This Year's Sibling Gift List

I'm nowhere near ready to do a top ten of the year, but I figured this might suffice until I get to it. For the last several years, I've decided that my Christmas gifts to my two brothers and sister would "music they didn't know they wanted." The general parameters are that I'd ask what music they've bought during the year, and maybe what they want -- although one of the rules is that I don't actually get them what they explicitly ask for -- and then, between that and just knowing their tastes in general, I'll go and get them a handful of CDs from the year.

So, this is what they got this year.

Brother #1 (39)
Once Soundtrack
Mark Ronson, Version
Feist, The Reminder
Spoon, Ga Ga Ga Ga Ga
Sharon Jones and the Dap-Kings, 100 Days, 100 Nights
Rockabye Baby, Lullaby Versions of Radiohead

The sister-in-law asked for Regina Spektor, Lily Allen and Jack Johnson. I figure Once and Feist both scratch the Regina Spektor itch, and the Mark Ronson disk has both Amy Winehouse and Lily Allen on it. Wasn't going to touch Jack Johnson, but I guess you can spin the Glen Hansard part of the soundtrack in that direction. Spoon is just for something a bit more rocking since my brother didn't actually give me anything to go on, and the Sharon Jones record is just kind of cool. The lullaby Radiohead is for the baby on the way. I have a tendency to go a bit too adult album alternative, and I think I reined that in this year. I did think about the Nick Lowe record, though. Briefly.

Brother #2 (35)
Ted Leo and the Pharmacists, Living With The Living
Arctic Monkeys, Favourite Worst Nightmare
Wilco, Sky Blue Sky
The Redwalls, The Redwalls

All I really had to go on was that he liked The Fratellis album, which made Arctic Monkeys a bit of a no-brainer. He also said he was getting into older stuff like The Zombies, so I figured The Redwalls would work on that front. Sort of. Taking a bit of a chance on Wilco, but that record is really good. I had thought about Motion City Soundtrack -- he snowboards, so that X-Games motif might hold up -- but they're a bit too hyperpolished pop-punk on record. Ted Leo has a bit more gravitas.

Sister #1 (34)
Manu Chao, La Radiolina
The Polyphonic Spree, The Fragile Army
The Fratellis, Costello Music
Gogol Bordello, Super Taranta!

In response to one e-mail, she said "go eclectic," which means Gogol Bordello is obvious, and Manu Chao just a little less so. I had been thinking something a little beat-heavy, like LCD Soundsystem or Battles -- the Mark Ronson record actually started on this list before I figured it would be better for my older brother -- but ended up going ork-pop instead with Polyphonic Spree. And someone had to get the Fratellis record.