It’s that time of year again. The time of year when you make your list and plan which of your local record stores you’ll be lining up outside of early on April 16th hoping to get your hands on one of the many awesome limited and special edition releases that will be put forth as part of the fourth annual Record Store Day. Well, maybe that’s just me and my crazy enthusiasm for a) the reemergence of vinyl and b) supporting local businesses. Last year I spent Record Store day wandering around Philly with my vinyl tucked under my arm, passing others rushing to see if they could get a copy of a record that had already sold out one place and meeting all sorts of other dedicated music fans. There was a great spirit amongst the crowd that gave the entire event a certain aura of authenticity. These were all people who recognize this social and experiential aspect of music. Really absorbing music goes way beyond downloading an album. It is the process of combing through the racks for that LP you totally forgot you needed to have, counting the days until an album is released, talking to other record buying folks to find out what their into; it is going out and participating in the culture. So, this year I highly encourage you to join in and head to your local record store(s) to take part in the fun. This year’s list of releases is a nicely mixed bag of genres so there is something for everyone and f you’re lucky your local spots have cool in-store plans. You can check it all out over at www.recordstoreday.com
These are my picks, so far…