Holidaze Shopping Guide

Do you find yourself with the dreaded task of holiday shopping for an esoterrorist?  You can't just go to the mall for such a person; you have to dig.  Plus, there's probably the chance that they don't even celebrate the holidays, reminding you always about the historical inaccuracies of Xmas.  And while you probably won't be able to find them something they don't already know about, there a lot of amazing things that are just now coming out that they would love to have in their stockings.  Below is a list of potential goodies for your pretentious but lovable significant other.

As mentioned before, Merzbow just released a 12-disc box set of ambient music, Merzbient!  It's interesting that just as Kevin Drumm was getting noisier, Merzbow decides to get more Kevin Drumm.  This will take one whole day to listen to in its entirety, so it should keep them busy during your Xmas eggnog-induced nap.  Prices are varying depending on the source, but I've found it as cheap as $130.

In 2004, Tristan Perich released a CD of 1-bit music, consisting of compositions from circuitry.  Similarly this year, Perich released his 1-bit Symphony; however, instead of a CD in the jewel case, one finds the actual circuitry, which, in contrast to the previous release of recorded material, actually performs the music live when turned on (one could think of it as a more avant-garde version of those singing holiday cards).  Plug your headphones directly into the case and enjoy.  Available for $29 from Cantaloupe Music (also available in a limited edition with silk-screened source code for $150).

Yeah Buddha Machines are awesome, those handheld looping devices that were first introduced in limited quantities from Chinese partnership  Christiaan Virant and Zhang Jian, and are back in third generation for more ambient drone creations a la Brian Eno.  About $25.

While Criterion Collection is responsible for keeping underrated classic film still in rotation in the DVD market, they are also responsible for making you pay $50 for a DVD, leaving many film enthusiasts reluctant to indulge themselves (which means you should get it for them).  Around Black Friday, Borders did a huge 50% off sale for their entire stock of CC, which was probably the best deal I've seen.  At the time of this post, unfortunately, that sale has ended.  Amazon, however, always maintains the most competitive prices on these collector's edition masterpieces, with usual discounts starting at $10 off.  Best case is almost half off of the Ingmar Bergman box set.

Friends of mine, Nick and Nadine, who are Sonnenzimmer, ran a series of amazing work for Insound this year, the 'Insound 10 for 10,' which visually represents the ten bands that made a resounding impact in music in 2010, though you may disagree with this list, including Beach House ,Broken Social Scene, Girls, Liars, The Mountain Goats, Neon Indian,Owen Pallett, The Pains of Being Pure at Heart, Ted Leo and the Pharmacists, and Titus Andronicus.  Each poster and t-shirt design for each band works independently and then ultimately as a whole.  Available at Insound, more info here.

Not impressed yet?  Nothing obscure or weird enough?  How about a Tom Zé box set, cataloging his career with 3 LPs, 7 inch single, and a CD interview.  That ought to do it.