My Bloody Valentine, April 24th, Fillmore Auditorium

My ears are only now returning to something like normal from last Friday's show, so it's high time to write about what a unique experience this show was. OK, I'm joking a bit - I wore earplugs because of the many, many people who warned me about the extreme volumes at play in their shows and my ears were pretty much re-attuned to normalcy by the next day but WOW, I'm definitely glad that I didn't go in unprotected or I would likely only be getting my low end back now a week later. That 15-minute closing number was unlike any concert I've ever experienced - I've had high volumes at concerts take on a real physical form where my hairs stood on end, my stomach rumbled or whatever, but never where my entire body was enveloped in a barrage of sound for this long. After a while it became a sort of calming thing - I wasn't under a chandelier so I wasn't worried about one dropping off the rafters on to me, so I just sort of tranced out and let the sound wash over me. Maybe it went on a little longer than it needed to, but it certainly closed the show on an unforgettable note. And what lead up to that was pretty great.

I sort of lump all these "shoegazer" bands into an idea where their stage presence is nil and their guitars and light show carry all the drama - but these guys were different, now I'm gonna have to reassess my thoughts about it. While you could say that the guitarist/vocalists had the sort of disaffected cool expected of them and the light show - largely pointed out at the crowd, not the band - did the trick, the energy here was higher than anything I've ever seen in the genre. I'm not even sure "shoegazer" is a fair tag for them - that fantastic rhythm section plants them firmly in rock and roll tradition, not in the texture and ambience traded on like so many of the bands lumped together with them. It was immediately apparent that the bass and drums meant business - drummer never stopped moving (nor did his hair) and I would hate to see the state of the bass player's hands after the show because she never stopped strumming with an aggression that was totally at odds with the received image of what a "shoegazer" should look and sound like. And really, though the front line basically stood there and played and sang, between the volume of the guitars and the melodic fragments (presmably trigged by someone's foot pedals), they broke from the shoegaze norm by not just weaving a hypnotic tapestry of sound, but breaking out of it and providing points of reference - hooks, if you will. But that tapestry was still there - guitars blurred and blended together, voices buried in the mix (and can I just address the several people around me who complained about the vocals low in the mix - they're SUPPOSED to be like that!) - you could trance out to the show if you chose, but it was considerably more in-your-face than I'd been lead to believe.

I don't know yet if this will go down as one of the all time great shows I've seen, but instead of just leaving the show and going home to think about the next show I'm going to see, my mind keeps going back to different elements of last week's show. It's really stayed with me, and that's a good sign. I definitely won't miss them if they ever find their way back here. And I'll definitely have earplugs.

Paul's Friday Reflections on Record Store Day

I grew up in record stores.

The first retail experience of any type I remember was my grandfather standing with my brother and I in front of the record rack at the Macy’s department store in the Cross County shopping center in the suburbs of New York City. He told us in his Russian accent that we could each pick a record (that was a vinyl LP-this was 1964 after all). I remember distinctly agonizing over my choices. I believe my brother went immediately for Meet The Beatles but I went for The Chipmunks Meet Dr. Doolittle. It was hard to believe; I held in my hand something that brought it all together: TV, Movies, Music, and I got to take it home and have it for mine. It was the beginning of the beginning for me. My life really started right there and then. I wanted more. There followed many more trips to the record counter at various department stores in the New York City area. I remember my first 45 being Stop Stop Stop by the Hollies. For the next few years my brother Alan and I shared our collection…sort of. We were given albums by The Beatles, Stones, Herman’s Hermits etc, as a pair of kids. It was –“here’s a record for the boys.” So it was hard to really have a sense of ownership, but the fuse was lit.

In 1969 my father accepted a job at D.U. and we moved to Denver. I was 10. Within the first week of moving here, my brother took me to Underground Records on 724 So. Pearl St. Little did I know, but twenty years later, I would buy Underground at a tax auction and Twist and Shout would be born. If I’m not mistaken, we walked out of there with Bayou Country, still my favorite album by Creedence (listening to it as I write this). Over the next months and years I would return to Underground many times. I would also begin a quest for what Don Mclean called “the sacred store” in his song "American Pie". I would spend every, and I mean EVERY spare moment and dime I had from then until right now seeking out treasures rare and beautiful at the record stores in Denver and beyond.

At these record stores I received an education in many things. I learned much about music. It was the stores where they allowed you to listen to the used records that I learned the most. I was always drawn to used. First off it was cheaper and I could get more. Second, I could listen to it on the record player in the corner of the store, learning things and prolonging my trip. You see, I didn’t want to leave-ever. I wanted to spend all my time at the record store. I liked the smell of all the records and the incense and the old magazines. I liked the older hipsters in their leather jackets buying weird albums by people like The Velvet Underground, The Stooges and Nick Drake. I loved finding the hits that I had heard on the radio, but the real excitement was trying to get initiated into the cult of music intelligentsia. I wanted to know about music. Who played what, who produced what, what were the really cool albums by the guys who the musicians liked??? For a kid with a large imagination and limited social skills it was the answer to everything.

During the 70’s Denver was a great music town. There were lots of young people, several universities, and tons of record stores. Let me tell you about a few of them. On Colorado Blvd. and on Broadway, and in Cherry Creek and a few other locations was Budget Tapes and Records. Budget was a regional chain that became a retail and distribution empire before shrinking and fading. The last franchised Budget I know of sold to Angelo’s a couple of years ago. In its early days, Budget was a really great store. I frequented the Colorado Blvd. and Broadway stores because they were beautifully stocked with all the new releases, on sale and displayed right in your face. They also always had great promotions. I got a 6 foot Grateful Dead At The Mars Hotel poster with the purchase of the album for $2.99 which I still have. I also remember walking in and seeing a gigantic waterfall display of something called Frampton Comes Alive. I knew very little about him, but walked out of there with it because they made it so appealing. In spite of everything, I still love that album and have my original copy. The other great store for new releases was Peaches. On the corner of Downing and Evans, where there now sits a Walgreens, was the first great music superstore in Colorado-it was called Peaches. Peaches had everything. They had every new release-on sale, thousands of 45’s, the first real Jazz section I ever saw, opportunities to meet bands- I got to see Robert Fripp, Stevie Ray Vaughan, The Jefferson Starship and Flo and Eddie at that store. They also had an enormous cutout section. It was there, I discovered Ornette Coleman, John Lee Hooker and Doo Wop music. For .99 cents you could roll the dice and usually come up a winner. Peaches was also open until midnight. I have fond memories of leaving my job at the movie theatre on a Friday night at 11:15, rushing over to Safeway to cash my check, and then racing to peaches before they closed to buy the latest. I’ll never forget the night I bought Stevie Wonder’s Songs In The Key Of Life at midnight, and not going to bed until I heard the last notes of the “something’s extra bonus record” some two hours later.

