Month: December 2021 (Page 4 of 4)

The PopCulteer
December 3, 2021

This is it. The Master List of every single thing I recommended in The 2021 PopCult Gift Guide.

I made changes to The Gift Guide this year. Like last year, I ended it in November, to allow folks to order gifts online and have plenty of time for shipping.  With the pandemic and some people being understandably shy about wading forth into the retail masses, it just makes sense to do this.  A new change for this year was combining every day’s recommendations into a single post. This forced me to be more concise in my descriptions, which was a good thing. Instead of writing 4,000 words every day about three gift ideas, I managed to cover five gift ideas a day in about 1,500 words.

This made my life easier, as did skipping weekends. It’s no secret that a good number of PopCult readers visit the blog while they’re at work. Dropping gift suggestions over the weekend gave the items I picked then a bit of a short shrift. This way every gift suggestion gets full exposure, and I got a couple of days each week to recharge my batteries. Plus I didn’t have to suspend PopCult‘s regular weekend features for the month.

Because of the nature of how I did the gift guide this year, the links will take you to the post that includes the items listed, but you may have to scroll down a bit to find the exact item you’re looking for. The exception is the children’s books and some of the T-shirts. If you click on those titles, the links will take you directly to a website where you can order them.

TOYS

Hess 2021 Cargo Plane and Jet

Vlad & Niki Super Hero Surprise

MEGO 14″ Frankenstein

Turbo Man

Final Faction Action Figures

Superman Action Figures by MEGO

Hornby Magical Mystery Tour Bus

Stevo’s Horses

RAW 10 Series Two

The Fresh Dolls

Itty Bitty Pretty Angel High

5 Surprise Unicorn Newborn Squad Series 4

Colorforms Retro-The Original Set

Rainbocorns Puppycorn Surprise

Jurassic World Legacy Collecton Large Apatosaurus Figure

5 Surprise Mini Brands Convenience Store

5 Surprise Mini Brands Series 3

ZURU 5 Surprise Toy Mini Brands Wave 2

5 Surprise Toy Mini Brands Mini Toy Store

Jada Nano Hollywood Rides

World Peacekeepers Action Figures

Bachmann – Rail Express Battery-Powered Train Set

GAMES

El The Chicago Transit Adventure Board Game

The Blockbuster Game: The Movie Board Game for Adults and Teenagers

Top Trumps Match Game – DC Comics Originals

Ravensburger Horrified: Universal Monsters Strategy Board Game

Rogue Art History: The Trivia Game

COMICS/GRAPHIC NOVELS

Nexus Newspaper Strips Volume 1: The Coming of Gourmando

BOWIE: Stardust, Rayguns, & Moonage Daydreams

DC Through the 80s: The End of Eras

Captain America’s Bicentennial Battles

Slow Death Zero: The Comix Anthology of Ecological Horror

The Great Treasury of Christmas Comic Book Stories

Superman: Kryptonite Nevermore

The Amazing World of Superman (Tabloid Edition)

The Most Important Comic Book on Earth: Stories to Save the World

Monsters by Barry Windsor-Smith

Exit Stage Left: The Snagglepuss Chronicles

Amor Y Cohetes: A Love and Rockets Book

Richard Dragon, Kung-Fu Fighter: Coming of the Dragon!

ACP COMICS-Forbidden Gallery and More!

BOOKS

Rack Toys: Cheap, Crazed Playthings

Paul McCartney The Lyrics: 1956 to the Present

Holly Jolly: Celebrating Christmas Past in Pop Culture

Death in Mud Lick: A Coal Country Fight against the Drug Companies That Delivered the Opioid Epidemic

O, Mountaineers! Volume II: Noted (or Notorious) African-American West Virginians

The Beatles: Get Back

The Beatles Magical Mystery Tour and Yellow Submarine (Beatles Album Series)

The Haunted Mansion Little Golden Book

Grandude’s Green Submarine

Change Sings

I Am Odd, I Am New

Hi Weirdo! – The New Children’s Book by Aiden and Mitch O’Connell

Queen of the Ring: Wrestling Drawings by Jaime Hernandez 1980-2020

Bachelor Pad’s Little Black Book

Dinosaur! (Knowledge Encyclopedias)

