National Record Store Day

it's truly the weirdest way to do things.

It's so bizarre. And I spend the month before RSD explaining, over and over, that we A) don't know what we'll get and B) can't hold anything so if you want something, show up early. And we've got a much larger indie across town who order at least 10 of everything so when people do come here early and leave without their precious Guardians of the Galaxy cassette they just think we're assholes.

RSD spreads the love...

I'm sure we will see some long winded apology penned by RSD staff, followed up by a "we're going to do our best to improve this situation" blah blah. Just scrap the whole thing.

No, because they flubbed the deadline.

― austinato (Austin), Monday, April 6, 2015 2:17 PM (24 minutes ago) Bookmark Flag Post Permalink

OH! I skimmed over the "until" in your post.

Add in the fact that majors are monopolizing limited pressing plant resources with rsd releases, causing months-long delays for indies (and likely contributing to the increasing crapulence of new pressings):
http://noisey.vice.com/blog/how-independent-artists-and-labels-are-getting-squeezed-out-by-the-vinyl-revival

the compact disc is really the way to go when it comes to 95% of new releases.

you know what else is awesome? spotify!

Can't tell if you're being facetious.

no, I'm not joking about new releases. most new vinyl releases are digitally sourced so why bother with vinyl? and I just started checking out spotify for the first time this week and it's cool! it's probably a fad with me though. it's still strangely airless like when I heard digital radio for the first time. but so much moombahton!

I have Spotify, but use it rarely. And even then, it's mainly to preview stuff I want to buy anyway.

Good point, though RE: new release vinyl.

in my experience w diy shit the point of vinyl is that it's a precious object (...that you can justify owning because the grooves last forever, man, and that shit won't decay like a cd, maaaaannnn...) more so than an actual medium. Yeah, you can listen to it at home but 90% of the time it's just the digital download code on your iDevice. The vinyl is the illusion that you actually BOUGHT SOMETHING and the fact that the something is BIG is important.

A lot of smaller DIY types (inc some friends of mine) are big into cassettes for the same reason, only the illusion that they will last forever is a non-factor. Think a music-based Hummel. It's actually junk but you can convince yourself it's cute if there's, like, a hand printed cover or some shit.

The CD as initial release is fine logically in that digital origin --> digital delivery makes sense. The problem is the youngs don't value CDs bc they have always been able to copy them willy nilly -- and rightly so. CDs are light, cheap to produce, unpleasant to hold in the hand. Further, bc your first move w a CD is to rip it into your computer you have the knowledge that you're "done with it" and can give it away to a friend/resell it. Y'know, typical audiophile complaints.

afaict the actual MUSIC part of RSD has always been BS. It's always been about the product, and I don't mean that in the hippie way. I can't think of a first run album that has come out on RSD, but frankly I think that'd be pretty awesome if Kanye released an album, vinyl only, in an Urban Outfitters-quantity run on RSD.

The inability for little labels to make anything between november and april is a whole other tragedy...

late 90s, in the U.S. at least, more new indie vinyl albums tended to be at least a couple of dollars cheaper than the cd. (kill rock stars, matador, merge..)

and they sounded really good. belle & sebastian and elliott smith sure did, anyway.

Yeah, but that's partially because the majors weren't hogging up the plants pressing Jimmy Ray and Orgy vinyl.

is jimmy ray the new jersey of alternative or is he a stage ahead?

who wants to know?

http://www.ebay.com/sch/alicia122011/m.html?item=201324884809&rt=nc&_trksid=p2047675.l2562

^this person gets it

Oh, good, now I don't have to wait ten days to get that coveted Ben Lee single. Can anybody break a thousand dollar bill?

**throws up hands in disgust**

This may make yall puke nails 2, but

http://www.superiorviaduct.com/blogs/news/18012648-shipping-next-week-punk-singles
http://cdn.shopify.com/s/files/1/0219/8812/files/SV_blog_punksingles_grande.jpg?14664525711617416700

Those are kind of awesome, actually, just expensive. Also I was under the impression they were non-RSD? At least SV was selling them via their website I thought.

