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89.3 The Current's Last-Minute Gift Guide

Posted at 11:43 AM on December 20, 2011 by The Current


With one day until Chanukah and five to go before Christmas, it's safe to assume a lot of you have all of your gifts bought, wrapped and ready to go. But for those of you who don't have it together and are watching in horror as the deadline draws nearer — 89.3 The Current feels your pain.

That's why we've thrown together a list of some of the best gifts you can pick up for the music fans among your family and friends. You can hit up our Top 89 staff picks for some nice suggestions of albums released this year, but for those of you wanting to dig a little deeper, we've compiled a selection of the year's best re-issues and box sets, music books and live DVDs, spanning many eras and genres. Take a look!



Re-issues & Box Sets

Books

DVDs



Re-issues & Box Sets
Nick Cave Reissues

Nick Cave & the Bad Seeds
Let Love In / Murder Ballads / The Boatman's Call / No More Shall We Part
 Mute; 2011


There are few figures in music as formidable and fascinating as Nick Cave. Yet while many contend he reached the height of his powers with his raucous, deranged first band the Birthday Party, or on 1980s classics like his solo debut From Her to Eternity, his run of albums in the '90s and early '00s, reissued this year by Mute, surely deserves just as much attention.

The morbid Murder Ballads is perhaps his best-known from this era, but it's 1991's Let Love In — simultaneously elegant and viscerally powerful — that I think is the real winner among them. However, the stunning introspection of The Boatman's Call isn't far behind, and 2001's No More Shall We Part showcases some of Cave's most mature and nuanced songwriting.

— Peter Valelly, Associate Web Producer


Ty Segall - Singles: 2007-2010

Ty Segall
Singles: 2007-2010
Goner; 2011


Ty Segall is a rock and roll God. The funny thing about this "reissue" is that Segall is still actively producing albums, usually one or two a year. It's a testament to his extensive discography at such a young age that he would even need a retrospective in the first place.

His solo name may not be familiar but perhaps the bands he has recorded with will strike a bell: The Fresh & Onlys, Mikal Cronin, Sic Alps, Epsilons, The Traditional Fools... the list goes on. A San Francisco-based artist heavily engrained in the current garage-rock revival, Ty Segall is a must-have for anyone who has an affinity for musicians like The Monks and Jay Reatard.

— Jon Schober, Digital Media Intern & Local Music Assistant


The Beach Boys - Smile Sessions

The Beach Boys
The Smile Sessions
Capitol; 2011


This reissue has two distinct purposes in my mind: 1) to give older fans a new dose of material that they thought would never come, and 2) improve the perception of brooding teenagers who think this band only recorded "Surfin' USA."

The Beach Boys went a long way during their careers, just like other '60s acts who transformed their sounds in correlation with the changing decades. Pet Sounds was the culmination of this experimentation and The Smile Sessions draws from recordings for what was meant to be the anticipated follow-up in 1967. It never fully came to fruition until now, and this is definitely the reissue of the year.


— Jon Schober


Marvin Gaye - What's Going On

Marvin Gaye
What's Going On (40th Anniversary Edition)
Universal/Motown; 1971/2011


On Marvin Gaye's 1971 classic, the legendary soul singer summoned all of his musical genius to craft an incredibly poignant and deeply personal yet fiercely politicized record that is almost universally recognized as one of the greatest LPs ever recorded. For its 40th anniversary release, What's Going On has been remastered and repackaged with alternate mixes and outtakes, making this comprehensive release a must for the soul fan in your family.

— Peter Valelly


R.E.M. - Part Lies, Part Heart, Part Truth, Part Garbage: 1982-2011

R.E.M.
Part Lies, Part Heart, Part Truth, Part Garbage: 1982-2011
Warner Bros. / IRS; 2011


The great thing about this one is that it was compiled by the band members themselves instead of flimsily thrown together for the purpose of record label profit. A thirty-year retrospective, it is easy to hear how R.E.M. started and ended and how they sounded in-between.

