How many gift guides have you read that started off by reminding you that "the holiday season is fast approaching"? Probably too many by this point. If you're like me, you just get stressed out and close the tab before even realizing that some of them have awesome suggestions. Don't do that here: Although some of the following suggestions might require a little elbow grease and an understanding of simple wiring systems, any of these would be gifts that a music fan would be happy to receive. You're welcome.

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Mark Ghuneim

Youth Lagoon
Mercury Lounge
November 15

Better Than: Sitting at home waiting for Questlove's predictions about OWS to come true.

Before Youth Lagoon's set at the Mercury Lounge, I had tried to describe the Boise, Idaho native's music to a friend by saying that his debut album The Year Of Hibernation was akin to being wrapped in a grandmother-stitched quilt—warm, soothing, and swaddling. That feeling of comfort was taken from me too soon after the show came to a close (thanks, NYPD), but it's a telling sign that it I wanted to experience it again almost immediately.

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Via our friends at Beyond Gold: The video for "Don't Fuck With My Money," the latest single by by electropop singer (and former Shelter subject) Penguin Prison. Talk about timing—the clip was shot on location at Occupy Wall Street last month, and its release comes hot on the heels of last night's raid of Zuccotti Park. Watch below.

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Jay, showing off his new item.

After wowing tri-state area crowds during his Watch The Throne shows with Kanye West, Jay-Z was spotted wearing a tshirt that said "Occupy Wall Street(s)"; the shirt was actually a prototype, and his clothing line Rocawear will eventually sell them to the public at large. Good for you, Jay! Following in your fellow throne-sitter Kanye West's footsteps of supporting the 99%, and not even wearing Givenchy while you do it. There's a catch, though—Jay's rep issued a statement saying, in part, "At this time we have not made an official commitment to monetarily support the movement." This has a lot of people talking, naturally.

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Pretty sure they messed with that cross.

WU LYF
Tuesday, November 8
Music Hall of Williamsburg

Better than: Staying home wondering if Jay-Z and Kanye had conceded to my list of Watch The Throne demands. (They didn't.)

Sometimes you go to shows for clarification—was song X really about this, did lead singer Y seem as sad in real life as she does on her album. Last night's sold-out Music Hall of Williamsburg show by the British act WU LYF was a different type of quest: Could I decipher any lyrics off their (highly listenable) full-length Go Tell Fire To The Mountain? Alas, the answer was no. Frontman Ellery Roberts's hoarse howling sounds like a drunk Harvey Fierstein yelling quotes from the backwoods-inbred Jodie Foster film Nell, or the end result of Animal being promoted from drummer of the Electric Mayhem to lead singer.

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"I thought you said you'd take me to McDonald's"

Saturday night, after reading a flurry of tweets from Jay-Z and Kanye West's show at the Izod Center, I bought tickets to nosebleed seats for last night's Watch The Throne show at the Garden. It was worth it, though—especially since yesterday afternoon, those same tickets cost $350, with a couple of pit seats going for $1500. (Tickets for tonight's show, as of this writing, range from $200 to $15,000, which really puts StubHub's warning that tickets "may be priced above face value" to the test.) Sure, you're dealing with the secondary marketplace here, but since Jay and Kanye are all about the good life, they should be made aware of what would make a $1500 ticket worth it.

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The Drums
Bowery Ballroom/Music Hall of Williamsburg
November 2/3

Better than: Staying home wondering why 30 Rock isn't on but Whitney is.

When I was a little kid, my parents used to have dinner parties that would always devolve into dancing by the second half of the evening. I'd sneak downstairs to watch as the attendees looked like they were pretending to be extras in the party scenes from Less Than Zero and sad synthpop came through the speakers. I flashed back to this scene thanks to half the crowd at the Drums' two shows this week: An army of Morrissey wannabes in high-and-tight haircuts and blouses, all mimicking Jonathan Pierce's slightly fey finger-snapping and hip-swinging.

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It's almost Halloween, and if you're like me, you've been spending your free time watching scary movies and thinking up costume ideas. These sorts of movies are usually known for blood, boobs, and bad jokes, but the music that accompanies them is important, too. For instance, high-pitched shrieking noises automatically bring to mind Psycho, and the Jaws score will forever instill fear in the hearts of swimmers. But what about the actual soundtracks—you know, those tie-in compilations that bring together artists old and young, new and vintage, huge and dollar-bin-ready? After the jump, seven frightful flicks that were packaged with good tunes.

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On the occasion of the Voice staff awarding Frenchkiss Records Best New York-Based Record Label in this year's Best Of New York bonanza, I decided to give Syd Butler—the founder of the label and bassist for art-rock group Les Savy Fav—a call and see if he'd be willing to chat with me about his favorite New York locales. He not only said yes, he invited us to the Frenchkiss office, where we conducted the above interview. Please ignore my Butt-Head laugh, and yes, I did ask him to wear that shirt. (He was more than happy to oblige, though!) A list of his favorites below.

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Thanks to Voice pal Mr. Eddie Huang, we came across the above clip of some Jeopardy! contestants who have apparently never seen the video for "Killa Cam." When supplied with the answer "Rapper Cam'ron had a pink one of these alliterative super-SUV's, but sold it as it got too much attention," the three hopefuls stared blankly at Jeopardy host Alex Trebek, who looked a little disappointed that no one knew how to reply to his query. (Trebek: Closet Diplomats fan? Or just irritated that nobody figured out the only SUV out there with an alliterative name is the Range Rover?) While this isn't the best "Unexpected Cam'ron appearance on national television" moment, it's definitely going to make it into the top five. A clip from the video featuring the pink Range after the jump.

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