Most of the time, however, I frequented the independent stores-by myself-with hours to kill. I remained true to Underground buying so many of my favorite albums there. The store was run by two Dutch women, Else and Mary who were always in some sexy, druggy fog and knew about all kinds of weird music and…other stuff. They had all kinds of imports that you didn’t see at other stores. Bands like Hawkwind, Gong, Can, and albums by bands that I knew, that were different, with shiny covers and different songs. They also sold other stuff. Shirts, magazines, posters, head shop stuff. It was a magical world. In spite of the poor lighting, the colors were so much more vivid inside the store than those of the outside world. There was also Kingbee records on Evans near D.U. It started in a really small location, and then moved into the space that is now Spanky’s Roadhouse. What a great place. It was small at first, and didn’t have everything-just everything important. I learned a lot about music and being cool from a guy named Chip Sullivan who worked there. I remember the time they put Baseball player Mark Fidrych (who I see as I write this just died-how fucking weird is that?) on the cover of Rolling Stone (which really meant something then). I said “Why would they put a baseball player on Rolling Stone?” Chip snorted at me “This guy has more to do with rock and roll than whatever it is you’re buying" (Van Morrison It’s Too Late To Stop Now). I didn’t agree with him then or now, but I was so impressed that somebody had such strong feelings about, well, rock and roll. Chip impressed me another time too. I was standing there holding a Roger McGuinn album saying “I don’t know, I’m skeptical of solo albums.” Chip jumped over the counter and walked up to me and looked me straight in the eye “look man, buy it, if you don’t think it’s great I’ll buy it from you." He meant, he would personally buy it. He didn’t own the store, he just loved the album so much, and wanted me to love it so much that he was willing to put his money where his mouth was. I also remember watching a PBS special on New Orleans Indian music, and rushing over to Kingbee hoping they might have some of it. I went in and did a poor job explaining what I had just seen. The guy- who was named Lyle and later owned Jazz Record Revival-went over to the racks and pulled out the EXACT album I was looking for-The Wild Tchoupitoulas. I couldn’t believe it. I cherish that album and that memory to this day.

There were so many more… The Malt Shop (for musical muchies), Julie J’s (where I bought tickets to my first concert-Jethro Tull at the Denver Coliseum 1971), Jerry’s which at one time was a mecca for books and comics as well as music (which it still is today), The Record Revival (which later became Jazz Record Revival)-man did I spend a lot of time in there learning about Jazz.

I went to college in Boulder in the mid 70’s and frequented Albums (later Albums On The Hill), Doors of Perception and another great Budget (which I ended up buying out years later). Those college years were perhaps the most important for my collecting. That was where I really had time to study music-instead of hitting the books- and develop taste that was mine and not my brother’s or the radio’s. The record store also filled so many gaps in my emotional life as well. It was a safe, accepting and totally compelling place.

After college I almost immediately began a career in teaching. I moved to Aurora, cut my hair and tried to fit in. Uh..yeah, that didn’t quite work out. On many nights, I was racing out after school, and every weekend was spent at Wax Trax, JB and H, Double Play, and the by-then dying Underground, replacing my record collection with CD and getting into punk, hardcore, new wave, reggae, and everything else on this new format. These were also exciting years, there was the fun of collecting both formats for different reasons-punk just seemed right on 45, classical was made for CD, and there was still a vibrant community of people collecting their favorite bands on all formats possible.

In 1984 I became a partner in Trade-a-Tape in Boulder and my career on the other side
of the counter began. In 1988 my Wife Jill and I bought what had been Underground Records, and I finally had a venue that was mine to mold into the record store of my dreams. That will be 21 years ago this week.

So, what does Record Store Day mean to me? Well, it means a day to stop for a minute and think about everybody’s individual experience that, like mine, illustrates the very personal roadmap of their life. Each of us has our own rainy Saturday afternoon, in the corner of some independent record store, listening to records, and creating the soundtrack of our dreams.

Thursday Reflections on Record Store Day

Patrick Brown (Twist & Shout General Manager)


1) Where did you buy your first record? What was it?
I don't have that one specific memory of one specific piece because music was always around the house, and I can't guarantee the location, because I have memories bleeding together of things bought for me and things I bought myself. Early on there would've been something bought for me at the Peaches on Downing & Evans (now a Walgreen's, just like the lamented Rainbow Music Hall, which is now no longer even a Walgreen's). I cannot guarantee that I paid for it with my own allowance money, but I have a distinct memory of getting Chic's C'est Chic album as a new release and my sister and I both kinda shared the Grease soundtrack. I had a crappy cassette player/recorder that I used to record things off the radio with and for a long time I had a bunch of tapes of late 70's/early 80's pop - you know, Sister Sledge's first album (also Chic related!), Fleetwood Mac Live, Queen The Game, a bunch of stuff like that that I probably acquired via record clubs. The record stores near my neighborhood where I grew up and really started listening to music - Peaches (closest, I bought several things there), Kingbee, Underground Records (bought Olivia Newton-John's Totally Hot out of their cutout bin there for 1.98) and the one in Cinder Alley of Cinderella City - were all intimidatingly decorated with posters of artists I didn't know from Casey Kasem's American Top 40 of the late 70's and early 80's (especially Kingbee, where it was immediately clear that they knew way more than my 11-year old brain would ever know about music). But I could probably recite that week's top 20 for you in order on any given week. I finally got an actual component stereo in 1985 and I've never looked back in terms of following out whatever weird little paths of music have interested me. Among my first purchases were many of the popular items of that year, John Fogerty's Centerfield, and Dire Straits' Brothers in Arms, but also the new wavier choices of the 12" singles of "Do They Know It's Christmas" by Band Aid and "The Show/La-Di-Da-Di" by Doug E. Fresh (with MC Ricky D)(my first parental advisory record!) and the cassette of Frankie Goes to Hollywood's debut album. By the end of the year I was firmly ensconsed in the pattern of buying the 12" single for any artists I liked, many of whom I saw on Teletunes (formerly FM-TV) on KBDI Channel 12, and then picking up the full-length if they had more than two songs I liked. From there on it's a slippery slope to the current obscenely large collection I have.

2) What record have you wanted more than any other in your collecting career? Did you ever get it?
I'm not a big hunter/collector in that way. I buy music I want to hear and study and get into at any given point in my life - usually several currents of music at once - and it's always largely been shaped by what I can find used in any store. When people ask me what I listen to I always liken myself to a blue whale, sifting through tons of watery used music releases to filter out with my taste-baleen the nutritious musical plankton and krill that will sustain me. I'll go into a store with a big used section in any city in the world I'm in hoping to find just the right thing that jumps out at me that I wasn't expecting to find. Strangely, this often works even better in small cities than big ones, where there are fewer people seeking out the same obscurities I would like to run across. Jamestown and Syracuse NY were good, as were Pittsburgh PA and Frankfurt, Germany. There's a store in downtown San Antonio TX that I want to spend a few hours in, but didn't have the time last visit. The shark-like approach of hunting out specific prey just isn't my thing, you know?
That said, I once almost purchased a signed copy of the Residents' Mark of the Mole album (signed thusly: "Resident," "Resident," "A Resident," and "Resident") at a decent store in New York City (Venus Records on 8th, I believe) for 22 bucks and I still regret not just sacrificing a couple weeks of extras to get it - I was on the meal plan in college, after all. Still - I wouldn't have sought it out, I just stumbled upon it in the bins.
There are things that have gone missing from my collection that I'd love to replace though - the Wildflowers: the Loft Sessions 3-CD set that came out through Koch Jazz a few years back for example. I gave it to someone who I think really would've enjoyed it, so it's all good, but if you see one floating around, let me know. DNA's Live at CBGB's and Arto Lindsay/Peter Scherer's Pretty Ugly and Peter Laughner's Take the Guitar Player for a Ride also all went on loan and never came back home. And the collection Ocean of Sound, too - this would be my third copy. I might wanna hear them again someday.

3) What is it about records, or record stores that are different from downloading?
The physical goods. I'm not a big format snob, so LP and CD both give me a thrill, as long as there's something I can hold. I love flipping through the booklets and reading lyrics and credits, I love looking at the artwork, I love holding the thing, even if the listening and the music are really the most important part. As for stores, that's even more irreplaceable than the artwork - online, you just can't simulate an environment where someone knows your tastes and can tell you "You have to hear this!" when you walk in. There's no algorithm for "taste" even if you can program what customers who made the same purchase also purchased. But when I'm seeking out Al Green and Liliput and Iannis Xenakis and Lennie Tristano and Missy Elliott in the same day, what are they gonna find to fit that? (Answer - nothing!) And the feel of going through the used bin and stumbling on ThatOneItemYouNeverThoughtYou'dEverFind used - priceless!

