Record Store Day 2011 Post-Mortem

After promising to partake in Record Store Day for the past two years and, due to circumstances beyond my control, failing, I vowed this year would be different. Because I’m lucky enough to still be employed, Saturday proved to be an expensive day, though it would have been more expensive if reason hadn’t kicked in.

Because I’m mostly a nocturnal beast, I didn’t wake up until around quarter of 10, and even then it was just to move my car for two hours to prevent another parking ticket. (Oh, the joys of Center City.) By the time my girlfriend and I finally got ourselves ready and out the door, it was well after noon, and we still had to pick up her brother, who bussed in from Roxborough to spend the afternoon with us.

Luckily, finding parking around A.K.A. Music was easy, and before long we were approaching the store, myself with uneasy anticipation. Due to my fear of large crowds, I expected the store to be packed to the brim with music lovers, and, upon entering, I was initially correct: the front third of the store was lined with people, either exploring the goodies of Record Store Day or waiting to pay for their records. Happily, the back two-thirds was largely unobstructed, apart from a band setting up and doing a loud soundcheck above the vinyl section (which didn’t help my headache), and I spent a lot of time perusing the aisles as I used to as a budding music lover, automatically going to the sections of the bands I love who I know haven’t released a new album – sometimes haven’t released a new album, compilations aside, in years – but subconsciously hoping to be proven wrong. (I wasn’t, of course.)

Meredith and her brother went straight for the vinyl all the way in the back, and I eventually caught up with them and did some hardcore perusing. I found a copy of the Secret Sisters’ debut album, which I had been thinking of getting for a while after writing an entry on them in my Elvis Costello book (they collaborated with him on a few songs in concert). As I often do, I had a handful of CDs and vinyl ready to be purchased, in a process that I can only describe as odd: I grab whatever I think I’d want to buy, and then go through a gradual process to decide what’s truly necessary and what’s not. Some casualties: Paul Simon’s So Beautiful Or So What, which I already have anyway, and the Rolling Stones’ Ladies And Gentlemen DVD, a relative steal at $13.99, but deemed surplus to requirements when I decided that, a) the Stones live don’t really thrill me, and b) I don’t really watch live DVDs all that much anymore. (A corollary to a: Ladies And Gentlemen is a document of their 1972 tour, which does actually interest me, as it was before they became a parody of themselves and were still a relatively volatile band, but b outweighed a.)

But onto what I did get. There wasn’t much this year that overly excited me, but I did still find some surprises: Regina Spektor’s Four From Far, with three album outtakes and a live version of ‘Eet’, was one of my first grabs, as was Queen’s ‘Keep Yourself Alive’ / ‘Son And Daughter’ 7″ reissue, purchased less because I wanted it and more because a respected collector contacted me and asked if I could buy it and send it to him. Figuring that $4.99 was relatively cheap, I grabbed another one for myself. Initially, I was planning on buying the Rolling Stones’ ‘Brown Sugar’ / ‘Bitch’ / ‘Let It Rock’ 7″, but put it back because, again, I didn’t really need it. But I did make a spontaneous purchase with the Civil Wars’ ‘Dance Me To The End Of Love’ / ‘I Want You Back’ 7″. Figuring one of the points of Record Store Day was to discover a new band, I grabbed a copy and hoped for the best. As of this writing, I haven’t listened to it, or any of the records, all of which are at home, safely wrapped in a plain brown paper bag.

Meredith bought a copy of Lady Gaga’s ‘Born This Way’ 12″ picture disc, which some might think would cause me to turn my nose up at, but, honestly, I have no problem whatsoever with her. (Just today, I read that Queen’s Brian May contributed a guitar solo to an upcoming song of hers, which outraged Queen fans for reasons that I just don’t know.) Meredith’s brother, meanwhile, got a copy of ‘Keep Yourself Alive’ / ‘Son And Daughter’, and Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band’s ‘Gotta Get That Feeling’ / ‘Racing In The Street’ 10″, which I was also considering but decided against, as my appreciation for The Boss is still in its infancy. The one disc that he really wanted but couldn’t find was the Beach Boys’ ‘Good Vibrations’ / ‘Heroes And Villains’, and so we went up to Creep Records in Northern Liberties, a nice, cozy store that not only had a handful of Record Store Day releases, but a keg of beer (in which none of us partook); sadly, the Beach Boys disc was nowhere to be found, and so we went over to PYT to drown our sorrows in tasty burgers and fries.

All told, it was a muted day, and I imagine that if we had gotten a much earlier start, we would have come away with more loot. (Because I value my sleep, this just wasn’t going to happen.) Both record stores we checked out were great and well-stocked, and I didn’t walk away disappointed. After trying and failing to partake in Record Store Day for the past two years, it felt good to finally be able to contribute in some small way to an event that I morally support. Not only do I hope the record stores I frequent remain open, I also hope to remain employed so that I can do this all again next year.