HAPPY RECORD STORE DAY!
And for Record Store Day this year I am……doing absolutely nothing. Like every other year. I spent many years of my life working in record stores, and I ran my own one. And I’ve never had anything to do with this crapfest. I’m violently opposed to what I see as another instance of big buiness asserting its authority over everyone else, and a bunch of opportunistic others jumping on the bandwagon to get some trade out of it. I see the queues of people outside shops this one day a year and think “where the fuck are you every other day?”. Statements from HMV like “#hmvlovesvinyl”, when up until recently their stores didn’t even have any fucking MUSIC for sale. All these coloured vinyl reissues, even labels I used to kinda respect (well that pool is getting even smaller by the day) putting out only-on-sale-for-one-day records, inflated prices (15 quid on a 7 inch?!). I mean I know, the distributors are selling these things at a massive price in the first place, but shops have the ability to take a stand and say “ENOUGH”. I find the whole thing lame as fuck and while I’m sure not one person gives half a crap that someone like me takes no part in it, I feel my moaning and greeting about it in the past few years has been somewhat justified in the absolute corporate sell-out circle-jerk RSD currently is.
So, in summary: fuck Record Store Day, fuck you if you go to a record shop once a year, fuck you if you’ve just put up some RSD stuff on eBay, and fuck you if the pinnacle of your record collecting is owning a one-sided David Bowie with a tune on it that was a bonus track on a CD nobody listened to 10 years ago.
Support local record stores, support local labels, and try yr best not to be a dick if you can!