National Record Store Day

Just looked up that repress - alas, it's a US release and £££ on Discogs, so the UK RSD is a better bet for me - but ta for the tip.

Skipping it this year. Only thing I think I'll miss is the social aspect. Something kinda fun about seeing so many fellow freaks in one place (alongside the obligatory flippers, of course). There is nothing being released this year that I can't live without.

Always fun picking through the discounted RSD bins in May, though.

― Paul Ponzi, Thursday, April 11, 2019 2:05 PM (yesterday) Bookmark Flag Post Permalink

Despite all the hype around them, it's not all about what is or is not coming out as an exclusive release. Many stores will make sure to put out a fresh stack of new arrivals, or they'll have other special incentives. I'm not as bothered by the idea of "crowds" so I still make an effort even if nothing on the actual release list catches my eye.

Yeah one store near me used sit on a few crates of really good used stuff until RSD and then way underprice it all as a fun bonus/loss leader for the day, that was always great.

My local just posted the list of all the titles they'll have, 300+, and scrolling through it I'm as astonished as ever at how much perennial $1-to-$5 bin fodder is on it, like a version of the Rolling Stones Big Hits LP with alternate cover art. I know LOL old news, but I never fail to be amazed that there is a market for a $32 copies of that stuff.

Is there, though? Those releases are silly scams targeted exclusively at earnest new vinyl collectors as well as older dudes with tucked in t-shirts doing their best impressions of boomer rock documentary talking heads at record store employees they've cornered.

And yet it never seems like the stores move any of that product. There isn't enough suckers out there.

sometimes i look through the rsd discount bins at sone places and think “who buys the new vinyl here, what a sucker”

Admittedly I live in a not-hip town, but the 2 stores in my town seem to almost fully make their bones off of that stuff. The last time I waited in line a few years ago, chatting with the 15 or 20 other folks waiting I discovered that aside from me and a couple other people, everyone else who lined up was hoping to score a Doors reissue. On the one shops FB page all anyone is talking about is will the Paul Stanley record be filed under S or with KISS, how many copies of the Santana record, etc. I mean god bless em, records and record stores kick ass, but the increasing boomerization of RSD still surprises me a bit every year.

OK fair! But even still, there's usually tons left to gather dust in the stores in a sad misfit section called "leftover/past RSD" with stubborn markdowns that try their best to recoup cost.

totally feel that.

there’s a guy i really enjoy talking to who frequents my local spot and who will buy pretty much any reissue from his core boomer catalogue provided it’s different in some way — like THIS ccr record is on GREEN vinyl, i need it, okay wow now i will have 5 copies of green river, awesome

it’s weird but he likes it and there are many others like him and, as you say, they’re helping my dudes pay the bills so right on

xp

There was a now-defunct giant music store in my town where the RSD buyers clearly had no idea what they were doing, and the leftover bins would be hilariously full of dozens & dozens of surplus copies of Tom Petty & Taylor Swift stuff for years. There was some Robbie Robertson album they had at least 20 copies of that used to give me a laugh every time I saw it. At least the smaller shops in my town seem to know their RSD audience better & cater to them. Which works fine for me - the boomer-scam stuff usually gets snapped up instantly that morning, and I'm usually free to pick up whatever psych comp or jazz thing I want from the leftover bins at my leisure in the following weeks.

Monorail Music posted this price list
https://drive.google.com/file/d/1776IlimSVvhbP0XyC4jC3HBe1S9u2Mb9/view?fbclid=IwAR0fYDDczRpGIFelq0L3KqY9bSBTI2LdBwYye8SQ5jQOppOQeE_7NjJ4Tuw

fuck me, £23 for a chas & dave seven inch?

gertcha yer thieving cockney bastards

maybe the cast of only fools and horses from the jolly boys outing are on it

it is a pic disc after all

any of you beautiful Brits wanna grab a copy of Teenage Fanclub's THE KING for me? i'll pay cost and postage, of course.

or, alternatively, do we know if that thing is getting a wider release later? if so, i'll grab it then.

snowing in Minneapolis today and there were a few guys camped in front of the Electric Fetus before noon. gotta get that ELP Live At Pocono International Raceway I guess.

sorta want the Saint Etienne 7" and the Jethro Tull 10" but... not if I have to wait in line or fight crowds. They should split up the exclusive releases over like three days.

