Looking for a last minute gift for that special someone in  your life? Hot Topics has a series of limited edition vinyl/T-shirt packages available featuring No Doubt, Michael Jackson, Slipknot, etc. Most of them suck, but the real treat is Guns ‘N’ Roses “Appetite for Destruction” on orange wax with the original iconic logo shirt. While I’m not a huge proponent of Hot Topics, the package is on sale right now for about $17. The vinyl is not 180 gram, but the orange color is pretty bad ass.

This has some sentimental value for me, because I spent the winter of 1988 (could have been ’87) saving all my Christmas money to buy Appetite on tape. I didn’t have the guts to ask my parents to get if for me for the holidays, as it was one of the first records to sport a parental advisory logo, but I needed to have it. I some how convinced my mom to let me loose in the Livingston Mall to blow my Christmas cash. After failing miserably to convince employees at Alwick and Sam Goody to let a 10 year old buy such a vile record, I scored at The Wall and the rest is history. Best record ever, and a great gift for that naughty boy or girl in your life.

Ironically, I purchased the gift set at the Livingston Mall where there are currently no music stores.

Even after the news broke that GNR’s Chinese Democracy was going to come out (albeit as a Best Buy exclusive), I still doubted that it was going to see the light of day. Well, looks like GNR thinks it’s coming out, and that’s all I really care about. The site is pretty much down except for this splash page. However, they are streaming tracks on it. Can’t wait.