Record Store Day

[maccastheman]

So glad they started this up a few years ago. With CDs becoming extinct and downloads taking over, it's nice to know people still appreciate vinyl enough that record labels still release new titles in this format. (or "the way God intended" as Elvis Costello said once when I saw him in concert)

The main Record Store Day event is in April, but the last couple of years they've had a "Back to Black Friday" event. The only retail store I went to on Black Friday this year in fact was my local record store. I got some really cool stuff - a Pink Floyd box set of the three 7" singles released from the Wall, a set of 4 Bob Dylan 45s, and a set of 4 Beatles 45s - Ticket to Ride/Yes It Is, Yellow Submarine/Eleanor Rigby, Hey Jude/Revolution, and Something/Come Together. If I had the means I would have bought a lot more - there was a limited edition live Tom Petty album recorded from last year's tour on vinyl, a Black Keys single, and a Beastie Boys limited edtion version of Hot Sauce Committee Pt. 2 on Blu Ray. The new Rolling Stones 7" single from the deluxe reissue of Some Girls, "No Spare Parts," was supposed to be there but my store didn't get it.

I hope this event continues to grow and artists continue to support it. It's cool to meet up with people in person and discuss music like it used to be done. And I love my vinyl!

[Girl4Beats]

Contrary to popularity I DON'T LIKE DOWNLOADS. I want the album physically in my hands. There is something about an album that a download doesn't have. CD's are okay but I would rather have vinyl anyday. I grew up with vinyl and I guess that will always be my preference.

I went to a local record store that is no longer in business and asked for the package of Flower in the Dirt and was told there is a CD. I said no I want the album. She said yes a CD. Well we went around like this for a few and then I said "Okay. It is a 12" disk with a hole in the middle and you put it on a turntable and then it plays with a needle." She said Oh yea I think we have a couple of those. I got what I wanted on vinyl and it came with a 3" cd of party, party?

I asked at another record store at another time for a 45 rpm and I got this look like I was speaking Martian then . . . what is that? Go Figure.

[mr h atom]

record stores..?? do they still have those ?!?!

where i live...there are no...zero...zip...record stores left....none...nada...i gotta hope best buy , wally world, or target might pick stuff up, but their inventory, thanks to the corporately created idea that downloading is it, has become lackadaisial at best.

earlier this year, i was literally forced to buy my first stuff from amazon BECAUSE ABSOLUTLEY NO ONE CARRIED ANY OF THE STUFF I WAS LOOKING FOR !

this trend will only continue, i'm afraid, as no one around here brings in a wide variety of new stuff...unless i want justin beiber, lady gaga or whatever country/rap/r&b/disney act happens to be being promoted by the corporations that day

..or unless i move someplace where there actually is a record store...don't think the wife 'n kids'll go for that, tho

[gfgb123]

Contrary to popularity I DON'T LIKE DOWNLOADS. I want the album physically in my hands. There is something about an album that a download doesn't have. CD's are okay but I would rather have vinyl anyday. I grew up with vinyl and I guess that will always be my preference.

I went to a local record store that is no longer in business and asked for the package of Flower in the Dirt and was told there is a CD. I said no I want the album. She said yes a CD. Well we went around like this for a few and then I said "Okay. It is a 12" disk with a hole in the middle and you put it on a turntable and then it plays with a needle." She said Oh yea I think we have a couple of those. I got what I wanted on vinyl and it came with a 3" cd of party, party?

I asked at another record store at another time for a 45 rpm and I got this look like I was speaking Martian then . . . what is that? Go Figure.

I would have to agree with the clerk in the first store. A CD is an album. What you wanted was a vinyl LP. It is like trying to explain to someone under 40 what a telephone with a rotary dial is. But don't feel too bad, in the 90's when you could see lots of recorded music stores I had seen the CD for "Venus and Mars" under the V section and Led Zeppelin listed under Z.

[chris]

i've heard the arguments about vinyl sounding better and more pure. i remember vinyl. and i recall how it sounded. scratchy.

i think cd's will be available to those who want to buy one for a while, at least. i am all about supporting your local merchants. but if i had to, i wouldn't think twice about buying from amazon.

[efghijiloveyou]

I too grew up on vinyl and lamented its passing in the nineties, but now I'm pretty well over it, especially considering the stunning quality of the Beatles remasters and other similar remasters. I do, however very much miss the big cover art, posters, cut-outs and other oddities one might expect with a vinyl album. My concern now is that cds are disappearing and I'm a bit of a tactile person; I like the feel of a new (or old) record in my hands, of getting out there to the store and seeing what else is there and I wonder about the future. Are we destined to buy everything we need/want from our fannies in our homes? Kinda takes some of the fun out of it for me, cause I'm not really all that web compatible.

[chris]

you hit it right on the head with the album cover art. i still have my old albums (i do not own a turntable any longer) and every now and then i take a gander at the covers...they seem so big, don't they?

and i must admit, there was something romantic (maybe nostalgic is a better term) about having to flip the vinyl. but my albums were in terrible shape. so much so, i got used to the familiar scratches and pops in certian places...it was almost as bad as that horrible "click" we got so used to on 8-tracks.

wait...someone had better remember 8-track tapes...right?

thats it...i am starting the revolution...i'm bringing 'em back!

[maccastheman]

I think the resurgence in vinyl is due to a number of things - one of the most important is love for the LP format. And I mean that in the most literal sense. The "Long Player" format seems to have literally been lost in the shuffle of the MP3 format. Sure, you can download full length albums, but it takes a lot more patience and self control not to just skip over songs that don't grab your attention right away. Some things need to be listened to all the way through before they can be fully appreciated. Vinyl records require that type of attention. The younger Coachella and Bonnaroo generations even understand that. A lot of the top-selling vinyl records are by younger acts like Mumford and Sons and the Black Keys. Sigh No More by Mumford and Sons is an album that deserves to be listened to all the way through. Jack White is also a champion of the format.

Another thing I like about Record Store Day is that it gets music lovers together to discuss things in person. I like what Tom Waits said about it: "Attention! Meet others! Hands On! Interact! Discuss! Survive! Congregate - at your local record shop."

As for the sound quality debate - I can tell a slight difference in the tone of analog vs. digital sound . I agree that analog sounds "warmer," but as Chris said the hassles with vinyl - especially if records have scratches in them - can be counter-productive. But the 180g records they are releasing today sound great over-all. Again, with me it's about the over-all experience of listening to an album all the way through.

I'll end this post with a great quote from Damon Albarn about record stores:

My local independent record shop (Honest Jons) is a library, where you can go to listen to music, learn about it, exchange ideas about it and be inspired by it. I think independent record shops will outlive the music industry as we know it because long term their value to people is far greater, because even in our era of file-sharing and blogs, you cant replace the actual look on someone’s face when they are playing something they really rate and think you should listen to it too. It’s special.”

- Damon Albarn (Blur, The Gorillaz, etc.)

[efghijiloveyou]

I don't know...as much as I would like to believe that, I know too many young people who couldn't care less about anything that's not available for downloading...sigh.