& Louis Jordan A timeless classic, even if it was terribly exploited in cElf. d 6. Christmas is Coming 3 The Payolas This song belongs in the soundtrack of a early- 990s romantic comedy. It would play after the mid-movie breakup, during the part of the movie when they think everything is all right but they are really just miserable.<br><br> Late one night, as they are sorting through their record collections, they both realize that every one of their albums reminds them of the other. By chance they meet again in a laundromat and suddenly realize how they cannot be apart and run crying each other 9s belly-shirt-and-grunge-clad embrace. Or something like that.<br><br> 7. Jingle Bell Rock 3 Bobby Helms & the Anita Kerr Singers I 9m pretty sure that I only like this song because it was in cMean Girls, d but it 9s still a classic worthy of any holiday mix. 8.<br><br> Christmas 3 Remy Zero This song is for all the days after Christmas that are always dark and depressing, when you go back into the supermarket and all the Christmas stuff is half-off, when the house is dirty from all the distant relatives that stole your bed. Or for the people who just hate Christmas in general. 9.<br><br> Happy Xmas ( War is Over) 3 John Lennon & Yoko Ono The infamous Christmas song. Even though it 9s actually a protest song, it has been covered countless times by many a Christmas-album celebrity. It is also played at every Christmas-themed swim-meet that I 9ve had the pleasure to attend.<br><br> 10. Thanks for Christmas 3 XTC Nothing like XTC to make your season bright and shiny! 11.<br><br> Santa Claus 3 Throwing Muses I 9m not really sure what this song is about. But I can picture an angry 880s version of myself rage-dancing to this song alone in a snowy forest. 12.<br><br> Merry Christmas, Baby 3 Otis Redding If I were to make a Christmas-themed romantic comedy, this song would play in the scene where the new couple holds hands walking down busy city streets, decorates a Christmas tree by a warm J re, and then they hilari- ously get each other the same present. 13. You 9re a Mean One, Mr.<br><br> Grinch 3 Thurle Ravenscroft I couldn 9t not include this song. My childhood, like that of many others, revolved around this movie. I still point out people who I think look like The Grinch, and quote this movie on a regular basis.<br><br> I myself might very well be Cindy Lou Who. 14. One Christmas Catalogue 3 Captain Sensible I adore this song.<br><br> I deJ nitely listen to it into July or so. A song to wear your leg warmers to. 15.<br><br> Last Christmas 3 Wham! This song is so delightfully 880s. If I put aside the fact that Hilary Duff covered it, I would say that it is one for the ranks.<br><br> This is the perfect pre- Christmas party theme music. Christmas songs yield great music JESSE MALLORY Staff Reporter CHENEY Christmas is coming fast, and you do not know what to get your friend or family member. It can be hard getting the right gifts, so take a gander at my suggestions and maybe you 9ll J nd the idea you need.<br><br> What to get the Jock : Autographed sports memorabilia goes over great. New sports gear to replace the tat- tered old gear they have. Autobiographies of the sport 9s greats.<br><br> A Wii game console so they can be active while they play. Trading cards with their favorite player 9s pics and stats. What to get the Gamer : A Wii, PS3, or XBox 360 would make yours the greatest gift of the year.<br><br> Games to go with their new or old systems. A computer gaming upgrade, so they frag and not lag. Game guides, walkthroughs, or cheat code books to give them the cy- ber-edge.<br><br> New gaming gear and game-related posters, clothes, and accessories. What to get the Emo Kid : Lots of pale makeup and eyeshad- ow. Clothes with lots of accents and ac- cessories, all in black.<br><br> Books of poetry by authors such as Edgar Allen Poe. Posters of cool, Grim Reaper-like personages. Books like cChicken Soup for the Teenage Soul. d What to get the Band Geek : A new instrument, or just a newer model.<br><br> Sheet music and/or tablature for their chosen instrument. Biographies of the musical greats. Instrument care supplies.<br><br> CDs of their favorite artists. What to get the Movie Buff : Box sets of movie series. Movie memorabilia.<br><br> Collector replicas of movie weap- ons. Posters of snapshots from their fa- vorite movies. Movie tickets from Fandango or some other online site.<br><br> What to get the Writer : Books on writing better, or in a dif- ferent style. Tons of pens and pencils. Plenty of writing paper...better yet, dozens of their favorite blank note- books.<br><br> Contemporary literature so they can get a feel for what people want to read. Their favorite music so they can get in the cwriting zone. d What to get the Animal Lover : Cute little animal posters, stickers, clothing, etc. Stuffed animals of their favorite real-life ones.