by Erick Garciaril 22, 2017. That is the date that I’m anxiously waiting for and always look forward to every year. At least, every year since becoming a part of the annual event known as Record Store Day back in 2013. This year in particular is a special year because it marks the 10th anniversary of the event which started back in April of 2007. To give a bit of detail about this event, essentially what happens is that a special list of limited edition releases by a wide variety of artists is made available on this day. When I say wide, I mean wide! There’s all kinds of genres on the list by well-known rock, blues, soul, and hip hop artists just to name a few. Every item on the list is limited to a certain number of copies, and every item is distributed nationwide to any record store participating in this event. To most people, especially record buyers and collectors, this is an amazing opportunity to cash in on some extremely limited edition records that are either long out of print or have a special appearance such as being printed in a different color other than its standard black format. To me, Record Store Day is so much more than just about limited edition records and how much they’re worth. To me, Record Store Day is a celebration of music and the symbolism of the vinyl record. Music in general, whether it be digital, on cd, or on vinyl, is something near and dear to my heart. Music is to me what video games are to my fellow zine writer Samantha Sheets. Most of my money goes towards music (but I’d be lying if it didn’t go to video games as well!). So when I found out about a special day that celebrates all things vinyl, I knew I had to find out more about it and most importantly, find out how to be a part of it. Now, I’m not someone who has a room dedicated to vinyl as probably most record collectors do. I have a modest collection in my room, but it’s nowhere near to what I would consider a real record collector’s to be. As a student in college, there are other more important things on which to spend money on. However, I always save up a decent amount of money to spend on this particular day of the year. Since becoming a part of this event back in 2013, it’s been a real experience. Every year, the list of releases is different, which is pretty awesome because it mixed things up and it helps to promote different kinds of music. What makes this day so special to me however, isn’t so much the list of special releases, even though that’s half of what my money is spent on. What makes it special is the overall celebration of music on this day. Many people come together at these different music stores to celebrate music, to talk about music, and to bond over it. Ever since I got my best friend Lisa hooked on vinyl in 2014, we’ve made it a tradition to go to different record stores in the area on this special day and just make a fun experience out of it. There’s no better feeling than being part of an experience with other people, and ever since she became a part of this event, she too has seen the beauty and significance of vinyl and also looks forward to this day every year as much as I do. In her words, “collecting records is something really special to me. When you start collecting, you become a part of this community that welcomes you with open arms. You meet a lot of new people just by going out to record stores and bonding over bands while also sharing new music with each other. The reason why I believe vinyl is so important is because nothing can compare to physical media. In the world we live in today, everything is streamed, downloaded or can be found on YouTube but to me, that takes the fun out of having the full experience of listening to music. To be able to go out to the record store and physically hold the album of your favorite band is incomparable to streaming or downloading music. Records are beautifully made inside and out. The cover art, gatefolds and different color variants are all factors to why record collecting is coming back stronger than ever. Even with CD’s, you don’t get the same effect when it comes down to the packaging, art and sound quality. People, like myself, who appreciate record collecting are living proof that physical media is not dead, which is why going out to Record Store Day is so important because these are independent music stores that especially need customer support in order to survive.” Honestly, I couldn’t have said it any better myself!! Lisa and I as well as a lot of other people think very highly of Record Store Day. However, I’ve noticed that not everyone is a fan of Record Store Day, and after having examined the reasons for this, I can’t really say I blame them. Some record stores see Record Store Day as nothing more than just another way to make money, and in their minds, Record Store Day misses the point of celebrating vinyl. Other people don’t like Record Store Day not so much because of its special releases, but because of the record collectors that buy the special releases. Think of them as the ticket scalpers of Record Store Day: they buy the things on the list that they know that mostly everyone is going to want to buy (at a fair price might I add), and then sell them on eBay for sometimes up to quadruple the price they originally paid! In my opinion, this is something that also gets me angry, not so much because of the skyrocketed prices, but because it just ruins the spirit of the event for everyone else. In my mind, this is a day that everyone should be able to enjoy. But as I said, the best part of this day is just to celebrate music, regardless of whether there is a list of special limited releases or not. The reason why I think the list is so important, even if it is just another way to take everyone’s money, is because it exposes the public to a wide variety of music that they probably didn’t even know existed. If you want to look at Record Store Day from an anthropological perspective, essentially it keeps the conversation in terms of vinyl moving forward. I’m willing to bet that despite the huge crowds of customers that this day gets, a lot of people still think that vinyl is outdated, useless, and just not cool anymore. If that were true, then how would they explain the recent rising sales and popularity of vinyl? Record Store Day tells us that vinyl, despite its periods of waning popularity, is still a fixture in our culture and that it still has a place in our homes. As for the list of special releases, it acts as an ethnography of sorts because it introduces music, both new and old and from different genres and parts of the world, to a new and younger generation of music fans. It is in this way that Record Store Day keeps the conversation about vinyl going, because it not only states that it is still relevant to the people who buy it, but that it is also relevant to the artists who create the music. If it didn’t matter to the artist, vinyl then would definitely have disappeared from existence a long time ago. If you’re a huge music nerd like me and you still have an appreciation for physical music, then check this day out! Go to google, type in Record Store Day in the search bar, and click on their website for more details. And even if you’ve never owned a record or a record player before, I encourage you to go either way! Why? Because more than just another excuse on how to spend money on music, Record Store Day is an experience and a celebration of music, one of the truest forms of human expression that is truly ours.
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