record store day

New-to-vinyl converts talk about the joys of playing LPs

I've heard the naysayers for years, the ones that say vinyl is a fad, or that kids buy records just because they think LPs are cool. But the fact is vinyl sales keep going up year after year. I'd be the first to admit that playing an LP is more of a hassle than listening to Spotify, so why do people who grew up listening to CDs and files invest in a turntable, and search out their favorite music on LP? Why do they do it?

Recently, I talked with a few music lovers who grew up in … Read more

Kick the iTunes habit and celebrate Record Store Day

Kick the iTunes habit and stop streaming, it's time to get physical with music you can touch!

Record Store Day is a celebration of the joys of buying music in the real world, and brick and mortar stores all over the country are participating in the event on Saturday, April 21.

The first Record Store Day was in 2007, and every year more and more stores get involved. The Record Store Day Web site has this quote from author Nick Hornby:

"Yes, yes, I know. It's easier to download music, and probably cheaper. But what's playing … Read more

Record Store Day 2011, still rocking

Metallica kicked off the first Record Store Day at Rasputin Music in San Francisco on April 19, 2008, and Record Store Day is now celebrated on the third Saturday every April. Special vinyl and CD releases and various promotional products are made exclusively for Record Store Day, and hundreds of artists in the United States and in countries across the globe make special appearances and performances. Festivities include performances, cookouts, body painting, meet-and-greets with artists, parades, and DJs spinning records.

Yes, it's easier and sometimes cheaper to buy music online, but brick-and-mortar shops offer a nice alternative. Who knows, … Read more

It's Record Store Day, so reach out and touch some music

Sure, it's easier to buy downloads or CDs over the Internet, but if you're lucky enough to still have a local "record store," drop by today. It may be participating in Record Store Day celebrations in the U.S. and U.K. and offer special deals or discounts. And who knows, you might even meet other people who like music.

I've discovered so much great music in stores over the years playing over their sound systems, or talking with the stores' employees and customers. There's also something about holding a CD or LP in my hands that I can't get online.

If you love music, it's time to show respect for it in its tangible form, and stop music from becoming nothing more than disposable digital data. Musicians work long and hard to record their tunes, why wouldn't you want to hear everything they laid down? A 128Kbps or 256Kbps download "loses" a lot of music that was part of the original recording. How much is lost? Well, CDs run at 1,411Kbps; where do those other bits go?

One thing's for sure, you're not hearing them when you listen to downloaded music. And if you can't hear the difference today, you will in the years ahead when you get better speakers or headphones. You may have to buy the music you've already paid for again to hear what you've been missing.

But Record Store Day is a celebration of the little guy and independent record stores, and since the giants like Tower Records are history, most brick-and-mortar record shops are indies, owned by folks who have a real passion for music. … Read more

Celebrate 2009 Record Store Day this Saturday

Like I did last year, I'd like to encourage and implore music fans to celebrate the second* annual Record Store Day by visiting your local record store and buying something. You might have to step away from your computer and leave your house, but people used to do this all the time and, trust me, it can be fun.

This year, dozens of high-profile artists have joined the cause by offering exclusives, including new tracks by Modest Mouse, a bunch of 10-inch vinyl releases from Radiohead, a six-pack of 7-inch singles from the Jesus Lizard, T-shirts from Death Cab … Read more

Record Store Day

That's tomorrow, Saturday, Apr. 19. Your day to celebrate the old way of buying music, where you got into your car and drove to a local store and talked to the clerk and sifted through the racks and maybe experienced the delight of finding an old CD you'd forgotten about, heavily discounted or expensive and rare. Or maybe you heard a great tune spinning in the background and bought it, like I did with The Monochrome Set's Strange Boutique and PiL's Second Edition and Wilco's amazing live CD (their best album, in my opinion), Kicking Television. … Read more