About the title of this piece — we’ll deal with that in a moment.
I own records — and still buy them — but I don’t celebrate Record Store Day.
Record stores — particularly when taking into account what they’ve been through — are only Barney Fife’ng themselves by selling high-priced releases on the day they could invest time exploring other approaches that will encourage more people to support record stores on a more consistent basis.
You won’t hear this often, but there was a time when record stores were the original Starbucks — sans the caffeinated hipster delusions of culture and race.
Friends and strangers would spend hours in a store bonding, listening to music and buying what they heard.
There was also a symbiosis of sorts formed when the record store experience connected with nightclub culture to support established and emerging musicians. Venues, retailers, creatives and consumers benefited from this alchemy.
I don’t see how pushing limited releases at jacked-up prices helps to revive much of anything.
Today also marks two years and a day since beloved Prince left us.
Prince was all about wrecka stows.
And that’s something I can get with.
Therefore, happy Wrecka Stow Day, y’all …
mentalunrest.com 