4) Any of the products for Record Store Day that you are particularly excited about? Why?
Tons - let's just make a top 5:

Pavement - Live from Germany LP

Leonard Cohen - "The Future/Suzanne" 7"

Bob Dylan - "Dreaming From You/Down Along the Cove" 7"

Tom Waits - "Live From the Glitterdome" 7"

Sonic Youth & whoever split 7" singles (tie between the two)


The reason is the same in all cases - although I'm not a big collector per se, I'm a big consumer of music and usually want to hear everything someone's released if I'm interested.






Kevin Kowalcyzk (Former Twist & Shout Manager)
1) Where did you buy your first record? What was it?
Coconuts music in Chicago. Prince's Purple Rain.

2) What record have you wanted more than any other in your collecting career? Did you ever get it?
One that I'm particularly fond of it this Book/Record called THE PENTATEUCH OF THE COSMOGONY. It's a fantasy story that came out in 1979 about the creation of the world. Comes with 50 pages of unbelievable illustrations and two records from David Greenslade. Just amazing packaging.
Back in the day, I also thought my copy of Nine Inch Nails' Broken record that came with a bonus 7" (cover of Queen's Get Down Make Love) was the coolest thing ever.

3) What is it about records, or record stores that are different from downloading?
You need the artwork- the physical CD or record itself to truly appreciate the music. I love reading liner notes- seeing who played on the record, who produced it, etc. It's just not the same with an MP3 and a tiny picture that pops up on your iPod when you play it….

4) Any of the products for Record Store Day that you are particularly excited about? Why?
Wilco - Ashes of American Flags DVD - You can't go wrong with Wilco


Flaming Lips/Black Keys - split 7" "Borderline/Her Eyes Are a Blue Million Miles" If this is the Flaming Lips covering Madonna's Borderline, you know it will be a treat!

Metric - "Help I'm Alive" 7" picture disc One of the best songs out right now…



Ben DeSoto (Talent Buyer - hi-dive.com, former Twist & Shout employee)

1) Where did you buy your first record? What was it?
My brother and I bought Def Leppard's Pyromania and Michael Jackson's Thriller on vinyl at a record store in Chicago. Can't remember the name of the store but i remember being part of something cool when the guy working the counter nodded in approval of our purchases.

2) What record have you wanted more than any other in your collecting career? Did you ever get it?
There isn't any certain record I'm looking for. My favorite thing to do is scour Twist & Shout's record bins and find something I didn't even know I was looking for.

3) What is it about records, or record stores that are different from downloading?
It's the staff for me. I like talking to people about music and seeing what people at record stores are in to. I've discovered new bands, old records and met my wife in a record store. She introduced me to the Magnetic Fields and French Pop. Our record collection is still growing thanks to suggestions from helpful record store clerks.

4) Any of the products for Record Store Day that you are particularly excited about? Why?
The Thermals/Thao, Jenny Lewis/Elvis Costello split 7"s look cool. Who knows what is going to stand the test of time and be the next "must have" collectible?



Everything Absent or Distorted (Denver-based indie rock band – photo courtesy of Todd Roeth and gigbot.com)

1) Where did you buy your first record? What was it?

Hastings Books & Records, Amarillo, Texas, 1983. Two at the same time, Holmes: The 12 inch single for Eddy Grant’s “Electric Avenue” and Survivor’s “Eye of the Tiger”; both of which I still have and pleasure myself to regularly. We’re not gonna walk down to Electric Avenue, we’re gonna rock down to Electric Avenue motherf*#ker.

2) What record have you wanted more than any other in your collecting career? Did you ever get it?
Sigue Sigue Sputnik’s Flaunt It; I did find the "Love Missile F1-11" twelve-inch single a year ago at Wax Trax (sorry Twist) but it skips. That being said, it only cost 1$. If I was cool I would say Television’s Marquee Moon or Gainsbourg’s Histoire de Melody Nelson or Captain Beefheart’s Trout Mask Replica. But I’m not. OK, I want those too.


3) What is it about record stores that are different from downloading?
All the uber-hot indie-rocker-chick-suicide-girls that work there! That’s about all, really.


4) Any of the products for Record Store Day that you are particularly excited about? Why?Everything Absent or Distorted’s heartbreaking work of staggering genius The Soft Civil War on glorious white vinyl of course, you sons of bitches! I was under the impression from Twist & Shout that “Record Store Day” was simply a celebration for that amazing album? Did I miss something? Why am I excited you ask? Because if we don’t sell some more we’re all going to have to wallpaper our entire houses with the left-overs.




Marissa Nadler (Recording artist for Kemado Records)
1) Where did you buy your first record? What was it?
My first two records that I was given, with a boom box, were Beatles Abbey Road, and Madonna The Immaculate Collection. Strange combination I think. My parents had a lot of records so we would listen to those. I was into Yes and King Crimson and Pink Floyd as a kid. I can't remember the actual first purchase I made but I can tell you its probably in the grunge family.

2) What record have you wanted more than any other in your collecting career? Did you ever get it?
I would love a really good copy of Joni Mitchell's Blue on vinyl. All my old CDs are scratched and I am currently trying to amass a vinyl collection.

3) What is it about record stores that are different from downloading?
Records (vinyl records) are beautiful objects. You can hang the cover on the wall. There is an emphasis on the art of design. Also, the quality of all types of physical releases sounds better than mp3s. Mp3s sound so compressed and tinny.

4) Any of the products for Record Store Day that you are particularly excited about? Why?Products? I am going to be living out of suitcase for the next three months so something good to listen to in the car.





Jason Pecoraro (Twist & Shout Manager)
1) Where did you buy your first record? What was it?
If I remember correctly the first records that I ever bought were actually two 7”. They were Cringer- Zen Flesh Zen Bone, and Crimpshrine- Quit Talkin’ Claude ep. I got them at East Side Records in Tempe, AZ. This was a real treat for me because there weren’t any places to buy vinyl on my side of town, and we had to bum a ride from my friend's older brother to drive us there, which took about 45 minutes back then.

2) What record have you wanted more than any other in your collecting career? Did you ever get it?
This to me is a more complicated question than it appears, partially because it evolves through time and of course changes once I find the record. For a long time I’d say it was New Model Army- Here Comes The War 12” single, other than it containing some of my favorite songs from N.M.A. this is because of the fold out poster included which shows the schematics of creating an atomic explosive device (because of this it became very rare and denied from most stores outside of the UK). Then it went to Cramps- Bad Music For Bad People, Then Sam The Sham & The Pharoahs. I do own these records now and will never be rid of them. Now the search is on for Fela Kuti- Shakara, you’ll be mine soon too!

3) What is it about records, or record stores that are different from downloading?
The major thing that I love about going to record stores and buying records would have to be the actual hunt for what I’m looking for. I don’t like downloading mostly because there isn’t anything tangible about the product, you can’t show off an awesome download on you wall, nor will you ever get cool poster inserts with them.

4) Any of the products for Record Store Day that you are particularly excited about? Why?
There are several items that I’m fully excited about, Tom Waits- Live from Glitterdome 7”, Jesus Lizard- pack of nine 7”, Slayer- Psychopathy Red 7”, Sonic Youth/Beck split 7”, Bad Religion- Original 7”, Stooges- 1969/Real Cool Time 7”…There are more too but the list would get unreasonable and these are the ones I most excited about because these are bands that I’ve been listening to and collecting for years.

