How Was Your Record Store Day?

Did you fill up on turkey and catch up with Grandma? Wait, wrong holiday. As for Record Store Day 2012, last Saturday, I felt a little like how you feel after filling up on that turkey dinner. The list of "exclusives" was, for me, among the least exciting since the founding of Record Store Day. So, I didn't even bother to get up at the crack of dawn to wait in line with a bunch of other geeky middle-aged men, as I usually do. There was only one album I wanted, and I felt I could risk getting it later in the day. Besides, I already had a digital copy. So, if I was shut out, at least I would get a good night's sleep and I had my mp3s. I went top my local mom-and-pop store after lunch. To my utter shock, the album I wanted was sold out. The store was linked to another store in the heart of Seattle and, according to their computers, there were still two copies over there. Fortunately, the computers proved to be correct, and I got my album.

As for Record Store Day in general, I have learned the "exclusives" really aren't all that exclusive. The labels and bands almost always, ultimately, release the material later... in one form or another. I bought a few Record Store Day items just last year, and every single one of the songs on the 7" singles I bought is either already out or will be by June of this year. If I only had patience, I could have avoided this:

There is a great blogger over at Lost Turntable that posted several valid points suggesting Record Store Day is, to be gentle, not all it's cracked up to be. Give it a read.

As for my purchase, I got Mates of State's 'Crushes.' It's a beautiful piece of clear 180-gram vinyl, limited to 1,500 copies and filled with great covers, including two of my all-time favorite songs... "Laura" from Girls and "Sleep the Clock Around" from Belle and Sebastian. Now the bad news... at least for me. My linear-tracking turntable can't read the record's grooves. If you hold the album up to the light, the grooves are almost invisible on the clear vinyl. I have never had this happen before. So, after all of that, I can't actually play the record. I guess my copy will always be in pristine condition. Grr. Obviously, this won't be a problem if you have a traditional turntable, and I highly recommend the album in any format.

So, how was your Record Store Day? Did you get what you wanted? Were you there early? Was it a fiasco? What do you think of the holiday?

Mates of State - Laura (mp3)