Remember last year when we recommended great music, dvd’s and books for the modern rock fan on your Christmas list? Well, we are back, and this time it’s all about the wax. Yes, these are some items on vinyl that we think you might get to complete your shopping, or maybe just for yourself.

The Smiths Singles Box Set - This gem is a clamshell card box containing the first ten UK-issued singles in their original picture sleeves. Two singles in this box are exclusive to this box set. An amazing gift for any fan of The Smiths. The only catch is that it’s an import and will cost you here in the states.

From The Capitol Vaults Limited Re-Issues - Capitol Records is getting caught up in the recent vinyl resurgence with re-issues of albums that have been out of print in several cases. In addition to all of the Radiohead Capitol albums being re-issued, you can also grab Coldplay’s debut album, The Verve’s Urban Hymns and lots of older stuff as well from John Lennon, The Beach Boys and lots more.

Beck -Odelay 10th Anniversary Vinyl Box Set - 4LPs - It’s the 10th Anniversary of Beck’s incredible album Odelay, and this 4xLP set celebrates the record with a numbered, limited edition release of only 3,000 copies. Includes high quality full-color booklet and of course is 180 gram pressed.

The Decemberists Always A Bridesmaid Single Series - This fall and winter saw Colin Meloy and the gang release 3 12″ LP singles called the Always A Bridesmaid Series. As of right now, you can’t buy them all together, but can purchase all three separately. Remember these were digital and vinyl only!

The Flaming Lips - Christmas On Mars - This bundle of holiday cheer not only includes a regular weight green-vinyl disc in a single-pocket jacket but also gives you the DVD of the feature film plus a white vinyl 7″ single, “Silent Night/Lord Can You Hear Me” b/w “It’s Christmas Time.”

Sigur Ros Vinyl - Are you a collector of all things Sigur Ros? Well then you probably need to add Von, their debut record to your vinyl collection. This one is on 200 gram wax and is a limited release. In addition, this years Sigur Ros album, Med Sud I Eyrum Vid Spilum End, is finally available on vinyl as well.

Belle & Sebastian - BBC Sessions - This double gatefold LP features 14 tracks recorded for the BBC between 1996 and 2001. It should be noted that several of these songs sound very different than the album versions and is a very cool item.

Nada Surf - Vinyl Box Set - This box set has it all if you are a Nada Surf fan. You get all of the bands LPs including their Elektra Records debut high/low (available on vinyl exclusively in this box set). You also get a 24-page full-color 12″x12″ booklet which includes lyrics for all of the LPs, exclusive photos and tour poster reproductions. This box set is limited to 1000 only and has already sold out on Barsuk. But you can still grab it here.

Got some special vinyl goodies on your wish list? Share in the comments….

Have a peek at some of the new releases we like that hit your local indie store shelf this week…….

De Novo Dahl - Move Every Muscle, Make Every Sound (buy from lala.com)

The Raconteurs - Consolers Of The Lonely

Plants & Animals - Parc Avenue (buy from lala.com)

Under Byen - Siamesisk

Morrissey - Greatest Hits (buy from lala.com)

The Heavy - Great Vengeance and Furious Fire

Devotchka - A Mad & Faithful Telling (buy from lala.com)

Destroyer - Trouble In Dreams (buy from lala.com)

She & Him - Volume 1 (buy from lala.com)

Joseph Arthur - Could We Survive EP (buy from lala.com)

These New Puritans - Beat Pyramid

The Teenage Prayers - Everyone Thinks You’re The Best

Great Northern - Sleepy Eepee (buy from lala.com)

Some pretty good releases hitting stores today, we put the WOXY.com seal of approval on all of the following albums, and hope you will pick them up from the Independent Record store of your choice if you plan to buy.

The Gutter Twins - Saturnalia

Stephen Malkmus & The Jicks - Real Emotional Trash

Born Ruffians - Red Yellow And Blue

Jim White - Transnormal Skiperoo

White Hinterland - Phylactory Factory (buy from lala.com)

The Ruby Suns - Sea Lion (buy from lala.com)

These United States - A Picture Of The Three of Us At The Gates To The Garden Of Eden

Goldfrapp - Seventh Tree (buy from lala.com)

Ghostland Observatory - Robotique Majestique (buy from lala.com)

Beach House - Devotion (buy from lala.com)

I Was A Cub Scout - S/T (Import)

Sunny Day Sets Fire - Stranger Remix EP

After a somewhat slow release group last week, this week sees alot of great new albums hitting stores. Take a look at the listing below and be sure to pick up our favorites at your local independent music store of choice.

Bon Iver - For Emma, Forever Ago (purchase from lala.com)
The Mountain Goats - Heretic Pride (purchase from lala.com)
American Music Club - The Golden Age
Bell X1 - Flock (purchase from lala.com)
The Big Sleep - Sleep Forever (purchase from lala.com)
The Epochs - S/T (purchase from lala.com)
Headlights - Some Racing, Some Stopping (purchase from lala.com)
Gary Louris - Vagabonds (purchase from lala.com SPECIAL OFFER)
Mike Doughty - Golden Delicious (purchase from lala.com)
The Raveonettes - Lust, Lust, Lust
Throw Me The Statue - Moonbeams

Loads of great new releases this week to choose from. Here are some of our favorites that hit US shores tomorrow……….

