Holiday Gift Ideas--Eve's Picks of 2008

If you're stumped on what to get your loved ones for the holidays, go out and grab some CD's the old fashioned way. Or, just download songs from your source of choice and make your own CD's; even better, a "best of 2008" mix catered to the individual. I've tried my best to split the best of the year into music personality types (sorry, no country here). You've got loads to choose from folks! Oh yeah, and happy holidays.

For the kid that likes good pop:

Beyonce "I Am...Sasha Fierce"

Katy Perry "One of the Boys"

Keane "Perfect Symmetry"

Rihanna "Good Girl Gone Bad: Reloaded"

Jason Mraz "We Sing. We Dance. We Steal Things"

Sia "Some People Have Real Problems"

Brett Dennen "Hope for the Hopeless"

Lykke Li "Youth Novels"

Vampire Weekend, self titled

Coldplay "Viva la Vida" and "Prospekt's March"

The Killers "Day & Age"

Ray LaMontagne "Gossip In the Grain"

Ting Tings "We Started Nothing"

The Kooks "Konk"

For the boys & girls that like to dance:

Cut Copy "In Ghost Colours"

Girl Talk "Night Ripper"

Santogold, self titled

MGMT "Oracular Spectacular"

Black Kids "Wizard of Ahhs"

Foals "Antidotes"

CSS "Donkey"

Does It Offend You, Yeah? "You Have No Idea What you're Getting Yourself into"

Those with an eclectic taste:

TV On the Radio "Dear Science"

Crystal Castles, self titled

Portishead "Third"

Of Montreal "Skeletal Lamping"

Radiohead "In Rainbows"

The Kills "Midnight Boom"

Weezer "The Green Album"

Calexico "Carried to Dust"

Ratatat "LP3"

Flight of the Conchords, self titled

The Breeders "Mountain Battles"

Sigur Ros "Med sud i eyrum vid spilum endalaust"

Indie/Alt Lovers:

Fleet Foxes, self titled

Ra Ra Riot "The Rhumb Line"

Jenny Lewis "Acid Tounge"

She & Him "Volume One"

Rachel Yamagata "Elephants...Teeth Sinking Into Heart"

Beck "Modern Guilt"

Conor Oberst, self titled

Death Cab For Cutie "Narrow Stairs"

Raveonettes "Lust, Lust ,Lust"

City and Colour "Bring Me Your Love"

The Felice Brothers, self titled

Bon Iver "For Emma, Forever Ago"

The Virgins, self titled

Little Joy, self-titled

For the folks that want to Rock:

Kings of Leon "Only By The Night"

My Morning Jacket "Evil Urges"

Black Crowes "Warpaint"

The Smiths "The Sound of the Smiths"

No Age "Nouns"

Cold War Kids "Loyalty to Loyalty"

Delta Spirit "Ode to Sunshine"

The Raconteurs "Cosnolers of the Lonely"

Metallica "Death Magnetic"

The Black Keys "Attack & Release"

The Clash "Live at Shea Stadium"

The Duke Spirit "Neptune"

The Black Angels "Directons to See a Ghost"

AC/DC "Black Ice"

Hip-Hoppers:

Kanye West "808s & Heartbreak"

T.I. "Paper Trail"

Lil' Wayne "Tha Carter III"

The Knux " Remind Me In 3 Days..."

Your parents might like:

Raphael Saadiq "The Way I See It"

Bob Dylan "Bootleg Series, Vol. 8: Tell Tale Signs-Rare & Unreleased 1989-2006"

David Byrne & Brian Eno "Everything That Happens Will Happen Today"

The Clash "Live at Shea Stadium"

Ray LaMontagne "Gossip in the Grain"

She & Him "Volume One"

Sia "Some People Have Real Problems"

Coldplay "Viva la Vida"

Death Cab For Cutie "Narrow Stairs"

The Felice Brothers, self titled

Bon Iver "For Emma, Forever Ago"

On Repeat: Rachael Yamagata- WOW!

If there was anything that could cheer me up last week it was seeing the great shows that I saw. Rachael Yamagata was out of this world. She is witty, beautiful, and has a perfect, crystal clear, intoxicatingly stunning voice. Even though her songs are emotional, sad, and mostly about heartbreak and getting back on her feet, she has the crowd wrapped around her fingers and entranced. The audience was cracking up when one of her band members stated "Lay off the sauce!"

There's nothing like dancing at a Ghostland Observatory show on a Friday night with friends. The show was at Terminal 5, a venue that needed a little more warmth and inclusiveness for the audience, but they still put on an awesome show and the light show was incredible, as always. It's a wonder to me how only two people can make so much noise and lovely music (such as the Black Keys), and more so have the amount of energy you see on stage. Aaron Behrens takes the cake on that aspect of the performance...I've never seen a male human dance quite like it. He is damn good. Damn good.

On Repeat: The Killers are Back

I was mesmerized and blown away by The Killers performance of two immediate hits, "Human" and "Spaceman" from their new album, Day & Age on Saturday Night Live. The sound of Day & Age is classic Killers and Brandon Flowers still evokes so much emotion with his innocent voice. "A Dustland Fairytale" and "Joy Ride" are familiar tunes, and "I Can't Stay" is one of my favorites.


I've been a Killers fan since day one, and not only did Brandon Flowers make me swoon (and still does), Hot Fuss, their first album, made me excited about music again and I was so pleased that there was something so different and fabulous out there. Hot Fuss is still one of my favorites and it's one of those albums that brings back fond memories of certain crushes, and two New York concerts with the girls full of screaming sing alongs and dancing like there's no one watching and there's no tomorrow. Hopefully Day & Age lives up to those expectations, and the Killers keep playing fun loving songs.


Check back tomorrow for Holiday gift ideas.

Goodbye MTV.