I've always avoided RSD like the plague previously but am going to give it a go this year. I see there's already a queue outside the shop I was thinking of going to, with 10 hrs still to go (good grief). Anyway, will report back on the experience.

snowing in Minneapolis today and there were a few guys camped in front of the Electric Fetus before noon. gotta get that ELP Live At Pocono International Raceway I guess.

― by the light of the burning Citroën, Friday, April 12, 2019 2:50 PM (one hour ago) Bookmark Flag Post Permalink

he wanted to find the willie wonka style special gold vinyl of that new har mar superstar thing

I've had fun times before going in the afternoon when it still feels festive but isn't a total madhouse.

Yeah as long as you wait out the initial morning rush the crowds aren't so bad.

Teenager of The Year, finally, having been pinned up at around $200 on discogs for so many years. Nice double white vinyl, sounds terrific.

Groundhogs Thank Christ For The Bomb beauttiful package, sounds great

Otis Redding Monterey Pop set, arrrgghh with the fucking marbled colored vinyl already, this is completely blown out, way too hot, sounds better on youtube

ppl were all v chill and nice, I think maybe the dumb frenzy around this has died down a little the past couple years?

The free Crass flexi disc with bonus stenicil made the trip into town worthwhile alone.

I rolled in about 2pm was still ok busy

got Sunn 0))) which I really wanted
and a couple used records

didn't know about Groundhogs, will have to look for that

also got Teenager Of The Year and it sounds way better than my old CD. Only copy in the shop so was worth going at opening time.

I saw the Groundhogs thing, pretty cool.

I didn't get anything but I got the Dream Syndicate 2LP for a friend.

The Dream Syndicate reissue was the only thing I wanted. I usually avoid RSD alike the plague, because I hate waiting in line for anything. But original copies are impossible to come by, so I went out this morning. Lined up to get in the store (after opening time) and then lined up for an hour (!) to pay. Exhausting but now I have the damn album. The lineup went around the store twice, so I browsed while in line, and my armload got progressively heavier. Came away with some Cure and Stereloab records on discount, as well as the Ronnie Lane thing which I’m sure will be available in the discount bins later... but what the hell.

I need a nap now.

Got there early with my son, there was a huge line in the rain. By the time we got inside, the Death Grips single he wanted was sold out, so we didn't get anything.

I only went for the Insides reissue, but the 4 places I went to in Mass. didn't have it. Maybe it's UK only? I didn't get anything.

i had a positive experience this rsd.

showed up at my local spot and saw my friend’s band play. there was beer on tap and more beer in cans hanging round and it was good to see / catch up with regulars / friends who were there to support the shop and see music. there was a reissue of the abdullah sami lp which was not a rsd release but i was thrilled to see it and was happy to buy it. lori barbero from babes in toyland was spinning records as i left.

this on top of my friend, aforementioned, whose record from the late ‘70s i reissued a few years back. he got in touch with me a few months back saying he wanted more copies of the record bc they sold out of them at shows. i was more than happy to sell him my remaining stock — i never made any money on this reissue — and so after four years i finally broke even on that project. i used some of that unexpected money to buy that sami record.

i had to go to work at 3 so i resisted all the offers to have a beer. i just talked to friends and drank coffee in preparation for my inevitable boring shift at the restaurant.

well ! i would have thought things were done then and there. but when i showed up to work the bar was dead — except for one guy. turns out it was scarface from geto boys.

didn’t know what to say at first but we ended up talking and he was super nice. i told him how much i love grip it on that other level and he said that was one of his favorite records he had worked on. he showed me some funny photos on his phone of him with willie and bill. the conversation wasn’t super long but at one point he said “yeah ... we’re not geto boys anymore. we’re just geto old ass men.” i thought that was funny.

so it was a nice day. gimmicks aside i’m happy i stopped in and threw some cash to some of my fav ppl

Went to Kingston upon Thames (my first visit) for RSD. Spent a lovely couple of hours crate digging in Shaks' Staks of Wax, coming away with half a dozen good to great s/h 7"s then strolled down to Banquet records and joined the (much shortened) queue around 2.30pm. Was inside in around 20 mins and they still had everything I wanted. Tick VG, would recommend.

