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I NEED A GIFT
FOR...
MUSIC
MY
MUSIC-OBSESSED BOYFRIEND, WHO HASN'T READ A BOOK IN YEARS
BUT HAS A RECORD COLLECTION THAT WOULD PUT HIGH FIDELITY'S
ROB TO SHAME.
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33
1/3 BOOKS
By VARIOUS AUTHORS
Continuum Books
33 1/3 GREATEST HITS, VOLUME 2
By DAVID BARKER, EDITOR
Continuum Books
If
he's willing to read, any of the 33 1/3
series could be a great place to start. The books are
in-depth looks at the background stories to many of
the world's greatest albums, written by music journalists
or musicians (including Colin Meloy, John Darnielle,
and Drew Daniel). This year, Continuum has released
books on Belle and Sebastian's If You're Feeling
Sinister, Nick Drake's Pink Moon, Sonic Youth's
Daydream Nation, and Tom Waits's Swordfishtrombones,
among others. You could also get him the second collected
volume, which cover artists such as David Bowie, Elvis
Costello, Neutral Milk Hotel, and The Pixies. (Kyle
Olson and Yennie Cheung)
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CHUCK
KLOSTERMAN IV
By CHUCK KLOSTERMAN
Scribner (paperback)
Sex,
Drugs, and Cocoa Puffs' author Chuck Klosterman
is back with ten years' worth of enough pop culture
criticism and snark to hold the average reader over
for the next ten years. Chuck Klosterman IV—the
title is a nod to Led Zeppelin IV—waxes
on everything from all-girl tribute cover bands (with
names like AC/DShe) to the cultural significance of
Britney Spears. (Bri Lafond)
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PUNK
LOVE
By SUSIE J. HORGAN
With HENRY ROLLINS and IAN MACKAYE
Universe
If
he's not willing to read, try Punk Love, which
is a series of photographs taken of the late '70s/early
'80s D.C. punk scene. Photographer Susie J. Horgan is
no photojournalist—she's an insider, having befriended
Henry Rollins and Ian MacKaye while the three worked
at a Georgetown Häagen-Dazs—so expect more
than just a few sweaty band shots of Rollins in his
black short shorts. (Yennie Cheung)
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MY BROTHER, WHO THINKS
HE'S PUNK.
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it from
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MY
FIRST TIME: A COLLECTION OF FIRST PUNK SHOW STORIES
By CHRIS DUNCAN, EDITOR
AK Press
Some
of the best and least-destroyed minds of punk are assembled
here to regale the reader with tales of their cherry-popping
shows. Each story is told in the husky and emphatic
voice of a burned-out scenester who will never forget
how good it felt to commit to punk for the rest of his
or her life. (Brian Hurley)
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MY
FATHER, WHO WOULD TURN GAY FOR JOHN LENNON.
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it from
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CAN'T
BUY ME LOVE: THE BEATLES, BRITAIN, AND AMERICA
By JONATHAN GOULD
Harmony
If
your dad's a big reader, he may have already gone through
a few of the seemingly endless books on the Beatles,
but the difference between Can't Buy Me Love
and the rest is the lack of gossip and hearsay. Instead,
Jonathan Gould—a former musician—eschews the
same recycled information of most books and focuses
on what fans love the most about the band: the music.
(Yennie Cheung)
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A
YOUNG MUSIC FAN
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YEAH!
YEAH! YEAH!
By BOB SPITZ
Little, Brown Books for Young Readers
Yeah!
Yeah! Yeah! is an incredible resource for the younger
audience and budding Beatles-fan. Filled with an excellent
selection of pictures and covering everything from who
is considered the fifth Beatle to George's idea for
"Taxman," the text is easy to read but intriguing enough
to retain the interest the subject should spark. (Samantha
Storey)
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SOPHISTICATED
LADIES
By LESLIE GOURSE
Dutton Children's
A
surprising number of young music fans I know are big
fans of the music they learn to play—namely classical
and jazz. In Sophisticated Ladies, jazz historian
Leslie Gourse chronicles the personal lives and careers
of 14 female jazz giants, from Bessie Smith and Ella
Fitzgerald to Diana Krall and Cassandra Wilson. (Yennie
Cheung)
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MY
SISTER'S BOYFRIEND WHO LOVES MUSIC AND PLAYING GUITAR, BUT
IS CONSEQUENTLY A DOUCHE.
