For someone who likes...
SOMETHING DIFFERENT...

How about some rockin'-sweet ukelele? This would make a great stocking stuffer for the music fan with eclectic tastes. On Jake Shimabukuro's brand new EP, he covers, in his inimitable four-string style, hits from Cyndi Lauper, Led Zeppelin, the Beatles, Sarah McLachlan, and The Wizard of Oz. Shimabukuro surely is a wizard too, the Wizard of the Uke, and this is a sweet little gem of a disc that's a fine introduction to this unique artist. (Note: technically it's not an indie CD, since it's on Sony Music Japan International. But I know someone at Sony Music Japan International, and trust me, when it comes to hard-to-classify music, those folks are in the same boat of confusion as the rest of us. Here in the Lower 48, anyhow, you're more likely to hear about an artist like Jake here at the Indie Round-Up than at most places that cover "mainstream" music.) Purchase at Amazon.

There you have it - good choices for most of the music fans on your Christmas-Chanukah-Kwanzaa list. As we like to say in synagogue - Good Shopping!

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*Not true, actually - the Alternate Routes are touring with another Indie Round-Up favorite, The Clarks. I'll be at the show at the Blender Gramercy in New York on Dec. 15 - come by and say gesundheit!