Well, it’s about that time of year again. Soon, kids will be updating their Christmas lists and stores will be flooded with shoppers looking for that perfect something for friends and family. But what do you get the music fan that already has every single album recorded by every single artist? You wait for the new holiday releases, that’s what! Here’s a Seahawk guide to what the record companies are trying to get you to buy this holiday season…

All right kiddies, get ready to lock yourself in your room and talk incessantly about how much your life sucks, ’cause there’s another Nirvana release on the horizon! “With The Lights Out,” a 3-CD, 1-DVD box set is being released on Nov. 23 by Geffen Records. The collection is geared up to be pretty impressive, with a total of 81 tracks, 68 of which are previously unreleased. There’s everything from demos to live recordings to outtakes spanning the bands career. There’s also a DVD that features live shows, studio footage and rehearsals. Does anyone else find it creepy when bands release albums post-humously? Nirvana have almost released more records since Kurt Cobain’s suicide and the band’s subsequent break-up than they did while they were actively playing and writing. I’m starting a campaign to formally address this phenomenon as a case of “the Tupacs.”

If flannel shirts aren’t your thing, dust off that old denim jacket and get ready for the mammoth holiday offering from aging, washed-up-but-not-out rockers Bon Jovi. The five-disc collection, cleverly titled “100,000,000 Bon Jovi Fans Can’t Be Wrong,” is not so much a greatest hits compilation; it’s more of a “greatest-hits-that-people-never-paid-any-attention-to-because-they-were-so-caught-up-learning-the-lyrics-to-Livin’-On-A-Prayer” kind of compilation. Of the 50 songs that are included, an impressive 38 of them have never been released. There’s also a DVD chock full of shows, interviews and other goodies. This sounds like the perfect soundtrack to a Sunday afternoon drive in the ol’ Trans Am.

On Nov. 23, Gwen Stefani will release her solo-debut, “Love, Angel, Music, Baby.” While diehard fans may be wondering if the style-queen will be able to hold her own without her trusty band behind her, the answer will most likely be “no doubt.” (Sorry.) Just to be safe, the punk/pop/R and B/ dance diva has enlisted the help of Dr. Dre, Eve, The Neptunes, and Andre 3000 to make sure that her debutant ball is on all of the kids’ Christmas lists.

Speaking of Dr. Dre, he’ll be producing the third full-length offering from Detroit’s Eminem, which was released on Tuesday. Entitled “Encore,” it is the follow up to 2002’s wildly successful “The Eminem Show,” which sold a whopping 19 million copies. The video for “Mosh,” the album’s first single, has been in heavy rotation on MTV. Teaming up with the real Slim Shady will be 50 Cent, D-12, Nate Dogg, Obie Trice, and Stat Quo. “Encore” comes on the heels of Eminem’s side project “D-12,” which released their “D-12 World” earlier this year. Special interest groups and concerned parents are likely developing strategies to combat the inevitable moral degradation that will follow the album’s release.

Finally, U2 is releasing their first album since 2000’s “All That You Can’t Leave Behind.” Due out Nov. 23, “How to Dismantle an Atomic Bomb” promises to thrill baby boomers and Seahawk staffers alike. The pride of Dublin, Ireland, U2 formed in 1978, and with 120 million records sold and 14 Grammy’s under their belt, they could probably release a CD of nothing but anti-war chants, and it would go multi-platinum. These guys have to lose points automatically because their guitarist is named The Edge.

In all honesty, this was a totally pointless article, because everyone pretty much knows if they will be buying these albums right off the bat. They will come out, sell ungodly amounts of copies, and further solidify these artists’ status as icons.