Black Friday / Record Store Day II

Black Friday 2010 brought music geeks out to their fave indie stores bright and early for an unofficial Record Store Day II.  Hopes of snagging some highly coveted exclusive releases probably kept more than a few from sleeping despite full bellies and tryptophan laced brains.

On various music forums I've had fun reading success stories of many, but I've found it typical of my local stores to not get a lot of this stuff in to make trying to be a first in line worth it (especially with an unruly gut like mine).  I had a friend in Cincinnati pick up the Soundgarden single that [for me] completes the Telephantasm box I bought in Cinci a couple months ago- since it's the title track.  He got the last copy, along with the last MGMT single he wanted.  He also grabbed the Jimi Hendrix 10" on green vinyl which was quite reasonably priced at $10.99.

At last minute I headed to a shop to see what they had left, and found they had closed earlier than usual, so I showed my RSD support by buying a few sealed 80's albums from Used Kids' ebay buy-it-now listings, then picked them up at their store Sunday.

I spent Saturday night discovering George Harrison's All Things Must Pass through online samples and youtube clips. Ron in Cinci had been contemplating picking up the RSD reissue until he saw the $57 price.  Now I'm hoping to catch a copy on ebay for $40-$50.  $60 is just too much for a 2 disc album with a 3rd disc of 'bonus' jam sessions.  Didn't BONUS used to mean INCLUDED AT NO EXTRA COST?  Speaking of the not-free-bonus, how 'bout that Black Keys album with the BONUS 10" doubling in price for RSD?!?

My Black Friday / weekend finds:

Sealed old stock copies of Pete Townshend's White City, Split Enz' Conflicting Emotions, Cock Robin's '85 debut (my 2nd copy), and newer releases from Catfish Haven and Goldfrapp:

The Catfish Haven is a great example of an album cover NOT matching the content. At first glance it reminded me of Belinda Carlisle's first solo album.  I immediately wanted it for the wall but when I listened to the songs on amazon and youtube, though I really liked them, the cover absolutely doesn't fit the music.  This music is unpolished soulful Rock & Roll with a gruff vocalist- even the elegant title font is mismatched! The band is based in Chicago, this 2008 release on Secretly Canadian is their 3rd LP. 







Now that we have a music video channel again, one that not only actually plays music videos- but ONLY plays music videos 24/7, I'm seeing a lot of newer bands I like.  Attracted by its colorful cover, this record stopped me in my record-flipping tracks every time I browsed the G's.  Once I saw the video for the 80's style Rocket, I knew next time I saw this it would come home with me.  9/10 user score on metacritic.com

It's a single disc in a nice gatefold, the second pocket holds a 4-panel poster of the cover, and the full album on CD. The sleeve is printed with lyrics and Will Gregory