2008 Oldies Holiday Gift Guide

Gifts for Oldies Music lovers and retro enthusaists of all ages

Yet Another Beatles Book? Yes. And it's certainly not the first to bypass the myth of celebrity entirely and focus on the world's biggest rock group as actual musicians. But author Jonathan Gould, himself a musician and a renowned jazz critic, has two simultaneous objectives in mind. He's taken the unusual position of assimilating the Beatles' triple lives as human beings, musicians, and a social force to be reckoned with into one beast, showing where the edges overlap, while simultaneously drawing the crucial lines between the postwar Britain of which they were products and the uniquely American-style celebs they became. The result is like hearing the phenomenon for the first time, even through the pages of another medium.

Has there been a better chronicler of the last forty years of pop culture, filtered through the music industry, than the venerable Rolling Stone? Probably not. The very definition of living history, 40 years is an interactive CD-ROM that's like discovering the ultimate rock jackpot in someone's attic: every single issue of the magazine from 1967 to 2007, every page, every review, every article, easily searchable and indexed so that you can find what you want fast. You can always read straight through and watch both rock and its journalistic arm develop their muscles, but your loved ones will more than likely just hunt and peck at their obsessions.

With the passing of Levi Stubbs, perhaps the most awesome voice in a soul era brimming with natural standouts, the Four Tops have suddenly vaulted right back into the mainstream consciousness. Which makes this the perfect time to get someone this DVD history of the group, which seems to chronicle every single bit of video the longest-lasting group in rock history laid down -- local television appearances, national breakthroughs, concert footage, you name it. Worth the price alone is the accompanying special mixes of Four Tops hits, synced to TV appearances from back in the day. Your special someone hasn't lived until they've heard "Reach Out, I'll Be There" in glorious a cappella!

The original diet and fitness guru, Richard Simmons struck gold back in 1988 with a novel idea -- take songs ingrained into the national consciousness, work up a few low-impact aerobic routines to go along with them, and make working out into a party. Twenty years later, those on your gift list can work off those eggnog by indulging in all five Sweatin' To The Oldies video collections, now all available in one place. For longtime Simmons fans, there's also a brand new bonus DVD, Love Yourself And Win. Just make sure the intended recipient has already mentioned that they're getting too fat!

You couldn't ask for a better representation of Frank the pop icon than this one -- twenty-two smashes from his own Reprise label, a wealth of Sixties smashes, almost all of which could serve as Sinatra signatures: "My Way," "The Best Is Yet To Come" (with Count Basie), "Strangers In The Night," "Fly Me To The Moon," "New York, New York." Comes complete with a (limited edition) commemorative stamp worked out with the USPS and (in digipak editions) an accompanying DVD of Sinatra in concert at London's Royal Festival Hall in 1971, licensed through Warner Home Video. Oh, and there's of course an additional Easter Egg for completists, a previously unissued and mostly uneventful alternate version of "Body and Soul," fresh from the vaults.

Even if most computer technology leaves you cold, you and yours have to love this little device from Aluratek, essentially a flash drive that acts as a satellite antenna of sorts -- just have your givee plug it into a USB port (if their computer's at all recent, they probably have one right up front on your tower) and enjoy over 13,000 radio station broadcasts from 150 countries with no fees whatsoever and a handy guide to help them sort it all out. Sort of like a shortwave radio for the 21st century, in other words, but a lot less bulky.

For your hardcore Beach Boys fan, something they'd love to have but probably couldn't bring themselves to buy: all the classic Beach Boys singles from 1962-1965, up to and including "California Girls," in both original mono and newly remastered stereo versions, packaged individually as CD singles with the original 45 artwork and featuring b-sides, bonus tracks, and remixes. Most of this is available elsewhere, but as so many TV commercials point out, who wants to buy all those discs? This omnibus is expensive, but a perfect gift for the obsessive Boys fanatic you're looking to pamper.

Remember hot-gluing macaroni to things? Making bottlecap men? Starburst clocks? Decoupage? Even if you don't, this handy, breezy little book (subtitled Collecting, Displaying & Making Crafts from the Past) will help your loved ones get their retro groove on, whether it be making classic crafts, junkshopping for old-fashioned kitsch, planning parties, or whatever! Funny and easy to follow, with a style that lets novices jump right in, The Complete Book of Retro Crafts will help your recipient revisit a simpler time -- even one they weren't around for.

April 5, 1968. The world is still reeling from the news that Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. has been cut down the day before by an assassin's bullet; Boston mayor Kevin White contacts James Brown and urges him to play a televised concert that would take the city's mind off rioting. Amazingly, it worked. This concert broadcast DVD is coupled with VH1's excellent 2004 documentary The Night James Brown Saved Boston (whittled down by about 20 minutes on broadcast, but full-length here), as well as a solid concert from that same year at the Apollo, recollections of those involved in the Boston Garden concert, and several bonus clips from his greatest Sixties moments.

Remember those iconic shots of the late-Sixties, early-Seventies Elvis getting into his limo, hanging out with the Memphis Mafia, and cracking off-color jokes? Well, those on your gift list can bring out their inner King with these cool gold-colored, tinted shades, which sport real UV protection to boot. Your friends and family will thankyewverymuch!