Holiday shopping picks

Whether you’re at the Victor Wooten Band performance this Sunday at the Canopy Club (Dec. 4), the Living Blue show (same venue, Dec. 10), or the Krukid CD release party at Cowboy Monkey (Dec. 8), there’s nothing quite like the holiday season in Champaign-Urbana. Sure, we might not have as much snow as other people, and yeah, we’re all kind of poor, and sometimes the furthest we can get without getting lost on the bus is Walgreen’s on Green Street. Nevertheless, that’s why we have the Internet and friends with cars. So, with help from your friendly neighborhood “Listen, Hear” section, you can be on your way just by logging on the World Wide Web.

Archos Gmini XS202

This is the gift that you give to someone who has been very, very good to you this year. Whether it’s your mom, significant other, or that BFF of yours, you’re going to want to give them something special. The Archos boasts rave reviews despite not having a flashy appearance, and also features the option, unlike the Apple players, to delete songs off the Archos without having to go through your computer, a compact and lightweight structure, a highly fluid browsing structure to get through your

collection, and the fact that you don’t need a specific program to load your songs on your Archos, although RealPlayer or Windows Media Player are suggested. Not to mention, you won’t have to worry about your grandma accidentally playing “Born to be Wild” when she wanted “Shake Your Bon Bon” – with Archos, she’ll be using a less touch-sensitive joystick. Not to mention, it’s a bargain with the listed online price (www.cnet.com) of under $250 and 20GB.

One Kiss Can Lead to Another: Girl Group Sounds Lost and Found

Another surefire hit this holiday season is the One Kiss Can Lead to Another: Girl Group Sounds Lost and Found box set. You know the friend who was Baby Spice the Halloween of 1997? Or that super-annoying audiophile friend of yours who will not shut up about Phil Spector and the Ronettes? Well, this box set, released by Rhino, comes to you all dolled up and packaged in a bonafide hatbox, and also includes a “diary” with blue snakeskin cover. This is a 4-CD set that contains the greatest girl group songs of all time, from The Chiffons to The Shangri-Las, to Cher and Peanut. 120 songs in total, so much can be said about this box set, but we’ll leave it to the recipient of this package to say it. At a listed price of $55.98 with free shipping on Amazon.com, you really can’t go wrong with this one.

Even if you’re not up to splurging this year, read our CD reviews and DVD review in this week’s “Listen, Hear” – those are definitely worth checking out and are available at Exile on Main or your local Best Buy.

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