Paff

It might be more apropos for the dedicated Vinyl thread (which does exist here), but the impetus for my return to the format was in the mid to late 2000s. I'd been a vinyl enthusiast in the 80s, but like most people I moved towards CD in the 90s. One time I went to a music store to find some older CDs I'd wanted for a while, only to find that some albums were released on CD just once, or not at all, rendering those CDs anywhere from literally impossible to hard-to-find and quite expensive. Yet the old vinyl versions were sitting on the shelves, plentiful, and in great condition and at around $2-3 a pop.

After that I went about improving my vinyl setup, like finding a great Technics turntable from 1976 for just $50, to getting a great Harman Kardon all-analog solid state amp that was designed with vinyl in mind.

Does vinyl sound better? I dunno, I'd have to do a blind comparison test to find which I really prefer. But it sounds REALLY good on my current setup, and I've been finding tons of great old records at the multitude of used records stores in my area. Cheap, too. I've probably not listened to music this often in my life ever (I come home from work and put on records for a good 2-3 hours nearly every night). I'm happy to have such great music at my fingertips, and don't mind the occasional $30 RSD "exclusive" for something unique. For those not into the format or the event (yet oddly clicked on this thread anyway), I'll just quote George Clooney in From Dusk Till Dawn: "Fair enough, more for me then"

Mabuse

Our local record store guy posted this just now.

Paff

Today is (what would have been) Record Store Day.

Look around and see if your local store has a Discogs or E-bay page. Buy something from them today.

Why So Blu?

That's a good one. I have the one has Bono instead.

Chrisedge

^^ Factory is my shop.

Mabuse

Howdy neighbor.

Paff

RSD 2020 will now be three "drops" of RSD-exclusives on August 29, September 26, and October 24.

It seems annoying, but I guess spreading it across three days will help record store revenues, which HAVE to be hurting right now. I wouldn't be surprised if at least 2-3 of my regular haunts don't survive the year, and that will be a damn shame.

GuessWho

Anybody heading out for tomorrow's RSD Drop?

I have 2 stores having live sales tomorrow and a 3rd one only doing phone orders beginning Monday.

Paff

Oh yeah, I'm in. Really want that Pretenders live record, and starting to think heavily about the Odds and Sods re-release. I've been going to several of my local stores again, and they're very particular about limiting the number of people in the store. Sometimes I've had to wait 15-20 minutes to get in, and that's just a regular day.

So I'm just gonna have to try my luck later in the day. No way am I lining up in the morning.

Josh-da-man

They should just postpone the whole thing until the pandemic is over.

This is going to be an even bigger mess than usual.

Tom Banjo

Nothing I want bad enough to get up for it. This one is split into 3 releases, as I’m sure most know. I might get Roger Waters The Wall Live in Berlin next month, and will for sure get Grateful Dead 5/9/77 in October.

The Questyen

Looks like Zia Records is doing online orders (or curbside) starting at 10am. I'll try to get the Gravediggaz and Charli XCX releases.

Paff

One of my local stores is going to have their RSD-exclusives in bins outside the store. That's a good idea.

slop101

One of my local stores is opening at 7am (!), and another at 9.
I figure I can hit one after the other, and between the two, and maybe one or two stores that are online-only, I'll be able to score all 5 of the titles I want.
You line up outside (distanced, with masks), when it's your turn, you give them a list of the titles you want, they pull them (if they have them), pay and you're out!
Though there is one UK-only title that I have no idea how to get. Even if it's available online, many retailers aren't shipping to the US.

The Questyen

I was able to get the Gravediggaz and the Bone Thugs releases online. If anyone finds a Charli XCX and wouldn't mind grabbing it for me I would greatly appreciate it.

Chrisedge

I got up at 5am to hit one of my stores that opened at 6am (Moldy Toes). Got U2, Spoon, Pretenders, Billie Ellish, BowieNow, (almost grabbed 74 too), and Ace of Spades & Glass Animals picture discs. Then headed over to Factory, and bought that Invasion From Mars Book/7", Beach Blvd Comp, and Trashmen 7",

slop101

Pretty happy with my haul today...

US:
Black Crowes - "Lions"
Kinks - "Kink Kronikles"
Groundhogs - "Split"
John Prine - "Atlantic Albums"

UK:
T-Rex - "Shadowhead"
Ocean Colour Scene - "One From the Modern"

Local store's system (that I explained in my earlier post) worked out great, and even though I was 20th in line when they opened, they got to me quick and had everything I wanted.
And I was able to get the UK releases I wanted after some searching for online stores that had stock of what I wanted.

Paff

Got what I wanted, except the Bowie. But as I've mentioned, I do not go in the morning, so I'm lucky I got what I did.

Record City. Got there around 2PM. No line, but Graham tells me store is at Covid-capacity. Ends up about a 10 minute wait. Two bins, mostly picked through, but he still had like 4 copies of The Who's Odds and Sods. Happily bought one.

M-Theory Music. No line, three bins. I pick up Lisa Loeb's A Simple Trick to Happiness, along with Alphabetland, the new X record. Not a RSD-exclusive, but high on my want list.

Vinyl Junkies Record Shack. This was a mistake. Line of about 10 people, and it just wasn't moving at all. End up taking an hour to get in, to find a RSD bin with maybe 6 records at the most. Nothing I want. Find a Pezband record in the bargain bin, along with the debut LP by 20/20. Already had one, but my copy is in bad shape. Hopefully this is an improvement.

