Because of delays in producing The 2025 PopCult Gift Guide, mixed with next week being Thanksgiving week, I will be running two week’s worth of this scaled down version of STUFF TO DO, without the lengthy boilerplate (you can find an example HERE), this week, so I can skip next week.
I realize this means I’m going to be glossing over a bunch of events, but…since the vast majority of our readers, especially this time of the year, are not local, it’s a worthwhile trade-off.
Until we get back to normal in December, more than ever, you should remember that THIS IS NOT A COMPLETE LIST OF EVENTS. It’s just a starting point, so don’t expect anything comprehensive, and if you feel strongly about me leaving anything out, feel free to mention it in the comments.
We very happily remind you that Cristen Michael has created an interactive calendar that is way more comprehensive than this list of STUFF TO DO, and you can find it HERE. Just click on the day and the event and you’ll be whisked away to a page with more details about loads of area events.
You can find live music in and around town every night of the week. You just have to know where to look. Keep in mind that all shows are subject to change or be cancelled at the last minute.
Here we go, roughly in order, it’s graphics for local events happening over the next couple of weeks that I was able to scrounge up online…
For today’s second entry in The 2025 PopCult Gift Guide we going to shine the spotlight on a pop culture behemoth that’s in a milestone anniversary year.
Seventy-Five years ago, Charles M. Schulz introduced the world to Charlie Brown, Snoopy and the gang in the comic strip, Peanuts. With this being an anniverary year, there is no shortage of great merchandise that would make the perfect gift for the Peanuts fan on your shopping list.
And you know you have one, if not more.
We’re going to look at books, toys and even a road trip, but there are boatloads of great gift ideas for the Peanuts fan. This is just a list to get you started.
The Essential Peanuts by Charles M. Schulz: The Greatest Comic Strip of All Time
by Mark Evanier (Author), Charles M. Schulz (Illustrator), Patrick McDonnell (Introduction), Jean Schulz (Foreword)
Harry N. Abrams
ISBN-13 : 978-1419784170
List Price $75. Heavy discounts available at Amazon and other booksellers.
This is one beautiful book.
This spectacular deluxe edition celebrates the 75th anniversary of Peanuts and the life, art, and legacy of Charles M. Schulz, and comes packaged with unique bonus materials.
Inside an embossed metallic slipcase, in addition to the one-of-a-kind 336-page full-color hardcover that collects more than 700 images, including Schulz’s most iconic comic strips and related ephemera, you will find tonw of extras: : 8 ready-to-frame prints, 5 vinyl stickers, 8 postcards, an iron-on patch, a full-color comic book, and more!
Award-winning author Mark Evanier provides insightful and entertaining Peanuts cultural and historical context. An introduction from Patrick McDonnell, a foreword by Jean Schulz, and appreciations and remembrances from key figures in the world of Peanuts make this book a unique milestone in Peanuts publishing.
Seventy-five years since the first Peanuts strip made its debut on October 2, 1950, the beloved comic and its iconic characters remain a touchstone for generations around the world. From cultural milestones such as NASA’s Apollo 10 lunar and command modules being named after Charlie Brown and Snoopy to the classic holiday specials that continue to draw millions of viewers, Peanuts has a lasting influence that few works of art or literature can claim. The power of these iconic characters is also evident from the popularity of modern-day animated movies and iPhone shorts, and even the Gen Z phenomenon of so-called “Snoopy Girls.”
This official book celebration of the 75th anniversary of Peanuts is produced in collaboration with Peanuts Worldwide and the Charles M. Schulz Museum and Research Center in Santa Rosa, California.
This epic celebration of Peanuts is a must-have for any fan, and can be ordered from any bookseller. There are some remarkably heavy discounts at places like Amazon, Costco and other big retailers, but you can also support your local bookstore and buy it from them.
Fantagraphics Peanuts Books
For the completist, Fantagraphics has reprinted every Peanuts strip, in order, in twenty-six hardback volumes. They’ve also collected just the Sunday strips, and are beginning to reprint the hardbacks as more affordable trade paperback editions. They even have some themed collections to round out your Peanuts library.