With the legendary quartet now officially disbanded as of this year, this reissue is pivotal for just about anyone. R.E.M. was one of the few bands that transgressed age boundaries and has continued to bond young and old for generations.

— Jon Schober


Archers of Loaf - Icky Mettle

Archers of Loaf
Icky Mettle
Merge/Fire; 2011


There is an excellent section in the book Our Noise: The Story of Merge Records that focuses exclusively on how Archers of Loaf was the first band the co-founders of Merge fell in love with. It subsequently became their first hit album as well, spending 22 weeks on the top of college radio charts — pretty unprecedented with the music industry nowadays.

Icky Mettle is key for any early '90s indie rock fan to have. Archers of Loaf were the inspiration for most every early band on Merge from Superchunk to Butterglory and Portastatic and you can hear odes even now in their current roster, among bands like Arcade Fire, Spoon and Wye Oak.

— Jon Schober


Grandaddy - The Sophtware Slump

Grandaddy
The Sophtware Slump
V2/Universal; 2011


This forgotten indie-rock gem is an American OK Computer of sorts, born not out of the gloom and paranoia of post-Thatcherite England but instead out of the dubiously utopian, stiflingly synthetic environment of the turn-of-the-millennium Silicon Valley. For Grandaddy lead singer and producer Jason Lytle, it seems the vast green and blue expanses of his native West Coast have become indistinguishable from virtual reality, and he imbues his surreal, sci-fi songs with a gentle ennui. Peopled by characters like the airplane pilot gone existentially astray or the dying robot incapable of understanding irony, The Sophtware Slump is a strange and lovely album that flew under the radar for many indie fans, making it a perfect gift for musicheads who think they have everything. The 2011 deluxe edition features a second disc packed with outtakes, alternate versions and B-sides — including one of the band's finest tracks, the essential "Our Dying Brains."

— Peter Valelly


The Radio Dept. - Passive Aggressive: Singles 2002-2010

The Radio Dept.
Passive Aggressive: Singles 2002-2010
Labrador; 2011


This Swedish band has been around since the mid-'90s, but it was only in 2003 when they started cranking out albums and became the largest Swedish export in ages. Do you like dream pop? Well, these guys are responsible for reigniting the movement. Any band you hear now probably has some influence rooted in The Radio Dept. A Sunny Day in Glasgow, Asobi Seksu, School of Seven Bells — you name it.

This release compiles all of the band's hit singles, giving a definitive view of their career so far. They hardly ever tour, so if you missed them on any of their US dates last year, you'll probably just need to listen to this album on repeat for another five years to keep yourself sane.


— Jon Schober


Books
Keith Richards - Life

Keith Richards
Life


Not since Mötley Crüe's jaw-dropping The Dirt has a music bio promised this much strange-but-true rock'n'roll candor. Indeed, as far as the shock factor goes, Keef doesn't disappoint, offering tales involving mountains of drugs and gaggles of groupies, but also such amazing and bizarre tidbits as, say, Keith chasing one of his daughters' wedding guests around with a sword in each hand. Yet the book's brilliance extends beyond its pure entertainment value, offering a captivating narrative of the evolution of one of the greatest bands of all time — and of rock'n'roll itself — as told through the lens of one of the 20th century's true musical icons.

— Peter Valelly


Roseanne Cash & John Carter Cash

Rosanne Cash

Composed

John Carter Cash 

House of Cash: The Legacies of My Father, Johnny Cash


Two books on the great Johnny Cash came out this year and they have extremely personal touches. Eldest daughter Rosanne Cash reflects on her time with the The Man In Black, definitely touching on the tumultuous divorce that she was caught in the middle of as a child.

On the other side of Cash's marriage history, John Carter Cash, the only son of Johnny and June, provides a great deal of history in the form of family archives, photos, lyrics, art, notes, and more.

Cash is undoubtedly one of our most iconic and misrepresented musicians. Two perspectives from his children should offer further insight to fans looking for closure.

