Shoppers at Rough Trade NYC (David Chiu)
Forget about the turkey and football: the real tradition around Thanksgiving is Black Friday, the unofficial holiday in which crowds flood the big box stores in the wee hours of the morning hoping to score that big plasma TV, iPad, or down jacket on the cheap. Fortunately on a somewhat lesser scale, Black Friday is also the occasion when independent record stores put out some really cool limited-edition releases in conjunction with the annual Record Store Day event held every spring. It’s a great opportunity to support your local record stores, which are still somewhat of an endangered species despite vinyl’s resurgence in popularity, and to get some snag some rare stuff that will most likely sell for big bucks on eBay. (By the way, please don’t do that–it’s so crass).
Below is an abbreviated list of some noteworthy items coming out for this Record Store Day Black Friday as well as a directory of Brooklyn record stores that will be participating on Nov. 28. You can check out the full list of releases here. And if you want to get an idea of how much these items cost, check out Bull Moose’s site.
Some words of advice from someone who’s been there, done that: 1) Check with your record store in advance to see if they are carrying what you are looking for. 2) Find out what their store hours are since they may open early just for this occasion. 3) Get there early, even before they officially open–you can expect a long line of other record geeks outside.
Happy music hunting folks!
(Sleeve images c/o Record Store Day, Wikipedia)
Afrika Bambatta and the Soul Sonic Force
“Planet Rock” (12” vinyl)
One of the earliest and landmark singles in the genre from this rap pioneer, this version of “Planet Rock” makes its debut on glow-in-dark vinyl.
The Beatles
Long Tall Sally EP (7″ vinyl)
The Fab Four’s 1964 EP is being reissued featuring then-new material at the time: “Long Tall Sally,” “I Call Your Name,” “Slow Down,” and “Matchbox.”
David Bowie
“Sue (Or in a Season of Crime)” (10″ vinyl)
Bowie, who always seems to have a Record Store Day release every year, unveils the single version of “Sue,” one of the new songs off of his new career-spanning compilation Nothing Has Changed.
Miles Davis
“Blue Xmas”(7” vinyl)
The jazz legend’s offers this cool Yule performance from 1962. And not surprisingly, it’s pressed on blue vinyl.
Genesis
From Genesis to Revelation (12″ vinyl)
The first-ever Genesis album featuring Peter Gabriel is now out on vinyl for the first time in 40 years.
Joan Jett and the Blackhearts
Joan Jett and the Blackhearts (book and 7″ vinyl)
A special flexi-cover book documenting the legendary rocker’s career that also contains a 7″ single featuring several live tracks: “Bad Reputation (with Pat Smear),” “You Don’t Know What You’ve Got,” “TMI,” and “Cherry Bomb.”
New Order
1981-1982 (12″ vinyl)
The influential group’s EP from 1982, featuring popular band numbers from New Order’s early years, including “Everything’s Gone Green,” “Temptation,” and “Hurt.”
Phil Spector and Various Artists
A Christmas Gift For You (12″ vinyl)
Perhaps the most definitive Christmas album of all time and produced by the great Phil Spector, A Christmas Gift For You contains such favorites from Darlene Love, the Crystals and the Ronettes. It’s now available on limited edition red vinyl.
OutKast
“Player’s Ball” (10″ vinyl)
The Atlanta hip-hop duo’s first ever single from 20 years ago now appears on green vinyl along with three other tracks.
The Ramones
Morrissey Curates the Ramones (12″ vinyl)
From one icon to another: the charismatic former frontman of the Smiths pays tribute to the Queens punk heroes with his own personal selections of Ramones songs.
RUN-DMC
“Christmas in Hollis” (7″ vinyl)
The perennial holiday hip-hop classic from the Queens rap legends.
St. Vincent
“Pieta” (10″ vinyl)
The indie artist recorded two new songs from the St. Vincent sessions from last year, which are now complied on this numbered vinyl single — including “Pieta” and “Sparrow.”
The Big Lebowski (12″ colored vinyl)
The soundtrack to the hit cult film makes its vinyl debut here.
Johnny Thunders
Looking for Johnny: The Legend of Johnny Thunders (12″ colored vinyl)
The soundtrack to the documentary on the late guitarist for the New York Dolls and the Heartbreakers is available on red vinyl. It contains such tracks as “London Boys,” “Too Much Junkie Business,” “You Can’t Put Your Arms Around a Memory,” and many others.
The Velvet Underground
Live MCMXCIII (12″ vinyl)
Originally released in 1993 around the time of the band’s European reunion tour, this live set is now available on vinyl.
CHVRCHES
Under the Tide
The hot British electronic music trio’s latest release contains five songs, including the never-before physically-released “Strong Hand.
BROOKLYN RECORD STORES
Rough Trade
64 N. 9th St.
718-388-4111
Earwax
167 N. 9th St.
718-486-3771
Fifth Avenue Record Shop
439 5th Ave.
718-499-8483
Norman’s Sound and Vision
555 Metropolitan Ave.
347-529-3347
Academy Records Annex
85 Oak St.
718-218-8200
Halcyon the Shop
57 Pearl St.
718-260-9299
Permanent Records
181 Franklin St.
718-383-4083