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it from
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CLAPTON:
THE AUTOBIOGRAPHY
By ERIC CLAPTON
Broadway
Axe
legend Clapton waxes nostalgic in this long-awaited
autobiography discussing everything from his humble
beginnings in England to playing sold-out stadiums across
the world and maintaining his sobriety after the death
of his young son Conor. Guitar fans will appreciate
the overabundance of detail Clapton gives to the evolution
of his guitars, from the first Hoyer to the infamous
Blackie and all those in between. (Samantha Storey)
[See
the HBC review]
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MY
MUSIC TRIVIA-SPOUTING SISTER, WHO IS DESPERATE TO BE ''WITH
THE BAND."
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it from
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WONDERFUL
TONIGHT: GEORGE HARRISON, ERIC CLAPTON, AND ME
By PATTIE BOYD
Harmony
An
expanded take on the "band aid" theme, Boyd gives new
meaning to being the rock star's muse. From hanging
around with the Beatles during their heydey and subsequently
marrying George to being wooed by Eric Clapton and becoming
the inspiration for songs like "Layla" and "Wonderful
Tonight", Boyd stabs at the good, bad, and ugly sides
of some of the most famous bands in music history. (Samantha
Storey)
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it from
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THE
HEROIN DIARIES: A YEAR IN THE LIFE OF A SHATTERED ROCK
STAR
By NIKKI SIXX
Pocket Books
Mötley
Crüe bassist Nikki Sixx takes a crude look at a
year in his life at the height of both his fame and
his debilitating drug abuse in the late 1980s. Sixx
dishes a more intense background on the metal high life
than Tommy Lee's previous attempt, and fans should beware,
Sixx holds nothing back. Great for music fans ready
to delve into something...real. (Samantha Storey)
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AN
EXPERT AT MAKING MIX CDS.
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it from
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LOVE
IS A MIX TAPE: LIFE AND LOSS, ONE SONG AT A TIME
By ROB SHEFFIELD
Crown
High
Fidelity's narrator wasn't the only Rob who made
great mix tapes. Rolling Stone contributing editor
Rob Sheffield puts his heart on his proverbial sleeve
as he recounts the mix tapes that were significant to
his relationship with his now-deceased wife. Fans of
Nick Hornby's High Fidelity and Songbook
will appreciate the sentiment behind these tales of
how music forged this couple's love and punctuated Sheffield's
grief after his wife's death. (Yennie Cheung)
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A FAN OF INDIE ROCK.
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it from
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ELLIOTT
SMITH
By AUTUMN DE WILDE
Chronicle Books
Regardless
of how one defines "indie rock," few music fans can
deny the emotion or the artistry that was Elliott Smith's
music. In this book, music video director Autumn de
Wilde (the photographer behind Smith's Figure 8 album
cover) remembers the singer-songwriter through photographs,
a CD of solo acoustic performances, and conversations
with those who knew him. Two fellow musicians—Beck
and Chris Walla—contribute a foreword. (Yennie
Cheung)
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TV/FILM,
THEATER
A
MOVIE BUFF WHO LIKES TO READ BOOKS BEFORE THEY'RE MADE INTO
MOVIES.
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it from
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THE
RAW SHARK TEXTS
By STEVEN HALL
Canongate
Part
Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind and part
Jaws, The Raw Shark Texts is the story
of Eric Sanderson, a British man pitted against a metaphysical
shark bent on destroying all of his memories. Rights
to the book have been snapped up, and rumors claim that
Nicole Kidman asked Steven Hall to change Eric into
a woman so that she could play the role. He hasn't,
of course, but expect the film adaptation to generate
plenty of buzz anyway. (Yennie Cheung)
[See
the HBC review]
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MY
GEEKY FILM-STUDENT BROTHER.
