At 4:00 AM Saturday morning, I pulled up outside a record store in Sherman Oaks, armed with a few graphic novels, a half-read Malcolm Gladwell tome and 2-liter bottle of Pepsi Max. I was not alone. In fact, I was 9th. In a line that would later that day stretch to over 150-people long, I was part of the core group of dedicated music purists. The starting line-up. The Breakfast Club of vinyl. A tenth member showed up at 4:30, in hopes he was the first one to arrive looking for the Cake box set. When he found out he was the third one to walk up desiring its glory (knowing the store only obtained one copy), he tossed his hand in the air, disgusted by the whole event and marched off cursing with a wicked lisp. We were a united front and no one was going to break our tribe.
For the next 7 hours, we discussed our purchases. Who was getting what? We strategized with each other, plotting which albums we were sure to get, while at the same time conscious of the others' picks. Like the crossing of the streams in Ghostbusters, there could be no overlap. With three people in line only there to get the Paramore release (that's dedication...but it is a cool-looking record), our competition was minimal. Once we had announced our choices, once we had determined our lists, we no longer allowed to make changes or additions that affected anyone else's lists. That would be seen as treasonous...and there's no telling the severity of the scowl that would be emitted from a pissed off music nerd.
Finally, the rest of the line showed up as the crack of six came around. But we were the tribal council. We had the power in the front of the line to determine who was getting what. If the twelfth person in line came only for the Joy Division EP, and I was thinking about getting it, it meant I held all the power over their music-buying fate. But even vinyl aficionados have morals. There were no cuts. There was no buying for a friend. There were also no assholes. We respected each other's right to be there. At the end of the day, we're a community and we protect our own.
As massively successful that Record Store Day is for the fans and styluses everywhere, it is always amazing to watch what limited edition, colored-vinyl, filled with live demos of covers has the most sustainability outside of the store. I'm not talking about which album you enjoy listening to the most, that's personal, and there's no list for that. I'm talking about which albums garner the most online demand. Some of the albums that were predicted to be draws like Outkast, the side by side series, and even the new Conor Oberst had very little online life. Even the highly hyped Green Day Demos red vinyl was being outbid by the CD version of the same title. But some titles...some titles exceeded expectations and will now live on in legend of the RSD history.
Here are the 11 Best Record Store Day Successes:
- R.E.M. - Unplugged (307) - I've been waiting for this release for 23 years. It does not disappoint. Online it's selling for 350% over its list price and there seems to be no dip in the demand. Despite its popularity it sounds fucking incredible. Only 1000 of these were made, which means it will be in demand for a long time.
- Cake - Box Set ($330) - All of Cake's seven albums, plus an 8th never-released album, all printed on different colored vinyl. Even though it sells for more than REM, it cost twice as much originally. This thing was so popular it literally caused a guy to cry in line because he didn't get it.
- Ghostbusters ($100) - The surprise of the day. Whoever thought a 30 year old movie theme song on glow in the dark vinyl would be wanted by everyone in line.
- Garcia ($148) - Jerry's first solo album on white vinyl. Dead fans who are not dead are fighting tooth and nail for this one.
- The Liars - Mess On a Mission ($75) - This might edge out Paramore for the coolest looking record. Clear vinyl with yarn inside. A truly unique release.
- Devo - Live at Max's Kansas City ($107) - From 1977, this is a great uncovered gem by a legendary band.
- Scott Pilgrim Vs. The World ($96) - A cult classic soundtrack draws a cult classic crowd.
- Death Cab For Cutie ($95) - DCFC with an orchestra...this is the kind of release RSD is made for.
- Childish Gambino ($80) - Donald Glover may be a funny guy, but he had the best packaging of the day.
- Life Without Buildings ($102) - An obscure release by an obscure 80s band for the first time in America. If you don't get this now, you'll never get it.
- Jack White - Lazaretto ($475) - Even though this is selling for the most amount of money online, it's not really fair to compare it to the others since you could only purchase it at one location. It's still cool as shit. Looks like Jack just raised the bar for coolest RSD release. Your turn Wayne Coyne.
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This weekend and last weekend, Coachella will reign/reigned supreme. It's the yearly sabbatical to spend three days in the hot sweltering dessert with overpriced water, lots of dirt, while networking with people you wouldn't normally sit next to in a Starbucks. The only reason anyone deals with it is for the over-inflated line-up of everyone's favorite band of the moment. I mean, does anyone listen to music from last year's line-up? Phoenix? Vampire Weekend? They are so...last year. I have never been to Coachella. I would like to go once in my life. I'm waiting for the Smiths to reunite for the show...or at least Jellyfish before I make the $400 plunge. I grew on the original Lollapalooza. I've had my fair share of summers days spent around mountains of dirt just so I could get close to Layne Staley or Les Claypool (ask your parents). But Coachella has done something bold that Lollapalooza has never done. It's something so daring, it makes we want to go to the show out of appreciation for their generosity. They stream the entire show...online...live...and for free. No other organization out there would think of streaming the concert...and if they did it...they'd never do it live...and absolutely never for free. But Coachella has created a new standard and dared every other festival concert to do better. I spent the whole weekend watching some of the best live performances I've seen in a long time. Empire of the Sun, Foster The People, MGMT, Pharrell, Nas, The Pixies and Skrillex all gave me a private show in the comfort of my own home. Thanks Coachella! And if you have to go vegan to get Morrissey to play...I'm good with that. I'll pack my hamburger to go.
