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| Holiday Gift Guide 2007 |
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| Written by Michelle C. | |||||
| Thursday, 06 December 2007 | |||||
         What are you gonna get your bff/gf/bf, etc. for the holidays? Not sure? Thinking of the perfect gift can be difficult, but the staffers here at DCSka.com have picked out some gift ideas to assist. It's not all ska-related, but it's geared toward what your ska-lovin' pal would probably like. This way, you can leave the socks and conventional underwear gifts to their mom. For the music nerd:There were a lot of good albums that came out this year. Here are our top choices: the Aggrolites - Reggae Hit L.A. (HellCat) [review], the Pietasters - All Day (Indication) [review], Deal's Gone Bad - the Ramblers (Jump Up) (also available on vinyl) [review], and the Slackers - the Boss Harmony Sessions (Special Potato) [review]. But if they're a serious ska-head then they probably have all those albums. In that case we have a few other recommendations. If they like: the Slackers go for Vic Ruggiero - Hambuguru (Japanese Import), Deal's Gone Bad try Green Room Rockers - Hoosier Homegrown (Rude Music Int'l) [review], the Aggrolites check out the Caroloregians - Organic Coal Beat from the Groovy Mines (Grover) [review], and make it seasonal with Go Jimmy Go - Holiday Hell Yeah! (Moon Room) [review]. Package your CD and vinyl gifts in a plastic container made by Really Useful Box. They make these exceptionally sturdy plastic boxes that are custom designed to hold CDs or records (both 45s and LPs). They have a removable lid and snap-down clasps to keep the lid locked on tight. I've seen the ones for CDs and LPs at Office Depot and maybe Staples. It's a British company so I only found overseas web sites that sold other sizes. There was a cool one that held 200, 7" records.
Gift card route: Sound Garden in Fells Point. They have a good selection of music and it's good to support local businesses that sell music, because there aren't that many left.  For the movie nut:We highly recommend the Slackers Documentary by our pal Ben Levin. Everyone loves the Slackers and it's an essential item for any Slackers collection. There's also Heroes Season 1, because it's an awesome TV series. Although I think Season 2 has tanked (ok the past few episodes have been better), Season 1 was definitely good times. This is England was recently shown at the Charles Theater in Baltimore. Bob said it was good, and lucky for us, it's out on DVD. It's a movie about a young boy, who's lost his father at war, and he joins a group of skinheads. Watch the trailer here.
Gift card route: Landmark Theaters - the E Street Cinema shows independent films including ones that are music-related.  For the bookworm:Ska'd for Life: A Personal Journey with the Specials (hardcover) by Horace Panter, the bass player from the Specials. It came out in October and we haven't gotten our hands on a copy yet, but we're pretty sure it's good. The paperback version comes out in mid-2008. Reggae Routes by Kevin O'Brien Chang and Wayne Chen. This is one of my favorite books that chronicles the history of Jamaican music from mento to where it is now. The book isn't nearly as thick as The Rough Guide to Reggae books, but it has a wealth of information. And it's written by Jamaicans, which most books on Jamaican music aren't. Our last recommendation is a novel titled Skinhead Army by Sab Grey of Iron Cross. On the publisher's MySpace page, it's quoted as "An unflinching tale of Skinhead life on the back streets of Baltimore." Sounds like a superb read already.
Gift card route: Kramer's Books in DC  For the crafty bastard:Move over Martha Stewart magazines, make room for Make: and Craft:. These quarterly magazines are published by O'Reilly - you know the people that make those computer books with an animal drawn on the cover. Make: has more robotic/computer/electronic projects, while Craft: has more sewing/artsy/cutesy projects. These magazines are a little more geeky than your average craft magazine, so your crafting pals will totally eat it up! Crafters are probably the hardest to shop for because they can figure out a way to make whatever it is you're giving them. Books with instructions and ideas work well for them. Some book recommendations include Sew U: The Built by Wendy Guide to Making Your Own Wardrobe and Generation T: 108 Ways to Transform a T-Shirt. For the non-reading route, a toolbox is also a great item - and maybe fill it with craft supplies or t-shirts to transform. They'll probably get it and be like, "WTF?" because I don't really think anyone expects a toolbox for the holidays. Soon enough they'll fill it up with all their crafting junk and it'll become quite handy.
Gift card route: Jo-Ann's Fabric Stores or Michael's and you can't go wrong.  For the technoluster:Without going for the obvious and expensive (iPhone or iPod Touch), we offer some more affordable ideas. The iFlip camcorder has newer models that come in different colors. Although I'm not keen on the fact that it doesn't take memory cards, it seems adequate enough for most people's needs. It's a fun toy to video live performances (60 minutes worth) or to video stupidity and throwing it on YouTube. Since they're into music, they probably have an iPod of some sort. So iPod accessories are another way to go. There are a ton of accessories out there and it's really overwhelming. But check out cases or FM transmitters, which allow them to play their iPod through their car stereo. If they have a lot of vinyl around, there's the InstantMusic Vinyl & Cassette Ripper (for both Windows and Mac). This USB gadget takes records your vinyl, cassettes, etc. and converts them to a variety of digital formats (MP3, AAC, WAV, and more). How cool!
Gift card route: Apple store, which can be used both online or in the store and for downloading stuff off of iTunes.  For the fashionista/fashionisto:If you want to go all out for the guys, check the newly relocated the District Line in Georgetown. They specialize in British clothing companies like Ben Sherman, Fred Perry, Merc, and Ted Baker. They also have a cool, custom-made the District Line football scarf, which was featured in the Washington Post recently. If you're on a budget, the Nordstrom Rack in Gaithersburg and Towson sell Ben Sherman dress shirts, polos, jacket, and pants at more affordable prices. You might have to do some digging, but it's worth it. For the ladies, Filene's Basement carries some items from Ben Sherman's women's line at discounted prices. Their selection (size and style) is a toss up (read: downright ugly), but sometimes you can find some good stuff and you're saving a lot. Loehmann's also carries women's Ben Sherman and Penguin items at lower prices. Penguin has some pretty awesome stuff for guys and cute stuff for girls online. There's a lot to pick from and we've linked our favorite women's items three below. Top off the outfits with some 1.25" pins from Off Centre Label. Most of the pins feature the label artwork from old-school ska and reggae records. There's also a set of token checkered pins. Speaking of checkered, there are also checkered suspenders at Urban Outfitters.
Gift card route: H&M
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