Indie record shop economy stimulator Record Store Day is taking advantage of this weekend’s post-American Thanksgiving shopping frenzy known as Black Friday.
The small retailers want to encourage holiday shoppers heading out on November 25 to consider patronizing indie record stores rather than chasing deals at big boxes, so several labels are putting out limited-edition vinyl.
Compared to the annual April event, this week’s Record Store Day will release about 10 per cent as many releases. The vast majority of those are American, since it’s pegged to a U.S. holiday.
But a handful of Canadian collectibles are on offer.
Red Bull Sound Select and Toronto-based record label Arts & Crafts have teamed up on a 12-inch vinyl compilation featuring Red Bull-supported acts Charlotte Day Wilson, Tennyson and River Tiber as well as A&C acts Lowell, Frigs and Darcys. Red Bull Sound Select For Record Store Day No. 1, Curated By Arts & Crafts, is the first in a series of collaborative records and is limited to 900 copies.
Another limited-edition indie item is Tokyo Police Club’s A Lesson In Crime/Smith EP 10th Anniversary Edition. The release marks the first time the group’s Smith EP has been pressed to vinyl and the first time both EPs have been packaged together. Paper Bag Records is doing a run of 400 copies.
In terms of major label releases, Warner is reissuing Canadian folk icon Gordon Lightfoot’s 1976 LP, Summertime Dream, on 180-gram vinyl, which has been expanded to include the track Betty Called Me In that was left off the original pressing.
And let’s not overlook Bob & Doug Mckenzie’s single 12 Days Of Christmas/Take Off (featuring Rush’s Geddy Lee), reissued on red vinyl courtesy of Ume/Mercury Records to mark its 35th anniversary.
Collectible American releases include the first vinyl edition of Erykah Badu’s 2015 mixtape But You Caint Use My Phone Death Grips’ instrumental albums Fashion Week and Interview 2016 packaged as a 2xLP set D.R.A.M.’s single Broccoli on 7-inch picture disc a 10-inch of the Rolling Stones’ new song Ride ’Em All Down Prince and the New Power Generation’s classic Sexy M.F. on 12-inch picture disc Disclosure’s Moog For Love EP Lil Yachty’s debut mixtape Lil Boat Angel Olsen and Steve Gunn’s Live At Pickathon a 7-inch picture disc EP by shock rockers GWAR Ramones’ Live At The Roxy 8/12/76 and more.
Canadian stores aren’t going as crazy with live events and promo as they do for the main event in April, but most are nonetheless taking advantage of the shopping opportunity. Sonic Boom (215 Spadina), Rotate This (186 Ossington) and Shortstack Records (256A Queen West) have ordered many RSD releases. DJ-friendly Play De Record (411 Spadina) is also going all-out by opening early at 7 am.
Meanwhile, Kops Records’ three locations (592 Bloor West, 1811 Danforth, 229 Queen West) will have some RSD stuff, Soundscapes (572 College) is carrying a small selection, and Tiny Record Shop (804 Queen East) will have RSD items plus six new crates of vintage records on sale. Neurotica Records in Mirvish Village won’t have any exclusive 2016 RSD items but will have older exclusive RSD titles, plus 30 per cent off everything used/vintage and 20 per cent off everything new, a sale that will continue all weekend.
And continuing the trend of record store relocations, Neurotica’s Scott Cramer also tells us the store is moving from 585 Markham to College in January. More details to come.
See the full list of releases at recordstoreday.com.
