Saturday, April 16, 2011

Record Store Day

Today is Record Store Day, so if you are fortunate enough to have a brick and mortar record store, get out there and buy something, dammit! There are lots and lots of exclusive and limited releases coming out today. Vinyl has been roaring back with a vengeance over the last few years!

We are going to head over to Waterloo Records to get some CDs signed by Eric Johnson this afternoon (and buy a few things in addition, plus The Toadies are playing afterward but that will be a zoo). He (EJ) is releasing his latest record, Up Close, on vinyl, and is doing an in-store (signing only). I am not planning to buy the vinyl version because - truthfully- I am not big on vinyl. Yes, I know that the sound of virginal vinyl is much better than digital can achieve. You need some good listening equipment for it, and the medium itself requires a music-lifestyle discipline that I have not been nurturing [for better or worse].

I still have most of my old vinyl, and when it gets played [by MrB - I don't play vinyl] it is a bit torturous. Popping, crackling, skipping, and that muffled fuzziness that comes from the dusty needle and just plain wear. I did not take care of it when it was in active rotation. Abused, is what it was. In the 60s I used to stack my naked vinyl in a dining chair (at least it was padded, and was, itself, vinyl) and would be constantly sorting through it feverishly to keep the music going for what seemed like a constant party... no time for or inclination towards tucking them back away in their sleeves for protection. Even now, knowing what I did wrong, I don't really want to start collecting vinyl again.

Still, I celebrate its return. Vinyl has a market, and will produce sales, and these things are a blessing to musicians as well as to the brick and mortar record stores. Huzzah!!

4 comments:

Debra She Who Seeks said...

I've kept a dozen or so favourite vinyl LPs that I could never find re-released. I play them every once in a while on a small record player I bought for that purpose. And I still have some old 45's from my teen years too. Memories!

Blueberry said...

Oh yes, it's a shame that there are so many things that are only on vinyl and will probably never be re-released in any format!

yellowdoggranny said...

I have a couple of hundred record albums, and thrilled to death they are coming back..now if I could get someone to fix my 2 record players..sigh*

Professor Chaos said...

God, I miss record stores! The thrill of discovery, pawing through stacks of old vinyl. I once found a like-new copy of the Rolling Stomes "metamorphosis" in a clearance bin for 50 cents. Or just stumbling onto something that turns out to be incredible. We actually do have a couple real good old record stored in Atlanta, I just don't have the disposable income anymore.