That something is what brought the curators of Record Store Day together in 2007 and have been doing every April ever since. If you don’t know what Record Store Day is and you’re a vinyl lover, I have good and bad news. The bad news is that you’ve missed this year’s, as it fell last week on April 22nd. The good and perhaps even greater news is that you’ll be prepared for it next year, with money saved to splurge on some rare treasures or deals (I did in fact miss it once again and this is not at all an attempt to make myself feel better about it). In a nut-shell, or rather vinyl sleeve, Record Store Day is an event bringing together store staff, customers and artists to celebrate independent businesses and their love for music.
There's something so intimate about waiting for the record player needle to start
There are often queues from early hours so that people can grab a particular RSD exclusive release or participate in competitions such as the record token treasure hunt. Some stores like Piccadilly Records in Manchester had DJ decks for artists and radio hosts to take a spin of their favourites, with complimentary beers and street parties to keep up the atmosphere.
However, RSD isn’t the holy grail for every vinyl collector, as I’ve found in the comment section in a few of their Instagram posts. One user said that they hadn’t been in years and another that they’d rather stay in bed and go on eBay than queue in the cold for ‘overpriced commercial crap’. It also goes without saying that in a cost-of-living crisis, buying vinyl has been put on the back-burner even for collectors.
Yet, I think RSD’s premise is still important in keeping the vinyl record alive and supporting more than major corporations like HMV. In particular, their ‘Behind the Counter’ series, interviewing and showcasing independent stores from across the UK, brings a magical sense of community to music once again that’s been lost to fast-paced consumerism. No matter where I am or visit, whether I’m buying or just looking, it is for this very reason I’ll find a record store and chat to the staff to feel belonging. In Rough Trade West, I proclaimed that ‘I could buy this whole shop’ and the sales assistant gave a laugh and smile that expressed an unspoken mutual agreement. Whilst its logistics may need some fine-tuning, Record Store Day is still my Comicon and hope I’ll see you there in 2024.