Nympho Lodge by Jack Lynn

Toy Ventures Magazine Bundle

A Wealth of Pigeons: A Cartoon Collection

The Roof: The Beatles’ Final Concert

Putting It Together: How Stephen Sondheim and I Created “Sunday in the Park with George”

All About Me!: My Remarkable Life in Show Business by Mel Brooks

MOVIES/TV/VIDEO

Game of Thrones: The Complete Series

Tim Burton’s The NIGHTMARE BEFORE CHRISTMAS

Smallville: Complete Series – 20th Anniversary Edition

Superman: The Complete Animated Series

The Brian Setzer Orchestra Christmas Rocks! LIVE

Rankin Bass The Original Christmas Specials Collection

The Johnny Cash Christmas Specials 1976-1979

Pee-Wee’s Playhouse: Christmas Special

The Honeymooners Specials: A Christmas Carol

Jurassic World 5-Movie Collection

Caveman (multi-format disc)

Santa Claus Conquers The Martians (DVD)

The Ed Wood Collection – A Salute to Incompetence

Eight Days A Week: The Touring Years-The Beatles

The 2000 Year Old Man: The Complete History Box Set

The Misadventures of Biffle & Shooster

Looney Tunes Parodies Collection

MUSIC/AUDIO

The Beatles Let It Be Super Deluxe Box Set

George Harrison All Things Must Pass Super Deluxe Box Set

John Lennon Plastic Ono Band Box Set

Ringo Starr Change The World – EP

BILLY IDOL HAPPY HOLIDAYS

The Brian Setzer Orchestra Christmas Rocks! LIVE

McCartney III Imagined

The Stranglers Dark Matters

The Dollyrots Down the Rabbit Hole

Yodeling the Classics

The BeachBoys “Feel Flows” The Sunflower & Surf’s Up Sessions 1969-1971

The 2000 Year Old Man: The Complete History Box Set

Monty Python’s Total Rubbish – The Complete Collection

SHIRTS

Optometrist Prime

Kirby Galactic Black Shirt

WKRP Turkey Drop T-Shirt

THE GREAT WAVE OFF SOUND

TIKI & MOON No. 16

GI FAN

Beam Me Up Shirt

WALL DECOR

New River Gorge by Glen Brogan

BATFIGHT! by Mitch O’Connell

Gill Creep Mini Monster

Nexus “Valley of the Living Rocks” Print by Steve Rude

Pee Wee Herman’s 35th Anniversary Big Adventure Bundle

RANDOM STUFF

Christkindlmarket

John Lennon Vinyl Stamp Collecting Book

Funwares Dinosaur Serving Dishes

Wash ‘N’ Roar Shower Head

HELL IS OTHER PEOPLE WELCOME MAT

Emergency Underpants Dispenser

LIghts Of Broadway Show Cards

Rick & Morty Plumbus Deluxe Coffee Mug

And that is the end of that. Thank you for reading The 2021 PopCult Gift Guide. I hope you found it helpful and/or entertaining. That is today’s PopCulteer.  Later Friday we’ll have a post up to tell you about the a new episode of MIRRORBALL premiering on The AIR. Check PopCult for fresh content every day, including several reliable regular features…and have a very Merry Christmas, Happy Holidays or whatever floats your boat.

The 2021 PopCult Gift Guide is over, but there’s still more than three weeks until Christmas, and one thing I did not do this year, that I have done in previous years, is focus on local retailers. My reasons for this is that I still have misgivings about venturing forth into crowded retail environments. However, that’s because I have an auto-immune disorder and take an immuno-suppresant, so I have to be extra-cautious. Your milage may vary, and if you prefer to do your shopping in person, please do support our locally-owned businesses. I’m going to tell you about a few here, but if I miss any, please feel free to mention them in the comments.

100% of every dollar spent with a local retailer stays relatively local. There are all kinds of folks who have cool stuff and gift certificates.  Chances are, you’ll find some cool stuff that they don’t have at the big box stores.

