[photo via]
For the music aficianados who more amped on the sounds of yesteryear than the new lot of bands like MGMT, Vampire Weekend, Matt & Kim, etc., here are some gifts under $25 bucks!
For an early present (and if you are in the NY area), you can get him/her a ticket to Indie Rock Karaoke! It is tomorrow, December 3, at Studio 5 in Greenpoint. Party animal Andrew W.K. hosts as punk rock veteran Ted Leo performs a set of his own stuff and a karaoke set where you join the band as the singer! Expect to hear Joy Division's "Transmission," The Cure's "Just Like Heaven," The Misfits' "Where Eagles Dare," and more! You also get a subscription to New York Magazine, which you may or may not have any interest in.
[$20, New York Magazine]
Mark Kozelek, the reigning king of sad, pretty folk music (Red House Painters, Sun Kil Moon), will release a CD of cover songs on December 9 called The Finally LP. If you've heard his albums of AC/DC and Modest Mouse covers, you know that he can take a song and make it his own entirely. On this disc you can expect to find covers ranging from the slowcore of Low and the pretty folk of Kath Bloom to the country swagger of Will Oldham and the seminal punk of Husker Du (you can hear his cover of "Celebrated Summer" here). The "Bedtime Lullaby" from the Nick Jr. show "Yo Gabba Gabba!" is on this disc as well.
[$13, Amazon]
Speaking of "Yo Gabba Gabba!", that's the next gift! This show was created by The Aquabats, the weirdo ska band that dressed like superheros, for hipster parents and their kids. The colors are bright, the sets are modern and the characters are cute.
And the guests and musicians. . . well, let's name some: Amy Sedaris, Biz Markie, Mates of State, Jimmy Eat World, Low, Mark Kozelek, The Shins, Mark Mothersbaugh (Devo), Sean Kingston, Elijah Wood, Enon, of Montreal, and many more.
Get either Yo Gabba Gabba!: The Dancey Dance Bunch on DVD or the Yo Gabba Gabba! Soundtrack.
[$11 - $13, Amazon]
There is nothing like reliving your glory days, so you can't go wrong with these books!
POST: A Look at the Influence of Post-Hardcore - 1985 - 2007
[$22, Amazon]
The Anti-Matter Anthology: A 1990s Post-Punk and Hardcore Reader
[$10, Amazon]
Keep Your Eyes Open: The Fugazi Photographs of Glen E. Friedman
[$20, Amazon]
Dance of Days: Two Decades of Punk in the Nation's Capital
[$6 used, Amazon]
New Brunswick, New Jersey, Goodbye: Bands, Dirty Basments, and the Search for Self
[$11, Amazon]
[photo via]
Vinyl. Unless this person has literally every record by every band he/she likes, then you can always find something, and usually for under $25 (if it's not super rare). I recently found Fleetwood Mac's Rumors at a record store for $1! It's all about browsing, so go support your local record shop!
[$1 - $25, Your Local Record Store!]