My favorite holiday after Thanksgiving and Christmas has got to be Record Store Day. And it just so happens to fall on the day before April 20th...weird. Anywho, today is the day when we all show our support for local independent music retailers. And, lucky for us, Iowa City has got two great ones: Real Records and the Record Collector. Both boast phenomenal collections of new, old, popular and rare vinyl and CDs and both have some of the finest most knowledgeable employees this side of the Mississippi. Whether you're looking for reggae, dance, electronic, jazz, scat, R&B, doo whop, classic rock, modern pop, industrial, new-primitive, mainstream, grunge, new wave, new rave, metal, Christian rock, original soundtracks, classical, punk, pop-punk, or post-punk, they've got it.
Now many of you may be thinking that the physical format is dying, if not already dead. And it'd be difficult to make an argument otherwise (aside from the fact that a lot of music truly does sound better on vinyl [there is something strangely comforting and beautiful about the sound made when the needle first catches the groove on the record, just before the first track plays (try listening to Creek Drank The Cradle or Grace on vinyl...it's an entirely different experience)]). HOWEVER, the sale of CDs and vinyls are not the record store's sole purpose.
They also serve as a center for the exchange of ideas and opinions on music, new and old. And they do it better than blogs (this one included), because it's not just indie snobbery and vile faceless post-comments and bickering. At the record store, you get interactions with real humans that know about music not because they get exclusive leaked mp3s, and not because they can simply regurgitate pitchfork's "definitive" word on what is worth your time and what is not, but because they've developed their own thoughts and opinions on the music they hear and sell.
So head to your local record shop and give whoever's working a big hug, and thank 'em for all that they do. Learn more about Record Store Day HERE, which offers some thoughts on record stores from Damon Albarn, Metallica, Adam Duritz, Paul McCartney, Moby, Ben Harper, Nick Hornby, the Boss, Damien Rice, and others.
And don't forget, you don't have to wait till next year to head to your local record store to take advantage of all that it offers. Incorporate a regular stop at the shop as part of your weekly routine. You don't need to buy something every time (although the urge is often strong), but you will be amazed to see at how much more music you discover through just a five minute convo with the clerk.
Nick Hornby (author of High Fidelity) said it best: "Record stores can't save your life. But they can give you a better one."
3 comments:
Vinyl is amazing and I buy it for four reasons.
A) The physical copy can't be beat. Large artwork, beautiful format, not as disposable as cd's ect...
B) The soothing pops and cracks of a record add quite a bit to the listening experience. Weird I know.
C Records are thought by many to contain a warmer and fuller sound
(Basically compared to shitty compressed mp3 files that often increase the overall volume instead of balancing dynamics).
D The format forces the listener to treat an album like a work of art. In contrast many digital albums have become disposable bundles of tracks that can quickly be flipped through. Not that this is always the case but I definitely think music is more disposable today then it was even 10 years ago.
Basically vinyl is the shit and I'm very glad you decided to talk about it.
Also High Fidelity is a movie that all record nerds should have on their top 5 lists.
Couldn't agree more. I could've gone on for quite a bit longer to delve into my vinyl love, but figured I'd try and keep the focus on the record stores. Perhaps another post for another day. But you really nailed it. Especially your "D". It forces you to really listen to an album, at least once all the way through. I find on CDs/mp3s, if I'm not into the song 10 seconds into it, I'll never give it a second listen. But with vinyl, you give songs (and the album) a chance to unfold naturally, and work its way into your favor at its own pace (prime example: I got Shout Out Louds' "Our Ill Wills" online last summer, found three songs I liked and never gave the rest a second listen. Last week, I was at the Real Records and desparate for a fix, so I bought it on vinyl and, by letting it play the way it was "meant" to, I finally, nearly a year later, fell in love with the whole album).
Post a Comment