Happy Record Store Day




For those of you who don't know, today is Record Store day. CBC Radio 3 did a whole contest to find the "Best Record Store In Canada". The award, surprisingly, went to Meow Records of Prince George, British Columbia.

Record Store Day was started to celebrate the Record Store as a musical community center, as well as bring people in to their local record store (where they may not have been in awhile.) Stores across the US, UK and Canada participated in the event with in store performances, special sales and other events.

From CMJ

Organizers hope to thwart the notion that the record store has gone or is going the way of the buffalo, as well as call attention to the nefarious ways of corporate big box stores like Wal-Mart, Target and Best Buy.

"Independent anything gets my vote," says Eric Levin from Criminal Records in Atlanta. "As long as I'm kicking against the corporate pricks I'm deliriously happy. There's been a strange misconception that the record store was an endangered species, which is very far from the truth. It doesn't matter if the New York Times reports the end of music retail, if it isn't true. We just wanted to shine a light on that fact."

Sadly I fear that far more record stores will fall off the map before all is said and done. Although my personal favorite is Soundscapes I still recommend that people buy from Zunior.com as often as possible because, quite simply, it's the best way to get the most money to the artists themselves.

Today I went to Sunrise Records, on Yonge Street in Toronto for Laura Barret's instore performance. I didn't miss the irony of attending a "Record Store Day" event across the street from "Sam the Record Man" whose signs still dominate that part of Yonge Street.

Laura, as always, was brilliant - sadly it was not her crowd. Most of the crowd was made up of teenagers, of the particular variety that is already swallowed whole by the Matrix, who had come to see Ill Scarlet (peforming later in the evening). Still, I think Laura won a few new fans and it is important to rescue those who can still be rescued.