What does the Red Devil Lady have in her red-hot little hands? Wicker Park’s most wicked rock chick is showing off some of my personal gift recommendations for folks who are as music obsessed as I am.
In between shows, I love to delve into thoughtful music writing. We’ve got quite a few titles in the shop right now from the stellar and wide-ranging 33 1/3 series, including fresh releases about the Kate Bush album Hounds of Love and Dolly Parton’s White Limozeen. Questlove’s intimate take on how Hip Hop is History is a must-read not only for fans of the genre, but anyone interested in the fascinating ways that music and popular culture build off each other like a pair of spinning turntables.
You can find deep dives of all kinds in our music zines section, too. Here at the Q, we rejoiced when fabled music publication CREEM returned to the scene. We’ve got the two most recent issues of this substantial mag in stock right now. One of the zines I’ve been giving to friends is Forgotten Music Masters Volume 1, a hilarious illustrated history by Chris Auman and Deron Grams. (Check out Used Records and Tapes, the awesome collab zine series that Chris edits, as well!) I’m also really into Lennon McCrea’s monthly perzine-style album review zine, Stacks.
And if your favorite music fanatic likes to wear their impeccable taste on their sleeve (or battle vest or car bumper), we’ve got patches, pins, and stickers galore. I’ve snapped up these particular pieces of flare that pay homage to the Replacements (pin by World Famous Original), my fellow goth ghouls (sticker by local comedian Winslow Dumaine), and the Cure (patch by Neoshiki) as gifts for myself. After all, Robert Smith is my Santa Claus this year.
— C.E. @zineclubchicago