The Complete Peanuts packages the entire 50-year run of Schulz’s American classic in 26 deluxe hardcover volumes. Each volume features two successive years of strips in their entirety, plus bonus material such as celebrity introductions, interviews, and a brief biography of Schulz himself.
As they say on their website:
Peanuts — beloved characters, iconic gags, drawing that finds beauty in its economic ink line. Fantagraphics is thrilled to publish Charles M. Schulz’s glorious creation, bringing our team’s design expertise and impeccable production values to bear on the most popular comic strip of all time.
You can find full description and order these books directly from Fantagraphics.
Super 7 Peanuts
Another company paying tribute to Charles Schulz and Peanuts is Super 7.
They’ve released an extensive line of Peanuts action figures, with a focus on the more stylized 1950’s and 60’s characters from the launch of the comic strip.
They have released Peanuts figures in their 3 3/4′ ReAction line, as well as their Ultimates line other cool collectibles. In addition to the toys, they’ve released apparel and trading cards, plus some very fun blind-box ReAction figures. Particularly nice is a grab-bag with a combination of perfect stocking-stuffer gifts.
If your Peanuts fan giftee would enjoy a road trip, anybody living in Charleston, Cleveland, Columbus or Pittsburgh can have a great day trip to Wheeling to visit The Kruger Street Toy & Train Museum.
In the basement, you will find a huge collection of Peanuts memorabilia. The display features part of a massive collection of Peanuts-related memorabilia accululated by Wheeling, West Virginia physician Dr. William Mercer over forty years of practicing pediatric medicine.
Dr. Mercer’s collection was largely assembled with patient’s gifts, beginning in 1987 after he designed a Snoopy-themed pediatric room at his practice. Over the years Dr. Mercer began doing outreach programs in schools, telling kids to be “Too Cool To Smoke” (and later vape).
We attended the opening in 2023, and produced a video, which you see at the bottom of this post. It’s an overwhelming expression of the love of Charlie Brown and Snoopy, and you can look at the exhibit for hours and keep finding new things.
The gift shop has quite a few Peanuts items too, so you can easily find a souvenir of your trip.
For the full details of when the museum is open, visit their website.
Stranger Things: The WSQK Collection (Target Exclusive, Vinyl)
SONY Legacy
Exclusively at Target
$21.99
The final season of the hit Netflix series, Stranger Things, will roll out over the next few weeks, with the first four episodes dropping the day after Thanksgiving. If you have a die-hard fan of the show on your shopping list, you can find a ton of merchandise tied in to the entire series. Both Walmart and Target have dedicated areas of the store devoted to Stranger Things, and today’s first entry in The 2025 PopCult Gift Guide is a Target exclusve, the red-vinyl release of Stranger Things: The WSQK Collection.
This LP, designed to look like a 1980s vinyl radio-station sampler,is based on WSQK “The Squawk” 94.5 FM, a fictional radio station that will act as the gang’s headquarters during the final season of the show as they try to track down Vecna. The station’s design is based on a real art deco-style building in Durham, North Carolina, which is close to where the show’s creators, the Duffer Brothers grew up.
It’s not the first time radio has been important in the show. Back in Season 1, the kids used the Heathkit Ham Shack in the school’s AV club to contact Eleven and find Will Byers. That shortwave radio ended up catching fire and was never seen again, but it played a key part in the early story. Now, WSQK looks set to take on that role in a much bigger way, complete with an underground bomb shelter and a proper 80s vibe.
To tie in with the new setting, Legacy Recordings has released a Target-exclusive compilation album called Stranger Things: The WSQK Collection. It’s pressed on red vinyl and features a brilliant mix of pop, punk, and new wave tracks that feel right at home in the world of Stranger Things.