<br><br> Animal charm bracelets, jewelry and other accessories. Wildlife sounds on CD. The best gift of all...a new pet like a puppy or kitten.<br><br> What to get just about anybody: A gift card to the person 9s favorite store is a sure-J re gift. For a more personal touch, you could get them pictures of you and them to- gether in a scrapbook. Even if it 9s just a few pictures at J rst, it will start a tra- dition that could last for years.<br><br> It adds a nice personal touch to the gift and encourages them to spend more time with you and get more pictures. Lauren Colton / Photo Editor The Nintendo Wii console is still a popular gift item for this Christmas, over a year after its release. Clever gifts for the not-so-clever December 2007 ANDREW PAROFF Staff Reporter LEWIS AND CLARK K anye West 9s new album, aptly titled Graduation , was released September 11.<br><br> Is it any mystery why Kanye chose this date to release Gradua- tion ? No. West has always strived (and often times achieved) to be controversial.<br><br> We all remember what he had to say about our President dur- ing the now infamous Katrina fundraiser alongside Mike Mey- ers. This time, Kanye is obviously trying to be controversial with the release date, although his exact point is not quite understood. However, he apparently real- ized that he had to get the contro- versy in somewhere, since there is not one song on this album that seems to push anyone 9s buttons.<br><br> Gone are such songs as cJesus Walks d or cDiamonds from Sierra Leone d and cCrack Music. d Gone, too, are the days of Kanye 9s ability to sing about anything other than himself. Even in the songs on this album that aren 9t full of boasts and brags, such as cStronger d and cDrunk and Hot Girls, d Kanye still manages to turn the focus from whatever the song seems to be originally about back to him. Here 9s the part you 9re not going to believe, but that 9s exactly why I love this CD.<br><br> It 9s no secret that West is an egotistical man. I mean, he says he made MTV what it is today as well as single-handedly saving New Orleans. I wouldn 9t be sur- prised if Kanye said he arranged Stonehenge with a time machine.<br><br> However, everyone loves a bad guy, and Kanye 9s ego is as bad as they come. The beauty of it is that he manages to have a newly de- veloped sense of humor about his cockiness. Whereas he does nothing but brag on Late Registration , exem- pliJ ed by such songs as cCelebra- tion d and cTouch the Sky, d on his new album, he seems to laugh it off.<br><br> In cGood Morning, d the intro song on Graduation , Kanye even titles himself cMister By-himself- he-so-impressed. d Never before have I witnessed such a deK ated egomaniac. In- stead of Kanye telling us what (he thinks) is wrong with the world in this album, he spends a lot of time telling us what is wrong with him. Admittedly, not every song is about something that 9s wrong with him: in fact, in songs such as cChampion, d cGood Life, d cBarry Bonds d and cCan 9t Tell Me Noth- ing, d Kanye tells us how good his life is.<br><br> This provides an interesting juxtaposition to such introspec- tive songs as cEverything I Am, d cThe Glory, d cI Wonder, d cFlash- ing Lights d and cHomecoming, d where he paints us pictures of be- wilderment and broken relation- ships, self doubt and the fear o what 9s ahead. Sure, he 9s still bragging the en- tire time, but still J nds time to ask himself if he even knows what it means to have his dreams come true. As far as the music on this al- bum goes, cStronger d is musically wonderful, with Daft Punk 9s sup- port on what might be the hip hop club cross over of the decade.<br><br> cCan 9t Tell Me Nothing d has a lot of soul and some beautiful back up vocals. cGood Life d and cBarry Bonds d are easily the most main- stream rap songs on the album; they are nothing deep but pos- sess some catchy hooks and nice rhythms. As much as I like Mos Def 9s work in Blackstarr (Mos De and Talib Kweli 9s rap group), and can recognize the inK uence it had on cDrunk and Hot Girls, d I still can 9t get around how boring it is.<br><br> cHomecoming, d which is one o my favorite songs on this album, is extremely catchy and Chris Mar- tin does a great job of J lling in the obligatory cfamous white musi- cian featured on a hip hop album d role. cBig Brother, d although nothing more than a thinly veiled whine about Jay-Z, is still pret- ty good-sounding. Although it seems too short in some parts and too long in others, Kanye West has deJ nitely graduated with this album.<br><br> cGraduation d uneven but worthy cNever before have I witnessed such a de 8 ated egomaniac. d The Vox Blog: www.spokesman.com/blogs/vox Read others 9 opinions and share your own!

less