For pop culture fans -- lovers of music, comics, movies and more -- here are some highlights from the past year that will make great gifts.
Click the links to order discounted items from Amazon.
Music
The Animals-The Mickie Most Years & More (5 CD Set)
The Beatles On Air - Live At The BBC Volume 2
Under the Covers, Vol. 3 by Matthew Sweet and Susanna Hoffs
Tommy (Super Deluxe Edition) by The Who
Creedence Clearwater Revival (box set)
Over the Bridge of Time: Paul Simon Retrospective
Muswell Hillbillies by the Kinks
Another Self Portrait (1969-1971): The Bootleg Series Vol. 10 by Bob Dylan
Made In California by the Beach Boys
Elvis At Stax: Deluxe Edition (3CD)
Sound System by the Clash
Higher! (Amazon Exclusive) by Sly and the Family Stone
The RCA Albums Collection by Harry Nilsson
Comics
FELDSTEIN: The Mad Life and Fantastic Art of Al Feldstein!
The Fifth Beatle: The Brian Epstein Story
The Art of Archie: The Covers
Art of Ramona Fradon HC
Battling Boy
S.H.I.E.L.D. by Jim Steranko: The Complete Collection
Korak, Son of Tarzan Archives Volume 2
The Sandman Omnibus Vol. 1
The Silver Age of DC Comics
Barnaby Vol. 1
The Simon & Kirby Library: Science Fiction
Tarzan: The Complete Russ Manning Newspaper Strips Volume 1 (1967-1969)
Genius, Illustrated: The Life and Art of Alex Toth
The Golden Age of DC Comics
Continuing comics reprint series
DC Archives
DC continues to collect classic runs of Golden and Silver Age Comics in these beautiful, full-color hardcover volumes.
DC Showcase Presents
Still offering great bang-for-the-buck, these phonebook-size, black-and-white collections of DC Comics series featuring Batman, Superman, the Flash and more and tremendous fun, providing fans of classic comics hundreds of pages of entertainment at a very reasonable price.
EC Comics Library
Fantagraphics' new series of hardcover collections, each focusing on a particular artist's work from the classic EC era. Great stories of suspense, war, horror and more from some of America's best and most infuential comics artists, including Harvey Kurtzman, Wally Wood and others.
Marvel Masterworks
You can get these in full-color hardcovers or trade paperbacks and they look great. These books feature classic 60s and 70s Marvel Comics featuring the X-Men, Avengers, Captain America, Thor, Iron Man and others.
Marvel Omnibus Collections
Ginormous books collecting 30 or more issues of classic Marvel Comics, complete with letters pages, pin-ups and other features from the originals. Larger format, too. They take up a lot of shelf space, but they are a great way to re-enjoy these stories and art.
Prince Valiant
Big, brilliant reprints of Hal Foster's gorgeously illustrated Sunday strips.
Walt Disney's Donald Duck and Uncle Scrooge (Carl Barks Library)
Loving, colorful collections of Carl Barks stories and art from classic Walt Disney comic books. These volumes are collecting the complete Barks in beautiful, durable books featuring a wealth of historical background in addition to all the stories.
Walt Disney's Mickey Mouse
Published by Fantagraphics, these are excellent collections of black-and-white daily comic strips from the 30 and 40s -- four volumes to date -- featuring the delightful stories and art by Floyd Gottfredson.
Pop Culture Books
Doctor Who: Essential Guide to 50 Years of Doctor Who
Rolling Stones Gear: All the Stones' Instruments from Stage to Studio
Superheroes!: Capes, Cowls, and the Creation of Comic Book Culture
Tune In: The Beatles: All These Years
The Beatles: The BBC Archives: 1962-1970
The Cool School: Writing from America's Hip Underground
Americana: The Kinks, the Riff, the Road: The Story
Ye-Ye Girls of '60s French Pop
The Wonderful World of Oz: An Illustrated History of an American Classic
Beatles vs. Stones
Star Wars: Frames
Doctor Who: The Vault: Treasures from the First 50 Years
Toy Time!: From Hula Hoops to He-Man to Hungry Hungry Hippos: A Look Back at the Most- Beloved Toys of Decades Past
Nilsson: The Life of a Singer-Songwriter
Jim Henson: The Biography
The Noble Approach: Art and Designs of Maurice Noble
Movies on DVD and Blu-ray
Breaking Bad: The Final Season
Big Star: Nothing Can Hurt Me
World's Greatest Super Friends: Season 4
The Avengers: The Complete Emma Peel Megaset
Super Friends: Legacy of Super Powers - Season 6
Doctor Who: The Complete Seventh Series
From Up on Poppy Hill
Doctor Who: The Aztecs - Special Edition
Best Christmas music ever!
