Got a rock dad? Old friend in a far-off town? New neighbour of unknown tastes?
What albums do you give to these people as gifts?
Maybe you know what I mean. I know and love many people who like music, but whose tastes are not very similar to my own, so whenever a gift occasion comes up I find myself making a mental list of universally appealing music to try on them.
(I think gift-giving was part of the reason that Norah Jones album was so popular a couple of years ago. Half the people I know unwrapped it on Christmas morning as a gift from a mom or uncle who had spotted it as a pleasant, polished album that could hit at least two genres. That's part of the reason I strive to refine this list, to find a more creative and hopefully satisfying present.)
My go-to gift CDs
Andrew Bird and the Mysterious Production of Eggs. (Weather Systems works too.) To put it simply, everyone in the entire world enjoys Andrew Bird, and no one but indie kids have heard of him. I'm 3 for 3 on gifts of Andrew Bird now (welcome to the entire world, population 3).
Cesaria Evora's self-titled album. This is world-folk cafe music, but soulful and tasteful enough to satisfy even snobs. (But really, it would be a hit just based on her singing voice. So good!)
Gillian Welch (anything; I like Soul Journey for instant appeal). The problem is everybody already has this, even though nobody talks about it. Only marijuana rivals her diverse appeal: bankers, college kids, mall rats, parents, drop-outs, hipsters: everybody dabbles in Gillian Welch.
Wilco's Summerteeth. This could have been specially engineered to appeal to rock fans, pop fans and roots fans at the same time. I tried Yankee Hotel Foxtrot on a couple of people before realizing this was the proper gift album. Apparently it's less "weird".
So... tips? These things can be unpredictable. Many acclaimed or "pleasant" albums don't fly with a general audience. In my younger days, I caused gift-hijinx by trying to give everyone Bjork or Boards of Canada (ha ha ha). Gift albums are a different kind of awesome.
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i loved this post, never thought of andrew bird as a gift, but it makes so much sense
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Ethiopiques Vol.3 has been my completely successful universally appealing gift cd. Instrumental jazz- you can't really go wrong.
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If I know anybody well enough to by them a gift, I usually have a pretty good grasp on what they listen to (It's all I talk about with anybody), so here's my contribution:
Odessy & Oracle by The Zombies for people that love 60s pop music, but listen too deep. Os Mutantes also work here if the recieptient isn't too xenophobic.
Black Mountain by Black Mountain for anyone that ever rolled a joint and listened to Sabbath on headphones.
I always buy classic country for my mom and sisters -Loretta Lynn, Tanya Tucker, etc.
And for the classic rockers Jailbreak by Thin Lizzy. 'cause tonight there's gonna be a jailbreak.
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Cesaria Evora is an excellent gift idea. I think the better question is which CD would be equivalent to a Fruit Cake during the holidays? You know, someone comes over gives you a cake and you wrap it up and bring to a neighbors house - mine would be anything by Jack Johnson.
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Kate, that Ethiopiques is such a good idea. I've been trying to come up with jazz albums everyone would like but that aren't, like, Kind of Blue. The Sorcerer by Gabor Szabo might work too.
And Bawston Sean, your classic country reminds me that Van Lear Rose (Loretta Lynn w/ Jack White) has gone over pretty well for me before, even with people who don't think they like country music. Thanks!
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I would most definately buy Imaginary Cuba by Bill Laswell for anyone... It's always been in my opinion good to buy something for someone that has history behind it... Not to mention something unlike anything they have ever heard or would even think of purchasing for themselves.Remember giving the gift of music shouldn't stop at one disc...
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I'd give Os Mutantes a definite no. Has nothing to do with Xeneophobia -- it's just too weird for non-Portuguese-speaking music geeks. Feel free to gimme one though.
I'd add these:
Amadou & Mariam, Dimanche a Bamako (2005) Blind couple from Mali throw down some great booty-shakin' music. I saw them live and their audience literally included every age and culture I could imagine.
Van Morrison, Astral Weeks (1968) I'm consistently shocked and amazed how many people know Van Morrison, love "Brown Eyed Girl" and other later stuff, but never ever heard his masterpiece, Astral Weeks. Intense, but pretty enough for wide appeal. It's high time for a deluxe reissue, which would make it even more gift-friendly. Or combine it with the more upbeat Moondance (1970).
Otherwise it's pretty hard to think of albums with wide appeal that people aren't likely to have, other than new releases. Rhino is issueing the first Pretenders album as a deluxe double CD reissue on Oct. 3 too...
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Oh, and for jazz people,
Charles Mingus, The Black Saint and the Sinner Lady
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Sufjan Stevens' Michigan album to my brother, sister, mom and dad. Plus recommendations to 2 or 3 friends, who have all bought it and loved it. I made it a Michigan thing.
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Oh, and I was thinking of the Mysterious Production of Eggs for my parents, too, just today. Eerie.
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Cesaria Evora, right on.
I usually go for something that's been very successful in another country -- it's guaranteed to have a wide appeal, but they probably won't have heard it.