Still looking for that perfect gift for the music lover in your family? Well, the holiday season is traditionally a time when compilations, box sets and reissues flood the marketplace--and this year is no exception. What is exceptional, however, is the surprising high quality of this year's re-issue crop. Here are a few to keep an eye on:REMMurmurThis double disc reissue of REM's debut is packed full of goodies. Besides the sonic upgrade (Michael Stipe mumbles are still almost indecipherable, bu
It's time to rank the best of what went around and came around again.
BILLY JOEL
The Stranger
(Columbia/Legacy)
As punk and disco exploded, the Piano Man's deeply unhip 1978 breakthrough proved that top-shelf Broadway/Brill Building songwriting could still sell - and, occasionally, rock. "Scenes From an Italian Restaurant" and "Anthony's Song (Movin' Out)" remain priceless snapshots of Annie Hall-era NYC, the title track bares real teeth, and the Kenny Chesney fave "Only the Good Die Young
George Wright In this week's print product, Elliott Johnston offers up his approval of noted underground eccentric Robyn Hitchcock, practically imploring you to check out his performance with his backing band, The Venus 3 (REM's Peter Buck and Bill Rieflin, The Minus 5's Scott McCaughey), tomorrow night at the Granada Theater.Need more of a push, though? OK. The friendly folks at the Granada have given us three pairs of tickets to the show to hand out to DC9 readers. Want one of the pairs? Drop
