Yesterday I posted the first of my two part list of Holiday gift suggestions for music lovers. My goal is to make it easier to find your friends/family a personal gift that is much more unique than a boring gift certificate. Music is such a deeply personal form of expression for so many people that often times finding the perfect album or introducing someone to a new artist can be a very gratifying experience. For a serious music lover receiving the right gift signals to them your knowledge of their tastes and personality is vast enought to find them something they can appreciate on a deeper level than something material. Consider this handy guide a cheat sheet for those of you who have no earthly idea how to pick a gift like that. So, without further ado here is the rest of the list.
6. The New Pornographers - Twin Cinema: This is one of my favorite albums of 2005. Every song from this Vancouver collective's thrid album seems to jump out of your speakers demanding that you smile, snap your fingers and tap your feet in synch with the music. Lead singer Carl Newman's cheery vocals and alt-folk hero Neko Case's dynamic voice are perfect compliments to the band's power-pop sound. If someone you know is a big fan of the Flaming Lips or The Shins then they surely would enjoy the sounds of The New Pornographers.
7. The Concert for Bangladesh (Deluxe Edition): Perhaps George Harrison's finest personal acheivement, The Concert for Bangledesh was the first truely star-studed rock and roll benefit concert of its time. This limited edition deluxe package includes the original concert film with digitally remastered sound and picture plus a bonus disc of never-before-seen concert footage and a companion documentary.
8. Talking Heads - Brick: This box set is only for the die-hard Talking Heads fans, but is well worth the money if you know one of them. Includes the New York band's first 8 albums on DualDisc format, meaning that on one side of each disc is one of their classic albums with bonus material and on the other side is a DVD 5.1 surround sound mix of the same music. This gives the music a depth and clarity that it never had before, adding tons more enjoyment to the listening experience. Packaged as an all-white art object, the packaging is defintely something out of left field that fans should expect from a project involving David Byrne. In any case, the real attraction is the music which is a vast improvement over the poor audio quality of the band's album catalog.
9. Children of Nuggets - Original Artyfacts from the Second Psychedelic Era 1976-1995: Rhino Records collaborated with writer/musician Lenny Kaye to bring us the original Nuggets Box set, which many agree is the most definitive document of 60's era psychedelic rock. After a sequel and another box set focused on the British psychedelic era, the tandem is back with this retrospective on the countless bands whose sound owes a great debt to the music of that era. The 4-disc collection covers bands from many different genres like Power Pop, Post-Punk, New Wave, Garage Rock and Indie. Some of them well known bands like Primal Scream, The Soft Boys, Teenage Fanclub, The Church and The Bangles and other not-so-well-known like The Rain Parade, Raybeats, Dukes of Stratosphear and many more. If you own any of the original Nuggets box sets, then this is the perfect compliment to your collection.
10. Bob Dylan - No Direction Home (DVD): For many this is the best documentary every made about Bob Dylan. Perhaps it has a little to do with the fact that it was made by the incomporable Martin Scorsese. Whatever the reason, this documentary is surely to be cherished by anyone who is a fan of Dylan and his music. It follows the rock legend's early years, as he transformed from an obscue folk artist in New York's East Vilage to a musical genius in the mid-1960's when his prolific songwriting catapulted him to stardom. Scorsese's film captures previously unseen footage from the Dylan archives that includes press conferences, recording sessions and performances and mixes it together with rare interviews with Dylan's friends, contemporaries and even the man himself. No Direction Home paints a vivd picture of a man who struggled to find his artistic identity and his journey to musical iconic status.
11. iTunes Music Store Gift Card: If all else fails and the suggestions on this list yeild no good leads, then even a gift card can work...so long as it isn't for a crappy record store. Apple's wildly successful iTunes Music Store is definitely a cut above most major music chains. The convenience is unrivaled. Just make a few clicks and you can listen to your songs in a few minutes, rather than waiting days for CD's to arrive. And becuase iTunes integrates so seemlessly with your iPod, you can take your new music with you anywhere you want. Don't own an iPod? Every single one of iTunes' over 1 million songs can be burned on a CD and played in any CD player. Also find thousands of audiobooks, podcasts and even music videos. If the person you are buying for has picky tastes then a gift card from the iTunes Music Store may be your best bet.