Christmas time is here again! So sang The Beatles on their 1967 Christmas record, one of several now-collectable flexi-discs issued annually to members of the band's official fan clubs in the UK and the US. The records, which often were mini-masterpieces in their own right (1966 and 1967 in particular), featured spoken and musical messages from all four members of the band.

We are indeed living in a material world. George Harrison’s black leather jacket, which he wore on and off stage during The Beatles' pre-Brian Epstein days in the early '60s, sold for £110,450 (around $177,400) yesterday as part of Bonhams Entertainment Memorabilia sale.

Sitar virtuoso Ravi Shankar died Tuesday, December 11, at age 92. According to a statement posted on his official website, Shankar died in San Diego, near his Southern California home with his wife and a daughter by his side. Shankar's foundation issued a statement saying he had suffered upper-respiratory and heart problems and had undergone heart-valve replacement surgery just last week.