Record Store Day, which falls on April 20 this year, has turned into a zoo. It’s no longer the domain of giddy discophiles who sweat uncontrollably upon hearing the words “limited” or “out-of-print”—those folks were overwhelmed by the crowds after the first installment in 2008. And RSD special releases have proliferated indiscriminately, so that you have to sort out the contrived from the inspired—many feel more appropriate for a Best Buy display than the well-thumbed stacks at an indie store (take the vinyl version of Linkin Park’s debut, Hybrid Theory, for example). With its wall-to-wall in-store performances, increasingly strident promotions, and early-morning sidewalk lines, Record Store Day has become a rowdy national festival rather than a peaceful day of vinyl worship.
For the third year in a row, the revivalists at the Numero Group are hosting a pop-up shop—this time at Logan Square’s Comfort Station (2579 N. Milwaukee), where from 9 AM till 5 PM they’ll be hawking every release the label has in print, three RSD exclusives (including the Codeine LP What About the Lonely?), and five-dollar mixtapes created by Numero staff, among other goodies.
Record Store Day special releases that are extra special
Charlie Poole’s pre-Depression banjo, the GZA’s chess set, “Gay Fish,” and more
Record Store Day 411
The stores, in-stores, discounts, and goodies
Of Paramount’s importance
Record Store Day is a good day to remember that a subsidiary of a Wisconsin furniture company released some of the most significant blues records of the 1920s.
By James Hughes
