Someone once said it’s better to give than it is to receive, and while I suppose that’s true in certain areas –social diseases and fruitcakes spring primarily to mind– I say, why pick? With that in mind, here is a list of Plumcake-approved presents for you and those fortunate enough to share your company. Stay tuned as I’ll be doing small, gift-o-the-day segments until the end of the year. Remember, it still counts as a gift if you buy it for yourself!
For the Rock and Roll Novice:
Five American rock albums that changed the face of pop as grudingly agreed upon by an iconic ‘zine publisher, a former editor of Spin and myself
1) Pet Sounds – The Beach Boys
2) Blood on the Tracks – Bob Dylan
3) The Ramones – The Ramones
4) Appetite for Destruction – Guns and Roses
5) Nevermind – Nirvana
For You:
The 1976 Rolling Stone Illustrated History of Rock and Roll
Psychotic Reactions and Carburator Dung – Lester Bangs (Plumcake’s literary hero)
For Your All-Nighter-Pulling College Friend:
For You:
For Your Favorite Fixer-Upper Fella(c’mon girls, we all have them):
Dressing the Man: Mastering the Art of Permanent Fashion – Alan Flusser (see manolomen for details)
For You:
Valentino scarf in the designer’s signature red
For Your Hot Gay Boyfriend:
A pair of Viv Westwood sneakers
For You:
MORE Viv Westwood (these are the legendary “Prostitute Sex Shoes”)
Ah, you chose “Pet Sounds” – not “Rubber Soul” or “Sargeant Pepper”. Yes!!!
Comment by Toby Wollin — December 3, 2007 @ 2:07 pm
Well of course I did. Rubber Soul and Sgt Pepper aren’t American albums.
I’m not sure I’d risk putting Pet Sounds and Sgt Pepper on the same list. Ranking one below the other would be just ASKING for trouble.
Comment by Plumcake — December 3, 2007 @ 2:17 pm
And here I was, just about to yell, “Hey, where’s Machine Head?!” when I realized Deep Purple were not American, either.
Can’t argue with your other choices, but where’s the mainstream American rock ‘n’ roll that rock radio lived and died by for so many years? There’s….
Bruce Springsteen’s The River (yes, he’s been an earnest bore for years, but Bruce was something else in his day)
Tom Petty & The Heartbreakers’ Damn the Torpedoes (“Refugee”!)
Bob Seger & The Silver Bullet Band’s Against the Wind (classic, straight-up four-chord American rock)
I’d give a rock novice any of those before the GNR record. Cheese metal was cute for a while, but it doesn’t stand up. (But that’s why lists like this are fun!)
Comment by Bridey — December 3, 2007 @ 4:30 pm
that 1976 Rolling Stone Illustrated history of Rock n Roll is PERFECT!!!! Exactly what I was looking for (but never knew i was looking for it) as a Christmas present for someone very special. (alas, not myself). and what a steal at only .99 cents on ebay!!
GREAT FIND! thank you for the tip!
Comment by cricket — December 3, 2007 @ 7:14 pm
Bridey, it’s 5 American Albums that changed the face of pop, thus anything that was mainstream when it came out doesn’t count.
These were all –for good or ill– epic records. If you feel better, there was great debate whether to include Springsteen because he was epic, but we decided (grudgingly) that since his shtick was too close to Dylan’s we could only have one or the other, and “The New Dylan” (or anyone ever described as such) had make way for the old Dylan.
The album that we all wanted to have, but couldn’t because it would put the focus too heavily on the 1960’s, was Jimi Hendrix Acts as Bold as Love.
Comment by Plumcake — December 3, 2007 @ 8:27 pm
The results of the Thoughtful Dresser poll, on whether it is possible to dress well at any size are in, with my obserbvations on the subject
http://thethoughtfuldresser.blogspot.com/2007/12/can-you-dress-well-at-any-size-poll.html
Comment by The Thoughtful Dresser — December 4, 2007 @ 4:46 am
observations!
Comment by The Thoughtful Dresser — December 4, 2007 @ 4:46 am
Ah, I see. My brain skated right over that part and stuck on “rock novices.” Sorry!
But I’d still sub out GNR, perhaps with The Byrds’ Sweetheart of the Rodeo — though, indeed, that puts us back in the ’60s. Or even the first Boston album, which I believe came out the same year as Born to Run but sounded like it was from a different planet.
(This sort of thing is just my own little obsession, obviously — I wrote for an industry trade mag for a number of years — so I’ll shut up now :) )
Comment by Bridey — December 4, 2007 @ 2:59 pm
The album that we all wanted to have, but couldn’t because it would put the focus too heavily on the 1960’s, was Jimi Hendrix Acts as Bold as Love.
possibly you are making some witty joke but the album is totally axis bold as love.
but you knew that. right?
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