Classic Rock Holiday Gift Guide

Aleken Games calls its new board game "the speed game of rock." Players compete against the clock to arrange cards containing significant events in rock history in the correct chronological order. There's a bonus for naming the exact year in which an event occurred. A typical game lasts about a half hour, and is suitable for one or more players aged 14 and up. Long Live Rock is from the same company that produces the Rock & Roll Triviologies game, but they're calling this one "the un-trivia game."

 

Take a classic cover from an album like Pink Floyd's Animals or Velvet Revolver's Contraband, put it in a nice frame, and snap! -- you've got a classy non-musical gift for a music lover.

 

If your music lover loves music to the extent of playing it on a guitar, consider a gift of a personalized guitar strap, especially useful for those with names that are hard to remember. I wonder if Yngwie Malmsteen has one of these?

Nothing says "music lover" quite like proudly displaying your favorite rock artists on your underwear. Among the possibilities are Jimi Hendrix, Led Zeppelin, Pink Floyd, Grateful Dead, Aerosmith, AC/DC, Rolling Stones and KISS. Also available, for those who aren't inclined to show off their shorts, lounge pants and tee shirts.

What was the first song The Beatles recorded? How about the last one? What's Ringo's middle name? Those who want to know (or think they already do) everything about The Beatles will think of you fondly as they devour this book.

 

At these prices, this is a gift for a music lover that you really like a lot. Gold records. Like The Doors' Riders on the Storm, John Lennon's Walls and Bridges, The Yes Album, and about three dozen others. At $100-$200 each, you might find them a little pricey, but music lovers will love them.

For the music lover who also loves jewelry: musical notes, instruments, artists, even a classic jukebox, all crafted as charms for a bracelet or necklace. It takes a real music lover to walk around wearing the Grateful Dead dancing skelton.

And you thought those Beatles lunchboxes were hot stuff! Welcome to the world of music-themed totes and attaches. Carry one of these babies and everybody at the hotel, convention and airport will know you're a music lover.

If you're the crafty sort, here's a DIY option: music themed cross stitch patterns. Themes range from the instrument-specific to air guitars that (really, I'm not kidding) glow in the dark.

Little known facts, birthdays, important events in rock history. Each day of The Days That Rock 2008 Calendar has a trivia question concerning something or someone or some song or album that has a place in the history of the first 50 years of rock. In other words, it'll give you something fun to think about while you're counting the days until the weekend!