The holiday season is upon us, which means that, like everyone, we're scrambling to find gifts for the music lovers on our Christmas list. This can be a perilous prospect, since music nerds tend to be a picky, judgmental bunch (we should know).
To help you avoid a gift-giving blunder, we have compiled a list of five presents to avoid this Christmas. These are the overpriced, unnecessary or otherwise disappointing items that you're going to want to steer well clear of when you scour the internet for gifts in the coming weeks.
Head to the next page to begin Exclaim!'s Top 5 Gifts Not to Buy the Music Fan in Your Life This Christmas:
5. Jay-Z's "Occupy All Streets" T-shirt
Hey, we love Jay-Z as much as anyone, but the rapper's opportunistic cash-in on the Occupy Movement was just lame. He had been spotted wearing the T-shirt above, then began marketing it through his Rocawear clothing line, only to quickly pull the item due to a massive backlash. After all, Jay-Z wasn't planning to donate any of the money from the shirt to the Occupy Movement, meaning that he would have been using these financial inequality protests as an opportunity to make himself even richer. Then again, Hova and Beyoncé have a baby on the way, so maybe they were simply trying to sweeten a college fund.
4. Elvis Costello's The Return of the Spectacular Spinning Songbook!!! Box Set
Not even Elvis Costello himself thinks you should buy the Elvis Costello & the Imposters: The Return of the Spectacular Spinning Songbook!!! box set, and a statement posted on his official website reads, "Unfortunately, we at www.elviscostello.com find ourselves unable to recommend this lovely item to you as the price appears to be either a misprint or a satire." Yes, the fancy box set is kind of cool, but it's certainly not worth the $224.39 price tag at Amazon. The items in the box will apparently be available in the new year for a less exorbitant price, so if you can hold out through the holiday season, you'll be able to get this live collection without breaking the bank.
3. Wavves' Weed-Themed "Survival Kit"
Wavves frontman Nathan Williams has always flaunted his love of marijuana. He regularly tweets about his weed use, and even got arrested in Germany for carrying a reported six bags of pot. It's not too much of a surprise, then, that he's selling a "Survival Kit" containing a herb grinder, Wavves-branded rolling papers and a lighter. There are certainly people out there who could get some use out of this present, but we can't imagine anything worse than pulling this out from under the tree with mom and dad watching.
2. Lady Gaga Motorcycle Ornament
When Lady Gaga unveiled the cringe-worthy album cover for her album Born This Way, the music world united in a collective "WTF." Now, the insanely famous pop singer has turned her baffling motorcycle woman image into a truly hideous ornament, which she's selling for $25 at her Gaga's Workshop in the New York department store Barneys. Keep in mind that this isn't a Christmas tree ornament -- it's just a regular tabletop ornament, as if anyone would want to display this all year long.
1. Lou Reed Headphones
How the mighty have fallen. After his abysmal Metallica collaboration, Lulu, the once-great Lou Reed unveiled this completely unnecessary and overpriced pair of headphones. They're modelled on Klipsch's already-pricey line of X10i earbuds, which cost a hefty $350. The Lou-themed version sells for an extra $50 and comes with a gaudy gold and purple paint job. Trust us: we won't be listening to Lulu on these. Not even the fact that the headphones come with a Lou Reed autograph can make these worth even close to $400.
To help you avoid a gift-giving blunder, we have compiled a list of five presents to avoid this Christmas. These are the overpriced, unnecessary or otherwise disappointing items that you're going to want to steer well clear of when you scour the internet for gifts in the coming weeks.
Head to the next page to begin Exclaim!'s Top 5 Gifts Not to Buy the Music Fan in Your Life This Christmas:
5. Jay-Z's "Occupy All Streets" T-shirt
Hey, we love Jay-Z as much as anyone, but the rapper's opportunistic cash-in on the Occupy Movement was just lame. He had been spotted wearing the T-shirt above, then began marketing it through his Rocawear clothing line, only to quickly pull the item due to a massive backlash. After all, Jay-Z wasn't planning to donate any of the money from the shirt to the Occupy Movement, meaning that he would have been using these financial inequality protests as an opportunity to make himself even richer. Then again, Hova and Beyoncé have a baby on the way, so maybe they were simply trying to sweeten a college fund.
4. Elvis Costello's The Return of the Spectacular Spinning Songbook!!! Box Set
Not even Elvis Costello himself thinks you should buy the Elvis Costello & the Imposters: The Return of the Spectacular Spinning Songbook!!! box set, and a statement posted on his official website reads, "Unfortunately, we at www.elviscostello.com find ourselves unable to recommend this lovely item to you as the price appears to be either a misprint or a satire." Yes, the fancy box set is kind of cool, but it's certainly not worth the $224.39 price tag at Amazon. The items in the box will apparently be available in the new year for a less exorbitant price, so if you can hold out through the holiday season, you'll be able to get this live collection without breaking the bank.
3. Wavves' Weed-Themed "Survival Kit"
Wavves frontman Nathan Williams has always flaunted his love of marijuana. He regularly tweets about his weed use, and even got arrested in Germany for carrying a reported six bags of pot. It's not too much of a surprise, then, that he's selling a "Survival Kit" containing a herb grinder, Wavves-branded rolling papers and a lighter. There are certainly people out there who could get some use out of this present, but we can't imagine anything worse than pulling this out from under the tree with mom and dad watching.
2. Lady Gaga Motorcycle Ornament
When Lady Gaga unveiled the cringe-worthy album cover for her album Born This Way, the music world united in a collective "WTF." Now, the insanely famous pop singer has turned her baffling motorcycle woman image into a truly hideous ornament, which she's selling for $25 at her Gaga's Workshop in the New York department store Barneys. Keep in mind that this isn't a Christmas tree ornament -- it's just a regular tabletop ornament, as if anyone would want to display this all year long.
1. Lou Reed Headphones
How the mighty have fallen. After his abysmal Metallica collaboration, Lulu, the once-great Lou Reed unveiled this completely unnecessary and overpriced pair of headphones. They're modelled on Klipsch's already-pricey line of X10i earbuds, which cost a hefty $350. The Lou-themed version sells for an extra $50 and comes with a gaudy gold and purple paint job. Trust us: we won't be listening to Lulu on these. Not even the fact that the headphones come with a Lou Reed autograph can make these worth even close to $400.
