Record Store Day, 2010
It’s humorous in a way that there’d be a day dedicated to a music format that was proclaimed dead about once a year since the release of compact discs in 1982. Record Store Day was one group’s vision of keeping local stores in business when they were up against giants like Best Buy and WalMart. Rather than deal with clerks in big stores that knew nothing about what they were selling, they wanted to bring back the days of when going to a record store was more than just buying the latest record, it was a group experience.
Why do people still buy records? For one thing, some people think they sound better in the analog format. I personally do, and continue to buy records, both old and new. I originally started buying them for the covers, hoping to put a few good ones up in the house, and it turned into listening to them again just to see what they were like. What I found was that I sat and listened to the album. It wasn’t just popping in a CD on the way to work, this was an experience. Listening to the album, I found myself studying the liner notes and paying attention to the album more than if I had listened to it while commuting. Having something in your hand that felt like you bought something special on it reminded me why I had a love of music in the first place.
If you have a local record store in your area, drop by and pick up a record or two, or just see what’s been released lately. My store has used albums which I love to go through. There are a ton of gems in there which I was damn happy to find. Some of them have gone on my walls, some I still listen to regularly. If you’ve never listened to an album but love music, go down to your local store and see if there’s a turntable with headphones you can listen to.
Our interview with the owners of Bananas, the largest record store in the world.
From basementvinyl.com: Record Store Day 2010 new releases
From my blog at geekistry.com: Life, at 33-1/3 RPM
Category: Entertainment