Wednesday Reflections on Record Store Day

Anna Bond (Fatcat Records)

1) Where did you buy your first record? What was it?
My first LP was Starship Knee Deep In The Hoopla. I was 5, so I don't remember where it came from (I was obsessed with "We Built This City"). But when I started shopping for music on my own in earnest, I split my time between The Wherehouse (sorry, I was super into Personics tapes), and Boo Boo Records (San Luis Obispo, California). The latter was where I got into underground music at age thirteen, thanks to their awesome staff of college students (including such now-celebs as Matt "M." Ward), who always gave me the best recommendations.

2) What record have you wanted more than any other in your collecting career? Did you ever get it?
I have coveted three pieces of vinyl like no others, and I've acquired two of them.
1 - Pavement "Summer Babe" 7": I am a massive Pavement-head, but since I got into them at age 14 when Crooked Rain, Crooked Rain came out, I missed the Slanted & Enchanted era stuff. I had searched on eBay for this thing to no avail, and one day I went to Jackpot (in Portland, OR), and it was just there. Years later, I found out that my excited freakout had become somewhat legendary.

2 - Beck A Western Harvest Field By Moonlite 10" (original Fingerpaint pressing): Pricey, but totally worth it...huge acoustic-Beck fan, got obsessed with these songs and kept the copy from our college radio station in my dorm room for about six months (sorry, KRRC staff), until I found this on eBay.

3 - Apples Tidal Wave 7" - First Apples (In Stereo) release, before they changed their name, as well as the first Elephant 6 release. So hard to find!! In fact, I once shared an office with Apples (In Stereo)'s then-label spinART (the original artwork from 'Fun Trick Noisemaker' was hanging on the wall), and when I asked if they knew were I could get it, they just laughed and said "I doubt Robert even has any copies of that one. Good luck." It has eluded me to this very day!!!

3) What is it about records, or record stores that are different from downloading?
I love record stores and physical formats, and don't own an iPod. I know that makes me a bit of an anachronism at this point - I just prefer the experience of selecting a CD or LP from my collection and listening to it, vs. having anything at hand at the push of a button, and interacting with humans during the buying process. The recommendations that people in record stores have made based on talking to me have always been better than any online auto-recommendation logarithm! The diminished audio quality of mp3s also bothers me, though I do recognize it's only a matter of time before lossless digital audio files becomes the norm. Record stores made me who I am, in a way. I find it sad to think so many people don't have that experience anymore.

4) Any of the products for Record Store Day that you are particularly excited about? Why?
Not sure - there's so much! Definitely the Sonic Youth split 7"s, MC5 7", and Pavement live LP. There's lots of good stuff being reissued on vinyl as well...







Alf Kremer (Twist & Shout Internet Lackey)
1) Where did you buy your first record? What was it?
I can't be certain, but I think it was at the Gap. The original Gap used to be a record store in San Francisco, and I think that's where I think I bought records for the first couple of my record-buying years. The first LP I bought was The Story of Star Wars, which was dialogue from the film along with a stern British narrator pushing the plot along. The first music LP I bought was Starflight, a K-Tel album. (Sort of the Now That's What I Call Music albums of the 70s.) I mainly bought it because it had "Pop Muzik" by M on it, and I remember hating the fact that "Reunited" by Peaches & Herb was stuck in middle of side two.

The first 7" single I bought was Bill Conti's "Theme From Rocky (Gonna Fly Now)." I owned that for about four years, when the record broke. It had a crack in it running from the edge all the way to the large center hole. My brother and I discussed throwing it away, when we decided it'd be fun (in a mildly naughty way) to throw the record off our back porch. I tossed the thing like a frisbee, and it flew up in the air vertically, started plummeting back down...and then struck a telephone line that was strung across the end of our backyard. The wire actually slipped through that small crack, and stopped at the center hole. In a one in a billion chance, I managed to get that record stuck up on the telephone wire. It was up there for several years before it finally dropped off.

2) What record have you wanted more than any other in your collecting career? Did you ever get it?
Buying records is a lot more about the journey rather than the destination. I enjoy the trip wherever it takes me. I don't obsess much about the ones that get away. I do recall wanting to collect every number one single in America at one point, and I had a tough time finding Rhythm Heritage's "Theme from SWAT" on 7". Finally did find that one. I also recall only needing one song to get all the Top 40 singles from 1981 - "Just So Lonely" by Get Wet. Finally found that one, too. I tend to be more excited about the things I stumble across. I remember finding a four-CD set of the soundtrack to the anime film Wings of Honneamise. I had just gotten into Ryuichi Sakamoto's music, and had enjoyed the film, so I decided to spring for it. I still love the CD (despite the fact that the final two CDs are simply the audio track of the film!), and have never run into it again since then.

3) What is it about records, or record stores that are different from downloading?
Despite having occasional "want lists," I rarely enter a record store with a very specific eye for something. Instead, I sort of nose around and wait for something to catch my eye. If it interests me, I'll give it a listen, and if I like it, I'll buy it. I'm the same way at bookstores - I just walk in, wander around, and wait for something to interest me. I end up with a pretty diverse selection of things that way. Record stores tend to be fun, exciting places - each has its own unique sort of vibe. And I have yet to toss an mp3 off a porch and have it stick onto a telephone wire.

4) Any of the products for Record Store Day that you are particularly excited about? Why?
I'd love to get the New Order 7". They're a band I didn't get into until the mid 90s or so, so in my brain, they're a "CD band." I'd be nice to hear them the way they originally were presented to the public.





Matt Barry (Former Twist & Shout Staff)
1) Where did you buy your first record? What was it?
First album I remember buying - some African rap album in NYC that I thought would be good because it was from a NYC record store. That or an old Dr. Demento collection ("Fish Heads")

2) What record have you wanted more than any other in your collecting career? Did you ever get it?
Not really a vinyl collector but any old early Factory label record would be cool.

3) What is it about records, or record stores that are different from downloading?
Community! Duh.

4) Any of the products for Record Store Day that you are particularly excited about? Why?Purists.

Langhorne Slim (Recording Artist on Kemado Records)

1) Where did you buy your first record? What was it?
Princeton Record Exchange in Princeton, NJ and it was two records. The Kinks Greatest Hits and David Bowie Ziggy Stardust.

2 )What record have you wanted more than any other in your collecting career? Did you ever get it?
There were two records that I really had to search out. The first was Buzzcocks French featuring the song “Boredom” and the second was Shocking Blue At Home with the songs “Venus” and “Love Buzz” (later recorded by Nirvana on Bleach).

3) What is it about records, or record stores that are different from downloading?
I have never downloaded a song in my life and I don’t even know how. My love for record stores is the same as my love for thrift stores. I usually don’t go into a record store with something particular in mind that I want. It is the hunt for the hidden treasures that is the fun.

4) Any of the products for Record Store Day that you are particularly excited about? Why?
Dr. Dog/Floating Action - split 7" - We are trying to get a show with these guys this summer in Bermuda. Hopefully we will tour together more in the fall when we release our new record.

Bob Dylan - "Dreaming From You/Down Along the Cove" - I’m a big fan and he is a big part of why I do what I do today.

Flaming Lips/Black Keys - split 7" "Borderline/Her Eyes Are a Blue Million Miles" - What a cool split 7”!?! I’m a big fan of both bands.

Gaslight Anthem - Live From Park Ave. 10" - We would love to tour with these guys too.

Tuesday Reflections on Record Store Day

Joel Boyles (Twist & Shout Staff)

1) Where did you buy your first record? What was it?
I cannot remember my 1st cassette or vinyl, although my Electric Breakdance cassette (which I still have!) may be my first. My first cd was Porno For Pyros Pets cd single. I got it at a wonderful indie music store in Tulsa, OK called Mohawk Music. Run by a 40-something super nice guy and his wife, this store wasn't all punk and no funk, they carried a great variety including imports and vinyl!

