The Hammer of the Gods Posted March 12, 2008 Share Posted March 12, 2008 http://www.recordstoreday.com/Home Interesting little website dedicated to preserving the integrity and number of independent record stores across the country. Many stores around the nation are celebrating this, and I found some of the comments by various musicians/writers/etc. to be pretty interesting. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jahfin Posted April 8, 2008 Share Posted April 8, 2008 From Pitchfork: Death Cab, R.E.M., Built to Spill, Black Keys Celebrate Record Store Day With Exclusive Singles The sheer number of artists participating in Record Store Day-- including Stephen Malkmus and the Jicks, and Vampire Weekend, to name just a few-- almost makes all these special events and exclusive releases seem a little less than extraordinary, like we should expect such goodies to come our way every day. That's not true, of course (record stores are an endangered species!), which means the announcement of four more participating bands still has us giddy. The April 19 celebration of independent music retail now includes the release of exclusive limited edition 7"s by Built to Spill, R.E.M., Death Cab for Cutie, and the Black Keys. The tracklist for each one is after the jump. The Black Keys: 01 Strange Times 02 Something on Your Mind [previously unreleased] Built to Spill: 01 Don't Try [live, previously unreleased] 02 The Source [live, previously unreleased] Death Cab for Cutie: 01 I Will Possess Your Heart (10" Mix) 02 I Will Possess Your Heart (7" Mix) R.E.M.: 01 Supernatural Superserious 02 Airliner [non-LP B-side] Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jahfin Posted April 8, 2008 Share Posted April 8, 2008 So whats going on with this? Are there going to be special deals? Better prices? Or just new releases or both>? I suggest reading the Pitchfork article. Not to be a smartass but it pretty much spells everything out pretty clearly. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jahfin Posted April 8, 2008 Share Posted April 8, 2008 Well I looked it over and it mentions special releases, none of which IM interested in. I AM interested in what they will charge for older material that I no longer own. But no mention of pricing. I guess it depends on which store you hit. The one on the list in my area I have never been to and is a bit out of the way but not too far. In the City. But I dont think these stores can compete with the bigger market stores sadly. And why should I go give a stranger an extra $3 a cd to help his business? They didnt do me any favors after sweating in a company for a decade and a half and letting me go without a thought. I do feel bad for the little guys out there but I fear there is no saving them in the long run. Since you quoted the Pitchfork article I thought you were referring to the exclusives mentioned in that particular article and not Record Store Day in general. In regards to the rest of your post, I don't think the indie stores are asking for any favors. The way things are going they won't be around for much longer anyway. I purchase from them whenever I can but that is not always possible since there aren't any in my area. In regards to prices, I usually pay less (or at least comparable) prices at the local indies. And, if I have to pay two or three dollars more for a hard to find release I really don't mind. It beats the shit out of the big box stores where all they normally stock are greatest hits compilations. And God forbid you should have to ask for some help in some place like Best Buy or Circuit Shitty. I'm never encountered more of a bunch of clueless fucks (in most cases) in my life than at the big box stores. At least at the majority of indie stores I frequent the people there actually know something about the music they sell. People may bitch about paying a dollar or two more now for some records but wait until they're gone altogether, the irreplaceable experience of shopping in an actual record store is going to disappear along with them. To those that don't know any better because all they know is digital only it won't be such a big deal but for those (like myself) raised on the record store shopping experience they will be very sorely missed. So fucking what if I have to play a couple dollars more. I don't feel like they owe me anything. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Swede Posted April 9, 2008 Share Posted April 9, 2008 ^^ Well put. I love purchasing music in actual stores, and I always choose an indie store over a big box store. Sure will be sad when they disappear. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jimmie ray Posted April 9, 2008 Share Posted April 9, 2008 The little record shop that I used to go to as a teenager is still in business, 30 years later. It actually burned down last year, and everything was lost - including irreplaceble memorabilia. They appealed to the neighborhood, for donations toward rebuilding, and were amazingly successful. But it's not the same experience going there, with obnoxious music blasted and mostly compilation albums offered for the older groups. What are "indie" stores? I'm not even sure what indie music is? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Swede Posted April 9, 2008 Share Posted April 9, 2008 The little record shop that I used to go to as a teenager is still in business, 30 years later. It actually burned down last year, and everything was lost - including irreplaceble memorabilia. They appealed to the neighborhood, for donations toward rebuilding, and were amazingly successful. But it's not the same experience going there, with obnoxious music blasted and mostly compilation albums offered for the older groups. What are "indie" stores? I'm not even sure what indie music is? Regarding the meaning of "indie store", I guess it's an independet store, not a chain of stores which is run by some main office where music biz has a lot of influences on. "Indie stores", at least in Sweden, is often run by people intrested in music and is often specialized in different genres. