Saturday is Record Store Day!
It was one of my favorite things to do as a kid.
The anticipation of a new record being released by your favorite band, and then in my case riding my bike to the local record store—Peaches or Streetside here in St. Louis—and bringing home a prized piece of vinyl. You’d get back to your room and pop the needle on that disc and lose yourself in the music all the while checking out the album cover artwork and liner notes. It was a unique experience for music lovers that obviously disappeared with the advent of CD’s and later--digital music.
But in 2007 someone decided it was time for vinyl to make a comeback and a bunch of independent record store owners decided it would be pretty cool to have a day set aside to spread the word about the merits of analog recording and the importance that record shops played in communities all across the country.
The first Record Store Day was conceived and took place on April 19th, 2008. Today there are Record Store Day’s on every continent except Antarctica.
Saturday April 13th is the 12th annual Record Store Day and can be celebrated in St. Louis at Music Record Shop, Vintage Vinyl and a few others. It’s become a tradition for artists and bands to put out special vinyl releases on Record Store Day, and the complete list can be found here. I’m particularly looking forward to bringing home a copy of Cheap Trick’s “The Epic Archive” special RSD release!
I’m not an analog music snob. I think digital music sounds great—it’s clean, no pops and crackles that you’ll hear with an album no matter what condition it’s in. But there is a “richness’ and a deeper /full sound that you’ll hear by playing music on a turntable. Beyond that it’s that experience of bringing home that record, tearing off the plastic wrap, reading those liner notes, checking out the artwork---and letting yourself escape into the music. It’s fun.
For decades I kept my records packed in boxes wondering if they’d ever see the light of day again. But when vinyl started it’s comeback I unpacked them, bought a new turntable from my friends at The Sound Room in Chesterfield and took a very comfortable dive back into the joy of listening to records. I’ve included a few pics of my listening room—it’s my safe haven and a place to get away from everything. I’ve added plenty of new pieces over the past 8 years or so—one of my favorites being the Tom Petty box set released last year.
Maybe the best thing about Record Store Day and the resurgence of vinyl is that young people are discovering the joy of buying records. Some of us old dudes still like it too.
Happy Record Store Day 2019!