For a second misread that as Kingston upon Hudson.

bj

jfc budo jeru that's amazing

yes, hi bj! top posting. thank you for sharing.

back to the nasty side. . .

the more stuff i see show up on my instagram, the more the thought comes up to me: this is it; this is why the vast majority of folks don't consider the physical copy of recorded music to be essential or even respected anymore. vinyl has reached its exclusivity in the cheap gift shop phase. which i find very lamentable.

the Sunn 0))) record... beautiful black pressing.... all analog process, recorded with Albini.... turned it up and my god what a testament to vinyl

foh. would sound way doper if it was a pic disc of an albini headshot.

preferably with refined elements of the broken down compound of his three day old whiskers. shaved one of the mornings before when one of the album's recording sessions was to take place.👍🏻

#genesimmonsdidnothingwrong

Dropped into my local this afternoon- they still had loooaads of stuff left. Picked up the Durutti Column and Crispy Ambulance reissues

Popped into my local this afternoon and heard a depressing convo. A kid came in asking about the Death Grips record, the clerk checked the computer and said there should be three copies in stock but couldnt find them in the bin of RSD leftovers. He steps back to call the owner and I hear him ask "Did we sell those under the table? Oh ok, I'll tell him" and announce to the kid that theyd been sold online. I guess it must be pretty common for stores to flip their own RSD stock online day-of, but still shitty to hear.

The “ironing is delicious” on that anecdote.

Had a nice time, as I do every year. Unfortunately couldn't stay for the instore gigs & complementary beers but the vibe's always good.

Made a (very) short list of things I'd like beforehand of which they only had Spacemen 3's Live in Europe (Space Age Records, so Sonic probably disapproves, sorry!). When I asked about The Art Ensemble of Chicago reissue they came up with the reissue of a 7" on which they were the backing band of Alfred Panou. Unkown to me, it's great - like everything they recorded whilst in Paris.
When I asked about the Groundhogs reissue they told me they didn't get it but had an original up for sale through discogs which I got with a 25% discount - score!
Lastly, bought a 7" the record store put out on their own label.

https://recordstoreday.com/NewsItem/9003

Record Store Day will look very different this year, but supporting indie record stores may be more important than ever. We don't know what sort of rules will be in place, or what sort of gatherings people will be in the mood for this year, so we're focusing on the music and getting the really great titles on the RSD Official List this year into the stores and into your hands, in the most financially and socially responsible way.

The titles on the RSD 2020 Official List, launched on March 5th, will be released at participating record stores on one of these three RSD Drops: August 29th, September 26th, and October 24th. The new version of The List, with newly assigned RSD Drops dates will launch on June 1 so check back here for a look at when you'll be able to pick up the titles on your RSD 2020 wishlist at your local record store.

how incredibly frustrating. at the risk of sounding sanctimonious i'll say that i've already found ways to support my local shops during the pandemic, one of which has been ordering online / via phone and picking stuff up curbside or having it shipped. quite without the help of official national record store day, thanks. the owners of the record stores i find it important to support have been as resourceful as they can, but withholding merchandise which has already been manufactured only delays the money i might have given them if we could just have the records now. so let the labels just ship the records. making us wait until the end of october to acquire releases that would ideally already be in our hands—all for the sake of staging a farcical bank run that increasingly only ever seems designed to assuage the guilty yuppy conscience or to enrich the greasy flipper—does nothing except exasperate eager fans and delay funds to record stores for which right now small margins of cash are the difference between weathering the storm and shutting the doors for good.

the grill-out and the in-stores have been cancelled, likewise the beery convos, the comparing of notes, and the other pleasant rituals of record store congregating. if we're lucky we'll pick that up when it's deemed safe to do so. until then let me order some shit ffs.

good post and 100% otm

no. you will participate in the marketing culture whether you want to or not.

thanks for hyping it up, btw!

(for real tho: it's the typical rsd bullshit. it never was about making sure the stores can achieve longevity. is anyone really surprised?)

I've read this is actually preferable to store owners because they don't have to shell out for that merchandise in one go and can instead split it up with three buys, using the first to gauge how much might be needed for the second and third.

Fuck RSD btw, but at least this situation makes it easier on the stores.