Record Store Day 2013

So, true to my word last year, but without remembering that I'd said so, I managed to get to Piccadilly Records for 6am only to find that, of course, I was even further back in the queue than previous years (I've finally made it onto Tib Street!). Oh well, at least I found myself with some great company either side of me, making the 4 1/2 hour queue time pretty enjoyable and part of the whole RSD experience. One good thing that has come out of Record Store Day is bringing back the social aspect of buying music - I'm sure the conversations we had about music whilst queuing up cost me another £30 in items I decided to buy.

So, what did I get? This...

Calexico - Spritoso (white vinyl) Live LP
Brian Eno/Grizzly Bear Nicolas Jaar Remix 12"
Lloyd Cole & Hans-Joachim Roedelius - NNNEONLLLLIGHTS (white vinyl) 12"
The Ukranians - Pisni iz the Smiths 12"
The Velvet Underground - The Scepter Sessions LP
OMD - The Future is Silent (picture disc) 10" EP
Royksopp - Ice Machine (red vinyl) 10"
Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds - Animal X (picture disc) 7"
PUBLIC SERVICE BROADCASTING - Signal 30 (orange vinyl) 7"
Mogwai/Bill Wells & Aidan Moffat - split remix single (white vinyl) 7"
Side by Side secret 7" (which turned out to be 3 versions of Iko Iko by the Grateful Dead, Dr John and the Dixie Cups) - on lovely paint splattered red/blue vinyl

I decided to give the FGTH 7" picture disc a miss because it was...err... £18. Are you sure about that guys?!

So, that's it for another year - threats of not going next year had pretty much subsided by the time I reached the counter, probably helped by the company and also the fact that some items didn't seem to sell out as quickly as previous years (did they get more stock in?).

Oh, and coffee was provided by Tim Burgess's Tim Peaks Coffee Company, so everyone who bought one got this wonderful Pete Fowler designed cup...

Here's what I said previous years:
2012
2011

Record Store Day 2012

Another year, another early morning queuing up for records. The first time I took part in Record Store Day was in 2009; I arrived at Piccadilly Records at 9:40am - twenty minutes before it opened - where we (it was a family outing then) stood outside sheepishly with another 6 or 7 people. Since then I've got there earlier and earlier each year, only to find myself further and further back in the queue. Here's the queue that greeted me on arrival this year at 6:30am (I joined the queue just before it spiralled round onto Tib Street).

So I was glad that this year Piccadilly Records decided to open at 8, to save me waiting too long outside in the rain (yes, we had about an hour of fairly relentless rain to cope with) - still, I didn't get served until 10:30, so that's still a pretty long wait. Luckily I had the company of my next door neighbour, Queen lover (the band) and all-round audiophile, Gary (on the look out for a 45rpm high quality vinyl pressing of a Fleetwood Mac album), and a couple of blokes who shared the same sort of passion for music as we did. Oh, and some free teabags courtesy of Yorkshire Tea.

So, here's this year's booty...

John Cale - Extra Playful: Transitions 12" EP
BBC Radiophonic Workshop - Out of this World LP
Richard Hawley - Leave Your Body Behind 10"
Tindersticks - Medicine 10"
Billy Bragg and Wilco - The Complete Mermaid Avenue Sessions 3xCD and DVD
Futureheads - The No. 1 Song In Heaven 7"
Mouse on Mars/Prefuse 73 - 7" split single
Arctic Monkeys - R U Mine/Electricity 7"
Graham Coxon - What'll it Take 7"
Orbital - Wonky (remixes) 7"
Field Music - Actually, Nearly 7"
Belle and Sebastien - Crash 7"

Plenty of great stuff to keep my ears busy for a while...

Good as it is, I do think it's time for a rethink with the way Record Store Day is run - I'm sure it's doing wonders for promoting and supporting independent record stores, but I'm not convinced that labels pressing such small quantities of "exclusive" releases is the right way to go, especially when it creates such a mad panic amongst fans, who will camp outside all night to try and get a copy before it ends up on Ebay for a hugely inflated price. And as for the in store prices? Well, do people really want to pay £17.99 for an Arcade Fire 12"?! I'm all for saving record stores, but not if it means fleecing the fans.

Having said all that, you can guarantee that I'll be down there next year - probably from 6am this time.

Record Store Day 2011

So, another year, another successful record store day, but the question is – what next? Looking at the number of people queuing up outside record shops, and the number of exclusive records that were release for the day, it did remind me a bit of valentines day – a lovely sentiment, but surely people should be making the effort all year round. It’s all very well people spending a heap of cash on records one day a year, but that alone isn’t going to keep the independent record stores afloat. And as for the artists and labels – much as I love them making these exclusive releases to celebrate Record Store Day, surely EVERYTHING they release should be exclusive and a little bit special. If not, why are they bothering to make or sell music?

The queue outside Piccadilly Records - Saturday 16 April 2011. 7:20am

Anyway, cynicism aside, I did pick up some good stuff although I missed out on a couple of things I really wanted (Suede 7” and the Far Out Psych 7” box set). I must get there earlier next year; I hear that some people started queuing at midnight, so I think I’ll start queuing the day before at about 5pm - whilst the shop is still open.

So, here’s the lovely records I picked up :

Arp – Pastoral Symphony remixes 12”

Franz Ferdinand – Covers 12” EP (Debbie Harry, Stephen Merrit, LCD Soundsystem, ESG and Peaches all covering FF songs)

KORT – Please Don’t Touch 7”

Yeasayer – End Blood 7”

Clinic – Ladies Night 10” EP

Mute Records’ Vorwarts LP&CD

Some were even on lovely coloured vinyl. Mmm mmmm

The couple in front of me each bought a copy of the Radiohead 12” – the last 2 in the store – I presume this was either to sell one on ebay, or they were hedging their bets about the long term prospects of their relationship and didn’t want the headache of sorting out who owns which records at some future date.

Nice to see so many of the records already going for a fortune on ebay too – I’m sure that will do wonders for the independent record stores.

Oh, and I also got this excellent bag, which came with a free mix CD (or was it a mix CD with a free bag?). I think it sums up the day quite well.