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jahfin Posted April 9, 2008 Share Posted April 9, 2008 What are "indie" stores? I'm not even sure what indie music is? Swede is right, they're independent stores. Still, some are chains like The Record Exchange and Schoolkids (of which there's only two left) but you'll find the staff to usually be much more knowledgeable in these type of stores than you're likely to encounter in places like Best Buy or Circuit Shitty where the music clerks don't seem to know their asses from a hole in the ground. I don't think there's such a thing as "indie" music but there are artists that record for independent labels. "Indie" can also be used as sort of a catch all phrase to describe music made by artists in the "alternative" vein. In fact, it pretty much replaced that term a number of years ago but like the word alternative, it largely lost all meaning pretty quickly. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jimmie ray Posted April 10, 2008 Share Posted April 10, 2008 Thanks for the explanation - and I thought maybe it was a new wave of sitar music! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jahfin Posted April 19, 2008 Share Posted April 19, 2008 Giving this thread a bump in honor of it being Record Store Day today. I'm not going to be able to visit one but one of the nearest ones to me is holding a copy of R.E.M.'s Supernatural Superserious/Airliner for me on 7' vinyl. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jahfin Posted April 19, 2008 Share Posted April 19, 2008 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Hammer of the Gods Posted April 19, 2008 Author Share Posted April 19, 2008 I'm visiting mine in a few minutes. Figured I'd pick up a couple records in celebration and see if anything special is going on. There's supposed to be a couple local bands playing, but I'm not sure what time today. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Audacity Posted April 20, 2008 Share Posted April 20, 2008 I scored at my local record store today! And talked to Bela Fleck while there too. The owner of the store gave me a very cool MOTHERSHIP poster. He said most of the posters he gets for display aren't nearly this nice so I felt honored. Also got a cool Consolers of the Lonely, Raconteurs poster. For music I was about to purchase 7 pre-loved, actually promo, cd's from their huge inventory. But between bands there was a giveaway and one of the questions was, "What band was Eric Avery in ?". SCORE, Jane's Addiction and I WON! So I got a bag of cd's. Since it was all garbage to me, I asked Mike the owner if I could just trade out for the cd's I'd selected from the pre-loved stuff. He said SURE so I got Adrian Belew - Side One Primal Scream - Vanishing Point Bent Fabric - Jukebox (if you know who this is, you're ancient! ) Los Hombres Caliente - Carnival Ruben Gonzales - Momentos Massive Attack - Danny the Dog soundtrack 70's Hits, Back Again (Jean Knight - Mr. BigStuff, Pilot - Magic, Ace- How Long, Pointer Sisters - Fire and others) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MadScreamingGallery Posted April 20, 2008 Share Posted April 20, 2008 I love indie record stores - partly because of the atmosphere but also because there is often the "thrill of the hunt" - or the likelihood of having an experience similar to the one that Audacity just described. Despite the ease of online ordering/purchasing from the "big boxes", when my husband and I need music, we will either leave the hacienda and drive 1 1/2 to a city that still has a number of record stores or order from an indie online (e.g., Waterloo Records). From NPR: High-Fidelity Memories on Record Store Day By James McMurtry http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.p...toryId=89774100 All Things Considered, April 19, 2008 - On Saturday, April 19, nearly 500 independently owned record stores across the country are celebrating Record Store Day. Hundreds of artists are giving in-store performances, and many stores will commemorate the event with giveaways to thank loyal shoppers. Here, singer-songwriter James McMurtry shares a few memories of hanging out — and awkwardly self-promoting — in record stores. I'm sure there must have been record stores in Houston in the late '60s, but I don't remember ever being in one. I was a small child then, and my father bought our records at the drug store on Bissonnet, where we also ate cheeseburgers and drank malts. The drug store carried what records we thought we needed — Johnny Cash at San Quentin, Batman, The Beatles' Revolver. I still have a couple of old mono LPs purchased at the Bissonnet Drug Store, including Bob Dylan's self-titled first album, on the back cover of which are the italicized words, "This Columbia High Fidelity recording is scientifically designed to play with the highest quality of reproduction on the phonograph of your choice, new or old. If you are the owner of a new stereophonic system, this record will play with even more brilliant true to life fidelity. In short, you can purchase this record with no fear of its becoming obsolete." I remember my father installing a stereo needle in our mono record player so that the new