2) What record have you wanted more than any other in your collecting career? Did you ever get it?

I think the LP I wanted more than anything was Psi Com's self titled 12". Psi Com was Perry Farrell's 1st band (pre-Jane's Addiction) and as soon as I heard about it I was on the hunt. Finally a record convention veteran if you will, delivered the 12" to my house! $100 and I am still happy to have it!

3) What is it about records, or record stores that are different from downloading?
Records were my first real love for music format! The artwork was the biggest, the lyrics inside were easier to read, and the sound is richer if you have a decent system. Even the smell of opening a new LP was cool. You can download almost anything these days, but sometimes the quality is awful, you get NO art and occasionally it's the wrong song! You lose the heart of the music with the quick-and-sleazy download, and I will ALWAYS prefer a physical disc over an invisible MP3.

4) Any of the products for Record Store Day that you are particularly excited about? Why?
I am excited about the Flaming Lips split 7"! They give us yet another exclusive song and it's Madonna's "Borderline" no less! I love this band, and also they live in my home state of Oklahoma! One of VERY FEW quality entities coming out of that wretched state.

Robert Rutherford (former Twist & Shout Manager)

1) Where did you buy your first record? What was it?
I have no great recollection of where I bought my first record, but I do remember what it was. Synchronicity by The Police. I had records purchased for me before that (most memorably John Williams' Star Wars score), and my mom listened to most of her music on vinyl, but my purchase of Synchronicity was the first time I took money from my own pocket (crumpled bills and an excess of coins, I'm sure) and handed it to somebody standing at an open register in exchange for this giant, shiny, delicately wrapped piece of rock and roll magic.
2 )What record have you wanted more than any other in your collecting career? Did you ever get it?
That list is always changing, but there are a few big ones. I have been lucky enough to find some of James Chance's original records, and plenty of original Impulse releases by Coltrane and Oliver Nelson, old records by Gang of Four and Pere Ubu. I looked for years for a copy of Ketty Lester's amazing album Love Letters, and finally had my mitts on it when it found its way to Twist and Shout. Unfortunately, my friend Caleb also wanted it, so in the spirit of fairness, we flipped a coin and I lost. I'm always keeping my eyes peeled for a copy of the soundtrack to a Swedish porn film called Sweden: Heaven and Hell, composed by Piero Umiliani. That soundtrack has a song on it called "Mah Na Mah Na" which The Muppets later made famous. My friend Caleb has that one as well, which is why I ultimately think he is an incorrigable prick.

3) What is it about records, or record stores that are different from downloading?
These things cannot be replaced online:

A) The smell of years of incense permeating from the walls of a record store, coupled with the dusty cardboard, the slight hint of mildew and moisture, the gathering scent of destination that record sleeves give off, slowly giving up their molecules to shake loose from mylar sleeves to fill your nose with a true and storied sense of history. These records that have been turned over and over by the hands of previous owners as their artwork was disseminated, as lyrics were memorized, as loves were imagined and lusts were actualized.

B) The glimmer of a new record as it is pulled from its sleeve, the grooves catching the light like some miniature model showing the trajectory of stars.

C) Listening to record store clerks argue the relative merits of Kurosawa and Futurama or who would win in a fight between Lemmy and Mingus or between King Diamond and Ronnie James Dio and the odd development of Scritti Politti's musical aesthetic and about the time that they met Roger Miller in Nashville and he was too drunk to look anybody directly in the eyes.

D) Likewise, proclaiming your love for Afrobeat and being led around by someone who places ten other records in your hands that might also tickle your fancy.

E) The truly palpable triumph of patience and fortitude when you step up to the new used arrivals bin, and flipping past the Zappa collection somebody sold off after finding it in their father's closet, past the French import of an Albert Ayler concert, past the Megadeth picture discs and the George Harrison solo records, past the Mandrill records and the Fleetwood Mac records, past the collection of mid-90's Dischord Records sold off by by someone who feels that they have moved on from that time in their life, past the nostalgia-stirring output of Loggins when he and Messina were still together, past the New Order 12", past the Cannibal Corpse record with the lovely cover art, past the Culture records and the Edith Piaf records, to find a record that you've wanted for years. To find a record that you've looked for for years, a record that you played til it wore out years ago, something that touches off feelings of joy and of sorrow and catharsis and longing.

4) What is one of the products for Record Store Day that you are excited about and why?

Well, I've been saving my nickels for awhile, because there's plenty that I want. But one of the releases that I am most looking forward to is The Jesus Lizard 7" box. The Jesus Lizard are one of the most amazing live spectacles I have ever seen. They are able to channel some strange sort of psychosexual energy into their shows, all writhing and spit and release. Somehow, amazingly, Steve Albini was able to capture that energy on record. Their songs are something to behold, evoking the cinematic scope of David Lynch and all the fury of a punch to the larynx, all with a healthy sense of humor and a rumbling low end that you can feel in your deep in your body, like all the way down in your duodenum. I have most of the 7" records being released, but the completist in me is really excited about this re-issue. I am also excited about the Magnolia Elec.Co. 7" and the Springsteen 7". The b-side on the Springsteen single is amazing!

David Weingarden (Director of Concerts/Talent Buyer, Swallow Hill Music)

1) Where did you buy your first record? What was it?
-The Record Outlet, Farmington Hill, Michigan
-Kiss - Destroyer

2 ) What record have you wanted more than any other in your collecting career? Did you ever get it?
-When I was about 10 years old, my mom took me to the store and I picked out 2 albums:
Ozzy Osbourne-Diary of a Madman; and Frank Zappa-Baby Snakes.
Have you seen the cover of Diary?! She then asked why I wanted Baby Snakes and I said “Titties and Beer.”
Still don’t have either of these albums (I did acquire CDs later in life…not the same though)…My mom still looks at me strange.

3) What is it about records, or record stores that are different from downloading?
-The record packaging is the best…actually being able to read about what you’re listening to in a normal font size is refreshing. The sound is far superior to the CD or digital in my humble opinion. So rich and creamy…While I understand downloading for the ease of use, albums are much more sexy and just…well…sound better.

4) Any of the products for Record Store Day that you are particularly excited about? Why?
-Jenny Lewis/Elvis Costello 7” is intriguing;
-Light in the Attic series (anything with Serge is always terrific);
-MC5 (‘cause I’m from Detroit, motherf**cker);
-the new Wilco DVD (‘cause they are the bees knees)
-My Morning Jacket (after Red Rocks ’08, they may be the new bees knees)

-Most excited to support local independent record stores and meet and support other local businesses.

Erik Troe (Twist & Shout Staff, Host of 'Sunday Evening Jazz' on KUVO 89.3 FM, and Co-Host of 'Vinyl Mondays' at Dazzle Restaurant & Lounge)

1) Where did you buy your first record? What was it?
We’ve begun with an embarrassing question – the first records I purchased for myself were Milli Vanilli’s Girl You Know It’s True and MC Hammer’s Please Hammer Don’t Hurt Them, probably from a Target store in 1990. I needed only to pick up some 2 Live Crew to complete the disposable pop detritus of ‘89/90 hat trick! If you’d like to rephrase the question as the first LPs I bought, that would be Miles Davis’ Sketches of Spain from Wax Trax II in 1997.

