Throw in the 2022 Elektra German pressing and there seems to be no shortage of quality vinyl releases for this classic album.

One day I wouldn't mind getting a nice condition original pressing of the album, just because. It's probably not cheap, it wasn't exactly a platinum selling hit back in 1977, so it's not like there are tons of copies floating around out there.

Our local record shop posts a 'new arrivals' video every Friday on their YouTube channel. Original vinyl and reissues, new and used, whatever has come into the store that week. I saw that they received a copy of the 1978 Japanese release of Grand Funk Railroad's red album, which has been long sought after by collectors as it restores Mel Schacher's bass in all of it's thunderous glory compared to some of the previous versions that had stripped it down. I picked it up the next day and, yes, it sounds fantastic and is in great shape, too ...

So....

My want list for Saturday is 13 titles, and really only the last one or two are ones I can live without. Should be an inexpensive day....

ETA:
The titles I want, in order:
1. The Muffs
2. XTC
3. Marshall Crenshaw
4. Joan Jett & the Blackhearts
5. VA: Amerian Power Pop
6. The Who
7. The Cars
8. The dBs
9. Talking Heads
10. Prince Buster
11. Ramones
12. Bad Brains
13. Starcrawler

I'll honestly need most of the first 8 to call it a successful day.

It's funny but I'll be skipping RSD this time around as there are no real must-haves for me on the current list. It's going to seem strange not lining up early this weekend ...

Wow, really? This is the RSD that's interested me the most out of all of them. I haven't decided yet, but I might be lining up super early, buttcrack of dawn kind of thing.

I know, it's feast for some and famine for others ...

The only thing tempting me is the Meshuggah - Destroy Erase Improve LP, but I don't think I care enough to stand in line. I might go middle of the day to see if there are any left.

I'm gonna brave the M Theory line (first). I've gotten there at 8 and still waited 3 hours to get in (while all my fellow local hunters have completed their buys already), but gotten nearly everything on my list and had the clerks tell me I was the first to buy those titles. I guess M Theory customers don't dig punk and new wave, so it works out for me.

That said, if I get 12/13 on my list, but the one I miss is The Muffs, I will consider the day a failure.

RCP up here lets me know how many copies of each exclusive they're getting in. Maybe give those stores a call and ask them so you have a better chance at getting The Muffs.

Yeah, but most stores here are picked clean by the first wave of shoppers. So you choose the store that's most likely to have the most amount of records on your list. In my experiences, that's usually been M Theory Records.

I suppose I could call them to verify they're getting it in, to be safe, but the last time The Muffs had a RSD record, M Theory had it, so I feel pretty safe going there.

I'm also partnering up with another friend who visits different stores than I do. We shared the top of our lists, and if either one of us sees a title that's at the top of the other's, it's bought no questions asked. Sometimes it's resulted in multiple purchases of the same record, but they can always be flipped if that happens.

Haven't participated in RSD in a few years and really haven't even hit up many record shops in quite a while - though I may stop by a couple this Saturday foir old time's sake. I fell victim and have gone down many a rabbit hole regarding obscure/scarce private press 45s. It's practically a whole other ballgame.

Really hope everyone in California feels the same way as Toby, Kef, and Geoff. I'll be walking out of M Theory at 8:10 with my arms full of punk, power pop, and ska records.




One store I can cross off my list for tomorrow: Normal Records. Too bad, it's a nice little store and he's hooked me up before.

But he has just FOUR of my 13 wanted titles. Two of em, he has two copies of, the other two just one each. Zero chance of me getting what I want there.

Get lots of sleep today and head out early. One of the things that I like about being at the front of the line a few hours before store opening is meeting and conversing with like-minded vinyl enthusiasts while passing the time. It's a cool community. Good luck tomorrow ...

Just got on line now, wanted to post so the time stamp would be there.

Full city block away from the store entrance. SMH.

So this is actually pretty cool. At 6AM, dude from the store came out and handed everyone numbers. When they open at 8, they'll call out by those numbers. Meanwhile,.I can go get coffee, take a leak, whatever, as long as I'm back here at 8.

I'm number 49, by the way

I had a list of four titles in mind, in order of preference:
- Mark Lanegan
- John Frusciante
- Stone Temple Pilots
- Neil Young

Got to my local store at 7am, an hour before opening. Got number 57.

While in line, messaged with a friend who usually shops at a different local store, to see if we could help each other out. Turns out he just arrived in Ireland, and was going to check local stores after checking into his hotel. It was after 1pm, so he didn't have much hope. He gave me a list of five requests.

I managed to find all of mine except for the Lanegan, of course - those were already gone. Also found three of his five.

Messaged him to tell him how I made out, and what I missed. He was just getting to the store, and found a few copies of the Lanegan, so he scored me one! He also found the two from his list had I hadn't, so everyone's happy!

12/13.

Everything except Starcrawler, and that was literally last on my list

I just couldn't believe my luck. It was an hour and 20 minutes from store open to me getting in, and like I said, I went straight to the "M" section to get that coveted Muffs record (they had two copies). Then over to "X" for the XTC, and either they only got one or I got the last one.

My two big wants fulfilled, I slowed down and just went over to "A" and started thumbing through everything at a reasonable pace. Sure as shit, every title I wanted just kept coming up. Sometimes only one copy (like The Cars), sometimes a shit ton (like Prince Buster. A damn shame too, Prince Buster was a legend and everyone should have grabbed a copy today). I wasn't even looking at the list on my phone. I just remembered my total want list was 13, and when I finished digging through the stacks, I counted spines and came up with 12. Like, that's everything, man. I considered going for some of the stray titles I might dig, like The Stray Cats or The Stranglers, but nah, stick with your list and don't wander off the reservation.

I did get one record from the used stacks, Picture This by Huey Lewis and the News, because I know they make more on used records than on the RSD stuff.

Great day, and I even got to officiate the roller derby bout I cancelled on to attend RSD, since I was done record shopping so early.

Nice ...

Added one more to the haul: The Stranglers. Had to meet up with a buddy this evening, so we went to a RSD record store that neither of us had been to yet today. Really slim pickings in the exclusives, but I saw that Stranglers record again and decided to pull the trigger this time.

Then got to enjoy what is always a wonderful experience at a used record store: Finding a rare, valuable record in the $3 bargain bin. In this case, it was Drop Out with the Barracudas. And I knew it was a score when the clerk got really wide-eyed when he saw it in my stack. He gave a close look to the price tag,

Didn't mean to, but bought a couple for my kids, Katseye and KPop Demon Hunters.

Bought Peter Gabriel's zoetrope vinyl of Sledgehammer, so amazing!

Bought my beat friend Pink Floyd: Live From the Los Angeles Sports Arena, April 26th, 1975, a 4-LP set. I paid a bit for it, but this friend has given me ao many great gufts over the years, this felt right.

how does that zoetrope work, S?

Here's info:
https://petergabriel.com/news/sledge...ord-store-day/

Here's some gif footage on Insta:
https://www.instagram.com/reel/DXRsd...J4MjVjNm5jag==

https://www.instagram.com/reel/DXNp8...ExODI3enFpMThp