Record Store Day: A Modest Counter-Proposal
By Jon Graef in Arts & Entertainment on Apr 15, 2011 5:00PM
Photo by mr_martini
If you answered "yes" to these questions, then we’ve got an idea for you. Behold, Chicagoist’s anti-Record Store Day campaign: "Shit I Do On A Normal Saturday."
Here's all that's required of you: Pencil in some free time...preferably on a Saturday.
Not your entire Saturday, mind you. After all, you've got actual shit-shit to do on a Saturday, like laundry or a lunch date with your significant other. But maybe an hour or two. Next, find a record store that's located conveniently near you. Allow yourself 45 minutes to an hour to get there.
(Actually, it'd probably take only 30 minutes, but your destination is probably off the Red Line somewhere, and Lord help you if you're trying to travel anywhere efficiently using that thing. So roughly an hour it is.)
Then, go there.
Go there with resident experts and other curious parties called -- and please correct me if I'm being culturally insensitive here -- "friends." With a little help from your ... "f-rie-nd...s" ... you'll get by the deep, dark, and dank world of record stores with aplomb.
The best part? "Shit I Do On A Normal Saturday" doesn't even have to be on a Saturday.
Suppose you have to spend your Saturdays being undertipped by tourists in River North. "Shit I Do On A Normal Saturday" can easily become "Shit I Do On A Normal Tuesday."
Just switch the days! It doesn’t matter. The spirit behind the idea is what matters most.
Simply put, Record Store Day, for all its good intentions, is merely a celebration of consumption. It may be limited-edition piss-colored vinyl consumption, but it's consumption all the same. With a mission like this in mind, where does the actual discussion and appreciation of actual music factor in?
After all, we don't buy records just to buy collectibles--though it's certainly nice when we find them. We buy records because we enjoy music. Talking about it, thinking about it, living it, breathing it, and other hippie bullshit.
Can we honestly say Record Store Day fosters a deep listening climate even in the slightest? Or is it just about companies convincing people to part with their money in a comical rat race increasingly co-opted by major labels and corporations?
By contrast, “Shit I Do On A Normal Saturday,” is about ideas and a leisurely shopping experience. For example: What might this record by Artist X mean to me? Where does this record fit into the artist’s overall discography? If it’s a sub-par effort, does it at least contain interesting ideas that were just executed poorly? Or is it a last gasp of creative energy before truly soul-sucking, terrible albums?
Could someone arrive at these ideas during Record Store Day? Perhaps. Record Store Day means different things to different people.
Maybe we're being too hard on RSD11. If you take Record Store Day as an opportunity to buy that new record from that hot local band, then, by all means, do so. I hear they’re pretty good! Not mind-meltingly good, but they have a consistently appealing live show with an energy that at least partially translates onto wax.
Here’s the thing though: When you buy that record on Record Store Day, you’ll be amongst many people clamoring to get the exclusive, never-before-released 7-inch, or to get a good spot for that bitchin’ Mike Watt in-store at Laurie’s Planet of Sound. You might feel pressured, just by circumstance, to grab something and leave, in order to leave packed, close quarters. Onto the next one, Monkey!
You’re less likely to even get the name of the label that put out that local band, much less find out where that album fits into its respective local music scene. If you’re buying that used Neil Young album, you just might get a smile, a nod, and a “hey, how’s your day going?” That, by itself, isn’t bad.But now let’s say you buy that local band’s album, or the used album by Artist X, on “Shit I Do On A Normal Saturday.”
The record store in question is undoubtedly less crowded. It isn’t a ghost town, to be sure, but there’s room to browse at your leisure. You aren’t elbows-to-elbows with someone who might scoff at your choices. More importantly, you’re more likely to get into discussions of what music means, and how you can relate to it. Just ask the friendly record store clerk.
Yes, contrary to popular belief, record store clerks are friendly, helpful and honest. It’s true! Just ask.
Those pesky micro-genres mentioned in the first paragraph? You're sure as shit not going to find out anymore about them on Record Store Day Saturday. But "Shit I Do On A Normal Saturday" Saturday? The world is your genre-hopping oyster, my friend. Hop away!
Supporting independently run record stores, while certainly not a requirement of music fandom, or even music consumption, is arguably the best way to find out about local music or music that would otherwise fly under the radar of even the most niche publications and blogs. Not only does “SIDOANS” put your dollars where it’s needed most, it gives you, the music buyer, a more laid-back and in-depth record buying experience. And isn’t that the point of being a music fan? Not to buy pieces of ephemera on some arbitrary occasion, but to actually experience and internalize the music contained therein?
Sure, with “SIDOANS,” you probably won’t get those exclusives, or experience that excellent in-store. But you may find a hidden treasure that you otherwise wouldn’t have come across. And, the more “SIDOANSs” you participate in, the more likely you’ll find those treasures. That bitchin’ musician you missed out on Record Store Day just may come back for another one. Whether it's "Shit I Do On A Normal Saturday-Saturday," or "Shit I Do On A Normal Tuesday-Saturday," the important thing that you're doing some shit. Consistently. So much so that you might say it becomes the norm in your routine.
Your independent and locally-run record stores need your business more than just one day out of the year. They need it consistently. With "SIDOANS," you'll be doing your part to make every Saturday Record Store Day.
"Shit I Do On A Normal Saturday" will run from April 16th until always, barring family, school, work, and hangover-related conflicts.