HOLIDAY: Shopping Guide (for Awesome People)

So, it's that time of the year when many of us have to reach deep into our (startling shallow) pockets in an effort to present tokens of our love and affection to those near and dear. But this exercise needn't be so painful, and in an effort to shoulder some of the shopping burden I present you with Holiday Shopping Guide for Awesome People. Sure to be loved by boys, girls, cats, dogs, and any other entity you might imagine.

Item #1

Limited Edition Vinyl/Digital EP by The Parish on Gold Robot Records
Hot off the presses (I literally picked it up yesterday) and guaranteed to ship before the actual street date. You will certainly enjoy these tunes, wrapped in some amazing artwork and presented on beautiful pilsner-colored vinyl. (Cost = $5)
::: The Parish - Dummy in Trouble

Item #2

Limited Edition Print by Maxwell Loren Holyoke-Hirsch
This San Francisco artist is one of my favorites. He's selling this print (only 100, signed and numbered) through his online store (which has other great things as well). You might recognize his work, as he did the cover art for the latest Annuals single. (Cost = $20)
::: Annuals - Brother

Item #3

Limited Edition Hand-Screened Gold Robot Records T-shirt
I only screened up 30 of these bad boys. The two-color logo (designed by DJG) is on a American Apparel Tr-Blend Athletic Gray shirt, in both men's and women's sizes. If you don't see your size, check out the other shirts. (Cost = $13)
::: Jay Z - Change Clothes and Go

Item #4

Catbird Records Holiday Specials (Discount Bundles)
One of my personal favorite independent labels is selling some of their amazing releases in discounted bundle packs. Get a piece of these limited edition releases on CD and support another small independent label. (Cost = $10 to $30)
::: Manishevitz - Dead Birds

Item #5

Limited Edition Stork Shirts by Hunter Mack
Available as a gray t-shirt (Men's and Women's, 15 total printed) or a brown 3/4 tee (Women's only, shown above, 9 total printed). It's an abstract drawing of a stork-like bird. (Cost = $15)
::: Modest Mouse - Make Everyone Happy / Mechanical Birds
(above track from my favorite Modest Mouse album.)

Item #6

Quarterbar's Shock'Em Dead Mixtape
The latest release by our good friends over at Sneakmove, this 19 track mixtape is absolutely fantastic. Quarterbar is half of the excellent Meanest Man Contest, who also released a 7-inch on Gold Robot Records. (Cost = $5)
::: The Go! Team - Grip Like a Vice (Quarterbar Remix)

Item #7

Canvas Bag by Underdog Ink
Another bird drawing! Canvas bags are awesome, you can put all kinds of great things in them. Get this amazing piece by Underdog Ink, sold by the awesome folks over at Blankspace Gallery who have other great things in their shop. (Cost = $18)
::: Spoon - The Underdog

Item #8

Self-Released Volunteer Pioneer EP
One of my favorite releases of the year is still available. This seven song EP is tucked inside a hand silk-screened cover. The songs and artwork are beautiful. (Cost = $7)
::: Volunteer Pioneer - Fear of Cholera

Item #9

Pirate Perfume from the 826 Valencia Pirate Shop
Offered by the unique store part of 826 Valencia, an organization that helps to get kids excited about writing. That's a pretty good thing to support. (Cost = $45)
::: Meanest Man Contest - Pirate Style
(Buy MMC's debut full-length Merit here.)

So, Nine is a good number to end this exercise, right?
(Disclaimer: Macktronic is non-denominational and generally encourages the purchasing of awesome independent stuffs which make people smile.)

[Gold Robot Records official website.]
[Gold Robot Records on myspace.]
[Download Music from eMusic; free 25 song free trial.]
[Buy music from Insound.]
[Find/Listen/Download music at The Hype Machine.]
[Photo credit goes to rockmenow48.]

Tags: mp3, music, shopping, holiday, independent, awesome