This week the swelling pied piper of social media took on two foes. In both cases, social media triumphed and the accused offenders were shamed into submission. The first was Boomer Esiason. Bengal Boomer made a comment that baseball player's Daniel Murphy's pregnant wife should have had a scheduled c-section prior to MLB's opening day. The second was Brendan Eich. Eich was a brief two-week CEO of Mozilla because social media shamed him out of the job. Around ten years ago, Eich contributed money to a California proposition that would ban same-sex marriage. For this "crime" he received a tsunami of digital slander until the point came that he had no choice but to step down to escape. Though social media won in both instances...only in the first situation did social media succeed. With Eich, social media failed.
With Boomer Esiason, Boomer tried to cast his outrageous, outdated, misogynistic views upon another person. He tried to shame Daniel Murphy for being a pussy-whipped husband in an attempt to look more manly himself. It back-fired. In this case, social media played the perfect partner of checks and balances. The interwebs slaughtered Boomer from all directions. He got sacked faster than he did running a play action for the Bengals. With Boomer, social media was the hero.
With Eich, social media ventured into a various dangerous territory. I will start by saying I think gay marriage should be legal and if you don't believe in gay marriage, don't marry a gay person. Though Eich may be on the wrong side of history, does that mean he shouldn't have a right to function in society like everyone else? Eich is not the only one who contributed to Prop 8. I'm sure some of your neighbors, your friends and even your family members contributed. Should Eich be publicly shamed for supported a cause he believes in? Should everyone you know be publicly shamed? What social media did wrong here is that it imposed its will upon an individual person. Social media committed the wrong that Boomer Esiason was guilty of.
The problem with social media having this much power is the ease in which it can be manipulated. From the incorrect suspects being identified in the case of the Boston bomber to the #cancelcolbert weekend trend, when social media snowballs in one direction, it is impossible to slow it down. We need to be more diligent as a people to be more responsible with this power. If we lose control of it because of our flippant negligence, then we're in danger of being lost. What happens next time when a different viewpoint is the majority or has the momentum...and the spot light gets turned on you?
The great thing about this country is that we get to believe in whatever we want. And we get to express it, we get to voice it when we vote. We shouldn't be tied up to a tree and be forced to endure insults because our opinion was in the minority. The point of voting is to maintain order. If we lose sight of this, we become the bullies, that we stand up against.
This weekend the internet was in an uproar over the #cancelcolbert hashtag. A comedian made a sarcastic comment about racial insensitivity. That's what comedians do. They bring light to controversial topics via comedy. Sometimes the jokes make their points brilliantly and sometimes they miss their mark, completely. But the outrage over the comments were almost as absurd as the Washington Redskins' charity that the jokes were trying to make fun of in the first place.
We need to stop throwing the term "racist" around every time we get our feelings hurt. A racist is someone who belittles another race to show his race's superiority. Colbert was never belittling another race to show his own racial superiority. He was belittling the owner of the Washington Redskins (Daniel Snyder), who also is not necessarily a racist. Snyder didn't name the team. He bought the team when it already had its name. Because he chooses to not change the name of the team that has been in existence for over 40 years doesn't make him a racist. It may make him racially insensitive or even a douche bag...but he's not a racist. Hitler was a racist. David Duke is a racist. Steven Colbert is a comedian. Daniel Snyder is a racially ignorant business man. The irony is that through this whole mess...Colbert's joke has drawn more ire toward him than Snyder has drawn for his deliberate insensitivity.
Second of all, in marriage, spouses are always told to pick your battles. The same goes here. If you're the leader of a movement, and you're trying to prove to the world that you should be taken seriously, you need to stand up against/for something that matters. Blowing your wad on a stupid joke makes you look petty. While there are real problems involving race and discrimination in the country, you're wasting your time and our time on something that honestly doesn't fucking matter. If my first impression toward your organization is that you waste your time on meaningless noise, then when something comes along that does matter, I won't be there to support you. Ever read the story about the boy who cried wolf?
A great new album by the Cloud Nothings is out now. With only 8 songs, the band doesn't waste our time with album fillers...because every song matters.