Holiday Gift Guide: The Complete Mozart, PBS' 'Soundbreaking' Series, a KISS Tree Ornament, and More
Dec. 5, 2016
In the weeks leading up to the holidays, we're going to tip you off to some music-related recordings, books, gadgets, clothing items and more that we've hand-picked from the vast depths of Amazon. The third week of our 2016 Holiday Gift Guide features a staggering 200-disc box set featuring all of Mozart's works, a biography of the Replacements, a terrifying Gene Simmons action figure, and much more. And check out our previous installments for our earlier picks.
Soundbreaking: Stories from the Cutting Edge of Recorded Music
This eight-hour documentary series explores the roles and accomplishments of music producers over the decades. With Phil Spector and George Martin as its starting points, the series follows pop music's lineage from vocal groups to rock bands to funk to hip-hop, and features interviews with dozens of A-list musicians and producers, as well as ample studio footage from the recording sessions of some of music's most iconic albums. This is far from a rehash of the 'Classic Albums' series or Time Life's rock history set, and the amount of new content and the variety of artists covered makes for a wealth of information. ($31.99)
Mozart 225: The New Complete Edition
This incredible box set collects Mozart's entire body of work including every last fragment, in the most authoritative edition ever created. Featuring 240 hours of music across 200 discs, 600 solo performers and ensembles including 60 orchestras, Mozart 225 represents every significant Mozart interpreter of the past 30 years. ($332.93)
Trouble Boys: The True Story of the Replacements
Bob Mehr paints a hilarious, outrageous, and tragic portrait of one of the last truly great rock bands. Culled from a decade of interviews, research and full access to the Replacements' archives at Twin/Tone and Warner Bros. Records, the book works as both a rhapsody to The Replacements' wild history and a cautionary tale of addiction, depression and madness. "God, what a mess on the ladder of success / You take one step and miss the whole first rung." ($18.70, hardcover)
AllMusic Subscription
To keep the lights at AllMusic, we have to run ads. There's no way around it, and it's been a fact of life online since the days of 14.4 modems and NCSA Mosaic. The thing is, these ads can get more and more elaborate over time, and loading them can bog down a site. That's why we offer paid subscriptions to AllMusic: for $16 a year, all the ads are gone. Poof. It helps us directly and noticeably speeds up the site for you, so it's a real win/win. ($16/year)
Gene Simmons Tree Ornament
If there is somebody on your list that you don't like very much but you have to get them something, why not get them this horrible Gene Simmons tree ornament? Nothing says "Home for the holidays" like a 67 year old rock demon who looks like he's about to vomit blood all over the tree skirt. Merry Kissmas! ($10.24)
Digital Underground T-Shirt
My nose is big, uh-uh, I'm not ashamed. Big like a pickle; I'm still getting paid. (Starts at $12.45)
Organelle Synthesizer by Critter & Guitari
Oh man, is this thing weird. It's a pocket piano with wooden buttons, that can run different patches, samples, synth sounds, loops and space noises. It can act as a guitar pedal, drum machine, sequencer, MIDI over USB, and features a ton of downloadable and customizable sounds. Laser fights in space! ($495)
Timeline: Music & Cinema
Stack the deck against your friends and family with this chronologically-minded trivia game focusing on music and film history. We've broken this one out a few times at AllMusic HQ and can vouch for it as the only game where it's important to know if Off the Wall came out before or after Back in Black, and if Raging Bull fits in between the two. ($19.65)
Soundmine Mint by Skullcandy
Really nice bluetooth speakers can run into hundreds of dollars, but we've found this little workhorse to be an inexpensive way to take your music wherever you go. It isn't waterproof or have any kind of awesome bass boosting capabilities but it is a very inexpensive stocking stuffer that holds a charge for a long time, has completely simple controls, and puts out volume loud enough for your small group to hear. ($22.95)
Amazon Music Unlimited
