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Record Store Day is this weekend.




What does this mean for me? Well I'll tell you again. One of my earliest pre-teen memories was going to a record store that was the Wazoo Annex which was on State Street in Ann Arbor across from Lane Hall (above what is now BW3 but was once In Flight and the Cat's Meow and a bunch of other crazy shit) with my dad.

We were looking for Black Sabbath's Paranoid on vinyl (not 8-Track which was the other option at the time). It had a pink circular sticker on it that said "3-" and I remember taking it home, pulling the LP out of the sleeve, and queuing up Iron Man for the first time.

This was the first Record Store experience that my mental database remembers and I never want that possibility to be denied to other grumpy white kids.

If you are looking for a good spot, I recommend Underground Sounds in Ann Arbor right next to Afternoon Delight...Liberty and whatever that is...across from the Post Office. I worked for the owner, Matt Bradish, (christ) 17 years ago at That Total Age records in Ypsilanti. He's still going and his store is better than ever.

I'm likely going to pick up:

Vampire Weekend - "Contra"
Massive Attack - "Heligoland"
Mumford & Sons - "Sigh No More"
The Hold Steady - "Heaven Is Whenever" (This comes out in May, but figured I'd add it to the wish list)
Black Keys - "Attack & Release"
Rogue Wave - "Permalight"
Drive-By Truckers - "The Big To-Do"
Laura Marling - "I Speak Because I Can"
matt pond pa - "The Dark Leaves"

and then whatever else catches my eye.

I get a whole lot of music that streams into my face free of charge due to the career choices I've made, the availability of the internets and the friends I have. When I drop $40, $80, $100 at a real honest-to-golly record store once every 6 months, I never have buyer's remorse. I always feel like I am supporting the machine that I still want to pay into.

I'm not lining the coffers of the fat-cats at the record labels or the glitzy A&R men, I feel like I'm supporting a community service...the old-school record store that we remember running off to after school with our allowance money.

whatever I can do to make it so my son has the same opportunity (to buy MP3s or plug the input directly into the medulla oblongata...I don't fucking care)...to go down to Matt's store and buy some hip-hop/AvantGrime/BlackDeathMetal record that I'll hate. That's what I want.

Cool stuff that will be available:

Monsters of Folk - Double LP set on clear blue vinyl (2,000 available)

Wilco - Kicking Television deluxe package vinyl reissue box set with 4 LPs, 8 extra tracks, and extra CD (1,000 available)

TV On The Radio - vinyl reissue of Dear Science with bonus Hot Chip remix plus MP3 download.

Soundgarden - reissue of 1987 debut single "Hunted Down" b/w "Nothing to Say", on orange translucent vinyl

Superchunk - "Misfits and Mistakes" b/w "Misfits and Mistakes" (Meatwad Version) Originally released in 2007 in extremely limited quantity, "Misfits and Mistakes" is the first and only picture disc we have ever produced. Recorded for Aqua Teen Hunger Force Colon Movie Film for Theaters, "Misfits and Mistakes" is performed by Superchunk and covered on side B by Meatwad himself! Each 7-inch picture disc arrives in stores autographed by all four members of Superchunk and is available at a special price exclusively for Record Store Day!

ARCTIC MONKEYS – MY PROPELLER 10”
BLACK KEYS – TIGHTEN UP 12”
BUILT TO SPILL – WATER SLEEPERS 7”
COSTELLO, ELVIS – LIVE AT HOLLYWOOD HIGH 7”
DA – EXCLAMATION POINT LP
DEVO – DUTY NOW FOR THE FUTURE LP
DEVO – DUTY NOW FOR THE FUTURE CD
DOORS – PEOPLE ARE STRANGE 7”
DRIVE BY TRUCKERS –YOUR WOMAN IS A LIVING THING 7”
ERICKSON, ROKY & OKKERVIL RIVER – TRUE LOVE CAST OUT ALL EVIL LP
FANFARLO – YOU ARE ONE OF THE FEW OUTSIDE 7”
FLAMING LIPS – DARK SIDE OF THE MOON LP
FLOGGING MOLLY – DEVIL’S DANCE FLOOR 7”
FOUR TET – SING 12”
GAINSBOURG, CHARLOTTE – HEAVEN CAN WAIT 7”
JAPANDROIDS – POST-NOTHING LP white vinyl
JENNINGS, SHOOTER – DON’T FEED THE ANIMALS CD
KUTI, FELA – FELA FELA FEL 10”
JAPANDROIDS – ARTS & CZARS 7”
MAGNETIC FIELDS – 69 LOVE SONGS 10” box set
MASTODON – BLOOD MOUNTAIN LP colored vinyl
MASTODON – BLOOD MOUNTAIN LP deluxe on 45rpm vinyl
MUSE – EXOGENESIS 12”
OF MONTREAL – BACK TO SCHOOL 7”
PHOENIX – FENCES 12”
RAMONES – MANIA LP
RODRIGUEZ – INNER CITY BLUES 7”
SEA WOLF – GET TO THE RIVER BEFORE IT RUNS TOO LOW 10”
SOFT PACK – SOFT PACK 7” box set of the entire album
SONIC YOUTH – HITS ARE FOR SQUARES LP
STRUMMER, JOE – GLOBAL A-GO-GO LP
STRUMMER, JOE – STREETCORE LP
TEGAN & SARA – AOL SESSIONS 7”
TV ON THE RADIO – DEAR SCIENCE LP
WAITS, TOM – MULE VARIATIONS LP 180 gram limited edition
WHITE RABBITS / ANTLERS – SPLIT 7”
WILCO – KICKING TELEVISION LP box set
YEAH YEAH YEAHS / SKELETONS – SPLIT 7”
YOUNG, NEIL – HEART OF GOLD 7”

Underground Sounds (Ann Arbor)

255 E Liberty St
Ann Arbor, MI 48104
(734) 327-9239
www.myspace.com/undergroundsoundsmi

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Thanks Matt

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