2 )What record have you wanted more than any other in your collecting career? Did you ever get it?
The album I’ve probably coveted most – even though I’ve never actually heard it; the elements are just that damned promising – is a 1958 collaboration on Metrojazz between two of my favorite Mingus sidemen: baritone saxophonist Pepper Adams and trombonist Jimmy Knepper, titled The Pepper-Knepper Quintet. My two favorite instruments played by two of my heroes on the front line, Wynton Kelly on piano… How could this not be amazing? No, I’ve yet to find this record – haven’t even seen it in a shop. It’s available on CD now, but I DON’T CARE. I likes my mine on vinyl.

3) What is it about records, or record stores that are different from downloading?
For me, record stores are all about the thrill of the hunt, the joy of discovery. Sure, I keep a list of albums I really want to find, but I prefer to walk into a place unsuspecting of what I’ll leave with. A lot of my favorite records – and a lot of sorely disappointing ones – were picked up just on a hunch: because of a tune I like being covered, a sideman I’m curious in, whatever… I suppose I don’t much enjoy making all the decisions in life, but if you give me 10,000 record options from which to choose, I can pick ten from those and feel happy.

4) Any of the products for Record Store Day that you are particularly excited about? Why?
Paul Epstein and Ben UK have been amassing a big cache of jazz vinyl (like, ten big boxes worth) and setting it aside specifically for Record Store Day, and I can’t wait to see what all is in there! That’s what I’m looking forward to most on Saturday the 18th.

Monday Reflections on Record Store Day

Ben UK (vinyl buyer):


1) Where did you buy your first record? What was it?
Virgin megastore, Tottenham Court Road, London, 1980. My parents let us (my sisters and I) pick out any record we liked, and I ended up with the new Blondie LP, which was Autoamerican because they were cool and I liked the cover. A few years later, I would have been thinking about pinching my parents' Beatles, Bowie and Roxy Music LPs and buying a few of my own... probably the first used album I bought with my own money was Made in Japan by Deep Purple. I bought hundreds of records in the 80s at shops in Soho and Camden town. Some of them are valuable now.

2) What record have you wanted more than any other in your collecting career? Did you ever get it?
I have really wanted a copy of The Blue Men I Hear a New World EP for years, released on Triumph records in the UK. I had some handy cash once
and bid up to $400 on Ebay, but was crushed at the last minute. I was pretty relieved, actually. Besides that, I would love to have a complete run of the Australian Bee Gees records and all of their obscure productions for other artists in the 60s.

3) What is it about records, or record stores that are different from downloading?
The old cliches that you always hear, they are all true. Vinyl is "warmer" and has a physical presence that is not reproducible on a digital format. Also, in my opinion, the peak of the recording age was the 50s, 60s and 70s. The original artifacts from that era are on vinyl, so are only really "true" in that form.

4) Any of the products for Record Store Day that you are particularly excited about? Why?
I am excited about the amazing vinyl goodies that we will have for sale on the day. The goodies wall will have records on there that has never been seen before or since. If there are any private-press, afro-jazz & funk vinyl hounds out there, start saving...


Sage Francis:I just blogged it up!
http://www.strangefamousrecords.com/sfr/blogs/sage-francis-blog/




Chris Anderson (sony music):

1) Where did you buy your first record? What was it?
I think it was Grace Under Pressure by Rush, on cassette. I used to always buy cassettes at the mall, or at a place called Westport Record & Tape in Westport, CT. I would have been about 13 at the time. I was a total nerd about Rush in high school, and girls weren't that into me. Weird, huh?

2) What record have you wanted more than any other in your collecting career? Did you ever get it?
Hmmm... don't know. With Waterloo here in Austin, I've probably been able to get my hands on anything I could think of.

3) What is it about records, or record stores that are different from downloading?
Having dealt with them professionally for so long, I always like the people that work in record stores, and as a customer, I just like looking through everything and deciding on something on the spot. I also still buy things on impulse from hearing them in the store as often as any other music purchase I make.

4) Any of the products for Record Store Day that you are particularly excited about? Why?
Honestly, I don't even know what anyone but Sony is going to have out, but I know I'll be buying some stuff.


Mike Venutolo-Mantovani (Matador Records):

1) Where did you buy your first record? What was it?
The first record I ever bought myself was Dinosaur Jr's Green Mind at Generation in NYC.

2 )What record have you wanted more than any other in your collecting career? Did you ever get it?
An original pressing of Doolittle (Pixies)... the record that changed my life.

3) What is it about records, or record stores that are different from downloading?
You can't walk into iTunes and talk to the clerk about music.

4) Any of the products for Record Store Day that you are particularly excited about? Why?
Pavement Live LP. No explanation needed.
Sublime. Cause deep down, I am a beach kid.


John Wenzel (Denver Post):

1) Where did you buy your first record? What was it?
GnR's Appetite for Destruction, at Gem City Records in Dayton, Ohio. It was either that or L.L. Cool J's Mama Said Knock You Out at Dingleberries, also in Dayton.

2 )What record have you wanted more than any other in your collecting career? Did you ever get it?
An original pressing of Guided by Voices' Bee Thousand on colored vinyl. I still haven't been able to get it...

3) What is it about records, or record stores that are different from downloading?
Running your hands over and smelling the freshly-packaged music is deeply satisfying, as is being in a communal atmosphere with so many other music lovers. It's the same reason I see movies in the theaters in addition to watching them at home.

4) Any of the products for Record Store Day that you are particularly excited about? Why?
The list of exclusives (7 inches, DVDs, etc.) is pretty sick. My Morning Jacket in Spanish? Metric on picture disc? A Flaming Lips/Black Keys split? Holy shitz.


Bret Saunders (Morning DJ, KBCO):

1) Where did you buy your first record? What was it?
"A Fifth of Beethoven" 45 single by Walter Murphy and his Big Apple Band.

2) What record have you wanted more than any other in your collecting career? Did you ever get it?
There is allegedly a whole album that The Legendary Stardust Cowboy recorded for Mercury in 1968. I've yet to hear this certain gem.

3) What is it about records, or record stores that are different from downloading?
You can touch the history and it smells like history. You can also discover stuff you weren't looking for.

4) Any of the products for Record Store Day that you are particularly excited about? Why?
Everyday should be Record Store Day

Sunday Reflections on Record Store Day

To celebrate Record Store Day, we've asked our staff - past and present - and a bunch of musicians, industry folks, and friends of the store to cough up some thoughts about what record stores mean to them.

Ian Douglas-Moore (Twist & Shout Staff):

1)Where did you buy your first record? What was it?
My first record was Dookie by Green Day. Being 11 years old at the time, my only source of income was allowance. I saved for about a month so I could buy a used CD copy from the old Pearl St. location of Twist & Shout.

2 )What record have you wanted more than any other in your collecting career? Did you ever get it?
I can't think of any one that stands above the others. There are a couple I've found or been given recently that I've gotten a lot of enjoyment out of. A copy of the original recording of Philip Glass's Einstein on the Beach opera came through here a few months ago--I'd been looking for it for a couple years and it's pretty amazing. My girlfriend gave me Robert Wyatt's sublime Rock Bottom on LP for my birthday and I listened to it obsessively for months.

3) What is it about records, or record stores that are different from downloading?
MP3s don't sound as good, first of all. With a lot of rock and pop music it doesn't matter, but very detailed music can really suffer. I also enjoy having a physical representation of the music--something I can see on the shelf, with some nice picture or interesting writing that casts a different light on the music. MP3s just disappear into the depths of my hard drive.

4) Any of the products for Record Store Day that you are particularly excited about? Why?
We just got in a whole bunch of jazz records from the collection of the late Monk Montgomery--ya know, Wes's brother. There is some amazing stuff in there, both well-known and obscure, and it's all going on the floor on Record Store Day. Wow!

