Posts in Record Store Day
[Record Store Day 2015] Fun Things To Talk About With Strangers While You're In Line Waiting to buy Records
Davie Grohl says buying records on Record Store Day is serious business. I guess it is these days, huh?&nbsp;


I'm not sure what Record Store Day is like anywhere other than in NYC, but here it's nuts. My fondest RSD memory was back in 2011 when I rolled up to Sound Fix (RIP) at 8am and stood in line with Alex and Sami from CoS for 2 hours until the store opened. It was a brutal 2 hours because the night prior Sprout and I had gone out with Fitts from The Kickdrums and had more Jameson than people who needed to get up early (or be alive for that matter) should every drink. Even still, despite the worst hangovers of our lifetimes (it is now the one we have compared every other hangover to ever since) it's hard not to think fondly of the moments where we were gushing about the releases we were hoping to get, the Sound Fix folks bringing coffee and pastries for all of us waiting in line, and the overall sense of community that is felt on this and every Record Store Day since.

Record Store Day is a my favorite day to celebrate my favorite thing with my closest friends. Unfortunately, not everyone has a built in posse to roll up to those long RSD lines. You may heading out to RSD solo. Even if you're not, this is a rare opportunity that comes once a year to meet a chunk of people all at once that have presumably the same interests as you, so instead of burying your face in your phone, take advantage of the situation and strike up a conversation!

First impressions are important and we want everyone to know how you're some kind of awesome, so here are some fun things Sprout and I will hopefully be discussing with strangers outside of Rough Trade tomorrow:

  • Phonograph records were originally pressed onto shellac! However during World War II the United States declared that shellac was a strategic material for the war and due to scarcity records started being pressed into vinyl, which is what is still used today. (Yale)
  • Some folks in the universe claim that the best way to clean your records is by using wood glue and a credit card:

Warning: this guy does not feel the same about this method:  

  • Trying to put a price tag on music is complicated as hell, honestly. The history of it is pretty fascinating though. (Pitchfork)
  • The first thing ever recorded was Ben Franklin singing/shouting Mary Had A Little Lamb and it was recorded onto a tin cylinder. (LiveScience)

PS this is what it sounded like:

If that tickled your fancy, this guy shows how Edison did the recording on the cylinders that they recorded to at the time:

If you haven't made your list and checked it twice you need to do so because being unprepared can result in heartbreak so check out the Official List of Record Store Day Special Releases. There are lots of things going on tomorrow in celebration of the happiest day of the year so maybe see what your local store is doing. There's a TON of stuff going on in NYC that you should check out if you're in the area. 

Don't forget to be VERY POLITE to the people working at your record store tomorrow because there is no doubt that they will be stressed out of their minds by the swarms of people coming out. Obviously be nice to your fellow shoppers, too. Some of us are short and can't reach the overhead shelves so offer to help out if you see someone struggling (Sprout was my savior last year with this). Who knows, maybe all these sweet tips will land you a record store bae (sorry, I had to).

And if you're going out for Record Store Day so you can buy a bunch of the ultra limited runs so you can put them up on eBay, please comment below so I can find you and slap you.