Music has featured prominently on Stranger Things since the first season. A couple of years ago, due to be included in the show, Kate Bush’s “Running Up That Hill” became a worldwide #1 smash, nearly forty years after it was originally released. This album recreates the 1980s vibe (where the show is set) with several pieces of classic period tunes:
Tiffany – I Think We’re Alone Now
The Clash – The Magnificent Seven
Queen – Bicycle Race
Pink Floyd – Another Brick In The Wall, Pt. 2
Diana Ross – Upside Down
Cheap Trick – Surrender
Altered Images – See Those Eyes
Scandal featuring Patty Smyth – The Warrior
Journey – Wheel In The Sky
It’s a strong collection that captures the spirit of the 80s and gives fans a taste of what might be coming in the final season. And it’s a great gift idea for fans of the show who also collect vinyl.
You can order it from Target, or buy it in the stores. They seem to have plenty in stock.
Eclectic Goods Market
1401 Charles Ave.Dunbar, WV
Open Wednesday-Sunday, 11 AM to 6 PM
A returning favorite, Eclectic Goods Market is a unique vintage and artisan mall located in Dunbar, WV. Their many vendors display a large selection of vintage finds, antiques, home decor, jewelry, artwork, clothing, and more. You can shop their curation of small West Virginia and Appalachia owned brands 5 days a week. This place is an overlooked gem, and I can’t stress enough how many unique gift ideas you can find here.
This is a great place to find everything from FiestaWare to comic books to vintage clothing, fair-trade goods, home-made soaps, vintage toys and more. There are over 200 vendors, and you will stumble across a treasure every ten or fifteen feet.
At this time of year they also have a terrific assortment of vintage and artisan Christmas ornaments and decorations.
If you want to be a vendor, you can find details at their website, but for our purposes, I’m suggesting that you go there in person and shop.
There are some great shops filled with great gift items, like Magpies’ Treasures, Gypsy Grace Boutique and other cool, funky shops, filled to the brim with great gift ideas.
LEGO Ideas Disney Pixar Luxo Jr. – Building Set for Adults
by LEGO
Availalbe where LEGO sets are sold, usually for between $60 and $80
We are breaking the rules a little for the first entry today in The 2025 PopCult Gift Guide. The Cloudfare outage combined with an Optimum outage and doctor appointments today have scrambled the line up and have our first pick costing more than $50.
But it’s a good choice, the perfect gift for any fan of LEGO, Pixar, animation in general or pop culture. It’s a LEGO set of Luxo Jr., the iconic lamp character from Disney Pixar’s 1986 animated short film and the company’s mascot ever since.
This is a LEGO Ideas Exclusive– A fan-designed set created by the LEGO community, voted for by passionate fans and produced by the LEGO Group. It’s really cool that LEGO is willing to cater to their fans this much.
Once built you have a fully poseable recreation of Luxo Jr. An intricate, articulated design helps builders recreate Luxo Jr.’s unique bouncing, hopping, and rotating movements. This replica lamp features more articulation than many action figures.
Collectors can discover hidden references to classic Disney Pixar movies like Up, The Incredibles, Ratatouille, Monsters, Inc., Toy Story, and Finding Nemo, buried as Easter Eggs within the pieces.
Once constructed, poseable Luxo Jr. doubles as conversation-starting office or desk decor. Your giftee can spark nostalgia with a collectible DIY kit that’s ideal for adult fans of LEGO building blocks, animation, and Disney Pixar.
Once completed, LEGO’s Luxo Jr. stands over 11 inches high with 613 pieces.
We’ve seen this at all the major retailers who carry LEGO, plus you can find it online very easily.
Lionel 7-12130 O Gauge Santa Fe Flyer Battery Operated Train Set
by Lionel
$169.99 suggested retail price.
Available from many retailers for much less
The (delayed by the CloudFare outage) second pick today in The 2025 PopCult Gift Guide is the perfect gift for the young train enthusiast who may have outgrown Thomas, but isn’t quite ready for the complicated wiring and AC/DC conversion of a full electric train set yet.