Thanksgiving is over! Time to break out the Christmas music!
As is tradition here at Pop Culture Safari, we once again present our listing of all-time classic Christmas recordings, followed down below by a list of some promising new releases.
Click the links to order discounted CDs, vinyl and downloads from Amazon.
And please suggest your own favorites!
A Christmas Gift for You from Phil Spector
Nothing says "Christmas" more than an album produced by a megalomaniacalconvicted murderer with a Napoleon complex. But, seriously, this is a great, charming album with lots of upbeat, exuberant tracks from Darlene Love, the Ronettes, the Crystals and others--all backed by the fabulous Wall of Sound.
Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer by Gene Autry
I had Gene's original "Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer" album as a kid and listening to it was an annual tradition. His take on these seasonal favorites is so gentle and warm, plus his great spoken introductions--he nails what the season is all about: Family and friends and kids having
White Christmas by Bing Crosby
Do I really need to explain why everyone needs this? The seminal version of "White Christmas," anyone? Plus, better yet, "Mele Kalikimaka"!
Christmas Island by Leon Redbone
This has become one my most-played Christmas albums. It's joyful and warm, just like Autry's Christmas recordings. The old timey arrangements and Redbone's one-of-a-kind mumbly vocals evoke a time when the snow was deeper, the air was colder, the fire was warmer and Christmas day seemed to last forever.
Elvis' Christmas
For crying out loud, read what I said about Bing Crosby's album up above! If you can hear music, you need this. It's nostalgic and campy but fun and beautiful to boot. Plus, it really shows the King's vocal range, from the the reverent gospel vocals of "Peace in the Valley," the blue crooning of "I'll Be Home for Christmas" to the rocking "Santa Bring My Baby (Back to Me)."
Beatles Fan Club Christmas Recordings 1963-1970
Some day Apple will put this out as an official release and rest of the world (not just we Beatlemaniacs) will be able to experience the zany, funny Christmas recordings the Fabs' used to send out to their fan club members on flexi-disks each
If you haven't heard 'em, don't go in expecting a lot of Christmas carols and holiday standards. The "songs" that do appear--"Christmas Time is Here Again" and "This is to Wish You a Merry, Merry Christmas"--are dashed off and fragmentary. These releases are more about humor than
The records are full of "Goon Show"-style jokes and general goofing around. The group's exuberance and joyfulness come through loud and clear. You can hear how much they enjoyed being Beatles. Until they didn't. The 1968 and 1969 recordings, you can tell, were all recorded individually, apart from one another. But the Fabs still cared enough about their fans to make an
Like I said, they haven't been officially released. But Google around a bit and you can find sound files for them. The pic above is the cover of the compilation LP of Christmas recordings the Beatles Fan Club sent out to fans in 1970, after the group had broken up.
Christmas with the Beach Boys
The original 1964 Beach Boys Christmas LP featured lots of Four Freshman-style takes on holiday standards over big band and string arrangements along with a handful of excellent Brian Wilson-penned originals. The best-known of those, of course is "Little Saint Nick," but others, like "The Man With All the Toys," are great
This expanded version includes later, not as good, Christmas recordings by the band along with some outtakes -- but why not have the works?
Christmas with the Chipmunks
As a toddler, I threw a copy of this LP across the room and smashed it to bits. I'm not sure if that was due to my age or whether I was annoyed by the Chipmunks' sped-up, screechy singing. Either way, destroying the record meant that I was missing out on a lot of goofy, nostalgic fun.
A Jolly Christmas from Frank Sinatra
Nothing says Christmas like an LP of songs sung by a short-fused, pugilistic egomaniac with possible mob ties. Really, though, Christmas songs are some of the best songs around, and Sinatra was one of the best singers. The combination is pretty much what you'd expect. Nice to have on while you sip a glass of eggnog or something stronger. Plus, you gotta dig Frank's hipster ad libs, ring-a-dings and singing-behind-the-beat
Ella Wishes You a Swinging Christmas by Ella Fitzgerald
See what I said with Sinatra re: matching great music with a great singer. This one's a beauty.
A Charlie Brown Christmas: The Original Sound Track Recording Of The CBS Television Special
It's Christmas, right? This one is a must if just for the melancholy "Christmas Time is Here." Plus you get the rollicking "Linus and Lucy."
Merry Christmas by the Supremes
Don't they look cute in their Santa hats? They sound great, too, especially on the hip "Little Bright Star," which coulda shoulda been a Motown hit as great as any other.
Someday at Christmas by Stevie Wonder
Not content with standards, Stevie put a few originals on his Christmas LP, too, including the upbeat "What Christmas Means to Me."