stereo records wouldn't skip. Of course, we couldn't hear them in stereo, but he didn't care; he just wanted the damn things to play. The day my second record, Candyland, was released, I was playing at The Bottom Line in New York City. It was 1992; CDs were marketed in the environmentally unfriendly but highly visible long box, and they had just become the top-selling format, having finally overtaken the cassette. I walked a block down the street to a huge Tower Records and tried to find my record. It wasn't in the rock section where I thought it should have been. I searched every nook and cranny of the store and finally found the country section, a space smaller than the kitchen of a typical Chelsea walk-up. In one of the bins, there was a card that read "James McMurty [sic]," but no records. I walked to a pay phone, called my manager at his Upper West Side office, and asked him if he could prevail upon someone at Columbia Records to please get some CDs down to Tower before my show. I checked back three hours later and found a half-dozen or so copies of Candyland behind the same misspelled card, but now in the rock section, right between Don McLean and MC 900 Ft. Jesus. It pays to know the right people. I may have spent as much time in record stores hawking my own wares as buying music. I used to have to do in-store performances in nearly every market. The bright side of the demise of the record store is that I don't have to do as many in-stores as I used to. Record stores are uncomfortable venues for live performance, too brightly lit, and in-store performances are attended almost entirely by day people who won't be at the show later. When I toured solo, in the early '90s, I would often race to the in-store to find that there was no PA. I would be expected to stand there, in front of a stack of my records, singing to an acoustically dead room that completely trapped what little sound I could put out. People would carry their Michael Jackson records right by me on their way to the register, as if I were a mime on the street. Once, at Albums on the Hill in Boulder, Colo., I was told to play in front of the store. In the middle of a song, a guy came down the sidewalk, listened for a second, and threw a quarter in my case. I finally learned to insist on being allowed to stand on the counter next to the cash register. That way, my voice could project over the bins, and commerce would have to come to a halt for the short duration of the performance. I don't miss the big chain record stores. I found them to be sterile places. A few of the independents are still hanging on despite the competition from downloads. I hope they make it. We are losing all manner of stores, not just record stores. My father has been an antiquarian bookseller for more than 40 years. His trade has died. The old shops, with collectors and book scouts shuffling to and fro between dusty stacks, are gone. When the stores go, the community goes. Those scouts, collectors and dealers all knew each other. Over the decades, they learned each other's tastes and wiles until the trade took on an aura of sport, complete with friendly rivalries and bitter feuds. It's hard to imagine such an interesting culture evolving in cyberspace. Record stores are physical locations where people actually meet face to face and interact. To remain human, we need that interaction: Conversations that aren't recorded, transactions that aren't automatically entered into a database for purposes of future commerce, facial expressions that convey shades of meaning one could never express with a key stroke. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jahfin Posted April 20, 2008 Share Posted April 20, 2008 Sounds like Bela gets around, I just read where he sat in with Arrested Development in Asheville last night. I believe they're at Shakori Hills in Silk Hope, NC today. Thanks for the McMurtry story, he is one of my favorite songwriters of recent years. Strangely enough I've been unable to find his record locally where all I have to chose from are big box stores so I just ordered it on Friday. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Xtazy Posted April 20, 2008 Share Posted April 20, 2008 I love buying CDs and DVDs from record stores, but unfortunately they're pretty fucking expensive. Actually, if I hadn't have bought the LZ Boxed set 2 from a record store, I probably wouldn't have listened to any LZ songs with so much passion and enthusiasm. Actually, my whole life would have been different . Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Hammer of the Gods Posted April 20, 2008 Author Share Posted April 20, 2008 Nothing really special happened at the stores I was at, except for a 15% off sale at one of them. I did score a vinyl copy of Abbey Road, however. Very happy with it. I have become addicted to record-buying lately rather than CD's. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Swede Posted April 21, 2008 Share Posted April 21, 2008 I had no idea Record Store Day was celebrated over here too, but it was.. Unfortunatly I wasn't able to check it out. At the homepage for one of my local shops, Pet Sounds, it can be read that they offered gifts and stuff for every customer on Record Store Day. