Weather | Sports | Forums | Comics | Classifieds | Calendar | Movies
Fellow music lovers, is money burning a hole in your wallet? Is gift giving on your mind? Want to go a route other than buying the same ol', same ol' CDs for your friends and family this holiday season? We've got suggestions:
ROCKIN' HANUKKAH BOOK: Author Scott Benarde e-mails to suggest that his book, Stars of David: Rock 'n' Roll's Jewish Stories (Brandeis University Press, $29.95), would make a nifty Hanukkah gift.
Benarde, who lives in Delray Beach, is right. His fun tome includes stories about well-known Jewish rockers - Bob Dylan, the E Street Band's Max Weinberg, Gene Simmons and Paul Stanley of Kiss - and lesser knowns such as Jane's Addiction's Perry Farrell and Marc Bolan of T. Rex.
Benarde also makes a case for the strong role Jewish folks have played in the evolution of rock - after all, the guy who coined the phrase "rock 'n' roll," DJ Alan Freed, was Jewish. Who wrote Elvis Presley's first big hit, Hound Dog? The Jewish songwriting duo of Jerry Leiber and Mike Stoller.
Other neat tidbits in Benarde's book:
David Lee Roth says he learned to sing from studying for his bar mitzvah.
Billy Joel, son of a Holocaust survivor, was raised a Catholic.
Lou Reed's family name is Rabinowitz.
ROCK AND RAP ACTION FIGURES: We've lost Joey Ramone and Run-DMC's Jam Master Jay in recent years, but their radness lives on in tiny plastic form. Check out MezCo's LEGOlike three Run-DMC figures that come with cordless mikes and turntables ($13.95).
The Stronghold Group does Ramone justice with a lifelike figure of the gangly punk singer, complete with trademark leather jacket, removable shades and a mike stand $19.95. Both are available at www.killertoys.com
The Run-DMC figures are also available at Urban Outfitters in Ybor City.
VINYL RECORD BOWLS: For oldtimers who like musical nostalgia with their home decor, designer Jeff Davis has fashioned LP records into big ol' bowls. You can't serve liquids in them, but a revamped copy of Ziggy Stardust & the Spiders From Mars sure looks cool on a side table holding, say, chips, or potpourri. Once upon a time, we were bummed out when heat warped our vinyl albums. Silly us! Available at www.uncommongoods.com $26.
FAB FOUR FASHIONS: Know a Beatles freak who likes clothes? Why not give the gift of Fab Four-themed fashion from the Ben Sherman clothing line? Check out www.benshermanusa.com Sherman's clothes are also available at Virgin Megastores if you want to have relatives order some for you.
PUNK DVD: Punk: The Early Years (Music Video Distributors, $16.95) is a nice gift for the punk rock enthusiast. The film, shot in 1977-78, documents the early days of punk rock, featuring footage from London's pub circuit of performances by Siouxsie & the Banshees, the Sex Pistols, the Slits, the Adverts, Marc Bolan, Billy Idol and Poly Styrene. It also has interviews, including the last ever with Bolan.
AN AUTOGRAPHED GENE SIMMONS BOOK - HE'S IN TAMPA TODAY! Kiss fans won't want to miss the opportunity to meet waggy-tongued bassist Gene Simmons today at Vinyl Fever, 4110 Henderson Blvd., Tampa. Simmons will be at the music store at 7 p.m. to sign copies of SEX MONEY KISS, his second bestselling memoir about his days with the legendary band.
(Simmons will only sign copies of the book, not Kiss memorabilia.) Buy the book and get it signed for yourself or your Kiss-adoring loved one for the holidays.
GO BANANAS: How about treating your vinyl-loving friend to a long, leisurely day strolling the jam-packed shelves at Bananas Music, the "world's largest record store," 2226 16th Ave. N, St. Petersburg?
Family-owned Bananas (as in, it's not a big, icky corporate-owned joint!) is home to nearly 3-million vinyl records and to an intelligent, friendly staff that loves to jaw about music. These folks will help you find the obscure record you're looking for, and they'll let you look through neat-o books and historical items. The store sells LPs, 45s, 78s, DVDs and VHS tapes. They can also dupe out-of-print music onto CD or cassette. (Don't worry, the staff is used to total music freakazoids; be yourself, be proud. Strength in numbers!) (727) 327-4616.
-- Gina Vivinetto is the Times pop music critic. E-mail her at gina@sptimes.com