The Ventures' Christmas Album
I don't know if these surfers ever saw snow, but they twang'n'reverb a good carol. Part of the fun of this one is spotting the then-current pop tune the group quotes before launching into the Christmas song--like the Beatles' "I Feel Fine" that turns into "Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer." What an insane, inspired approach.
In the Christmas Spirit by Booker T. and the MGs
As with the Ventures, this is another all-instrumentals take on Christmas classics, but with more of a groove. If you dig "Green Onions," "Time is Tight" and the MGs' other Stax hits you'll like their hip versions of traditional carols, too.
The New Possibility by John Fahey
Yet another instrumental collection of holiday tunes, but much different that the previous two LPs listed. On steel string acoustic guitar, the eccentric folk/blues guitarist Fahey, lends this traditional music a lonesome, yet joyful quality and promotes quiet thought about what the holidays mean to all of us, apart from the frantic pace, all the shopping and commercialism. A true gem.
Quality Street: a Seasonal Selection for All the Family by Nick Lowe
Merry Christmas! The Complete Columbia Christmas Recordings 1963-1966 by the New Christy Minstrels
Christmas With Patti Page
Dr. Seuss' How The Grinch Stole Christmas! - Green Colored LP
We Three Kings by the Roches
Along with our annual list of favorite holiday albums, here's a selection of individual Christmas classics available for download from Amazon:
Burl Ives: A Holly Jolly Christmas
Bobby Helms: Jingle Bell Rock
Nat King Cole: The Christmas Song (Merry Christmas To You)
Brenda Lee: Rockin' Around The Christmas Tree
The Chipmunks: The Chipmunk Song
Louis Armstrong: Cool Yule, Christmas in New Orleans, Zat You Santa Claus
Gene Autry: Rudolph The Red-Nosed Reindeer, Up On The House Top,
Here Comes Santa Claus
Bing Crosby: White Christmas, Silent Night, Holy Night
Christmas Island
Bing Crosby and David Bowie: Peace On Earth/Little Drummer Boy (Medley)
Jose Feliciano: Feliz Navidad
The Waitresses: Christmas Wrapping
John Lennon: Happy Xmas (War Is Over)
The Beach Boys: Little Saint Nick
The Kinks: Father Christmas
The Ramones: Merry Christmas (I Don't Want To Fight Tonight)
Spike Jones: All I Want for Christmas (Is My Two Front Teeth)
Roy Wood and Wizzard: I Wish it Could Be Christmas Everyday
As is tradition here at Pop Culture Safari, we once again present our listing of all-time classic Christmas recordings, followed down below by a list of some promising new releases.
Click the links to order discounted CDs, vinyl and downloads from Amazon.
And please suggest your own favorites!
A Christmas Gift for You from Phil Spector
Nothing says "Christmas" more than an album produced by a megalomaniacal
Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer by Gene Autry
I had Gene's original "Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer" album as a kid and listening to it was an annual tradition. His take on these seasonal favorites is so gentle and warm, plus his great spoken introductions--he nails what the season is all about: Family and friends and kids having
White Christmas by Bing Crosby
Do I really need to explain why everyone needs this? The seminal version of "White Christmas," anyone? Plus, better yet, "Mele Kalikimaka"!
Christmas Island by Leon Redbone
This has become one my most-played Christmas albums. It's joyful and warm, just like Autry's Christmas recordings. The old timey arrangements and Redbone's one-of-a-kind mumbly vocals evoke a time when the snow was deeper, the air was colder, the fire was warmer and Christmas day seemed to last forever.
Elvis' Christmas
For crying out loud, read what I said about Bing Crosby's album up above! If you can hear music, you need this. It's nostalgic and campy but fun and beautiful to boot. Plus, it really shows the King's vocal range, from the the reverent gospel vocals of "Peace in the Valley," the blue crooning of "I'll Be Home for Christmas" to the rocking "Santa Bring My Baby (Back to Me)."
Beatles Fan Club Christmas Recordings 1963-1970
Some day Apple will put this out as an official release and rest of the world (not just we Beatlemaniacs) will be able to experience the zany, funny Christmas recordings the Fabs' used to send out to their fan club members on flexi-disks each
If you haven't heard 'em, don't go in expecting a lot of Christmas carols and holiday standards. The "songs" that do appear--"Christmas Time is Here Again" and "This is to Wish You a Merry, Merry Christmas"--are dashed off and fragmentary. These releases are more about humor than
The records are full of "Goon Show"-style jokes and general goofing around. The group's exuberance and joyfulness come through loud and clear. You can hear how much they enjoyed being Beatles. Until they didn't. The 1968 and 1969 recordings, you can tell, were all recorded individually, apart from one another. But the Fabs still cared enough about their fans to make an
Like I said, they haven't been officially released. But Google around a bit and you can find sound files for them. The pic above is the cover of the compilation LP of Christmas recordings the Beatles Fan Club sent out to fans in 1970, after the group had broken up.
