By Mike Farragher

I know how it is. Things are so busy in the days between Thanksgiving and Christmas that you barely have time to read my column.

Well, aren’t you glad you did! The “Off the Record” staff of one has sifted through the odds and sods on his desk as inspiration for the first annual “these are a few of my favorite things” column. It is my hope that something on this list will appeal to the special someone on your list who loves their rock music green.

iTunes Gift Certificates: While this might be the perfect accessory for the iPod lover in your life (and with millions of earbuds all over the planet, that’s a lot of people), the iTunes web site is a treasure trove of rare material for that Irish rock music fan in your life.

Snow Patrol, that indie rock juggernaut from Northern Ireland, has released an acoustic disc of songs from Final Straw and a new live EP, AOL Sessions Live, that has concert renditions of their newer work. U2 has released a ton of new material, including Live Under the Brooklyn Bridge, the mini-concert that launched the “Vertigo” tour.

There are tons of Irish rarities too numerous to mention. In putting this column together each week, I regularly search the site for new gems like Roisin Murphy. iTunes gift cards are regularly available on the Apple web site, Target, and Best Buy.

Paul McCartney’s The Space Within Us concert DVD: “Everything about us is rhythm. Our breath has rhythm. Life is rhythm, and that’s Paul McCartney’s calling card. He puts all of these pitches coming together to make human beings feel good.”

This is one of the many music professors who pepper the new Paul McCartney live DVD, The Space Within Us, and it nails the enormous pull that most human beings have to this man. There are 30 songs from his Beatles heyday, the Wings re-invention, and his storied solo work, peeled off the stage in a dizzying pace.

Being a music reviewer has its moments, and for a week in October last year I thought I was in heaven. In a five-day period, I saw U2, the Rolling Stones and McCartney, who was the highlight of this dream week. I will go to my grave remembering the chill on my spine as I heard him shriek the words to “Helter Skelter” on the third hour of his show.

“My dad was Liverpool Irish and my mother was Irish Irish,” comments Paul on the documentary that preceded each show, and that great film is included as an extra on the DVD package. The fan shots are full of dewey-eyed worship, which to some might be construed as laying it on a bit thick. After seeing the show live and viewing the rerun on DVD, the adulation is well earned.

The Beatles’ Love: the songs from McCartney’s old band have been repackaged into a wildly imaginative new disc that was borne from a partnership between the mop tops and Cirque de Soleil. Veteran Beatles producer Sir George Martin mashes ‘Yesterday’ and ‘Blackbird’ together, making a new song entirely. He removes the familiar background melodies in other spots, allowing the Beatles groundbreaking harmonies to shine in a capella form.

U2byU2: Writer Neil McCormick allegedly conducted over 150 hours of interviews to give, as this book’s press release would imply, “unprecedented access to the group’s ‘inner life’ and aims to back up its claim to being the biggest rock band in the world.” This from a band whose early name was The Hype. The more things change, the more they stay the same.

There is some rare candor about how the inner sanctum of the band feels about Bono’s activism. Manager Paul McGuinness confirms that Bono’s activism put “strains” on all involved. “It is hard to criticize him because his political achievements are very real,” McGuinness says. “But there are times when it makes the rest of the band feel that they’re taking second place.”

Mullen makes reference to “some grumbling” about the amount of time Bono was on the phone to world leaders, then backs off. “The more successful and famous he becomes outside U2, the harder it is to talk the way we used to, but that’s life.”

The book is chock full of great stories about how the band formed and the tough going they had when they tried to learn their instruments. It fits nicely on a coffee table and for $40, makes a somewhat economical gift for that special U2 fan on your list.

Black 47’s Bittersweet Sixteen: This is a 16 track retrospective of the band’s recording career from early 1990 to the present. It contains two new recordings, “Southside Chicago Waltz” and “Joe Hill’s Last Will.” The CD is full of fan and live favorites previously unavailable, including Home of the Brave and Patriot Game, unreleased tracks from their first recording session.

The CD is capped by six songs from the band’s no-longer-available major label albums. These were culled from a fabled, long lost live studio recording of K-Rock’s Vin Scelsa Show much bootlegged over the years, but now re-mastered and restored to pristine condition.

Bittersweet Sixteen is not only a holiday wish come true for fans of the band, it is an excellent introduction for the newcomer. For more information, log onto www.black47.com.

Moya Brennan’s An Irish Christmas: The lead singer from Clannad produces a holiday chill album without the soggy aftertaste left in your mouth after biting into a Windham Hill New Age Celtic fiasco. Flutes and acoustic strumming converge with her signature harp and staccato harmonies to create a unique musical vibe.

Sirius Satellite Radio: many music fans might vacillate between XM and Sirius, the two companies that offer satellite radio. If you are a fan of all things Celt, then Sirius is your one clear choice.

Legendary New York DJ Meg Griffin has enlisted Larry Kirwan to host Celtic Crush, a show on their Sirius Disorder channel. The program is a delightful mixture of all things Celtic, from the aggressive folk strumming of Richard Thompson, to the snarl of Pogues punk and everything in between. Where else are you going to hear the Wolfe Tones on your radio of a Saturday morning?

Irish artists such as Luka Bloom and Van Morrison are staples on the Coffee House Channel, making the airwaves green no matter what channel you land on!