Record Store Day 2012

Today was Record Store Day and you know I was out to participate! While, last year, I hit up Landlocked Music in my old stomping grounds of Bloomington, I stayed in Cincinnati this year, checking out Shake It and Everybody's Records.

What it is

Record Store Day is held the third Saturday of April, and this is the event's fifth year. On the day, a great variety and number of artists release limited edition special singles, live albums, EPs and early releases, with fairly limited numbers of all releases. The day is meant to encourage music fans to support local independent record stores. The emphasis on shopping locally has even expanded to other small businesses, with a mini-Record Store Day and small business day now held on Black Friday (which I also participated in last year).

Every year, an ambassador (usually an established member of the music industry) to promote the event and serve as a figurehead. This year's ambassador was Iggy Pop, punk rock star and former frontman for The Stooges, who had three special releases this year.

My haul

I made sure to make myself a list of what I wanted this year. I managed to successfully grab almost everything on the list. I missed out on the Laura Marling "Flicker and Flail" 7", which Shake It had, but ran out of. I still managed a pretty good haul, though!

Here's what I picked up:

The Tallest Man on Earth - King of Spain EP
St. Vincent - KROKODIL 7"
Walk the Moon - Anna Sun EP
The White Stripes - Hand Springs 7"
Feistodon split 7"
Beach House - Lazuli 7"
Walk the Moon - Anna Sun 7"
Karen Elson - Milk and Honey 7"
T. Rex - Electric Warrior re-issue

All-in-all, the record shopping portion of the day was good. I picked up some great releases and met some cool people waiting in line for Shake It. The day ended on a sour note, with a fairly nasty car crash (don't worry, I'm alright).

RSD 2012 was still a wonderful experience for me!

Hipster Black Friday

I'm really not a Black Friday shopper; I could do without the lines, crowds and pepper spray. Thankfully, though, some retailers have turned the day (and the weekend) into a way to support local small businesses. Friday hosted a mini-Record Store Day across the country.

Record Store Day, held now for four years on the third Saturday in April, serves to promote local records stores and independent bands. The day sees special releases from a variety of both established and newer bands. The founders of the day decided to hold a mini-Record Store Day on Black Friday, serving much of the same purpose.

Yesterday saw singles from The Black Keys, Ryan Adams and The Civil Wars; re-releases from The Beastie Boys, The Doors and The Grateful Dead; and much much more! You can guess what I was there for...that's right, the single release of "Lonely Boy" from The Black Keys!

Thankfully, there is a great independent record store in my mom's town of Akron, OH, Square Records. I arrived there with her about 30 minutes before the store opened and there was already a line! They had only a few copies of The Black Keys' single, but I managed to snag one before they were all gone.

The line was about 6 people long when we got there.

This, so far, has been the store where I can always find things I've had trouble finding elsewhere, and today was no exception. I also managed to snag a copy of Little Joy's (Fab Moretti's, of The Strokes, side project) debut LP, which I couldn't even find on Amazon.