Remember the glorious days of piling into your local music store to purchase some of the hottest pieces of vinyl, having a fondness for album cover art, and reading the liner notes as if they were a New York Times bestseller? Brick and mortar record stores have all but completely faded into obscurity; thankfully, there are few still around. However, long gone are the days of walking into a Sam Goody or your favorite mom and pop shop on a Tuesday (album release day). To date, there are only two Sam Goody stores still operating.
Inaugurated in 2007, Record Store Day will be observed this year on April 23 by artists, music lovers, and independent record stores around the world. The day was created to celebrate and educate people about the record store with a focus on fostering the music culture. Record Store Day is also a time when a number of recordings are pressed and sold for this highly anticipated event. Some of those albums scheduled to drop include:
Alice in Chains’ remastered 12-inch of their 1990 EP We Die Young.
Reissue of Blondie’s double 7-inch vinyl of their 1979 single Sunday Girl, packaged in a bespoke gatefold sleeve with rare photos from the period.
David Bowie’s Brilliant Adventure EP and Toy EP will be released on vinyl and CD with other songs from both EPs making their debuts.
Foo Fighters will release a 7-inch of two alternate versions of tracks from their 2021 LP Medicine At Midnight.
A double LP collection of Patti Smith tracks from 1977-1996.
Stevie Nicks will reissue a remastered, double vinyl version of her 1981 album Bella Donna.
Look for the 40th anniversary 12-inch reissue of U2’s A Celebration along with two previously unreleased recordings.
Come June 18, fans can expect more treats from the archives of Miles Davis, Pearl Jam, Prince, and Slash as Record Store Day Part II takes place.
For the Record
- The first record shop was established in 1894 by Spiller records in Wales.
- Lots of record stores sell other merchandise besides various formats of music and include coffee bars or diners in their spaces. However, how many have a specific sale day requirement? Not only is Minneapolis’s beloved Electric Fetus an unusual name, but the record store once held “Streakers’ Sale Days” wherein customers could take whatever they wanted for free so long as they shopped naked.
- Seattle’s Easy Street record store not only sells music but honors artists and/or their songs by way of eye-catching café menu items. Where else can you stop by for a stack of Blueberry Hill Hotcakes, a Culture Club sandwich, or a Green Day salad?
- Unfortunately, in war-ravaged Ukraine, Record Store Day celebrations will have to take a back seat this year. Located in the culturally-rich city of Lviv is its lone record store, Vinyl Club Lviv. Throughout the year, the store’s employees would normally hold listening parties, help organize festivals such as the Craft Beer & Vinyl Music Festival and host an array of other music-centric events. Now, they are serving as soldiers, alongside their customers and local musicians.
We may have heard our most-loved songs for the first time (and only a few times throughout the day) on the radio. But it was the record store where we went to bring the magic home so we could listen to our heart’s content. It’s the record store where we got lost in the sights and sounds with our fellow music aficionados. Celebrate it!
-Sharon Oliver
Photo: Pexels. com
Didn’t know how good we had it !
For me, it was a weekly ( or more often) trek.
Viewing everything, talking with the employer about new releases, as l listened to music being played over the speakers located throughout the store. We’ve got a few stores left here in Miami . Yesterday & Today records is one.
My best friend and I would go to the mall on Saturday morning. Before either of us were old enough to drive, his dad would take us and drop us off. We would be there for 4-5 hours, sometimes longer. A BIG part of our day at the mall was looking at, reading, and buying records at the assorted stores there like Record Bar, Disc Records, Hastings, and sometimes even Burnstein-Applebee electronics. Man oh man…we never thought that those good times would end and things would be like they are now. Ignorance really is bliss!
Celebrating Record Store Day highlights the significance of independent record stores for artists. They provide a platform for music discovery, foster a sense of community, and support the physical music market. CD and vinyl production should continue to cater to their loyal customer base.