Another year, another cornucopia of gift ideas for the music fan in your life.
And the holiday season in 2024 is indeed rife with plenty of cheer to spread around in the form of an incredibly wide swath of choices.
From villains to vinyl, workshops to whiskey, books to box sets, this handy last-minute holiday gift guide has a little something for all points of one’s cultural evolution.
Shogun Godzilla (Toho Ultimates Series)
Kids in 1977, begged for these awesome, super-sized Shogun Warrior action figures — namely Godzilla, who at one time, stood at 19 inches with the leather flame tongue, shooting fist and detachable tail. As part of its Toho Ultimates! Series, Super 7 brings back Shogun Godzilla for those who lost the OG toy to the trash. He only stands at 8 inches, but he’s, by all means, a perfect recreation of the original, right down to the fire tongue and detachable fist (the tail, however, is all one piece). He’s painted in a metallic teal colorway, an homage to the Japanese Marusan Godzilla figure from the mid-1960s.
$55, super7.com
“Talking Heads: 77,” Talking Heads (Super Deluxe Edition) (Rhino)
The debut album from the recently reunited Talking Heads is the first studio LP from the band’s catalog to receive the deluxe treatment, naturally. This three-CD, one-BluRay book-bound box set does an incredible job chronicling the group’s beginnings as the trio of singer/guitarist David Byrne, bassist Tina Weymouth and drummer Chris Frantz before becoming a quartet with the addition of multi-instrumentalist Jerry Harrison. Along with a remastered version of the original LP (also in Dolby Atmos and 5.1 on the Blu), the expansion includes a disc containing rare outtakes and alternate versions of such staples as “Psycho Killer” and “Pulled Up.” Another CD features a soundboard recording of the band’s final show at NYC punk club CBGB dated Oct. 10, 1977 that is a must-hear for hardcore fans.
$99.98, talkingheadsofficial.com
“500 Essential Pop-Punk Albums: From Blondie to Blink-182,” Paige Owens (Ruffian)
Former Alternative Press editor-in-chief Paige Owens celebrates 47 years of pop punk in 500 albums with the latest in her series of album guides for Ruffian Books.
Subtitled “From Blondie to Blink-182,” this fun, fast and fetching tome serves as a perfect gift for young Green Day fans looking for tips on where to start with their budding record collection. Owens ensures young scrappers like Sundressed, Crooked Teeth and Neck Deep get the same sunlight as the Ramones, the Go-Go’s and Paramore.
$39.99, ruffianbooks.com
“A Peace of Us,” Dean & Britta & Sonic Boom (Carpark Records)
Making a Christmas album that stands out in an oversaturated holiday music market is no easy feat. But Dean Wareham and Britta Phillips of Luna, along with legendary psych-rock kingpin Sonic Boom of Spacemen 3, have cobbled together this eclectic and illuminating 14-song collection featuring truly beguiling versions of such festive fare as David Berman’s “Snow is Falling on Manhattan;” the 1977 Bing Crosby and David Bowie rendition of “Peace On Earth/Little Drummer Boy;” Eddy Arnold’s “Christmas Can’t Be Far Away” and “Old Toy Trains” by Roger Miller. “A Peace of Us” is seasonal psychedelia for those who prefer their eggnog spiked with a little psilocybin.
$26.99, carparkrecords.com
Brian Eno Writing Workshop (School of Song)
For more than 50 years, artists and musicians have sought the guidance of master producer Brian Eno like they were traveling to the Dagobah System for Jedi training with Yoda. But in 2025, access to the former Roxy Music keyboardist is only a click away. Starting in January, Eno will instruct students on his creative process through the innovative online music education platform School of Song, offering insight into what he learned from David Bowie, Talking Heads, U2 and Coldplay. The workshops are held at 1 p.m. each Sunday in January, and cost $160. The deadline to sign up is Jan. 4. “I’m looking forward to the chance to properly articulate some ideas about the creative process that have been fermenting over the last 50 years,” Eno said in a statement. “To be able to do this with some fresh young minds and imaginations was a chance that I couldn’t refuse.”
$160, schoolofsong.org
“Brotherhood: Definitive Edition,” New Order (Warner Music)
New Order’s fourth album is also its first major foray into unparalleled pop, eschewing the dark post-punk tones of their early albums like “Movement” and “Power, Corruption and Lies” toward a more synthpop-driven style that showcased the band’s mastery of melody — especially on such enduring hits as “Bizarre Love Triangle” and “State of the Nation.” This definitive edition of “Brotherhood” includes the remastered original LP on vinyl and CD, a second disc containing nine unreleased tracks along with Japanese demos from 1985 and some tasty remixes, plus two DVDs featuring live performances from the Brixton Academy, Glastonbury, G-Mex Manchester and various TV appearances from England and Europe.
$149.98, store.rhino.com
Dinosaur Jr. x Three Chord Bourbon 2024
This year marks the 40th anniversary of Dinosaur Jr., whose sound paved the way for musicians who play Neil Young + Crazy Horse and The Birthday Party at equal volume. And to commemorate the milestone, Lou Barlow, Murph and J. Mascis toast their four decades together with this second collaboration with Three Chord Bourbon as part of its Backstage Series. This latest blend is a 92-proof combination of 8-year-old bourbons from Texas, Tennessee and Indiana that’s seasoned with toasted oak. This whiskey won’t make you “Puke and Cry.”
$49.99, threechordbourbon.com
Dierks Bentley ROW 94 Bourbon
Made with care at the historical Green River Distilling Co. in Owensboro, Kentucky, country music great Dierks Bentley offers his first foray into whiskey contains only three ingredients: premium grain, purified Kentucky limestone water and cultivated yeast, plus “The Truth.”
Named partially after the strength of its proof with a nod to his first year in Nashville, ROW 94 results from a lot of research and sampling. Made with 70% Kentucky-grown corn, 21% rye and 9% malted and row barley, ROW 94 contains substantial notes of vanilla and toffee with a subtle green apple flavor underneath, and finished with subtle hints of honey and tobacco. And like the man who dreamed it up, it’s 100% authentic.
$39.99, ROW94whiskey.com
“Brothers,” Alex Van Halen (Harper)
A multitude of music fans were crestfallen when guitar master Eddie Van Halen lost his longtime battle with cancer at age 65 on Oct. 6, 2020. But none more impacted than his older brother and lifelong bandmate Alex, whose honest and heartfelt account of growing up in an immigrant family in Pasadena, California, en route to global rock stardom is unlike any music memoir. “We shared a depth of understanding that most people can only hope to achieve in a lifetime,” he writes. “Brothers” is an essential book for anyone who has ever lost a sibling in addition to growing up on one of America’s greatest bands. And if you order the book directly from Van Halen’s online store, you get four exclusive 4 x 6 prints from the family’s personal archives.
$32, vanhalenstore.com
