It’s Christmas again and there’s never been a better time of year to electrocute yourself. Or have any other kind of high-tech fun your imagination and the fruits of the Cybernetic Inevitable lead you to. In the interests, then, of expanded shopping lists (but mainly to get a lot of good names in here) we went to a whole bunch of popstars and asked the simple questions: “What is your favorite electric toy?, ” “Why?, ” and “How much did it cost?’’ Well, as you may notice, simple questions don’t always breed such simple answers — then again, sometimes they breed real simple answers — and sometimes they breed only partial answers and sometimes (see Ronnie Wood) they breed answers to whole other questions . . . But to be brief (and simple) ourselves: Thank you, popstars, and we hope you never go into electronics manufacturing.

ALICE COOPER

Fave Toy: “Evel Knievel doll with motorcycle and ramp.”

Why: “Because I like to watch him go up the ramp and fall off.”

Cost: “I forget.”

BOB SEGER

Fave Toy: “Sony Cassette Recorder.”

Why: “Because I believe in portable gratification.

I can take it anywhere — on the road, on the plane, hook it up in my hotel room — so I’m always entertained,”

Cost: $240.

BILL SPOONER/TUBES Fave Toy: “My wah-wah pedal.”

Why: “Cuz I can step on it and make it quack. It’s like a duck but stepping on a duck isn’t as easy.”

Cost: “It’s cheap, only 40 bucks.”

JIMMY CASTOR/JIMMY CASTOR BUNCH

Fave Toy: “Electric trains — Lionel especially.” Why: “Because they’re very realistic.”

Cost: “$100”

PATTI SMITH Fave Toy: “Lightbulb.”

Why: “I plug it in to my fingers and just zizzz.” Cost: “A large part of my mind.”

RONNIE WOOD

Fave Toy: “Electric bomb paper [toilet paper].” How Much: “As much as is needed.”

ALAN GORRIE/AWB Fave Toy: “My TEAC 4 track recorder, my Pioneer SX-737 AMP, Jewel turntable, and KHR speakers.”

Why: “So I can record at home.”

JOE PERRY/AEROSMITH Fave Toy: “Pulsar watch.”

Why: “Because 1 can see it in the dark and I don’t have to strain myself to know what time it is.” Cost; $350

RICK WAKEMAN Fave Toy: “My pinball table.”

Why: “It’s a good way t6 get rid of my frustrations.”

Cost: $200 WAYNE COUNTY

Fave Toy: “I have two actually: the telephone and the oven.”

Why: “Cause I have two sides. The oven’s for my domestic side cause I like to cook. The telephone is for groupies and people like that; they come up to me after shows but I’d rather have ’em call me up on the phone and talk dirty talk, that way I can figure out which ones I’d like to be with. It’s a good screening process.”

FEE WAYBILL/TUBES Fave Toy: “A Japanese missile launch pad. It’s got all these ICBM’s and you shoot them off, and there’s these robots that come out, and they shoot off the missiles too...great.”

Why: “Well, vibrators — I’m sick of my vibrator. Would you like to come see it? I mean, you go zzzzz and then it’s done. But this missile launch! You can play with the thing all day!”

Cost: “Only about $10. But you can only buy them in Japan.”

PATTI LABELLE/LABELLE

Fave Toy: “A pair of electric bobos l“Bobos” are

what she calls sneakersj.”

Why: “Cause my feet always hurt.”

Cost: “Priceless.”

SARAH DASH/LABELLE Fave Toy: “A Panasonic cassette tape player.” Why: “So I can have music wherever I go.” Cost; “$71 because I got it hot [laughs]

NONA HENDRYX/LABELLE

Fave Toy: “A phallic symbol vibrator I got as a

gift.”

Cost: “A one-night stand.”

CHERRY VANILLA

Fave Toy: “The Aphex Aural Exciter.”

Why: “This machine has managed to turn me on even more than Eddy (my electronic clit machine). It’s allowed me to create a sort of aural orgasm for myself. When applied to my voice alone it creates a sort of sound hologram of it, lifting my lyrics up over the music and delivering them right out to the listener as if I was sitting right at their table' sipping a cocxtail and singing to them.”

Cost: “I rent it, can’t afford to buy it.” ■

KIM FOWLEY

Fave Toy: “Electric Rolling Stone artifical limb [steel toesj.”

Why: “Because it helps you hate disco music more.”

Cost: “As much as the, next Delaney Bramlett album.”

JOHN CAMP/RENAISSANCE Fave Toy: “A set of bass pedals that work just like an electronic keyboard, except that I play them with my feet.”

Why: “I have a foot fetish.”