Yeah they're cool. Doesn't specifically mention RSD, but shipping next week, ltd. ed. color vinyl, so can be inferred. Guess they were pre-ordered from the site? This is very cool too, but think I've got all of it:
http://www.superiorviaduct.com/blogs/news/16155680-now-shipping-electric-eels

I've seen several things sold from sites that just happen to be shipping next week: promotions clustering, copping some of that RSD buzz, apparently.

those are not RSD releases, as far as I know from being on their mailing list and receiving initial notices

and yeah they are awesome but I have them in other formats already

Wouldn't mind that X 7" tbh. The Dils too. I have orig Flipper & Residents 7"s already. But I'm not gonna pay stupid money for some RSD thing to get them.

What is it that's stopping people from building more pressing plants? That seems like the obvious solution when faced with huge bottleneck + growing trend that doesn't seem to be stopping any time soon. Surprised that Noisey article makes absolutely no mention of that

From what I understand, the parts used to make these gigantic contraptions either no longer exist, or are prohibitively expensive. And no one alive has anything approaching 'expertise' on how to construct these things. It's a pretty massive undertaking.

Equipment is so scarce that many of the plants that are still going are doing so with gear that has parts harvested from gear from plants that have shut down.

Also, what a bummer it would be if you invested half a million in a pressing plant only to find in five years time that the fad for "vinyls" is over (which is probably pretty likely imo)

Stevie here's a good link from upthread abt the pressing plant backup"

http://noisey.vice.com/blog/how-independent-artists-and-labels-are-getting-squeezed-out-by-the-vinyl-revival

Hmm I want to support my local record store and I like the celebration aspect of RSD, but I can't make much sense of making "rare" records on demand - like, rare records are really cool, but that's because the rareness tells some kind of story ("not a lot of LPs were made in those days", "this was ahead of its time", "this was a private press" etc.). I dunno, seems like it's a lot more fun when that kind of stuff happens accidentally.

Also, for instance the Strange Days mono reissue - it makes a lot of sense for people to want a mono version of this album, since the stereo mix is terrible iirc, but a) why not just release it the moment you get this idea b) I believe Discogs lists 7 different mono presses from 1967 that are reasonably priced, so why in the world would you pay for a new one when the internet has made it very easy for you to order the real deal?

To put it in grander terms, I reckon the vinyl "renaissance" can be seen as a materialist reaction to a predominant idealist understanding of what music is, but RSD is a very conceptual/idealist approach to vinyl. Maybe mp3s had people convinced that content was everything and form (vinyl, tape, cd, mp3) didn't matter much, and I'd call that idealist - this backfired because form ofc does matter + consumer culture, if you like music you'll probably want to spend money on it somehow. While RSD surely gets the spending money part right, I can't really see how a release like the new Strange Days uses vinyl as a format to make the music matter in a different way. Hmm, sorry if this reads a bit incoherent, hung over.

the record labels made it dumb. they are good at that. they want to squeeze any money they can out of people after they ruined their own business by continuing to sell CDs for 17.99 for decades.

neils tbf the major label RSD releases make the absolute least sense every year. They're definitely the most ridiculous items on the list. Always like $30 each and usually a reissue of albums you can currently find for $5-$15 without much difficulty.

Well, I already got a RSD result from my local. They are doing a half-price sale to clear out space for next weeks 'releases' so I got Rip Rig and Panic's "God" and ACR's "Do the du" 12" for £6 in total.

I feel like I lucked out in that RSD for me has always been the ppl at the local record store who I became friends with ordering and setting aside the stuff I requested for me to come pick up whenever.

Well, I just picked up a Morrissey 78rpm of "We hate it when our friends become successful", which was nice.

It had somehow relocated itself in my bookshelves, I hadn't realised I'd lost it.

This is probably the wrong thread, but whatever.

this is long. someone give me a synopsis. i think it might boil down to: RSD - kinda good and kinda bad.

http://pitchfork.com/thepitch/736-record-store-day-and-the-ambivalent-branding-of-independence/

it's official though, i am completely sick of the words "RECORD STORE".