Christmas with the Beach Boys
The original 1964 Beach Boys Christmas LP featured lots of Four Freshman-style takes on holiday standards over big band and string arrangements along with a handful of excellent Brian Wilson-penned originals. The best-known of those, of course is "Little Saint Nick," but others, like "The Man With All the Toys," are great
This expanded version includes later, not as good, Christmas recordings by the band along with some outtakes -- but why not have the works?
Christmas with the Chipmunks
As a toddler, I threw a copy of this LP across the room and smashed it to bits. I'm not sure if that was due to my age or whether I was annoyed by the Chipmunks' sped-up, screechy singing. Either way, destroying the record meant that I was missing out on a lot of goofy, nostalgic fun.
A Jolly Christmas from Frank Sinatra
Nothing says Christmas like an LP of songs sung by a short-fused, pugilistic egomaniac with possible mob ties. Really, though, Christmas songs are some of the best songs around, and Sinatra was one of the best singers. The combination is pretty much what you'd expect. Nice to have on while you sip a glass of eggnog or something stronger. Plus, you gotta dig Frank's hipster ad libs, ring-a-dings and singing-behind-the-beat
Ella Wishes You a Swinging Christmas by Ella Fitzgerald
See what I said with Sinatra re: matching great music with a great singer. This one's a beauty.
A Charlie Brown Christmas: The Original Sound Track Recording Of The CBS Television Special
It's Christmas, right? This one is a must if just for the melancholy "Christmas Time is Here." Plus you get the rollicking "Linus and Lucy."
Merry Christmas by the Supremes
Don't they look cute in their Santa hats? They sound great, too, especially on the hip "Little Bright Star," which coulda shoulda been a Motown hit as great as any other.
Someday at Christmas by Stevie Wonder
Not content with standards, Stevie put a few originals on his Christmas LP, too, including the upbeat "What Christmas Means to Me."
The Ventures' Christmas Album
I don't know if these surfers ever saw snow, but they twang'n'reverb a good carol. Part of the fun of this one is spotting the then-current pop tune the group quotes before launching into the Christmas song--like the Beatles' "I Feel Fine" that turns into "Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer." What an insane, inspired approach.
In the Christmas Spirit by Booker T. and the MGs
As with the Ventures, this is another all-instrumentals take on Christmas classics, but with more of a groove. If you dig "Green Onions," "Time is Tight" and the MGs' other Stax hits you'll like their hip versions of traditional carols, too.
The New Possibility by John Fahey
Yet another instrumental collection of holiday tunes, but much different that the previous two LPs listed. On steel string acoustic guitar, the eccentric folk/blues guitarist Fahey, lends this traditional music a lonesome, yet joyful quality and promotes quiet thought about what the holidays mean to all of us, apart from the frantic pace, all the shopping and commercialism. A true gem.
New releases and reissues for 2013!
Quality Street: a Seasonal Selection for All the Family by Nick Lowe
Merry Christmas! The Complete Columbia Christmas Recordings 1963-1966 by the New Christy Minstrels
Christmas With Patti Page
Dr. Seuss' How The Grinch Stole Christmas! - Green Colored LP
We Three Kings by the Roches
Song downloads!
Along with our annual list of favorite holiday albums, here's a selection of individual Christmas classics available for download from Amazon:
Burl Ives: A Holly Jolly Christmas
Bobby Helms: Jingle Bell Rock
Nat King Cole: The Christmas Song (Merry Christmas To You)
Brenda Lee: Rockin' Around The Christmas Tree
The Chipmunks: The Chipmunk Song
Louis Armstrong: Cool Yule, Christmas in New Orleans, Zat You Santa Claus
Gene Autry: Rudolph The Red-Nosed Reindeer, Up On The House Top,
Here Comes Santa Claus
Bing Crosby: White Christmas, Silent Night, Holy Night
Christmas Island
Bing Crosby and David Bowie: Peace On Earth/Little Drummer Boy (Medley)
Jose Feliciano: Feliz Navidad
The Waitresses: Christmas Wrapping
John Lennon: Happy Xmas (War Is Over)
The Beach Boys: Little Saint Nick
The Kinks: Father Christmas
The Ramones: Merry Christmas (I Don't Want To Fight Tonight)
Spike Jones: All I Want for Christmas (Is My Two Front Teeth)
Roy Wood and Wizzard: I Wish it Could Be Christmas Everyday
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