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Aloha, wishing you all a happy and safe Christmas (or other) shopping journey.
Found some cool-ish items I thought I'd mention in case y'all need any ideas.
I am having difficulty with several non-audiophiles that I would like to get gifts for, so any input from you folks would be great!
CD's:
As an "Enophile," I would be remiss if I did not mention Brian Eno's fabulous new disc, "Another Day on Earth." It has more song structure than his ambient discs and has some dynamite songs/lyrics. It still tends toward trance-like songs but is consistently lovely. I'm playing it as I type. David Byrne does some guest vocals, and I'd almost bet Bryan Ferry is on a track or two. Really nice. You could even sneak it by a new age fan and please them (no offense, Mr. Eno.) The first track may be my favorite single track of 2005.
Josh Rouse: "Nashville". One of those discs with songs that keep reminding you of other songs you like. Familiar, yet new. One song doesn't really sound like it, but makes me keep thinking of that song from when Rod Stewart was good. Actually, it's like the last good Rod Stewart song, "In My Heart." Mostly acoustic guitar and singer/songwriter stuff.
Speaking of Rod Stewart, he sucks for 30 years, but before that he had some mojo. Everyone should own "Every Picture Tells a Story," and Amazon has a crisp new remaster of that disc.
Also, there is a great box set / anthology of a great band that is out this past year by The Faces. They always sounded like everything was about to completely fall apart, but then didn't. Plus, Ronnie lane was so great, he deserves you should listen to this set and appreciate him.
It's called "Fiver Guys Walk Into a bar.
If you or someone you know were fans of the "low rock" or "rock noir" band Morphine, then you are required to buy this next disc for them and yourself:
Bourbon Princess, "Dark of Days." It's got Morphine's drummer and a sax player who apprenticed with Morphine's sax player. The singer is a chick who makes Alison Moyet sound feminine. really good!
For a hip hop fan, Outlandish's "Beats, Rhymes, and Life" is quite good. It's more "conciousness rap" and features many many remix beats without profanity or violence. It has cameos by two people worth knowing, Rachid Taha (an arabic rapper with great sensibilities) and Nusrat Fatah Ali Khan (now deceased, but a fantastic Pakistani traditional singer who got into modern beats right before he died.) Even if you don't dig hip hop, this sounds good.
A quick final shout out for a disc by Amadou & Miriam, "Dimanche a Bamako." This is a west African duo who have a great "mbalax" sound (I learned it as Souko), like Youssoo N'Dour and Baaba Maal, only more lilting guitars and more melodious vocals. They sing some in French, some English, some other dialects - very pleasing.
OK, enough music. All these are at Amazon, and not likely to be something your music loving gift recipients are too likely to have!
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For the kids:
Hasbro brought back Lazer Tag, with programmable infra red guns, heads up eyeglass display, and lots of play value. I got my kids some and as I was carrying the boxes down the hall at work, a woman spontaneously stopped me to tell me how much she and her daughter love the game.
Do a Yahoo search for Hasbro Lazer Tag and check out the site. Ebay is crawling with 'em. I got mine from a seller called Ballnsteele and he was a great seller. Plan on about 50-55 bucks per two-player set.
Leap Pad is great for the kids, as is a site my wife found with brain-feeding games and toys. I forgot the name, I'll add it later, or email me.
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For the lady (or ladies...;) ...) in your life:
Jean Patou's 1000 or Joy are perfumes that smell so good, you'll never want to stop smelling them. Really classy, understated, elegant, and mind numbingly romantic scents. These are what they call "classic" scents.
1000 is made from a lovely flower that blooms only one night per year, and requires 1000 flowers to make and ounce...
Let me add here: Guys, buy PERFUME. Not eu de toilet, cologne, or whatever else B.S. they call the other versions, get the actual perfume. It lasts far longer than you think and really allows the scent to bloom on your favorite woman.
More great perfumes:
Paloma Picasso's Paloma. Very pheromonal! More of an earth scent.
Givenchy - - "Amarige" and "Ysatis" are also lovely floral style scents. One or the other is derived from gardenias.
Lastly, check out Carthusia. They have a website to learn about their perfumes.
Guys, no excuses now!
Also, Red Envelope has some nice stuff for her.
This is a nice set that is soft and warm to go under her pajamas and over your (...;) ...) hands:
Ok, get shopping!
I'll make a book list later!
