...and here's our buyer's guide to the ten best books and DVDs to consider for loved ones.
BOOKS
10 Popjustice Idols: eight in all, and it's a parody, m'lud. Even Stereogum didn't get it
9 The Rolling Stones: A History In Cartoons: an excellent idea, this, a compilation of magazine and newspaper depictions of the Stones annotated by cartoon collector Bill Wyman
8 Morrissey: The Albums: having spent fourteen years driving slowly down the M3 Johnny Rogan gets round to the solo career, with interviews and intricate details
7 Bound Together: wherever you stand on the Libertines backstory the holing of the good ship Arcadia is a fascinating building block of the post-indie UK guitar music landscape, and Anthony Thornton was there nearly every step of the way
6 Nul Points: Tim Moore's evocation of the experience of being nobody's Eurovision favourites isn't his best work but still has comedic mileage wrung out at most steps
5 Rough Trade: Labels Unlimited: the truest trailblazers of the alternative scene are paid handsome dues
4 The Best Of Smash Hits: Open it up! Close it! Hours of fun guaranteed!
3 Sound Bites: never mind the celebritydom, Alex Kapranos' Guardian food on tour diaries turn out to use the actual food as the axis around which detailed life on the road turns
2 Fear Of Music: Garry Mulholland does it again, driving a coach and horses through orthodoxy to list The Greatest 261 Albums Since Punk and Disco in his enthusiastic thought-provoking style
1 Redemption Song: Chris Salewicz's tribute to friend Joe Strummer paints a vivid, potent picture of a driven man who eventually found himself driving nowhere
DVDs
10 It Takes A Nation - The First London Invasion Tour 1987: Public Enemy's barnstorming UK debut hits mid-price
9 Glastonbury: Julien Temple's flawed but worthwhile attempt to capture the Glasto spirit, and the two disc set's got unedited live performances on
8 PJ Harvey On Tour - Please Leave Quietly: deliberately ramshackle, raw document of her last world tour with comments from the usually enigmatic Polly Jean
7 Everybody Stares: The Police Inside Out: Stewart Copeland digs out more than 50 hours of Super-8 footage of The Police's rise to global stardom and the effects thereof
6 When The Light Is Mine: REM - The Best of the IRS Years 1982-1987: videos, live performances, TV spots and so forth from the pre-Green era
5 The Go-Betweens: That Striped Sunlight Sound: turns out as a perfect elegy for Grant McLellan, half back catalogue live show, half storytelling acoustic session
4 The Tube Series 1: not just live performances from this most groundbreaking of shows, although they help somewhat
3 Demon Days Live: How to realise the big concept on stage? With lightboxes, animations, video screens and guests galore
2 Looking For Truth With A Pin/Cutler's Last Stand: the late genius of Scottish whimsy remembered with a documentary and his last live performance
1 Bonzo Dog Doo Dah Band: 40th Anniversary Celebrations: because nothing is ever quite so cheering as men in their sixties acting up their music hall nonsense on stage
2 comments:
Books: The Progressive Patriot?
True, but is it strictly a music book?
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