Hot Chip - Made In The Dark

Nada Surf - Lucky

Bob Mould - District Line

Sons And Daughters - This Gift (buy from lala.com)

Lightspeed Champion - Falling Off Lavender Bridge

Dead Meadow - Old Growth

Say Hi - The Wishes And The Glitch

Jason Collett - Heres To Being Here

Chris Walla - Field Manual (buy from lala)

MP3 - Chris Walla - Sing Again

Thao Nguyen - We Brave Bee Stings And All

MP3 - Thao Nguyen - Bag Of Hammers

The Helio Sequence - Keep Your Eyes Ahead (buy from lala)

MP3 - The Helio Sequence - Keep Your Eyes Ahead

Vampire Weekend - S/T

Radar Bros. - Auditorium

These New Puritans - Beat Pyramid (import)

I think this is the first week of 2008 where there are multiple releases that I have an interest in. Here are the albums due out this week we at WOXY.com have an interest in or are already playing.

Cat Power - Jukebox

Liam Finn - I’ll Be Lightning - Buy from lala
The Whitsundays - S/T

MP3 - The Whitsundays - Sorry James

MGMT - Oracular Spectacular - Buy from Lala
Times New Viking - Rip Off

MP3 - Times New Viking - (my head)

Black Mountain - In The Future

MP3 - Black Mountain - Tyrants

Evangelicals - The Evening Descends

MP3 - Evangelicals - The Evening Descends

Hello, Blue Roses - The Portrait Is Finished And I Have Failed To Capture Your Beauty

MP3 - Hello, Blue Roses - Shadow Falls

Dead Confederate - S/T EP
Drive-By Truckers - Brighter Than Creations Dark - Buy from lala.

Elliott Smith - Autumn de Wilde, who directed the video for Smith’s “Son Of Sam” and created the packaging for his album Figure 8 writes what is not the first, and probably won’t be the last book about the tortured singer/songwriter. And it is not a traditional book but all accounts, in that it is loads of photography and interviews with people Smith knew well. This one is certainly worth checking out for all Elliott Smith fans.

The Replacements: All Over But the Shouting: An Oral History - This book pays tribute to a great rock band that has always been a WOXY favorite. Author Jim Walsh is a longtime Replacements conspirator (his band, Laughing Stock played with them in their early `80s days and he delivered a eulogy at guitarist Bob Stinson’s funeral in 1995), and he nakedly approaches his subjects with the thesis that they were the greatest band of their generation. Still, he makes no apologies for the often cruddy way they treated their fans, their friends, and each other.

33 1/3 Best Of Volumes 1 & 2 - If you are not familiar with the 33 1/3 books it is a series of books written about important and/or seminal music albums. Written by one author per album, the series covers in depth some of the greatest albums of all time. The “Best Of” volumes kind of act like a compilation album to the books, with excerpts from the first 20 being covered in the Best Of Volume 1, and the next 20 in Volume 2. To see a full listing of the books 33 1/3 has covered already, go here.


CREEM: America’s Only Rock ‘N’ Roll Magazine - CREEM magazine stood at the forefront of youth counterculture from 1969 to 1988 as “America’s Only Rock ‘n’ Roll Magazine.” This book gives fans of the magazine a nice collection of its back issues, and includes some of the best of the magazine’s vast archives of photos, illustrations, and articles. Looks like a perfect gift for the punk nostalgic or a gift for yourself this holiday season.

U2 by U2 - This one was released earlier this year and I still have not read it! I’m sure I will get around to it and it looks like you should as well. The story is “written” by the band, with quotes culled from over 150 hours of interviews done for Neil McCormick. Every phase of the band’s career, from it’s earliest days straight through to How to Dismantle an Atomic Bomb is told solely through quotes from each band member. This makes it more than just another U2 book and worth picking up for yourself or that U2 nerd you love (cough, me, cough) :)

Dead Children Playing: A Picture Book (Radiohead) - For the super duper Radiohead nerd, this book compiles tons of the bands album artwork over the years. It has almost all the paintings Stanley Donwood and Dr Tchock have produced in the last decade, plus this book also contains a loads of never-before-seen artwork. The band have always had odd but intriguing artwork, this would be a super cool coffee table book, as would this next item.

Rolling Stone 1,000 Covers: A History of the Most Influential Magazine in Pop Culture - If you want to have one of the coolest coffee table books around, I think this one would place you into that class. It is what it says, 1,000 covers of Rolling Stone magazine, all packed together into this book. It spans from the beginning of the magazine in 1967 all the way till May 2006.

Got some other great book suggestions? Leave em in the comments….