Cost: $350 for bass pedals, $1,500 with amp.

MARK FARNER/GRAND FUNK Fave Toy: “Electronic gate on my driveway.” Why: “Because it keeps people out and prevents them from using my place as a speedway.” Cost: $2,000

CRAIG FROST/GRAND FUNK Fave Toy: “Oscilloscope.”

Why: “I hooked it up and have no idea what it’s for, and that's why it’s my favorite thing.”

Cost: $200

MEL SCHACHER/ GRAND FUNK Fave Toy: “Electronic vibrator.”

Why: “Because it’s a useful tool.”

Cost: $10.95

DONNIE BREWER/GRAND FUNK Fave Toy: “Speed blender.”

Why: “To make all my favorite drinks.”

Cost: $69.50

MOOGY KLINGMAN/TODD RUND-

GREN’S UTOPIA

Fave Toy: “Benius Digital Watch.”

Why: “Besides giving me the hour, the minute, the date, it answers simple mathematic problems, gives me advice about my love life, and it comes when I call it.”

Cost: $120

DEE ALLEN/WAR

Fave Toy: “Radio controlled race cars — of which 1 have three.”

Why: “They’re fast, exciting, clean, and wholesome.”

Cost: $200 apiece.

DOCTOR HOOK

Fave Toy: “A lazy electric eel.”

Why: “Cause it bites us every night before the show.”

Cost: “Absolutely nothing.”

DAVID SURKAMP/PAVLOV’S DOG Fave Toy: “A cattle prod.”

Why: “Because it’s very useful in rounding up other members of the group when recording.” Cost: $15-$20

IAN ANDERSON/JETHRO TULL Fave Toy: “Well, I’d have to be dreadfully boring and say — well, it’s too boring to print; I suggest that you don’t. But the honest answer is the Gibson and Fender electric guitars — they’re not just my favorite electric toys, but without them, God knows what music would be like. If we had to put up with the other manufacturers’ instruments, there would never have been...Well, if you’ve ever tried playing with a Bums guitar...Well, actually, the new 4-track Studer, the professional thing I use for doing mix-downs, because aesthetically and design-wise it’s the best tape recorder. I would very much like to buy one, although I haven’t much use for it domestically. it’s like the Rolls-Royce of tape recorders — a classic. You’ll never see one over here because they’re too expensive.”

Cost: “Currently, about $12,000 for a 4-track. The Studer is like a Mercedes — it’s German. We have one in the mobile truck. Lovely machine to look at. I mean, it’s difficult to get into that but Ampex are horrible, 3M’s are ugh, horrible, blue and red and white. Sony — ugh. The Studer — there’s no flash, it just looks good.”

FLO AND EDDIE

Fave Toy: “Popstar massage unit.”

Cost: “$20 without the cassettes. It comes in an A and B model, but we’re not picky.”

WALT PARAZAIDER/CHICAGO Fave Toy: “I’ve seen some computers that are almost real. ”

Why: “Cause you feed them some information and they go bullshit!”

Cost: $3,950 TED NUGENT

Fave Toy: “My live amp set up, that consists of 6 Fender twin reverbs, six Dual Showman bottoms, and 26 SRO speakers.”

Why: “Because it lubricates the first 12 rows.” Cost: $6,500

BILL WYMAN / ROLLING STONES Fave Toy: “A video machine.”

Why: “Because I like to keep a record of all the Stones’ concerts and because I live in the south of France where there?s a limited entertainment media.”

Price: $1,500

DAVID COVERDALE/DEEP PURPLE Fave Toy: “A life-size 12 inch model of Marc Bolan, which, at the touch of a button, moves a little and pouts to the tune of ‘Bang A Gong’; and when it comes to the first chorus of ‘Bang A Gong’ it vomits.”

Why: “It’s guaranteed to break the ice at parties; the only problem is getting refills.”

Cost: “Approximately the price of a hooker in _ Wahoo, Nevada, which sounds cheap to me but I ^ don’t know...” z NIGEL OLSSON

S Fave Toy: “My quad sunken stereo sound pit ^ which includes two SAE 300 watt stereo power amps, an SAE stereo pre-amp, one graphic equalizer with an SAE decoder, one SAE stereo receiver, one Thorens 12S-D record changer, two Revox tape decks plus one Sony 4-track tape deck and foOr JBL studio monitors. The pit dimensions are: three feet deep, three feet wide by six feet long. There’s sunken seating for three people, and the speakers are level with the ears of the listeners.”

Why: “I like to have studio sound for my own personal listening. Also, I’m just a sound freak. I really like to play around with sound.”

Cost: “It cost me about $15,000, though it would cost more today.”