From Lionel’s newest line of battery operated O-Gauge train comes the classic Santa Fe Flyer, complete with the classic “Warbonnet” engine, plus three cars and a caboose. This is a battery-operated set, but the cars will run on existing 2 or 3 rail O Gauge layouts too.
In addition to the train itself, the engine is Bluetooth Equipped so you can operate your train using the Lionel Cab3 APP or the included remote. The battery Powered Locomotive (Requires 4AA batteries, not included) cars and caboose look great and bring a new level of realism to the set. This set comes with a hopper, a boxcar and a tank car. Lionel’s Battery O-Gauge trains feature a water vapor “smoke effect” which simulates the authentic look and feel of diesel exhaust, producing realistic and safe puffs of “smoke” for an immersive experience. This is water-based and does not have the traditional and offensive stank of the old “smoke pellets.”
The Remote is designed for easy use. The Remote Control requires 3AAA batteries, not included). The plastic track, which does not carry a live current, and is safe for younger kids includes 10 straight, 16 curved, 2 right interchange switches, and 2 left interchange switches, plus 1 figure 8 crossover.
Sets include an operating headlight on the engine. Battery operated O-Gauge sets also include an assortment of trackside accessories including expansion track, road signs, and trees.
This is an O Gauge set, despite being battery-operated, and the cars are compatible with traditional O Gauge sets, so you could run most Lionel cars on this set (just not the engines or powered cars).
If you shop around the online hobby shops you ought to be able to find this set for under $150. Remember to buy tons of batteries. You know some kid (or adult) will love this set.
Okay, this is a combo post. Tuesday is once again “New Show Day” on The AIR. As such, we have a brand-new episode of Radio Free Charleston for you. To listen to The AIR, you simply have to point your cursor over and tune in at the website, or you could just stay here, and listen to the cool embedded player found elsewhere on this page.
However, this post is also today’s first enty in The 2025 PopCult Gift Guide. In fact, today’s episode of RFC is part of The Gift Guide.
You can hear Radio Free Charleston Tuesdays at 10 AM and 10 PM, with boatloads of replays throughout the week. You can also hear it embedded below. This time, we will have links for every song in the playlist, but the idea is…you will follow those links to buy music to give to the person on your holiday shopping list who likes to support local and independent music.
This year we are doing double-shots…two songs in a row by some of RFC‘s favorite local and independent artists who have released new music this year.
This gives me two chances to link to the artist’s pages. First I will link to where you can buy the music, and then, if possible, I will link to where you can buy physical media or merchandise from the artist. Since we don’t have a mystery bonus track this week, you may still find a bonus or two, as maybe some of the artists have a mystery third track.
The links in the playlist will take you to the pages for the artists in this week’s show because these are great gifts for the music lover or RFC fan on your shopping list. And keep in mind that the first Friday of December is the next Bandcamp Friday, where the artist’s get the full cut of the money spent on their work.
You can hear this episode of Radio Free Charleston Tuesday at 10 AM and 10 PM on The AIR, with replays Wednesday at 9 AM, Thursday at 2 PM, Friday at 9 AM, Saturday at Noon and Midnight, Sunday at 8 PM and Monday at 11 AM, exclusively on The AIR. Now you can also hear a different classic episode of RFC every weekday at 5 PM, and we bring you a marathon all night long Saturday night/Sunday morning.
I’m also going to embed a low-fi, mono version of this show right in this post, right here so you can listen on demand.
After RFC, stick around for encores of last week’s episodes of MIRRORBALL at 1 PM and Curtain Call at 2 PM.
At 3 PMThe Swing Shift is an encore of two recent episodes.
You can hear The Swing Shift Tuesday at 3 PM, with replays Wednesday at 8 AM, Thursday at 9 AM, Friday at 10 AM and 8 PM and Saturday afternoon, only on The AIR . You can also hear all-night marathons, seven hours each, starting at Midnight Thursdays and Sundays.
