(TV) Record Store Day

[Phil Obbard <pobbard@yahoo.com>]

I did not plan on going to Record Store Day, but wound-up flying in early this 
AM from a business trip, and driving home from Logan I realized that there was a 
Newbury Comics one exit removed from my trip home. 

I pulled up by Newbury Comics (in Newton, MA) around 9:50 AM to see a line of 
folks waiting for the store to open at 10 AM. I parked and joined the line, 
which was neither long (maybe 10-15 people total) nor young (I spotted only one 
person under 20; most were my age or older (mid-40s-early 60s, I would guess). 
 This isn't the biggest Newbury Comics in the area by far -- much bigger ones 
are in Burlington, Framingham, and downtown Boston, each about 30 minutes away 
-- but this is probably the only "indie" record store left serving the 
Newton/Needham/Dedham area of Boston -- a pretty big region. So I thought the 
line was underwhelming.

Once the store opened, people walked in quickly; I was immediately distracted by 
a table of free snacks and many giveaway samplers. I picked-up a bunch of free 
CDs, although I skipped the free DVDs Newbury was also offering ("The Chronicles 
of Riddick"?) and the snacks, to my own amazement. Then I realized that the 
"special" vinyl was on the other side of the store, in a small display, and 
currently being mobbed, so I made my way over quickly. As I watched, two older 
gentlemen in front of me plucked-out copies of LIVE AT THE OLD WALDORF from the 
bin, and I assumed that was it -- I didn't expect the store to have more than 2 
copies, if that. Then, the woman next to/in front of me started thumbing through 
the bin (I still couldn't reach it for the crowd) and I saw a 3rd copy; she 
looked at it, said the title out-loud, looked as if she was going to pull it 
out, and then... kept thumbing through the bin. So I pushed through and grabbed 
it.

The funny thing is, I'm not even sure I wanted this! But once I saw it, I had to 
have it. One of the things I really appreciated about the OLD WALDORF release 
was the way Rhino carefully mimicked the look of the original two Television 
albums. I think it's a stunning cover and seeing it blown-up (not CD size) makes 
an immediate impression. I may frame it (as I have MM and ADVENTURE, for many 
years, in our family room) but to do that I have to get my nerve up to remove 
the shrinkwrap, plastered with large stickers promoting the release, the 
mastering, Record Store Day, etc. The other option is to pass it a list member 
who couldn't get their hands on a copy(?). Anyway...

So, this is basically the end of my Record Store Day experience (the TV release 
the only thing I bought), but I'll add one more thing.

Yesterday, prepping for a meeting in a rural part of Ontario, I found the only 
semi-hip coffee place around (chosen solely for the free wifi) and spent about 
90 minutes there. Turns out that the coffee was pretty good, and for the first 
15 minutes or so they were playing lots of Elvis Costello -- no argument there. 
Then the shuffle kicked in and I recognized some tracks and not others, but 
after a while found myself really enjoying a track I wasn't familiar with. But 
the voice sounded familiar, and Googling the lyrics told me it was Neil Young's 
"Down by the River". Believe it or not, I don't own any Neil Young -- I know him 
solely by a handful of big hits -- but I enjoyed "Down by the River" enough to 
resolve to get a copy of EVERYBODY KNOWS... as soon as I had a chance. I even 
looked it up on Amazon to find it was $9.84, and I knew that price would 
be unencumbered by shipping costs (as a student, I am an Amazon Prime member) or 
taxes. I didn't buy it yesterday, but I put it on my list.

So today, after finding my Television vinyl at Newbury Comics, I checked out the 
Neil Young section. EVERYBODY KNOWS... was there for... $12.99. Not including MA 
sales tax (6% or so). So I could spend $13+ and have it today, or I could save 
$3+ dollars by buying via Amazon and have it in 2 days. I want to support my 
local record store, but this isn't a hard decision to make. 

It isn't digital downloads or illegal file sharing that's killing record stores: 
it's value for price. (Worse, I'm not aware of any Newbury Comics with a 
listening station, and how hard would it be for a record store to have iPod 
docks where people could buy digital downloads if they wanted?)

Anyone else have a Record Store Day experience to share?

--Phil
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