So, this is our third annual holiday gift guide, three years running, that’s right! Anyway, what you’ll probably notice is that we’ve combined the best of the year list with the holiday list. Why? Because we’re pretentious like that and figure that if it’s not good enough for the residents of Thoronia it’s not good enough for anyone. Anyway, here are our medium-favorites and our recommendations for who you should buy them for!
MUSIC
- Nick Cave — Dig!!! Lazarus Dig!!!
- Perfect Gift For: Aging rockers who don’t get to hit up the record store’s as much as they used to.
- Hercules and Love Affair — Hercules and Love Affair
- Perfect Gift For: People who like to dance in their cars and in their showers, but not in public.
- Fleet Foxes — Fleet Foxes
- Perfect Gift For: That brother or sister who really likes mainstream rock and has been teetering on the “indie” fence for a while.
- Sigur Rós – Með suð í eyrum við spilum endalaust
- Perfect Gift For: The Aunt that really likes Pete Seeger, that weird whale mating music disc and Tangerine Dream.
- Perfect Gift For: The Aunt that really likes Pete Seeger, that weird whale mating music disc and Tangerine Dream.
- Lindstrøm — Where You Go I Go Too
- Perfect Gift For: The cousin that’s been a bass-head for so long is brain is numb.
Lost and Found from Long Ago (our favorite old records that were new to us this year)
- Lucia Pamela — Into Outer Space with Lucia Pamela
- Perfect Gift For: Your roommate who keeps playing Daniel Johnston records.
- Magma — 1001 Centigrades
- Perfect Gift For: The dad or uncle that was really into Yes but never bothered to check out what the French Experimental Prog-Rock scene was like (and who did, really?).
- Simon & Garfunkel – Complete Columbia Recordings
- Perfect Gift For: Mom.
- Tommy James and the Shondells – Travelin’
- Perfect Gift For: Your friend or family member that won’t shut up about “how great this song is” every time “Crimson and Clover” comes on, but doesn’t actually own any of the bands albums.
- Byron Lee and Mighty Sparrow — Only a Fool
- Perfect Gift For: The weird aunt that collects frogs and didgeridoos.
GAMES
GAME OF THE YEAR Metal Gear Solid 4 (PS3)
Perfect Gift For: Anyone with a PS3. Hell, buy them a PS3 so they can play this game.
ROLEPLAYING GAME OF THE YEAR Fallout 3 (PS3/XBOX 360/PC)
Perfect Gift For: The weirdo in the family who is really into 1950s style nostalgia… and nuclear war.
ACTION GAME OF THE YEAR Far Cry 2 (PS3/XBOX 360/PC)
Perfect Gift For: Your brother who could always find new and creative ways to kill ants (he was way passed the whole “magnifying glass trick” on the first day.
PLATFORM GAME OF THE YEAR/MOST CREATIVE GAME OF THE YEAR Little Big Planet (PS3)
Perfect Gift For: Anyone a bit “over” Mario, aspiring game designers and everyone with a heart.
BIGGEST LET DOWN OF THE YEAR Dead Space (PS3/XBOX 360/PC)
Perfect Gift For: People who just love, love, love, love, love horror games… because nobody else is going to think this game was worth a damn.
MULTIPLAYER GAME OF THE YEAR Left 4 Dead (XBOX 360/PC)
Perfect Gift For: Anyone that plays a lot of games online and is looking for a new experience. Or kids that need to make some friends and learn social skills and team work.
SPORTS GAME OF THE YEAR NHL 09 (PS3/XBOX 360)
Perfect Gift For: Any fan of sports games. Even if you don’t like hockey games.
BEST USE THE FPS FORMAT WHILE TRYING SOMETHING NEW GAME OF THE YEAR Mirror’s Edge (PS3/XBOX 360)
Perfect Gift For: The videogamer in the family that has every game, plays every game… chances are they passed on this excellent little innovator.
BEST REMINDER OF HOW FREAKING HARD GAMES USED TO BE Street Fighter II Turbo HD Remix (PS3/XBOX 360)
Perfect Gift For: Sodomists, adults that have fond memories of Ryu, quarters and painful hours of that one kid just going back and forth across the screen as M. Bison.
BEST GAME ON THE GO Castlevania: Order of Ecclesia (DS)
Perfect Gift For: That cousin that owns a DS specifically so he can continue to play new versions of Castlevania: Symphony of the Night on the bus.
BEST GAME TO DUST OFF AND PLAY AGAIN Tossup between: Syndicate and Full Throttle.
Perfect Gifts For: The older gamer who still has his Pentium II with Windows 2000 loaded up.
BOOKS
This year we’ve been living in unemployment, living through Grad School, and living through 40 hour job+Grad School, so the books list is a little shorter than usual…
- Roberto Bolano — 2666
- Perfect Gift For: Book lovers who like the feeling of being lost, confused and rewarded.
- Chuck Klosterman — Downtown Owl
- Perfect Gift For: The writer in the family who balances fiction writing with feature writing.
- David Sedaris — When You Are Engulfed In Flames
- Perfect Gift For: That lovable uncle that listens to This American Life every Sunday afternoon and then tells you about the episode on Monday.
- Oliver Sacks — Musicophilia
- Perfect Gift For: The estranged friend who happens to really enjoy music and… neuroscience. You know the friend, the one that can have all the fun stripped out of something and still enjoy the science of it all.
- Michael Chabon — Maps and Legends
- Perfect Gift For: The aspiring author of any age.
MOVIES
Yeah, we didn’t have a lot of time for movies this year, so the list is a little… bleh.
- Wall-E
- Perfect Gift For: The one person in the family who didn’t already buy this for themselves or for someone else.
- Funny Games
- Perfect Gift For: Family members that enjoy it when movies screw with them, use meta techniques and creep the living daylights out of them. See also, Schizopolis.
- John Adams
- Perfect Gift For: The history buff will love this movie, and they probably haven’t seen it because we all know that history buff’s tend not to want to spend the extra money a month on HBO.
- Encounters at the End of the World
- Perfect Gift For: That strange friend that is super into Antarctica for no apparent reason. See also: The Endurance: Shackleton’s Legendary Antarctic Voyage. Oh, and South, By Ernest Shackleton… and why you’re at it The Birthday Boys, Shackleton, The South Pole by Roald Amundsen…
- Iron Man
- Perfect Gift For: Um… um…. nevermind, 90% of America already owns this and its on 100% of the DVD holiday gift guides.
Similar Posts:
- A Year in Reviews Part 6: The Rest
- Lost Reviews
- Randumb Thoughts for the Week of 6/30
- Songs for the unemployed, songs for the working
- Business as usual — weekly update on what you’ve missed
Nice reviews but I can still tell that you smell funny just from reading it. It’s probably just all the video game talk.
Nah, I had the stomach flu. That’s what that smell was. Oh, and the “video game” talk as you call it is no longer than the other stuff… it’s just formated different so it looks longer.