Music has changed massively over the years, becoming one of the first types of entertainment media to go digital in a significant way, which has stripped it a little of its enduring quality and tangibility. It’s also meant that fewer people listen to a full album, favouring the occasional download, which means that great tracks can often get overlooked, which is why Record Store Day is so important.
Not only does it reiterate the value of music, but it also puts people back into the equation. Instead of just sitting in your darkened pit flicking through iTunes in between visits to pron (switch 2 and 3 where needed) or celebrity gossip sites, you can spend hours talking to other vinyl fluffers at the record store.
Record Store Day 2012 was on the 21st April 2012, but it’s an annual event, so every April you get a chance to get all acetate addicted. I say get your kit bag ready with a combination of spam sandwiches, a pack of Hoola Hoops (I asked for Quavers!) and half a Shandy Bass, get yourself down to your local record store or make a trip to a hallowed record store of note (Amaeba Records in San Fransisco, Spillers in Cardiff and Fopp in Covent Garden are all good) and get set on an afternoon of flicking discs.
There are a few fully dedicated stores like Domino that will be stocking limited edition releases for the day, including Animal Collective’s Tranverse Temporal Gyrus 12”, Arctic Monkeys’ R U Mine? purple vinyl 7”, Hot Chip’s Night and Day (Daphni mix) 12”, Francois And The Atlas Mountains/Slow Club split 7” and She And Him’s Volume 1 coloured vinyl. For more information, visit https://recordstoreday.com.
