The 11 Biggest Flips of Record Store Day 2015

You can't read anything about Record Store Day anymore without reading some article whose author spends pages of digital content, complaining about the vinyl holiday. "It's killing independent stores," "it excludes indie labels," and it's only for unnecessary major label titles."  You know what would be worse than Record Store Day?  NO RECORD STORE DAY.  A world where there is nothing promoting independent records stores, causing them to fade and dissolve into music history alongside the 8-track, mini-disc, and reel-to-reel.  But today, music stores are alive and well...in part, thanks to record store day.  Record stores having to deal with throngs of audiophiles twice a year (Black Friday) is a way better scenario than dealing with foreclosure.  .

Another complaint comes from independent labels themselves who have found their material excluded by the event coordinators.  Read here about Father/Daughter's comp, which seemed like a rather cool release.  Sure there are some releases that get excluded...and there are some titles that seem unnecessary.  But even if we're talking about 10% of the titles or even 25% of the released titles being unnecessary...that still leaves 300 great vital releases!  Isn't it worth some crap to get some gold?  That said, I'm not even sure how we determine which titles are unnecessary.  I read bloggers claiming the Citizen Dick release was the most unnecessary title this year...it's an unreleased Pearl Jam song from the 1991/Ten era version of the band!  I bought it and it's the title I've listened to more than any other release.  If someone wants to buy them...then doesn't that make them necessary?  (and the Citizen Dick record just missed this list...so the 12th most popular record flip is somehow unnecessary?  Okay...)

That said...it's hard to determine prior to the holiday which albums will sell out in seconds and which ones will linger until August.  Some of the most talked about releases including Courtney Barnett, Brian Eno, and Run The Jewels were still available at stores late on Sunday afternoon.  While others (like Brand New) had people lining up the night before.  I mean seriously, how is Brand New's reissue of a 12-year old album that is readily available on Spotify and itunes AND coming out in wide release next month the number one Ebay flip merely because it comes in a paper bag?  Every store I visiting had people waiting 12-24 hours for this record.

For this list, I determined the ranking based on list price versus Ebay sale...and what was the greatest increase in comparison to the price.  Stereogum lists Jurassic 5's $100 Ebay sale as a big flip...but the list price was $90 to begin with.  That's only a $10 increase.  Same with Phish's Live 1995 6-disc set that listed at $160 but sold for $200.  The biggest flips versus price, I believe, truly shows what were the must-have vinyls of RSD 2015.

Here are the biggest Ebay Flips of Record Store Day 2015:

1. Elvis Presley - My Happiness (List price $12 - Ebay price $245) 20.5x increase
2. Brand New - Deja Entendu (List price $28 - Ebay price $384) 13.7x increase
3. Interpol - Everything Is Wrong (List price $9 - Ebay price $99) 11x increase
4. John Prine - September 78 (List price $25 - Ebay price $227) 10.1x increase
5. David Bowie - Changes (List price $11 - Ebay price $99) 9x increase
6. Bob Dylan - Basement Tapes (List price $30 - Ebay price $250) 8.3x increase
7. Citizen Dick - Touch Me I'm Dick (List price $11 - Ebay price $69) 6.3x increase
8. Ryan Adams - Come Pick Me Up (List price $9 - Ebay price $59) 5.9x increase
9. U2 - Songs of Innocence (List price $36 - Ebay price $199) 5.5x increase
10. Twenty One Pilots - The LC LP (List price $20 - Ebay price $99) 4.9x increase
11. Foo Fighters - Songs From The Laundry Room (List price $20 - Ebay price $99) 4.9x increase
    

Honorable Mention:

Paul McCartney's Sweet Trash sold for a ridiculous $895 but I didn't include it since it's signed by Sir Mac (which obviously alters the true value of the vinyl).

Here are some other fun lists:

• Top RSD sellers
• NME's Top Sellers List
• Stereogum's Ebay Flips
• Bull Moose Top Sales

The 11 Most Talked About Record Store Day Releases:

Tomorrow is the annual fun-loving shopping spree for audiophiles everywhere.  Pretty much every music mag/zine/blog/critic/expert has their own top essential purchases they recommend for RSD.  I could do the same.  But it would just be my recommends for what I really want.  Instead, I've dug through the net and tallied up everyone else's list.  I've created a combo list of the most talked about releases.  I was surprised to see only two of my "must buys" on the list.  And craziest of all, the number one most talked about release on Record Store Day is...a CASSETTE.  Metallica's reprint of their very first release on cassette is the most talked about release this year.  Overall, it's a pretty solid list with current rockers, classic rockers, rap lords, and some fresh indie faces.

