LATEST ADDITIONS

A few things to consider as we approach the home stretch.

I hate to be the bearer of bad news but if you’re reading this and haven’t finished your holiday shopping you’re now officially a last-minute shopper. I’m right with you. In a normal year I’d be thinking two weeks is plenty of time to tie up loose ends. But in the Age of COVID, the world is upside-down and restrictions (whether government-mandated or self-imposed) are real and impacting just about everything — especially inventory levels and shipping times. Is the gift you’ve been contemplating in stock and, if so, will it arrive in time? On-time delivery was an issue last year so you can imagine how much pressure shippers are under this year with online shopping reaching all-time highs. If you, like me, find yourself running out of options, here are a few last-minute gifts ideas to consider, including a couple that don’t require physical shipping.

Each autumn, I fret that we won't be able to find ten worthy entries for this gotta-have-'em list, and every year am genuinely surprised at the bounty that has somehow remained heretofore unreleased. I guess there will always be anniversaries and restorations and quadrilogies and the like, and as long as the studios keep investing the time and care to craft these disc-filled boxes we enjoy so much, we'll continue recommending the cream of the crop to help stoke seasonal merriment.

It’s hard to believe 40 years have passed since John Lennon was fatally shot outside his home on Manhattan’s Upper West Side on this very day. We’re marking the anniversary of Lennon’s untimely passing with a review of the new Gimme Some Truth: The Ultimate Mixes box set and Matt Hurwitz’s story on the production of tracks remixed in stereo, 5.1, and Dolby Atmos.

I always viewed John Winston Ono Lennon as an inveterate seeker—an artist who was forever searching low and high to find both his ballast and his balance. During his time in The Beatles, Lennon was able to connect with listeners on an interpersonal level ("In My Life") while he also remained unafraid to address his own fears and insecurities ("Help!"), was eager to embrace the free-associative nature of the Sixties ("I Am the Walrus"), and was wholly game to confront the depths of his pain ("Julia").