VINYLS STORE DAY

Buy A Vinyl Day

this is the 2nd year in a row that i won't actually be at my store on RSD. totally accidentally. i always forget the actual day. i might stop by though in a false mustache and bowler hat and ask if there are any phish vinyls for sale.

i usually have a good day that day even though i don't sell any of the new stuff and most of the people who come in have no idea its rsd. cuz they are old like me or older. and they live in a cave. full of records.

totally record-y show that night at the store though! also an accident. stop on by for an ILX discount:

JDJR #13: desmadrados soldados de ventura//tarp//byron coley & matt krefting & ted lee

and this is friday if you are in town. should be good too:

JDJR #12: guerilla toss//gold dime//curse purse//taxidermists

Numerophiles-

As in years past, we are bucking the system and setting up our annual pop up stores and selling our non-Record Story Day approved wares, and we’re loving every minute of it. Since we’re diving into New York punk and New York simultaneously in the coming weeks, we felt it appropriate to quote scene-maker Terry Ork:

“I felt very strongly about this being a subversive movement. I felt very strongly about it being socially against the dominant ideology. I felt very doctrinaire about the possibility of a mass movement that would help break anything that keeps us in chains.”

So throw off the chains of RSD and join us these next two week ends. Get in your car, beg a friend, grab a Chinatown bus or the Skokie Swift. We look forward to seeing you, running your credit card, and then stealing your identity. Or if you’re unable to make it to our two locations, fight the raging hordes and demand satisfaction from your local record emporium. They’ll appreciate it.
(Skipping the re-send of the xpost Ork Box info)

Bedhead: Live In Chicago LP / Live 1998 CD

Captured during their Transaction de Novo tour, Bedhead's Live In Chicago finds the group upon the fabled stage of the Empty Bottle. For their April 16th, 1998 performance, recording engineer Bob Weston set up in the facility's basement, tracking the entire performance onto a mobile 16-track ADAT unit. Mixed by the band and mastered at Chicago Mastering Service, these previously unreleased sessions celebrate the band's live show in ultrahigh fidelity. Limited to 1,000 copies. Includes a download coupon, and three additional tracks recorded in similar fashion at San Francisco's Bottom of the Hill on March 14th, 1998. All tracks available on limited edition CD as well.

Lows In The Mid Sixties Volume 54: Kosmic City Part 2

In the spirit of AIP’s dodgy regional garage rock series Highs In The Mid Sixties comes Lows In The Mid Sixties Volume 54: Kosmic City Part 2. This set of roughhewn cobblestones was culled from the remnants of Cavern Sound—Independence, Missouri’s subterranean studio of choice— and covers that thin swath of the late sixties when American teens were imitating the Beatles. All of the artists here barely mustered a session of cover tunes, much less a single, taking this compilation beyond Nuggets; These songs are gold flecks in the rustiest of mining pans. All brought to you by team Numbero. Numbero: We dig deeper in graveyards so you don’t have to. Limited to 2000 copies.

Ned Doheny “To Prove My Love” b/w “To Prove My Love (Vocal)”

For reasons not entirely clear, the infectious opener to Ned Doheny’s third album Prone To Prove My Love" debuted in 1979 on the Japanese-only LP with its verses omitted. A "TV Track" as they are known, was often provided by engineers to facilitate televised performances or opportunities for voice overs. Whether utilized by mistake or by preference, Ned Doheny's final album of the '70s has spent the last three decades with a piece missing. In various compact disc reissues from various land masses, the TV Track and Vocal versions have been used interchangeably with no distinction. Now a 45 exists to give the listener control over which "To Prove My Love" they can remain faithful to. Limited to 1000 copies, only available at Numero pop up stores.

Love it or hate it, April 18, 2015. is Record Store Day. In observance, we’ll be hungover situated at Logan Square’s adorable Comfort Station (2579 N. Milwaukee) for our annual pop-up shop between 9am and 5pm. We’ll have the entire Numero catalog on hand, plus discounted dingers, loosies, and exclusives. We’ll also have a room full of used merchandise being trucked in from around the midwest, including about 10,000 45s, priced to move.