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jahfin Posted April 17, 2009 Share Posted April 17, 2009 It's that time again except Record Store Day falls on the 18th this year: Record Store Day Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kirchzep27 Posted April 17, 2009 Share Posted April 17, 2009 I heard this on the radio today. was listening to an interview with -slade cleeves before, he has a record called, -all that you love will be taken away. darren devevoe was like, whats with the album title, i heard that and didnt even want to leave the house. slade cleeves said, it was meant to be about truth. so with the songs they played, yeah its a bit negative, but real in a kerouac, sort of poetic way. Only thing is, i couldnt find this cd at a record store, would have to buy it from his website. -wishbones is a good song from his past records, which is a good representation of his music. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jahfin Posted April 17, 2009 Share Posted April 17, 2009 I got turned onto Slaid years ago and finally got around to picking up his Brokedown record last year but still haven't gotten around to listening to it (bad, I know). I have heard quite a bit of his stuff on satellite radio though and really like it. I also just noticed one of the specials that will be available tomorrow is a 7" single from Whiskeytown. Since I'm in the heart of Whiskeytown country I'm going to have to be sure to be there right when the record store opens so I can be sure to score a copy. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kirchzep27 Posted April 17, 2009 Share Posted April 17, 2009 ^cool. yeah he played some new songs live on the radio this morning and its some really good songs. he does some covers, some songs from friends and lesser known artists on this new record. but he is a really good writer, like i said, its melancholy but its good. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ninelives Posted April 17, 2009 Share Posted April 17, 2009 It's that time again except Record Store Day falls on the 18th this year: Record Store Day That's very cool - wish I was around tomorrow to participate. Or maybe it's better I'm not Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jahfin Posted October 26, 2010 Share Posted October 26, 2010 Record Store Day comes twice this year, in addition to the Spring date (third Saturday in April) it will also be celebrated on Black Friday this year, November 26th. I'm sure the list below will grow some by the time November 26th rolls around but here's how it's shaping up for now: This will probably expand some prior to November 26th rolling around but for now, this is the list: Anthrax "Live at the Sonisphere 10" picture disc Badly Drawn Boy It's What I'm Thinking (Part One Photographing Snowflakes) LP+Download Black Crowes "Say Goodnight to the Bad Guys, Remedy (acoustic live) 10" picture disc Black Keys Brothers vinyl Bob Dylan 7" Translucent Red Vinyl with 4 color uncoated stock art sleeve Bruce Springsteen 7" Black Vinyl with with 4 color art sleeve Cage The Elephant """Shake Me Down"" b/w ""Aberdeen"" (both from forthcoming album 1/11/2011) 7" w/mp3 Cee Lo Green F*** You/F*** You (Instrumental) vinyl Clem Snide Your Favorite Music Color LP Deodato LP (exlusive to indies from 11/22-12/6) CD is not available until January 20th Dr. Dog Double 7" *label is checking on this. Band did not want this piece to have a title…vinyl Drive By Truckers The Thanksgiving Filter, Used To Be A Cop (both from forthcoming album Go Go Boots coming February 2011 10" Vinyl FRANK SINATRA A Jolly Christmas from Frank Sinatra 180 Gram Vinyl. Limited to 2000 units. Freddie Hubbard LP (exlusive to indies from 11/22-12/6) Gaslight Anthem Tumblin' Dice b/w She Loves You vinyl George Benson LP (exclusive to indies from 11/22-12/6) CD is not available until January 20th GEORGE HARRISON All Things Must Pass 180 Gram 3LP Set. Limited to 5000 units. Grinderman Heathen Child vinyl Iron & Wine Walking Far From Home cd-s Iron & Wine Walking Far From Home cd-m Jimi Hendrix 10" green vinyl "Merry Chrismtas/Happy New Year, featuring exclusive artwork Job For Cowboy Ruination 10" LP Colored Vinyl Box Set Killing Joke Absolute Dissent (Deluxe Edition) KT TUNSTALL Have Yourself A Very KT Christmas Limited to 2000 units. Metallica Live At Grimey's cd Metallica Live At Grimey's vinyl MGMT Gatefold 7" Black Vinyl with 4 color uncoated art sleeve and 20 page illustrated storybook Monster Magnet PANTERA Queens of the Stone Age Queens of the Stone Age Sick Puppies That Time of Year Again/Odd One (Acoustic) 7 Inch Vinyl Single. Limited to 500 units. Slayer 7" Red Translucent Vinyl with clear PVC sleeve Soundgarden The Telephantasm Stanley Turrentine LP (exlusive to indies from 11/22-12/6) The Doors The Doors (Mono) vinyl The Sword The Ting Tings 7" Custom Orange/White Mix Vinyl with 4 color art sleeve Tom Petty & the Heartbreakers Nowhere b/w Surrender U2 Wide Awake In Europe Various Artists Blur, Hot Chip, Eliza Doolittle, Kylie Minogue & Tinie Tempah Parlophone 7 Inch Box Set Limited to 3000 units. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kiwi_Zep_Fan87 Posted October 27, 2010 Share Posted October 27, 2010 Real Groovy is such a good music store here in NZ. They not only sell CDs and Vinyls but also second hand CDs and Vinyls (dirt cheap), turntables, merchandise like t-shirts (yep! there are quite a few Zep t-shirts! Been having my eye on some of them for a while now), DVDs, games and sometimes even music instruments! It's pretty much a one stop shop! Sometimes I do find the prices a bit too expensive for my taste (especially in the case of CDs outsourced from the US and Europe), so I settle for an itunes download or go and look for a CD at the nearby super-market or go to online stores like "The Mighty Ape"! Sheesh! I wish that Real Groovy begins having a "record store day". It seems to be such a nice concept! Hope NZ catches up soon! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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