I absolutely love this time of year. Not because of the turn in season and weather; although it is nice.
No sa! I'm talking about the imminent arrival of the worldwide event that is record store day.
I won't go into full details of it's origins and reason, click the link above, it is explained in full and glorious detail there. My post today is just to bring this wonderful occasion to your attention.
Just for one day, the world of music comes together to support the institution that is, the independent record store.
Artists, Dj's, bands, Personalities and celebs, media types, music lovers and the like join hands to promote and celebrate what was once the lifeblood of the music industry.
Any town with a decent independent shop will be holding court on Sat 21st April, so get down there and show some love. Your support will most probably be rewarded with the opportunity of seeing one of your idols performing an impromptu gig. You will almost certainly have the opportunity of getting your hands on a rare track released just for this momentous occasion.
On looking at the Record store 2012 website, i was really pleased and excited to see a trailer for the upcoming documentary:
A project by Italian Dj and film maker Paolo Campana ,Vinylmania is a 75 minute documentary about the vinyl record. He explores and shares the fascination, infatuation and soul baring love for this most important slice of wax.
Paolo exchanges views and opinions with Dj's, artists and fellow vinyl maniacs including Philip Cohen Solal (Gotan project), Winston Smith (Dead Kennedy's/Green day record sleeve artist) and Dj Kentaro (2002 DMC champ).
This film is being screened in Europe and the States and will no doubt find itself over here; sooner rather than later hopefully.
I believe that there are enough of us to stop this beautiful, amazing and enchanting format from going obsolete, it's just too important.
I forget who it was that waxed lyrical about the joys of going into a record shop full of vinyl and the musky smell hitting your nostrils. The excitement of rooting through racks of records, only to find that missing gem that you have been searching for a decade for. Blowing off the dust and taking in the artwork before checking the quality of the sleeve and finally tipping that sexy slice vinyl into your hands. Finally, checking it for scratches and smears. Then the overwhelming feeling at the fact that you have just got your hands on a real piece of art . . . . . Actually, i'm pretty sure that i'm ad-libbing but that is certainly the way that it makes me feel.
Bring on the 21st April, bring on the Vinylmania!