BEAT Neon Heat Disease Live Limited Deluxe Edition
Available from record retailers, including Amazon
Under $60
Today’s second entry in The 2025 PopCult Gift Guide is for the Limited Deluxe Edition of the BEAT Neon Heat Disease LIVE in Los Angeles album. This is the perfect gift for the music fan on your holiday shopping list whose tastes straddle Progressive Rock and New Wave Music.
BEAT is, essentially, a tribute band that covers songs by the 1980s incarnation of King Crimson. The cool part is that half of the band was actually IN the 1980s incarnation of King Crimson.
Legendary former King Crimson members ADRIAN BELEW and TONY LEVIN banded together with guitar virtuoso STEVE VAI and explosive Tool drummer DANNY CAREY to create BEAT, a creative reinterpretation of the three iconic 80s KING CRIMSON albums – Discipline, Beat, and Three Of A Perfect Pair.
In 2024, the ensemble staged 65 shows in North America, before following it with an expansive run in Mexico and South America in 2025. While this new release is available as a 2 CD and 3 LP package, I’m recommending the Limited Deluxe Edition because it contains an extra CD of music, plus the video of the entire Los Angeles show on a Blu ray disc with 5.1 sound.
It’s an incredible package of video and music, and it’s great for die-hard fans who couldn’t make it out to any of the tour dates. The idea of Steve Vai playing Robert Fripp’s guitar parts is still mind-blowing.
You should be able to get this from any record shop, or take the easy way out and get it from Amazon.
As a bonus for PopCult readers today, I have worked with Herman Linte to create a special episode of PROGNOSIS, debuting Monday at 3 PM (EST). This show will feature three tracks from the BEAT Neon Heat Disease LIVE album, in a mixtape collection of the “1980s King Crimson Family Tree,” which gathers together songs from the offshoots and solo works by the members of the 1980s incarnation of King Crimson. You’ll hear solo works, collaborations with other artists and even a couple of other groups that include members of KC. Tune in and see what all the fuss is about.
Check out the playlist:
Prognosis 134
Beat “Elephant Talk”
King Crimson “Frakctured”
Bill Bruford’s Earthworks “My Heart Declares A Holiday”
Adrian Belew “Big Electric Cat”
Tony Levin “Road Dogs”
Robert Fripp with Peter Gabriel “Here Comes The Flood”
Robert Fripp with Andy Summers “Tribe”
KIng Crimson “Barbershop”
Adrian Belew “Tango Zebra”
King Crimson “Into The Frying Pan”
Beat “Industry”
Adrian Belew “Rail Song”
Robert Fripp & The League of Gentlemen “God Save The King”
Anderson Bruford Wakeman & Howe “Quartet”
Sunday All Over The World “Freedom”
David Bowie and Adrian Belew “Pretty Pink Rose”
Beat “Indiscipline”
You can hear Prognosis on The AIR Monday at 3 PM, with replays Tuesday at 7 AM, Wednesday at 8 PM, Thursday at Noon, and Saturday at 10 AM.
Our first entry today in The 2025 PopCult Gift Guide is not for just one item. It’s another retailer spotlight. And today’s pick is a brand-spanking new retailer, located at 7 East Main Street in Buckhannon, West Virginia. It’s a fun day-trip from Charleston and is a quick trip from Morgantown, Fairmont or Clarksburg.
I’m talking about Volume Bookshop & Studio. It’s primarily a bookstore, with lots of extras, and it’s co-owned by Spike Nesmith, who is currently Director of Production, Producer, Presenter, Voice Talent at WVRC Media, but is well known in the Charleston area for his years at WKLC, Rock 105. Spike’s partner is his wife, Nicki Bentley-Colthart, and they have created a charming and unique shop, located on Main Street in Buckhannon.
They have an online store offering new and gently-used books of all kinds, but the real treat is in visiting the store in person. In addition to books, they have video, vinyl, handmade quilts, totes, and…a nod to Spike’s Scottish origins…a selection of teas, candies and snacks from the United Kingdom.