Happy hunting!!!

Here are The 11 Most Talked About Record Store Day Releases:

1. Metallica - No Life 'Till Leather

2.  The White Stripes - Get Behind Me Satan

3.  Foo Fighters - Songs From The Laundry Room

4.  Father John Misty - I Loved You Honeybee

5. J. Dilla - Fuck the Police

6. Run the Jewels -Bust No Moves

7. Courtney Barnett - Kim's Caravan

8. Sly and the Family Stone - Live at the Fillmore East

9. David Bowie - Changes

10.  Brian Eno - My Squelchy Life

11.  Willie Nelson - Teatro

Honorable Mentions:  Mclusky, Elvis Presley, Sim Dunlap, Phish, Mumford and Sons, and Hanni El Khalib

What are your favorite releases?

The 11 Best Solo Songs By Jack White

Fun Fact:  Jack White originally planned to become a priest and even went so far as to be accepted into a seminary school as a young teen. Here are the 11 Best Solo Songs By Jack White:

1. Sixteen Saltines (Blunderbuss)
2. Love Is Blindness (AHK-Toong BAY-Bi Covered)
3. Weep Themselves To Sleep (Blunderbuss)
4. Freedom At 21 (Blunderbuss)
5. Missing Pieces (Blunderbuss)
6. Machine Gun Silhouette (Love Interruption)
7. Wayfaring Stranger (Cold Mountain)
8. Take Me With You When You Go (Blunderbuss)
9. Love Interruption (Blunderbuss)
10. Hip (Eponymous) Poor Boy (Blunderbuss)
11. Inaccessible Mystery (Forever At 21)

Buy Jack White's new album, Lazaretto...now!!!

Don't forget to check out our blog's awesome new book The 111 Best Lists of the 2000s.  Available now!

The 11 Best Reasons To Buy The 111 Best Lists of the 2000s

 It's been one week since the release of our first book and the reception has been incredibly unexpected.  I thank everyone who has purchased the book...and am giving the stink eye to everyone who has not.  If you haven't picked up a copy yet...here are some amazing points at why you should.

 The 11 Best Reasons to Buy The 111 Best Music Lists of the 2000s:

1. There are 111 lists - where most books go to 100 ours does them 11 better and goes to 111.
2. It features many good artists including: Arctic Monkeys, Beck, The National, Wilco, and Radiohead
3. It features many bad (ass) artists including:  The Black Keys, The Strokes, The White Stripes, The Black Rebel Motorcycle Club, and the Foo Fighters
4. It features unknown artists including: The Dirtbombs, Jay Reatard, Assemblage 23, Mr. Lif, and the Great Lake Swimmers
5. It cost less money ($12.95) than a concert ticket and it lasts longer
6. Reading makes you smarter.  This book will make you 111 times smarter.
7. It makes for a great Christmas gift and a belated Hanukkah gift for all your Jewish friends
8. It is proven to kill flies if you hit them hard enough with it
9. It is a great conversation starter for a boring New Year's party (or any party for that matter)
10. It is the perfect guide for making a '00s playlist for a '00s-themed party.
11. There's a secret ending just like in the Marvel movies which hints at a bigger story.  Sorta.

Buy The 111 Best Music Lists of the 2000s...now!!!

The 111 Best Music Lists of the 2000s

Is this the greatest book ever written?  Probably not but it's close.  I've been writing this blog for the past six years; I've written hundreds of lists.   Taking some of the best lists directly from the site and adding in some brand new lists, I am proud to present my first book.  Sticking with the theme of my blog I've delivered a book that takes a look back at one of the most chaotic decades in music.  It was the decade where music went from being physical to only existing in a digital space.  It was an era where pop dominated and rock was stuck taking the bus.  With this book, I hope to right the ship and look back at some amazing bands that were overlooked.

You can purchase the book now at Amazon and Kindle.  Right in time for all your holiday shopping needs.

The 111 Best Music Lists of the Decade

Enjoy!

The 11 Best Record Store Releases (Triple List)

I picked up so much vinyl this year...I'm not even sure how I'm going to pay rent.  And isn't that what good music is about?  Living in a van...down by the river.  There wasn't a release this year that I went in excited about...but I came out loving almost everything I purchased.  I've had the chance to listen to most of my purchases and have heard a lot of other stuff.  And the Calexico album...best release of the year...Period.

