Record Store Day!

This Saturday, April 19th, is RECORD STORE DAY!

As I mentioned in a recent post, I have no fetish for mp3's. That isn't to say I don't understand or appreciate the format, especially for someone like me who posts a new mp3 every weekend on this blog, and does a monthly podcast in the format - obviously mp3's are waaaay more logical than uncompressed wav files.

But I'm a record collector at heart (vinyl, tape, reels, CD, 8-track), and a big component of record collecting, for me anyways, is the obsessive-compulsive desire to acquire, and of course, to enjoy and analyze the artwork, packaging, liner notes, lyrics, etc. For me, part of the coolness of an album is the fact that it is a physical object that can be held, and seen, and smelled, and tasted - fetishized, as it were, and that's simply something that does not, and cannot, happen with a bunch of 1's and 0's. Mp3's are almost magical in this respect - they exist, and yet, they kinda don't. They're ghosts.

iTunes is now the single largest retailer of music in the known universe, and yr local record shop is quickly becoming obsolete, if yr favorite record shop even exists anymore.

Here in Madison, my two favorite stores are B-Side Records, and MadCity Music Exchange. Both are small independents, and both have struggled for the past few years to stay in business, and it sucks that it has turned out this way. You can't hang out at the cash register at iTunes and talk about that week's cool new releases, you know? Oh sure, you might find a forum or a blog to discuss such things, but it's not the same, and you and I both know it.

Anyways, this Saturday is Record Store Day, and I urge each and every one of you to visit yr local participating store, which can be found at the Record Store Day website. Not only will there be sales going on, but lots of free giveaways from cool bands that are only available in-store on this day, and depending upon the store, you might catch a cool local band playing a set or two, and yeah, a chance to hang out at the cash register and talk about Fuck Buttons with that cute cashier with the lawnmower tattoo on her shoulder.

Hotcha! Hank