The following weekend, April 24-26, 2015, we return to Brooklyn to cram ourselves and our wares into all 400 square feet of Human NYC (110 Meserole Ave). We’ll be open from Noon-8pm everyday, except Sunday, when we’ll close at 5pm. Stop by and say hello! Wholesale orders welcomed.

Cash, credit, interesting trades, and bodily fluids will be deemed acceptable forms of payment. No money orders!

But wait! There’s more!

We’re not driving 1100 miles in a rented van just to sit on our hands in the evenings.

Friday, April 24, 2015: Chicago Party at Berg’n 9pm

Have you seen Chicago Party yet? OK, have you seen it on a big screen? After we get done with an eight hour shift in Greenpoint, we’re trucking down to Berg’n (899 Bergen St.) for a casual screening of Ultra-High Frequencies: The Chicago Party. Afterwards, we’ll be playing records, chatting, dancing, and interacting with Brooklynites. This event is free to the public, but in the event that capacity issues arise it would behoove you to RSVP here.

Saturday April 25, 2015: Grown Folks Mixer at Great Georgiana 10pm-2am

On Saturday night, we’ll drag our weary bones down to the Great Georgiana (248 Dekalb Ave) for a tasteful night of some-what tasteful music with excellent lighting and rich woodgrains. A great neighborhood bar in a great neighborhood, we’re excited to be headed back to Fort Greene where we always feel like extras in a Roots video.

dang, I wouldn't mind having this---brace yerself for caps blast:

PIONEERING POWER-POP BAND SHOES TO RELEASE RECORD STORE DAY EXCLUSIVE VINYL-ONLY ALBUM "PRIMAL VINYL" APRIL 18TH VIA ALIVE NATURALSOUND RECORDS!
http://wac.450f.edgecastcdn.net/80450F/diffuser.fm/files/2015/04/shoesband-630x420.jpg

EXCLUSIVE RSD RELEASE TO FEATURE CLASSIC SHOES SONGS ALONG WITH PREVIOUSLY UNRELEASED LIVE & DEMO TRACKS!

CLICK HERE TO LISTEN TO THE PREMIERE OF SHOES' PREVIOUSLY UNRELEASED DEMO "GIRLS OF TODAY" VIA DIFFUSER.FM!
http://diffuser.fm/shoes-girls-of-today-demo-song-premiere/

Heralding from the small Midwestern town of Zion, IL along Lake Michigan’s western shore, Shoes was formed by three like-minded high school friends in the mid 1970s. Inspired by the British Invasion and the joys of the 3-minute pop song, their early home recordings, self-released LPs and DIY approach established them as pioneers of the home studio movement. Primal Vinyl is a collection of classic Shoes songs that includes a previously unreleased live track and material released on vinyl for the first time.
Shoes' Primal Vinyl will be released as a limited edition Record Store Day exclusive vinyl-only album on April 18th via Alive Naturalsound Records.

PRIMAL VINYL TRACK LISTING:
Side A
Tomorrow Night
Don’t Do This To Me
Too Late
Girls of Today (demo version)
Okay
I Don’t Wanna Hear It (live)

Side B
Boys Don’t Lie
She Satisfies
Summer Rain
Burned Out Love (demo version)
Love Is Like A Bullet
Hate to Run (demo version)

FOR MORE INFO ON SHOES:
http://shoeswire.com

FOR MORE INFO ON ALIVE NATURALSOUND RECORDS:
http://www.alive-records.com

I'm actually excited to go downtown to my two favorite places and just mill about and enjoy the festivities on Saturday. What's happening to me, do I like Record Store Day after all?!

I might mosey down Berwick Street tomorrow...

Record Store Day can be fun. The shitty pointless repackaged major label reissues are such a small part of it. Some stores do a BBQ and have a live performance or simply a sale on used items.

We're having weirdo DJs all day, including me.