I’ve compiled a partial  list of local merchants who you really ought to patronize this holiday season: In previous years I told you about Oddbird Gift Emporium now located on Hale Street Downtown. They’re still stocked to the rafters with cool gift ideas. Other cool area merchants you can support in Downton Charleston are Art Emporium, Stray Dog Antiques, The Purple Moon, Taylor Books, and Capitol Market. Most of the books I recommend in The 2021 PopCult Gift Guide can be ordered through Taylor Books, simply by using the ISBN number. Don’t forget Charleston Bread, either, for the gift of tasty bread and cookies and cake and stuff.

In Kanawha City, you’ll find the legendary Budget Tapes & Records, where you can give the gift of music, plus smoking accessories, clothing and lifestyle items.  In South Hills you’ll find Eclectics, and the other Bridge Road shops.

Over on the West Side of Charleston, you might want to check out Elk City Records for your jazz vinyl needs, and around the corner, Kin Ship Goods and Base Camp Printing have pleny of unique apparel and paper gifts to offer, respectively. If you’re one of those folks who still visits The Charleston Town Center, the West Virginia Music Hall of Fame has some stuff for sale that’d make great gifts for the local music lover on your shopping list.

The main thing is to get out there and shop local if you feel safe doing it. I know it’s convenient to click away, and lord knows I’ve included tons of online-only items in the Gift Guide for the last two years due to the pandemic, but the local touch means so much more, and you make your immediate world a better place.

Check back Friday for the Master List of every item I recommended in The 2021 PopCult Gift Guide.

Wednesday afternoon The AIR brings you a replay of the marathon of Stephen Sondheim tribute episodes of Curtain Call!  You can tune in at the website, or or you could just stay on this page, and  listen to the convenient embedded radio player lurking over in the right-hand column of this blog.

At 3 PM on Curtain Call, Mel Larch’s Musical Theatre showcase will, by popular demand, present  a collection of episodes of the show devoted to Stephen Sondheim, who passed away last Friday at the age of 91. The marathon is preceded by an emotional intro from Mel, and over the course of the six hours, you will hear songs from all of Sondheim’s most famous shows.

This special marathon of Mel Larch’s Curtain Call on The AIR includes six  shows that pay tribute to Stephen Sondheim, including an early episode from 2016, a three-part special commemorating his 90th birthday, and a two-part show devoted to “West Side Story.” We wlll replay these six hours Wednesday afternoon in Curtain Call’s regular timeslot of 3 PM on The AIR, and again at Midnight.

The first hour is a tribute from 2016, with the following playlist:

Curtain Call 011

“Invocation” from The Frogs
“Free” from A Funny Thing Happened On The Way To The Forum
“Company” from Company
“I’m Still Here” from Follies
“God That’s Good” from Sweeny Todd
“Waiting Around For The Girls Upstairs” from Follies
“Putting It Together” from Putting It Together
“Side by Side by Side” from Company
“No One Is Alone” from Into The Woods
“America” from West Side Story
“Sooner Or Later” from Dick Tracy
“Some People” from Gypsy
“Send In The Clowns” from A Little Night Music

Hours two, three and four bring you highlights of last year’s streaming tribute to Stephen Sondheim, Take Me To The World: A Sondheim 90th Birthday Celebration.

In these shows you will hear performancs of classic Sondheim songs by such artists as Meryl Streep, Audra McDonald, Neil Patrick Harris, Jerry Hadley, Bernadette Peters, Victor Garber, Liza Minelli, Glenn Close, Patti Lupone, Bill Irwin, Betty Buckley, Laura Benanti, Randy Rainbow, Brian Stokes Mitchell, Linda Lavin, and many more.

The event was a benefit for Artists Striving to End Poverty, or ASTEP, a program founded by Broadway musical director Mary-Mitchell Campbell which connects visual and performing artists with youth from underserved communities in the US and all over the world to provide them with access to the arts–and help break the cycle of poverty. You can find out more by visiting their website at ASTEP.org

The final two hours are a pair of episodes of Curtain Call from 2017 that recreate West Side Story using performances from different productions and some wild cover versions of tunes from Sondheim and Bernstein’s legendary musical take on Romeo and Juliet. Following the finale, the remainder of the second hour is filled with offbeat WSS covers by a surprising array of artists.

This is our humble salute to the master of musical theatre, and a small way to say “thanks” for leaving us with such an amazing body of work.