,” in homage to the late comic book writer Harvey Pekar, who penned “Our Cancer Year” and “Our Movie Year” during his nearly 35-year career in addition to his most famous work, “American Splendor.”

It also was named in homage to the communal cogs that drove the machine. I didn’t come up with all 366 titles myself. Family, friends and co-workers made their contributions, including Daily Republic cohorts Heather Ah San (No. 354, No. 359), Brian Arnold (No. 98, No. 295), Danny Bernardini (No. 262, No. 274, No. 341), Mike Corpos (No. 71, No. 100, No. 366), Glen Faison (No. 323, No. 342) and Adrienne Harris (No. 317).

In 2013, the Daily Republic will republish each of these entries in the print edition and on its website on the corresponding day it first appeared on my blog, For Those About to Rock. It’s sort of like being asked to come back out on stage for an encore.

There were three rules for the project:

• It had to be an album I hadn’t heard in its entirety. Nearly one-third of them were 2012 releases, but one was recorded as early as 1935.
• One title per day, which meant that Hüsker Dü’s 20-minute-long “Everything Falls Apart” (No. 133) and Phish’s “Live Phish Vol. 15″ (No. 305), which approaches four hours, were of equal value.
• Reviews were 200 words or less.

Just because the blog is named For Those About to Rock doesn’t mean its inclusive only to rock ‘n’ roll. In fact, I made an effort to cast a wide net, including an array of genres from Hindu devotional music to teen pop.

The project ends and begins with a Pantera album, starting Tuesday with “Cowboys From Hell” and concluding Dec. 31 with “Vulgar Display of Power.” Each entry’s number corresponds with the day of the year on which it was published and since 2012 was a leap year, we’ll pull one out and make it a website exclusive.

For a complete wrap-up of the “Our Music Year” quest, check out Friday’s Diversions section.

To read Nick DeCicco’s blogs, visit http://dailyrepublic.typepad.com/forthoseabouttorock. Follow him on Twitter @ndeciccodr.

Nick DeCicco

Nick DeCicco is the editor of the Tailwind and writes the pop culture blog/column For Those About to Rock. Before joining the DR staff in July 2007, DeCicco (pronounced Deh-CEE-Coh) worked at The Union in Grass Valley, Calif., and the Greeley Tribune in Greeley, Colo. A 2004 graduate of the University of Northern Colorado in Greeley, DeCicco spends his free time attending concerts, listening to music, going to movies, traveling and hiking.

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