Tag: Record store day

An annual event in the UK. It’s got a bit too big though now

Record Store Day 2018

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Last year I skipped record store day as I’d been queuing at Sister Ray Records in Soho for about 3 hours and at the end of the process I’d got 1 7″. That was all. I wasn’t terribly happy about that at all, as you can imagine. So I said to myself that I wouldn’t do it any more. I’d give it up. And I did, I didn’t go in 2017. Then I saw the list for this year, and on it was a David Sylvian album that I really wanted to get, and that I knew I would be really annoyed not to own.

So I decided to do it again. However, as I was going to be out late in London the night before I thought that the most civilised way to accomplish the task was to get a hotel room nearby and stay in town. So I did. I stayed at a very nice hotel on Brick Lane which was very reasonably priced too. It meant I could get up really early and walk down to Rough Trade East before 6am.

And my forward thinking paid off. I was probably around the 100 mark in the queue and got inside at about 8:30am. Not bad. I also got everything that I wanted too.

The most important of course being “Dead Bees on a cake” by Sylvian.

So maybe I will go again next year, at least I’ll give it a chance anyway.

Record Store Day set for the 16th of April

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I have to admit that I hadn’t really been on the ball on this one this year, and I only just noticed that they were going to announce the exclusives later today! Still, now I know the date (16/4) I can make sure I don’t miss it. Apparently the exclusives list is going to be published at 6:15pm today, so I’ll be looking out for that.

Sylvian / Sakamoto … Bamboo Houses RSD release

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This is one of the things I really wanted to get this year at RSD. I have the tracks already, in fact, I think I have multiple versions in multiple formats too, but that’s not what this is about.

The two songs are really important to me. They bring back special memories, and any opportunity to have a new version or iteration, even in just the packaging, well, I’ll take it. This edition, for Record Store Day, is rather lovely. I’ve played it once, just once. That’s enough. It’s a thing of beauty, and I’m glad to have it.

My Record Store Day experience

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This is the third year I’ve been along to Record Store Day, and personally I think it’s a great idea and I’m a big fan of it. This year I thought I’d put down a few thoughts about the event and what I think could be better for next year.

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I started off the day at Rough Trade East. I expected to queue up there and that is exactly what I had to do. Queuing from 8 am until gone 10 am is rough though, and it was cold and windy. But, finally I got in and was able to have a look for the Record Store Day exclusives I wanted to buy. Sadly only 2 of them were available. Rough Trade was a bun fight to be honest. It’s the same as it has been in previous years, but I just don’t think it’s very well organised, and I don’t like it.

After that disappointment I headed over to Berwick Street. It was approaching midday and they had a lot going on over there, so I thought I’d try out Sister Ray and see if there was any chance of getting any of the other items I’d hoped for.

Of course, the queue there was pretty long too. Not as long, but long enough. However, this was a much better managed queue. Sister Ray staff came out and handed out stock lists so people could see what the store had. They were also available to people in the queue to tell them if a given item had gone out of stock or not, which was very useful. As you got closer to the store itself we were asked to write down the items we wanted and given a ticket number. These were collected so that the items you wanted could be prepared for you by the time you got into the store.

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Overall my experience at Sister Ray was far more positive than Rough Trade. Sister Ray were organised and prepared and helpful. I really appreciated that. I think that next year I’ll start there and not at Rough Trade.

What I’m hoping to get my hands on from Record Store Day 2015

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I’m really looking forward to RSD2015 and there are good reasons too, in fact, quite a number of good reasons, all of which I’m hoping to get hold of. Here’s my list of stuff I’m after:

  1. Eno, Brian –  My Squelchy Life (2LP)
  2.  ADAM & THE ANTS “KINGS OF THE WILD FRONTIER / ANT MUSIC”
  3. Blancmange – I Want More (Extended Version)
  4. David Sylvian & Ryuichi Sakamoto Bamboo Houses / Bamboo Music This new twist on the Bamboo Houses / Bamboo Music 7” single was overseen by David Sylvian himself. The bespoke sleeve has been designed by long time Sylvian collaborator, Chris Biggs (23 Envelope ) and the photographs are by internationally renowned photographer, Yaka Fujii. Format: 7″ Single
  5. Dexys Midnight Runners – 30th anniversary purple vinyl edition of this masterpiece.
  6. HOLGER CZUKAY – HIT/FLOP. Format: 2×10″
  7. HOLGER CZUKAY – 11 YEARS INNERSPACE. Format: 2×10″
  8. Simple Minds – Waterfront (Picture Disc). Format: 7″ Single
  9. The Doors – Strange Days (Mono). Format: 1 x 12″ / black vinyl

It’s a big list this year. The last couple of years I haven’t been looking for nearly as many items, but this year there are just too many good things.

Record Store Day is on the 18th of April

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I’m a big fan of Record Store Day. I’ve been going for a few years now. It’s a fun event and you can end up getting some great records. Of course as we get closer to the day there will be more news about which labels are releasing what albums for record store day this year.

Last year I picked up all the things I want to get in the end, but I wish I’d had a bit more time on the day to stay and watch some of the live performances and just mooch around a bit too.

The dilema of opening things

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I posted yesterday about getting this 12″ single of The The’s Giant. So far so good. But, sadly, the nice sticker on the front of the disc is on the cellophane and not on the sleeve itself, meaning that the minute I open it, the sticker is gone!

Disaster!