The Mercury News

5 cool gifts for Area music and art lovers

Here are five fun ideas for the culture vultures in your life, whether they’re into Piet Mondrian, Alexander Hamilton or heavy metal.

- DOUG DURAN/STAFF — Jackie Burrell and Jim Harrington

1 Modern Artists Socks

Let the rest of the population choose boring hosiery. For those who love modern art down to their toes, there’s Modern Artists socks ($40) — a quartet of fab footwear that includes portraits of pop artist Roy Lichtensto­e, surrealist Sole-adore Dali and, of course, Feet Mondrian. Find them at Southern California’s My modern met. store online.

2 Popchart’s Broadway Costumes

Your Broadway-loving bestie caught “Hamilton” at the Orpheum and “Wicked” in San Jose, then jetted off to New York for the latest star-studded musical? Commemorat­e all those great musicals with this cool Comprehens­ive Curtain Call of Broadway Costumes poster ($30) that includes everything from 1927’s “Showboat” to the current “Hamilton” run. popchart.co

3 Black Sabbath: The Vinyl Collection 19701978

Shopping for the metal fans in the family? This nine-lp boxed set ($250) features Sabbath’s first eight studio efforts — including four that rank among the greatest albums of the genre — as well as mono singles from this Rock and Roll Hall of Fame act, featuring vocalist Ozzy Osbourne, guitarist Tony Iommi, bassist Geezer Butler and drummer Bill Ward. Pair it with tickets to see Osbourne, when he performs next summer at Sacramento’s Golden 1 Center (July 17), Mountain View’s Shoreline Amphitheat­re (July 25) or the Hollywood Bowl (July 27). rhino.com

4 Music Genius Playing Cards

A royal flush takes on new meaning when Queen B and Prince are involved. This clever deck of playing cards ($10) brings rock stars to the poker — or crazy eights — table, with suits devoted to music genres and cards adorned with music legends from Beyonce (the queen of hearts, of course) to Joan Baez (the six of diamonds). Find it at Amazon, Uncommon Goods and Chronicle Books.

5 The Grand Museum Board Game

Uh oh. The museum director has vanished, leaving behind a staggering budget deficit. Now it’s up to the art lovers playing this cool board game ($49), made by Quebec’s Today Is Art Day, to stage enough wildly popular exhibition­s – an “All Through the Night” exhibit, perhaps, with Van Gogh’s swirling “Starry Night” – to keep the museum afloat. It’s a gorgeous game, from the painting cards to the playing pieces, which are famous statues, including the David and Winged Victory. For two to four players, ages 12 and up. Available through PBS and Amazon.

Clockwise from bottom left, Grand Museum Board Game, Black Sabbath vinyl collection, Popchart Broadway costumes poster, Modern Artists socks and Music Genius playing cards.

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