"Ariel?"
"Yes, Stephen?"
"You know what tomorrow is, don't you?"
Ariel hesitates, thinks. "Uh…" And then his entire being is illuminated and a youthful smile blooms across his face and he happily announces: "Tomorrow is Record Store Day."
"Yes!
That's why you're our intern!"
"Was that a test?"
"Well, I didn't know it was a test until you passed, but yes."
Tomorrow, April 18, is my second favorite holiday of the year: Record Store Day! (I'm a sucker for Thanksgiving.)
This is the one day that all of the independently owned record stores come together with artists to celebrate the art of music. Special vinyl and CD releases and various promotional products are made exclusively for the day and hundreds of artists in the United States and in various countries across the globe make special appearances and performances. Festivities include performances, cook-outs, body painting, meet & greets with artists, parades, DJs spinning records and on and on.
A Record Store Day participating store is defined as a physical retailer whose product line consists of at least 50% music retail, whose company is not publicly traded, and whose ownership is at least 70% located in the state of operation.
If you're a music junkie or record store lover, or if you give a damn about the music industry at all, you basically need to get your ass to your local record store tomorrow. You'll find me at Tunes in Hoboken, getting rid of my paycheck.
For a list of participating stores, exclusive releases (including 7" and 12" singles or full-lengths from Bruce Springsteen, Bob Dylan, Flaming Lips/Black Keys, Grizzly Bear, Iron & Wine, Leonard Cohen, Lykke Li/El Perro del Mar, Neil Young, Radiohead, Sonic Youth/Beck, and a host of other outstanding artists), and live performances, visit
the Record Store Day website immediately.