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it from
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THE
ANNOTATED GODFATHER: THE COMPLETE SCREENPLAY
By JENNY M. JONES
Black Dog and Leventhal
There
isn't a film major alive who hasn't studied The Godfather,
and this book examines just about every scene. More
than just the shooting script or a textbook on film
analysis, The Annotated Godfather also offers
photos, interviews, and insider knowledge about everything
from deleted scenes to practical jokes on the set. (Yennie
Cheung)
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FRANKENSTEIN:
A CULTURAL HISTORY
By SUSAN TYLER HITCHCOCK
W.W. Norton
Susan
Tyler Hitchcock traces the history of everyone's favorite
movie monster in this lively study with lots of illustrations.
Hitchcock begins with Mary Shelley's Romantic-era creation
but quickly moves to images of Frankenstein in popular
culture, primarily in film. Laymen and film students
alike will delight in this fun exploration of one of
the West's most enduring myths. (Bri Lafond)
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MY BOYFRIEND, WHO IS
APPLYING FOR FILM SCHOOL AND WHOSE FAVORITE SCREENWRITERS/DIRECTORS
ARE BILLY WILDER AND ALEXANDER PAYNE.
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it from
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or
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THE
ABSTINENCE TEACHER
By TOM PERROTTA
St. Martin's
Tom
Perotta wrote the book Election, which Alexander
Payne adapted into a movie starring Reese Witherspoon…who
was in the movie Rendition with Meryl Streep,
who was in The River Wild with Kevin Bacon. Six
degrees aside, if your boyfriend enjoyed Election,
then Perrotta's latest book—a satire about a suburban
sex ed teacher being forced into an abstinence-preaching
curriculum—is probably right up his alley. (Yennie
Cheung)
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MY BEST FRIEND, THE STAR
WARS NUT WITH THE THELMA AND LOUISE LIFESTYLE.
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it from
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|
STAR
WARS: A POP-UP GUIDE TO THE GALAXY
By MATTHEW REINHART
Orchard
This
elaborately crafted pop-up book will appeal to Star
Wars fans of all ages; it is incredibly comprehensive,
to the point of being encyclopedic, but its cleverly
constructed popup pages are enough to impress the ennui-ridden
collectors who have it all. Each page pairs an equally
excellent pop-up with trivia and history, ensuring that
this book will stay on the coffee table and not get
shelved after the novelty wears off. This book is strictly
Original Trilogy material, so no annoying pop-up Jar
Jar faces, either. (Jacquelyn Gill)
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MY
BEST FRIEND FROM HIGH SCHOOL, WHO IS GOING FOR HER MFA IN
DRAMA.
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it from
Amazon
or
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FILTHY
SHAKESPEARE: SHAKESPEARE'S MOST OUTRAGEOUS SEXUAL PUNS
By PAULINE KIERNAN
Gotham Books
Intellectuals
and perverts alike will delight in Pauline Kiernan's
study of the naughty wordplay Shakespeare included in
his plays. Though occasionally repetitive and simplistic,
Filthy Shakespeare is a light, fun read that
will almost assuredly induce giggles in any reader.
(Bri Lafond)
[See
the HBC review]
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MY
COWORKER, WHO LOVES THE THEATER.
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it from
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or
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THE
YEAR OF MAGICAL THINKING: THE PLAY
JOAN DIDION
Vintage
That's
right, friends. Joan Didion turned her highly-successful
memoir about the deaths of her husband and daughter
into a one-woman play. If your theater friend is also
an aspiring playwright, you may also want to gift the
original book so that your friend can see how Didion
managed to condense a 240-page book into a 62-page play.
(Yennie Cheung)
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