Peter Black (Twist & Shout Staff):

1) Where did you buy your first record? What was it?
I don't think where I bought my first record is as relevant as when I received my first record. My parents had a great & varied collection when I was a child. When I was old enough to put records on the player, their records more or less became my records. I have a 9 year old daughter and that same idea is practiced in our household. I don't purchase records for collection value, rather they're much more valuable for sharing and shaping moments in life. There's nothing that bothers me more then owning records that were never meant to be played.

2 )What record have you wanted more than any other in your collecting career? Did you ever get it?
I tend to lean toward obscure soul, jazz and experimental records. I refuse to pay more then $10.00 for anything used so that puts a big limit on what I purchase. I don't consider myself a record collector even though I have hundreds of pieces, it's just too fussy & egotistic for me. I've recently moved into classical records and the magic & aesthetic of releases on Deutsche Grammophone for $2.99 are easily parallel to $299.00 releases on Blue Note.

3) What is it about records, or record stores that are different from downloading?
The physicality of records is what the magic act is all about. It's a materialistic choice for me because I'm also a designer, so the audio component is incomplete without the visual accompaniment. I have to be able to touch it, feel it and read the liner notes, lyrics and more importantly the complete details of who produced the record. Without this information and the artwork it's a useless acquisition of 'stored data' in my opinion.

4) Any of the products for Record Store Day that you are particularly excited about? Why?
Yes indeed! I'm particularly excited about the This LP Crashes Hard Drives being released through Numero Group in collaboration with other awesome soul labels such as Now-Again, Jazzman & Daptone. The seven inch series from Light In The Attic featuring pieces from Sharon Jones & The Daptones & Serge Gainsbourg are particularly grabbing my attention. Cheers!

Jack Brown (Twist & Shout Staff):

1) Where did you buy your first record? What was it?
I'm pretty sure I bought it at Wax Trax circa '90-'91. I think it was a Nettwerk Records sampler, cause it was a cut out - or some sort of Ministry related record.

2 ) What record have you wanted more than any other in your collecting career? Did you ever get it?
Perennial Divide Purge Sweatbox Records '87. Actually around 9-10 years ago I found the original and the repress in the same place.

3) What is it about records, or record stores that are different from downloading?
You can't flip, read, or get your hands dirty by collecting MP3's. What's not to love about a record store, people? It's probably the most sociable place for anti-social people. You'll never never know what kind of things you'll get into!

4) Any of the products for Record Store Day that you are particularly excited about? Why?
There's a lot of things to be excited for. I guess I'd say the Jesus Lizard collection because they are a kick-ass band on record and live, and you know things are bad in the "industry" when a legendary label like Touch & Go has to downsize fer Christ’s sake. Live a little buy a record, get your hands dirty, go record shopping!

Katherine Peterson (KVCU Music Director):
1) Where did you buy your first record? What was it?
The first vinyl record I bought was from the infamous Jonny Trrrash at Bart's in Boulder. It is the 2-LP Remember When by The Shirelles. I got my first 7" this day as well. They had Bobby Darin's "Mack the Knife" in the free pile. I was a little late in the game with getting a turntable, but now that I have it I only buy vinyl! I hardly even listen to all the hundreds of gigabytes of music I've downloaded anymore.

2) What record have you wanted more than any other in your collecting career? Did you ever get it?
Hmmmm. There have been lots that I've gotten excited about, but I'd love to get a Death in June record. I haven't gotten one yet since they're all so rare and expensive. So I guess the matter hasn't been finding it, but rather justifying spending so much money on it. That will probably never happen. There's also a good number of old local records I'd like to get on LP like Spell's Seasons in the Sun and Corpses as Bedmates' Venus Handcuffs. I'm always looking for this stuff and so far my favorite finds in this category have been the Soul Merchants' Gates of Heaven LP, one of the Fuck You Punx 7"s and a Space Team Electra 12" single.

3) What is it about records, or record stores that are different from downloading?
Unless records get too hot or wet they'll be around forever! When I mostly listened to music that I had downloaded I was always worried that one day my hard drive would stop working and it would all be lost. I didn't really want to deal with buying a second hard drive and having to back everything up. You never know when that stuff will just disappear. I also had a tendency to download way more music than I would ever, ever listen to. But with all my records I've actually listened to each one of them and know exactly what I have in my collection. People tend to over saturate their collection with music downloads. It's much more of an experience listening to a record and holding the cover in your hand than it is to listen to music on your computer. Better sound too. Another thing that bothers me about having all your music in the form of downloads is that there's nothing to pass on from your collection. I have lots of records that belonged to my Dad and Grandpa and you can't do that with digital music.
And my favorite thing about record stores is that there's usually someone working there who knows tons about music and can turn you on to stuff you didn't know about. I really like hunting through the used section too since you never know what's going to be in there. I've gotten so many used records I love that I never would have thought to download, but they had interesting cover art or something so I checked them out.

4) Any of the products for Record Store Day that you are particularly excited about? Why?
Well, I'd like to get the 2xLP Love is Overtaking Me by Arthur Russell since I heard lots of good things about it but haven't gotten to listen yet. And there are tons of 7"s I would love to get by lots of my favorite bands - Camera Obscura - "French Navy", Sonic Youth/Jay Reatard – split 7", Light In the Attic 7" Series and Dr. Dog/Floating Action - split 7". I'm a sucker for buying exclusive/limited edition records.

Saturday Reflections on Record Store Day

To celebrate Record Store Day, we've asked our staff - past and present - and a bunch of musicians, industry folks, and friends of the store to cough up some thoughts about what record stores mean to them. We'll post a few replies every day from now until Record Store Day. Check 'em out:


Alejandro Martinez (Twist & Shout manager):
DJ Awhat!!! says:
1) Where did you buy your first record? What was it?
Well the first record I bought was back in ‘91 at this little record store in Lakewood called Recycled Records, right by the infamous Casa Bonita (Holla!)
It was before I really started collecting vinyl and it was Das Efx Dead Serious album.

2 )What record have you wanted more than any other in your collecting career? Did you ever get it?
Well I feel that there is always records to be wanted and I want them all!!! Ha Ha Ha !!! I get'em when I get'em, peoples geez....

3) What is it about records, or record stores that are different from downloading?
OK well I feel that there is so much to this question that I can say. But, the most important things are the people in the record stores and those dusty fingers you get when walking out of the record store (insert the "Damn!! I just scored" look on DJ Awhat!'s face). Blaw....

4) Any of the products for Record Store Day that you are particularly excited about? Why?
The one product I am truly stoked to get my hands on is the Limited Numero LP Compilation that is getting released. Why you ask well, if you know DJ Awhat then you know he one of the funkiest and stankiest people on earth and he loves him sum good ol' funk. . . plus there is suppose to be some cool stickers and promo cd's in the set as well. From labels such as Numero, Jazzman, Now and Again and so on so on so on. . . .



Kirstin Osgood (former label rep for Koch Records):
1) Where did you buy your first record? What was it?
I purchased a Roxy Music 45 at a side walk sale when I was in 4th or 5th grade in Storm Lake, Iowa. I thought I was buying the theme music for Rocky at the time. I guess I didn't look closely enough at the label. I was too young to appreciate the unintended gem I had in my hands at the time.

2 )What record have you wanted more than any other in your collecting career? Did you ever get it?
I never cared about the resale value of a purchase or sought out a collector's item exactly. I did care about getting my hands on anything that had U2 stamped on it. I remember street date being announced for U2's Joshua Tree release. I recall someone at my local record store saying, "It hits the docks the morning of March 9 (1987)." I didn't know what the store clerk meant, but I pictured a large barge traveling from Ireland to Wisconsin somehow, with crates of U2's music. I couldn't wait to run in that day and make my purchase.