On top of that, right in the middle of the store is a working podcast studio. You can rent it to record your own show at very reasonable rates.
Volume Bookshop & Studio is open Tuesday through Sunday, 11 AM to 6 PM, and it is a gem of a store that’s just getting started. The place is dripping with charm and while you can find all kinds of great gifts there, taking somebody there in person is a pretty great gift itself.
Last week, your humble blogger and his wife decided to do something that might not have been the most sane of things, but right in the middle of yours truly writing The 2025 PopCult Gift Guide, we took a 650-mile road trip over four days, the results of which you will see in this blog in the coming weeks.
We drove from Charleston to Cambridge, Ohio to Canton, Ohio to Hermitage, Pennsylvania, to Pittsburgh and then Fairmont, before stopping in to check out Volume last Tuesday.
We were the first people in right after they opened, and it was Veteran’s Day, so I was able to grab all these photos before the crowds showed up. As you can see, it’s a great little bookshop with plenty to offer.
If you decide to make the trip to the store your gift, be sure to check out the other cool places in Buckhannon, and on the way back you can stop in Flatwoods and hit Everything Fiesta for your FiestaWare needs, then zip over to the other side of I 79 for lunch at Luzader’s and dessert at The Custard Stand. Make a whole day of it!
As soon as you walk in, you notice that the store is charming and cozy, and there’s a recording studio right there in the middle.
They have a great assortment of current bestsellers.
Plus they have vinyl and DVDs (except for Ferris Bueller…Mel boughtt that)
Anybody who tells you that art can’t be silly is lying.
Some of the greatest works of art are silly as hell. Michaelangelo’s “David” is hanging out in church buck-assed nekkid. The table in DaVinci’s “The Last Super” is so thin that people could only sit on one side of it. And the girl with the pearl earring? That’s not real pearl!
My point here is, sometimes as an artist, it’s your duty…perhaps even your calling…to dare to be silly.
Exactly one week ago today Mel and I took my sister, Debbie, to the Christmas Spirit store just South of Pittsburgh. In it we saw, in all its holiday glory, a massive flaming red rubber chicken. It was over two feet tall, and I grabbed a photo on my phone.
Bu that image haunted me. It taunted me. I couldn’t get it out of my head.
In my mind I heard the chicken clucking in its chicken-y voice (not unlike that of RFK Jr.) “Paint me like one of your French girls.” Even though I don’t have any French girls, and the original line from Titanic was “draw,” not “paint,” I felt compelled to pull out the acrylics and illustration board and grid out the photo so I could do a painting.
Since I’m in the middle of The 2025 PopCult Gift Guide and this was the only piece of art I worked on last week, you sorta get stuck looking at it.
Later today we continue The 2025 PopCult Gift Guide.
Meanwhile, over in radioland, Monday beginning at 2 PM on The AIR, we bring you a new episode of Psychedelic Shack. You can listen to The AIR at the website, or on the embedded radio player elsewhere on this page.
Nigel has put together a really cool hour-long collection of mind-exanding music. Check out the playlist:
Psychedelic Shack 107
Ancient Grease “Women and Children First”
Circus Maximus “Wind”
Peter Brown & His Battered Ornaments “The Politician”
Goat Generator “Far From Devine/Kingdom Gone”
Astral Magic “Sea of Infinite Possiblities”
White Witch “Auntie Christy”
The Beach Boys “Cabin Essence”
Love Sculpture “Sabre Dance”
PsychedelicShack can be heard every Monday at 2 PM, with replays Tuesday at 9 AM, Wednesday at 10 PM, Friday at 1 PM, and Saturday at 9 AM.
At 3 PM Herman Linte also has a new episode of Prognosis, but it’s tied in to the second pick in today’s PopCult Gift Guide, so you’ll have to check back to see what we’ll have on the show. That post should be live by Noon.
Tonight at 9 PM we bring you our newish Monday night line-up featuring two hours each of Curtain Call and Beatles Blast, plus six hours overnight with an assortment of our programming from Haversham Recording Institute,
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