So you’ve been dating this person, or you have a friend, or a relative, and they really enjoy the music of [insert artist name here], and you know said person owns all the artist's albums, t-shirts, lithographs, blacklight posters, lunch boxes, key chains, pillowcases, limited edition neckties, candybars, an imponderable number of memorabilia-related knickknacks… But you want to get something really special, something you know is a rare or impossible find, something really impressive and unforgettable.
What follows is a holiday gift guide tailored specifically for you and other thoughtful shoppers like you.
Cost: $1,050
What you get: The album cover of Frank Zappa's seminal doo-wop masterpiece, Cruising with Ruben & The Jets, re-created as an acrylic-on-wood painting by original artist Cal Schenkel. But please note: “each image will vary slightly from the illustration and will include a variety of sayings in talk bubbles above the characters.”
Cost: $900 minimum
What you get: A better New Year’s Eve experience than the majority of the world. The Flaming Lips perform Pink Floyd’s Dark Side of the Moon live at Cox Civic Center in Oklahoma City, Ok. But you need a variety of things to be absolutely prepared: a ticket to the show ($10-$25 + service charges); round-trip airfare (from Tampa, $225 per person minimum — someone's got to take them, right?); a place to stay, food, transportation, incidentals ($more + $more + $more??). And each day you procrastinate, the airfare, lodging and even the transportation increases exponentially and unreasonably.
Cost: $150
What you get: The super fan already received this CD set for Christmas in 2006, but it sounds so much better on vinyl … 62 tracks spread out on 7 vinyl LPs (that’s right — there are 6 more tracks here than on the discs), and the vinyl package also includes a 94-page book of lyrics and photos. Sadly, it does not come with a flask shaped like Waits’ face.
This article appears in Dec 9-15, 2009.