Recordstoreday2010small
Last night I blew past The Record Exchange, but didn't have time to stop. Because I knew if I stopped, I would be in there for hours. I do love iTunes -- late last night I had the joy of being able to download one track off Golden Smog's Weird Tales that had been stuck in my head for a week -- but without the Record Exchange, I would never have discovered Harlem Bush Music by the Gary Bartz NTU Troop, Dorothy Ashby's In a Minor Groove, or even goofy little novelties like the Kasenetz-Katz Singing Orchestral Circus' debut album (featuring a track by the mysterious St. Louis Invisible Marching Band).
There is an element of serendipity when you're looking for music online, though sometimes I annoyed by programs that pop up with suggestions for other stuff I might like to try. I guess because there is something really exciting about the totally raw experience of digging through dusty vinyl and finding something you had no inkling even existed. I don't have the intelligence to find something I don't know exists. And I don't think any computer program going has the intelligence to guide me there, either. You need record stores for that!
Which is why I am always so excited about Record Store Day. That is when you go out and patronize your local independent record store -- or stores -- whether that's Record Exchange, Apop, Vintage Vinyl, or Euclid Records. Both Vintage Vinyl and Euclid have once again scheduled all-day, free music festivals for every audiophile's favorite holiday. Euclid Records' "rock & roll extravaganza" goes from noon-8pm, with each band scheduled for 35-minute sets; the list includes The Nevermores, 33 on the Needle, Adoring Heirs, Art Majors, Finn's Motel, Sleepy Kitty, Troubadour Dali and The Bottle Rocket. Vintage Vinyl's live line-up also runs from noon to 8, and the store has scheduled both DJs and live bands from all over the country, including Dallas' Felili, the Hooten Hallers from Columbia, Mo., and Nomo, who are based in Ann Arbor. That's rounded out with some great local bands, including Bunnygrunt, Kentucky Knife Fight, and a gaggle of DJs, including DJ Needles, DJ Alejan, DJ G-Wiz, Da Fly D-Ex. They're also releasing a special Record Store Day LP on pink wax, Don't Quit Your Day Job. You can get all the details at the Record Store Day website, by popping over to each individual shop's site, or, hell -- I'm going to assume that people who listen to vinyl will be Luddite enough to do this -- by actually picking up the phone and talking to an actual record-store clerk. --Stefene Russell
