Love Live Record Stores!

Posted on | April 16, 2010 | No Comments

When the first Record Store Day was celebrated in 2008, the media was calling it a funeral march, or a last ditch attempt by a dying industry to save itself. Last year, it was met with some surprise that it was still around, and that big-time artists and record labels were getting involved. This year, as vinyl sales are steadily climbing, mp3s are old news, and cd design and packaging is reestablishing itself as an art form, Record Store Day is being (deservedly) presented as a big-time celebration of music, musicians and the independent stores that have been supplying fans for the last century.

I grew up surrounded by music. My mom would have the stereo on before we even woke up, and some of my favorite childhood memories involve me sitting on the living room floor, listening to my parents’ records on those enormous 1970s headphones.

From the moment I got my first record store job in 1992, I haven’t really left the scene. I’ve moved around, and worked in several different shops, but wherever I end up, I sniff out the music shop and generally end up working there. I just dig it. I love the people who gravitate toward record stores, I love the constant flow of new and old music, I love the conversations and humor that emerge in such a music-saturated environment, I love learning artistic lineages and random music trivia…it just suits me.

Saturday, April 17 is International Record Store Day. If you are lucky enough to still have a music store in your town, it would be a great time to swing through and show them some love. Artists have contributed tons of Record Store Day exclusive releases, a lot of stores are having in-store concerts, free food, free music, giveaways and really nice sales.

If you’re riding the MP3 train, don’t worry about it. We all love our ipods. But, don’t let the marketing hype convince you that a set of files is all that music has to offer these days. MP3s are great, for what they are, but they will never replace the joy of putting on an album, sitting down and listening to all the nuances and subtleties that it has to offer, with the jacket in hand, checking out the whole package. It’s a feeling that just cannot be downloaded.

Happy Record Store Day!

Category: Culture, Holidays, Music
Tags: Independent Music > Music Stores > Record Store Day 2010 > Record Stores

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Love Live Record Stores!

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