— Jon Schober


Simon Reynolds - Retromania

Simon Reynolds
Retromania


As a music journalist in both the UK and the US over the last 25 years, Simon Reynolds has proven to be one of the most acute and timely analysts of popular music, from rock to rap to dance music. In books like the astonishing rave history Energy Flash (also known as Generation Ecstasy) and the definitive post-punk tome Rip It Up and Start Again, he blends history, theory, analysis and sheer fan-boy music enthusiasm with startling panache.

With Retromania, he tackles a complex, ominous question — has contemporary culture's ravenous drive to recycle the past gone too far? Are we running out of new ideas because we're too obsessed with old ones? (Indeed, Reynolds might cite the eight reissues included in this gift guide as evidence). Reynolds' answers aren't optimistic, but they're grounded in an insane amount of esoteric historical research — you'll be amazed at how early in the history of rock & pop the "retro" impulse appears, and perhaps equally amazed by how rampant and far-reaching it has become in recent years. Plus, Reynolds' restless, ad-hoc philosophizing about the nature of contemporary culture is chock full of (dare I say) new ideas about music, history and memory. A must-read.

— Peter Valelly


Will Hermes - Love Goes to Buildings on Fire

Will Hermes
Love Goes to Buildings on Fire: Five Years in New York City That Changed Music Forever


Rolling Stone's senior critic, contributor to NPR's "All Things Considered," and a former writer for City Pages, Will Hermes recently released a new book, Love Goes to Buildings on Fire: Five Years in New York City That Changed Music Forever. Hermes explores the musical explosion of the 1970s in the nation's cultural capital and examines the influence of musicians like Arthur Russell, Blondie, The Ramones and Bob Dylan. Listen to his morning show interview from earlier this year.

— Jon Schober


DVDs
Adele Live at Royal Albert Hall

Adele Live at Royal Albert Hall


Modern times have hardly seen a musician so confident and captivating as Adele, especially one who can command an audience even during times without a full band in tow. The ways she has twisted the traditional definition of the singer-songwriter has stolen the hearts of many, touching on soul, jazz, R&B, and even country and bossa nova.

This year, her performance at The Royal Albert Hall was recorded prior to many of her current throat complications. With so many canceled dates, even some in the Twin Cities, lots of fans have yet to see her live. So scoop up this DVD of all of her hits to tide yourself over until she heads back stateside.

— Jon Schober


PJ20

Pearl Jam Twenty


If anyone is going to direct a rock documentary the right way, it's probably going to be former Rolling Stone writer Cameron Crowe. He explored his raucous experiences as a contributor in the film Almost Famous, but it has been years since he has revisited the subject, much less about such an iconic band as Pearl Jam.

Pearl Jam Twenty is a major retrospective of the band's long career. It compiles over 12,000 hours of footage into a two-hour rendition that aims to encapsulate how Pearl Jam affected the music world and the legacy it continues to propel. A must for any fan and burgeoning music aficionado who enjoys getting inside the musician's head.

— Jon Schober


1991: The Year Punk Broke

1991: The Year Punk Broke


This is a needed addition to your music documentary collection just because it has been 19 years since the original release. The movie follows pivotal bands in the beginning of their careers like Nirvana, Dinosaur Jr., The Ramones, Mudhoney, and Babes in Toyland — that alone is worth watching.

The main point of the film though is highlighting Sonic Youth's European tour in 1991 immediately after the release of their popular sixth album Goo, and the first album they recorded on a major label. This is the first time 1991: The Year That Punk Broke has been on DVD and it's safe to assume it may be snatched up quickly.

— Jon Schober


Everyone knows online shopping gets tricky in terms of shipping time this close to the holidays, so be sure to support local record stores when buying these gifts for your friends and family.


Oh, and don't forget that in addition to all of the wonderful gifts mentioned above, you can always give the gift of 89.3 The Current merchandise — we've got hats, fleeces, shirts, mugs, you name it! There's also the wonderful new New Standards Holiday Show CD. Happy last-minute shopping!


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