It was a crazy day...and I'm still reeling from it.  Some say Record store Day is Christmas for music fans.  It's better than Christmas...because on Record Store Day you get exactly what you want.

To celebrate such a momentousness day and with nearly 400 releases...there's no way to condense it down to a mere 11.  Instead, I've created 3 lists to give light on some on a lot of the material that you may have missed.  And by the way, many record stores still have a lot of product...so if there's something that was sold out at one store...I'd check out the store down the street...just in case.

Here are the 11 Best Record Store Day 7-inches:

1. Pornography (Ryan Adams)  - 7 Minutes in Heaven
2. Elliott Smith - Either/Or Demos 
3. Pink Floyd - See Emily Play
4. David Bowie - Drive-In Saturday Night
5. Hold Steady - Criminal Fingers
6. The Black Keys/Iggy & The Stooges - No Fun
7. Gram Parsons & The Fallen Angels - Live 1973
8. Old 97s & Waylon Jennings - Double Set
9. Superchunk - Void 
10. Iron & Wine - Next To Paradise
11. Husker Du - Amusement

Here are the 11 Best Record Store Day Reissues:

1. Orange Juice - Rip It Up
2. Porno For Pyros - Porno For Pyros (splatter vinyl)
3. White Stripes - Elephant (red, white and black vinyl)
4. At The Drive-In - Relationship in Command
5. Braid - Frame and Canvas
6. The Roots - Things Fall Apart
7. The Band - The Last Waltz
8. Joan Jett & The Blackhearts - Joan Jett & The Blackhearts (yellow vinyl)
9. Blind Melon - Blind Melon
10. Built To Spill - Live
11. The Zombies - The Zombies

Here are the 11 Best Record Store Day Releases:

1. Calexico - Spiritoso
2. Stephen Malkmus - Ege Bamyasi
3. A Place To Bury Strangers - Strange Moon
4. Soundgarden - King Animal Demos
5. Garbage - Because the Night
6. Willie Nelson - Crazy Demo Sessions
7. G. Love and Jack Johnson - Bloodshot & Blue
8. Mumford and Sons - Live At Bull Moose
9. Grouplove/Manchester Orchestra/Frightened Rabbit - Make It To Me
10. Big Star - Nothing Can Hurt Me
11. Deftones - Live: Volume 1

The Unknown: The White Stripes - Get In Front Of Me Jesus

We start next week in a world without the White Stripes.  And after the Super bowl today, we may start the week in a world without NFL football.  Negotiations pending, could be the end of an era.

Let's enjoy both while they're still around.  (PS...this will be up for a limited time...get it while it's hot)

Here is The White Stripes - Get In Front Of Me Jesus:

1.  What Goes Around
2.  Black Jack Davey
3.  Hand Springs
4.  Walking With A Ghost
5.  It's My Fault For Being Famous
6.  Cash Grab Complications
7.  Honey, We Can't Afford To Look This Cheap
8.  Though I Hear You Calling
9.  Good To Me
10.  Who's to Say
11.  Baby Brother
12.  Shelter of Your Arms
13.  Who's a Big Baby
14.  Jolene
15.  Tennessee Border

Check Jack White's Third Man Records now for some great rare White Stripes material.

The 11 Best Songs By The White Stripes

This past decade, one band has managed to keep the Led Zeppelin torch lit: The White Stripes.  In an era where karaoke contests determined the next music sensation, the White Stripes stuck to the basics.  Their break-out release White Blood Cells was recorded on a 4-track.  Their follow-up, Elephant, was recorded for less than the crafts services table at a stage Britney Spears paparazzi shoot.  If you look at the best selling artists of all time, in the top 80, only 14 are pop artists…yet, 36 are rock.  Makes you wonder if the labels want to sell more music why they don’t want more music like the White Stripes around.

Unfortunately, the White Stripes have disbanded.  Here are some fun live recordings to say goodbye.

Here are the 11 Best White Stripes songs:

1. Seven Nation Army - Elephant

2. I Fell In Love With A Girl - White Blood Cells

3. Denial Twist - Get Behind Me Satan

4. I Can't Wait - White Blood Cells

5. Black Math - Elephant

6. Ball & Biscuit - Elephant

7. Truth Doesn't Make A Noise - De Stijl

8. A Martyr For My Love For You – Icky Thump

9. Hotel Yorba - White Blood Cells

10. We're Going To Be Friends - White Blood Cells

11. Apple Blossom - De Stijl  

Check out Third Man Records for lots of cool rare White Stripes stuff.