Normal Records. Not much here either, so I go to the new Punk bin and find a live Buzzcocks record and The Lillingtons' Death by Television. It's getting late, I gotta pee pretty bad (gone are the days when you could just find a McDonald's or something and use the restroom), getting ready to call it a day. But I make one last stop before leaving downtown.

Feel-It Records. A gamble, but this place specializes in hip-hop so maybe some of the records I want were passed over by the clientele. And it pays off, with the live Pretenders record that was at the top of my list. My bladder is happy that I decide not try to squeeze in a trip to Folk Arts Rare Records

Next week I may make a trip to Temecula and see if I can get lucky with the Bowie records. Probably not, although I've found RSD exclusives there weeks (in one case, a YEAR) after RSD.

rexinnih

I was out and about Sat afternoon and ran by a local store about noon. Just wanted the Bowie releases and they still had Changesnow.

Paff

I did what I said I'd never do on RSD: Set the alarm, and go to stores and wait before they opened. But it paid off.

M-Theory opened at 8, and I got there right around 8. Line stretched the full block. Got in around 8:50 or so, and still quite a lot left. There was a guy digging through the Fs, and asked me if there was something specific I was looking for. I told him the Fleetwood Mac record, and there was one left. I grabbed it, then realized he was there first. He told me he was considering buying it, he was just starting to get into the band, but I seemed like a bigger fan, and he'd already found the one RSD record he wanted, so he didn't complain. I gotta remember to pay that one forward. There were plenty of copies of the live Replacement record, didn't hesitate on that. No Ramones though, so I gotta hit more stores.

Normal Records opened at 9, and I was there by about 9:10. No Ramones. He said he had one copy, already gone.

Now I gotta go to Record City, doesn't open till 11. Gonna be 90 minutes just standing on line outside the store. I get in shortly after 11, and see that the guy who was two or three places in front of me in line has a copy of the Ramones record. Man, I'm gonna be pissed if that detour to Normal Records cost me a shot at the Ramones. But not to worry, one left! Happily grabbed it, plus the This Are Two Tone ska collection.

RSD Drop #2 completed before noon, with all the records I wanted, and the throw-in ska collection. Doubt I would have gotten ANY of them had I done my normal routine.

Geofferson

I grabbed a few as well:
Ramones Live
Parish Hall
Hank Williams 10"
Unrighteous Brothers 7"

Paff

I got my three "must-haves" from RSD2020 overall: the live Ramones and Pretenders records, and Fleetwood Mac's Alternate Rumours.

Splitting it up into three days made it better on my wallet, I probably wouldn't have gotten the Two Tone collection, The Who's Odds and Sods, and the live Replacemats record if it was all at once.

For October, I only want the live Who record, and I won't be too upset if I don't get it. Probably not gonna do a 8AM line wait for it, I'll probably show up around 11 and if there's one left, great. If not, I'm ok too.

Tom Banjo

My local store tried a new process this time. A couple of weeks ago the owner put up a form to fill out with name, phone number and email. Three days before RSD he randomly drew the names and chronologically assigned a time to receive a call. I got an email saying to expect a phone call at 10am; if I missed it my name would go to the back of the line. The actual call came closer to 10:30, but I got the last Bill Evans album they had, which was the only thing I was 100% after (went back and forth on The Wall Live in Berlin but finally decided against it).
After paying over the phone, I scheduled a pick-up time later in the afternoon. I just pulled up and they brought it out to me. I liked the process. I didn’t have to wake up at the ass crack of dawn to wait in line and still got what I wanted.

Paff

^ that's a great system I wish stores around here would do that.

But this being my first time of waiting for stores to open rather than strolling in later in the day, I see that it's really just an hour or so barrage for the store owners. After that initial rush, it's just a typical Saturday. Like when I got to M-Theory, the line stretched the full length of the block; when I left (literally less than 10 minutes in the store) there were like 4-5 people in line. Record City was the same thing. As I was buying my records, the store owner said "well, we survived", meaning to them the whole thing is just that initial surge. And they handled it with two employees total. So it might be crazy to us buyers, but for store owners it's just a matter of handling the early birds for a short bit.

I wonder how much profit the stores make off the exclusives though. I doubt it's very much. One local store I know is vehemently anti-RSD, and I can't tell if it's sour grapes because he's not on the RSD list, or if it's a lot of headache for a few dozen sales with low profit margin. Since I was mostly looking for RSD exclusives this time, instead of checking out the whole store I did the walkin' blues ( "walk right in, walk right out"). Like at M-Theory, I got Mac, 'Mats, no Ramones, go to the counter. It really was that fast. After I did get that Ramones record at my third stop, then I finally relaxed and could linger and browse the store. But even then, I didn't want to take up too much time with a handful of people still wanting to get in the store. That's due to Covid limits, of course. I did buy two used records at that final stop, and I have to wonder if they made more profit on the $6 Dave Edmunds and $12 Nick Lowe records than on the $22 and $33 RSD records I bought.

Paff

FYI, Alternate Rumours is a really fun listen. It's great hearing some of the raw, rehearsal versions of the songs you know so well. Like in Dreams, Stevie audibly says "second verse" before going in and singing, well, the second verse. Never Going Back Again is done as a duet, and I think it works better that way with Stevie singing a bass to Lindsay (and FYI, I'm not a big Stevie Nicks fan, I prefer Christine McVie's voice, but here it really works great). The Chain sounds NOTHING like what we're so familiar with. I Don't Wanna Know (a song that gets routinely bashed, as it was included on the original LP at the expense of fan favorite Silver Springs) is also raw, with a slightly overdriven guitar instead of the acoustic, and Lindsay "singing" the solo he'd eventually perform for the official version.

If you can find a copy, I highly recommend it.