Amazon launched its own streaming service this fall, and just expanded into the U.K., Germany and Austria. Echo owners and Prime subscribers get deep discounts on the $9.99/month service, which gives you access to tens of millions of songs, whenever you want them. There's also a $14.99/month family plan, which allows unlimited streaming for up to six users. (Monthly subscription)
Soundbreaking: Stories from the Cutting Edge of Recorded Music
This eight-hour documentary series explores the roles and accomplishments of music producers over the decades. With Phil Spector and George Martin as its starting points, the series follows pop music's lineage from vocal groups to rock bands to funk to hip-hop, and features interviews with dozens of A-list musicians and producers, as well as ample studio footage from the recording sessions of some of music's most iconic albums. This is far from a rehash of the 'Classic Albums' series or Time Life's rock history set, and the amount of new content and the variety of artists covered makes for a wealth of information. ($31.99)
Mozart 225: The New Complete Edition
This incredible box set collects Mozart's entire body of work including every last fragment, in the most authoritative edition ever created. Featuring 240 hours of music across 200 discs, 600 solo performers and ensembles including 60 orchestras, Mozart 225 represents every significant Mozart interpreter of the past 30 years. ($332.93)
Trouble Boys: The True Story of the Replacements
Bob Mehr paints a hilarious, outrageous, and tragic portrait of one of the last truly great rock bands. Culled from a decade of interviews, research and full access to the Replacements' archives at Twin/Tone and Warner Bros. Records, the book works as both a rhapsody to The Replacements' wild history and a cautionary tale of addiction, depression and madness. "God, what a mess on the ladder of success / You take one step and miss the whole first rung." ($18.70, hardcover)
AllMusic Subscription
To keep the lights at AllMusic, we have to run ads. There's no way around it, and it's been a fact of life online since the days of 14.4 modems and NCSA Mosaic. The thing is, these ads can get more and more elaborate over time, and loading them can bog down a site. That's why we offer paid subscriptions to AllMusic: for $16 a year, all the ads are gone. Poof. It helps us directly and noticeably speeds up the site for you, so it's a real win/win. ($16/year)
Gene Simmons Tree Ornament
If there is somebody on your list that you don't like very much but you have to get them something, why not get them this horrible Gene Simmons tree ornament? Nothing says "Home for the holidays" like a 67 year old rock demon who looks like he's about to vomit blood all over the tree skirt. Merry Kissmas! ($10.24)
Digital Underground T-Shirt
My nose is big, uh-uh, I'm not ashamed. Big like a pickle; I'm still getting paid. (Starts at $12.45)
Organelle Synthesizer by Critter & Guitari
Oh man, is this thing weird. It's a pocket piano with wooden buttons, that can run different patches, samples, synth sounds, loops and space noises. It can act as a guitar pedal, drum machine, sequencer, MIDI over USB, and features a ton of downloadable and customizable sounds. Laser fights in space! ($495)
Timeline: Music & Cinema
Stack the deck against your friends and family with this chronologically-minded trivia game focusing on music and film history. We've broken this one out a few times at AllMusic HQ and can vouch for it as the only game where it's important to know if Off the Wall came out before or after Back in Black, and if Raging Bull fits in between the two. ($19.65)
Soundmine Mint by Skullcandy
Really nice bluetooth speakers can run into hundreds of dollars, but we've found this little workhorse to be an inexpensive way to take your music wherever you go. It isn't waterproof or have any kind of awesome bass boosting capabilities but it is a very inexpensive stocking stuffer that holds a charge for a long time, has completely simple controls, and puts out volume loud enough for your small group to hear. ($22.95)
Amazon Music Unlimited
Amazon launched its own streaming service this fall, and just expanded into the U.K., Germany and Austria. Echo owners and Prime subscribers get deep discounts on the $9.99/month service, which gives you access to tens of millions of songs, whenever you want them. There's also a $14.99/month family plan, which allows unlimited streaming for up to six users. (Monthly subscription)