Well, the Holidays are once again upon us, however heavily, and today I’ve got for you several things that I would love to find in my Christmas stocking on any of the days of Hanukkah or harvest nights of Kwanzaa. But wait, silly…don’t reach for your credit card to start buying them for me. For I’ve already received them from merry media mavens and poinsettia-pwning publicists, so that I could show you how wonderful they are so that you can buy them for your loved one or stalking victim. Be glad you didn’t have to wade through all the crap to get to this cream, because I did. You’re welcome.
Here’s Part One of my first annual Stalking Stuffer Shortlist (at least I have another full year to come up with a better title)…
The first item that you or your loved one should own is the DVD Sunshine Superman-The Journey of Donovan. It is the ultimate super-documentary of rock’s underrated mystic man. Donovan was never quite purely classic rock, singer/songwriter, world music, folk singer, or spiritual guru, but quite an amazing amalgam of all of those things, and a profound influence on many important recording artists…such as Jimmy Page, John Mellencamp, Graham Nash, Devendra Banhart, and lots more. The first disc is a 3-hour chronicle of rock’s underrated mystic man, which is narrated by the mystical man himself. The second disc is chock full of concert footage, TV appearances, music videos, and more about the private life of Donovan. Sunshine Superman-The Journey of Donovan is a must if you call yourself a Donovan fan and possibly the Lost Ark for the uninitiated.
The next item for your lover’s stocking is Ween-At the Cat’s Cradle 1992. Long-time Ween fans will rejoice and new Ween fans will befuddle at the sheer brown-ness of this 1 CD-1 DVD package. Up until 1994’s Chocolate and Cheese, Ween wasn’t a band at all…but a DAT machine for backing drum tracks, a guitar, an adventurous sound man, and two drunk silly potheads who fooled their way into making fantastic music a career for over 20 years now. Ween-At the Cat’s Cradle 1992 is a perfect window into the Ween live experience right before the duo decided (or could afford) to hire a band. The sound is great, the songs are genius, the video is deliciously lo-fi, and the package as a whole is decidedly brown. Ween’s legacy will far surpass Radiohead’s (at least in my mind)!
*Get the special edition that includes a 18″ x 15.5″, handmade, SIGNED silkscreened poster of the cover for the special Boognish in your life!
And third but not last (since there will be another Stalking Stuffer Shortlist installment), is by a fantastic band from my ol’ hometown, land of Skyline Chili, awful NFL football, and surprisingly good college football (go ‘Cats). Cincinnati’s Shake It Records was just a kick-ass record store when I left Cincinnati 8 years ago, and now it seems they are also a kick-ass record label. Wussy is one of Shake It Records’ most promising bands, and I’ve really been digging their recent Rigor Mortis EP. Wussy is an indie-rock band that hasn’t forgotten the second part of that genre title, as many indie groups have. In short, Wussy is an indie-rock band not afraid to bare its rock balls. Wussy writes smart and catchy songs, and plays them loud and tight with plenty of fuzzy drone guitar. And isn’t it just fun to say Wussy over and over. So put a little Rigor Mortis in your loved ones stocking this Christmas.
I’ll have the next Stalking Stuffer Shortlist here for you soon!
What Alice Cooper song did Donovan also sing on? (Yes, Donovan’s on the brain this week!)