3) What is it about records, or record stores that are different from downloading?
Sound quality and the experience of shopping in an awe-inspiring environment. I recall the first time I walked into Twist's Pearl Street location and saw cats peacefully napping on the vinyl section--truly memorable. I like being influenced. Growing up, there was no cooler experience for me than strolling in to a local indie record store, hearing the tunes play that had been carefully selected by the cool kids behind the reg and staring up at over-sized Cure posters. The record store clerks' tastes I trusted; the radio djs' I did not. When picking a place to shop, I continue to seek out the smell of dusty vinyl and a few snotty store clerks. If those items aren't present, I'm in the wrong place.

4) Any of the products for Record Store Day that you are particularly excited about? Why?
I am excited by the discounts! With these tough times...hey, perhaps I'll get lucky and turn up that Roxy Music 45.



Tim Garvey (former Twist & Shout manager):
1) Where did you buy your first record? What was it?
The first record I remember buying was a 45 of Run-DMC's "You Be Illin'." My brother and I really liked the Run-DMC songs we were hearing on the radio, and decided that we would combine our weekly allowance ($2.00 each a week) and buy the album. However, when we got to the record store at the Ledgewood Mall (probably a Sam Goody or something like that) we realized that our $4 wasn't going to get us a whole lot, and certainly not a full-length, so we settled on the 45. We got it home, and listened to it over and over. However, we had to listen to the b-side ("Hit It Run") when our parents weren't around, because it dropped a "motherf***er" in one of the verses. When you hear that word for the first time on a record as a 10 year old, it's pretty exciting, and you do not get tired of hearing it over and over and over and over. And, thus began the long list of records hidden from our parents.

2 )What record have you wanted more than any other in your collecting career? Did you ever get it?
That's easy: The Drill EP by Radiohead. I do own it on LP, but have neither the CD nor the Cassingle version. And to be honest, the only reason I own the record is because of a drunken e-Bay experience, wherein I failed to realize that the price was listed in Pounds rather than Dollars. Turns out that booze and e-Bay aren't a perfect match after all. Now I realize that I should have just waited 7 years for them to re-issue it during Record Store Day 2009.

3) What is it about records, or record stores that are different from downloading?
Wow, I don't even know where to begin. How about I start with tangibility. There's just something about coming home from a record store and sitting down with everything you just bought. I love putting the record (or CD) on, and turning it up nice and loud as I sift through the liner notes and look at the artwork. It's something you can't do with digital downloads. To me, digital downloading means that it's disposable. When I download something (and I have done it only a few times and always legally) it's because it doesn't mean enough to me to actually go out to a store and buy it. But, when I buy something at a store - let's say Twist & Shout - it's something I'm genuinely excited about. I want to be able to touch it, and feel it, and live in it; absorb it and show it off. None of that is possible with downloading.

4) Any of the products for Record Store Day that you are particularly excited about? Why?Well, even though I already own all the Radiohead stuff, I'm still pretty excited to see those finally being re-issued. Without a doubt, some of their most brilliant songs were b-sides. It's great that more people will finally get to hear them. Having said that, I am personally disappointed because being the proud owner of the Drill EP will no longer make me special. Nonetheless, I still have a cautionary tale about drunken e-Baying that no one can take away from me.

What Are You Listening to Lately (Part 13)?

Kayne West – 808s and Heartbreak
This album just gets more and more interesting for me. It's spare and minimal, yes, but it's got hook value - West's too pop-savvy to not have it - and for as little as it's got going on audibly (though more than the title lets on), it's proven to be quite durable, not wearing thin even with just voice and 808 on many tracks. I'm not a big fan of "RoboCop," lyrics are just too silly, but he's basically opening up as much as he can while staying within a pop format. Crafting songs of love and heartbreak is a pop given, there's no reason he shouldn't be doing it too; and there's no reason someone as talented as he is shouldn't do it well, which he does. It's such a break from his norm - though there's nothing in the electro-heavy sound he hadn't tried before - that it's causing some waves. In short, it's an experiment - an experiment within pop form, which doesn't permit you to go too far after all - and only time will tell if it will be considered a grand flop or a new direction, a brave experiment. It's personal, it's catchy, and whether it proves to be a detour or not I like the tunes, the words, and the experiment enough that I expect to dig it for a while.

Roots of Chicha: Psychedelic Cumbias from Peru
Let's forget that word "psychedelic" shall we? Too much baggage associated with it, and most people's interpretations of the word are very personal. I mean, if you want a parallel to this music, this is more Nuggets or 13th Floor Elevators - styled garage band stuff, not heavily processed, acid-drenched shit like Parable of Arable Land or Electric Ladyland. It's raw, rocking, influenced by the "now" (meaning of course "then") sound that breathed life into a million bands about the world, each working their regional variation on the music that was in the air. So from '68 to '78, these Peruvian bands made songs for dancing, devoid of the intellectual or class-conscious aims (or pretensions) of, say, the San Francisco scene or the Brazilian Tropicalistas - closer in spirit to Malaysian Yeh-Yeh or, well, the we-just-wanna-have-some-fun Nuggets stuff. Songs don't catch as well as the best of Nuggets though - partly a function of my mono-lingual limits, partly a function of so many of them taking off from roughly the same rhythmic base and building a Latin dance tune flavored with rock and roll on top of that. I do enjoy listening to this and periodically sounds do jump out - a curious Moog moment, a nice Farfisa riff, a vocal flourish - that make me take a momentary notice, but it all ultimately fades back into the flow. Any tune here would liven up your party, your mixtape, your playlist, but taken 17 in a row for an hour and change, it gets tough to distinguish one from the next, even if you can live in the moment and dig them there. Oh yeah, except for the time when one of the groups adapts "Fur Elise" to Chicha form. Maybe not the best song here, but it sure does stick out.

Kimya Dawson – I’m Sorry that Sometimes I’m Mean
It kind of bums me out that Kimya's music being all over Juno is going to encourage those cynics who don't like the film to create a backlash against her when they really don't even understand what the fuck she does, tying in Kimya with some kind of saccharin-sickly-sweet bit of cutesy-pie idea that's not really her metier. I know it's happening because I've heard it here at the record store and it fucking sucks, because to me she's a totally uncompromised musician, making things her way and making her own slow and steady advances. What the haters key in on - and I'll admit here that I'm cynical enough myself to not even have the remotest interest in seeing Juno - is the sense of whimsy, something that's all over this album. Talking Ernest and Talking Pee-Wee dolls, cartoons and cereal - the subject matter is enough to make you think she needs to grow up already. But what she's doing is brilliant - childlike, not childish, and if you don't get the difference, it's something you ought to think about. Childlike to me means approaching a subject with the openness of a child, experiencing things with some kind of wonder and not the sort of jaded hipster-dom that indie music is so rife with. Childish, on the other hand, is regressive, infantile, taking your ball and going home, crying over spilt milk, always raging at a world that might hurt you and not trusting anybody. She's always the former, never the latter. She sees bad shit that goes on but doesn't let it kill her spirit. She sings about it instead. She reaches out to other people who might feel the same. And when she's using Talking Ernest or cartoon references, it's nothing so heady as a metaphor, it's just a way of talking about adult subjects with language kids will understand, or on the flip side, talking to other adults while keying in on touchstones of a youthful idealism that she hasn't lost contact with. If I don't love every song the way I do on other recordings of hers, I love enough of them, and I love the ideas and ideals behind all of them. I hope her success via Juno doesn't spoil her. It would be a tragedy. Based on what I know of her from a couple conversations and from her music, I can't imagine it happening. And if she emerges bigger and stronger (and hopefully wealthier too), it's gonna be the best sign I've seen in the music industry in more than a decade.