Record Store Day (April 18th)

[Apostrophe (')]

From the fine folks in My Morning Jacket:

hello friends. we are proud to announce and release a lil live ep that was recorded right in our very own hometown of louisville, ky. a few songs were taken from our in-store appearence at our beloved and fabled record haven "ear-x-tacy" and a few of them were taken from our concert at the fabled "waterfront park." see if you can guess which is from which. we are excited to make this a special release that you can only get at your favorite local independent record store, as now more than ever we all need to take the time to celebrate what our favorite local record stores and businesses mean to us - the value of community/human to human non- internet related physical and spiritual contact and supporting the hardworking people in your community who strive everyday to keep it unique and keep it local. we are fortunate in our travels to get to see many wonderful things, but one of the most distressing things is the increasing "normalization" of the world and how all these places are starting to look the same- everywhere you look more and more towns are starting to be filled with the same gigantic corporations, and while some of these huge companies undoubtably provide valuable services, it is so important that we realize that it is our local businesses and people (and natural landscapes, but thats a different letter) that are what make different towns worth coming to...things you can only get in one place, made and sold by people who believe in what they are doing...people who are trying to keep good weirdness alive in this crazy dome. god* bless all of you, and god* bless the world and all that kinda sh*t.

-yer pals, my morning jacket

p.s.- *the word "god*" is used here meaning anything you want it to mean and is a trademark of globo-chem worldwide

The EP (in both CD and limited edition double 10" vinyl) will be available at finer independent retailers beginning on Record Store Day, April 18.

Gotta love a band that references Mr. Show in official communication :D

[festivalgirl]

New York Times
By Joel T. Weickgenant

Standing on the wrong side of “full capacity” didn’t discourage the dozens of Andrew Bird fans gathered outside the singer’s show at Waterloo Records in Austin last month.

Clustered around doors opened onto the parking lot, they listened as Mr. Bird’s voice soared over his signature string-enhanced compositions. Some were blissed out, eyes closed, while others craned to see past the open doors; one woman pressed a camera phone between posters of Cruiserweight and Conor Oberst, straining for a good shot.

As the annual South by Southwest festival takes over Austin — this year, from March 13 to 22 — music lovers will flock to the city, partly to take in all that live music, but also to indulge in that increasingly rare sight: stores that still sell records.

It’s this synergistic relationship between Austin’s record dealers and the dedicated hordes still willing to pay for limited-edition vinyl that makes the city a destination for record lovers.

“Many years of great live music and clubs have created an atmosphere of musical awareness that interprets into music collecting in many ways,” said Doug Hanners, creator of the Austin Record Convention (www.austinrecords.com), a twice annual, vinyl-centric event that claims to be the largest sale of recorded music in the country. “Many of the musicians are also collectors, also work at record stores.”

Waterloo Records and Video (600A North Lamar Street; 512-474-2500; www.waterloorecords.com) is the flagship of Austin’s record-collecting culture. The store’s aisles overflow with treasures both timely (Sigur Ros’s “Med sud i eyrum vid spilum endalaust,” $18.99), and obscure (“Sleep’s Holy Mountain” on sought-after picture disc, $27.99).

Across the river in South Austin, End of an Ear (2209 South First Street; 512-462-6008; www.endofanear.com) features a healthy mix of limited-edition vinyl and used classics — as well as live performances. The store’s two owners, Dan Plunkett and Blake Carlisle, said their 2009 festival lineup is as packed as any previous year’s.

At Sound On Sound (106 East North Loop Boulevard.; 512-371-9980; www.soundonsoundrecords.com) a large selection of CD’s is supplemented by a record selection that emphasizes experimental sounds like the music of the acid-folk pioneer Karen Dalton.

From Sound On Sound, a 10-minute drive through the Hyde Park neighborhood brings you to Antone’s Record Shop (2928 Guadalupe Street; 512-322-0660; www.antonesrecordshop.com), situated on the University of Texas’s main drag.

“We’re actually the only record store still standing in the campus area,” noted Mike Buck, a co-owner of the store. “The place has always operated on a shoestring. I think our strength is vinyl, and a faithful clientele.”

Opened in 1987 by the late Austin music impresario Clifford Antone, the store specializes in roots music and boasts a strong selection of jazz. Willie Nelson records command a whole row and a half, while Cannonball Adderley’s hard-to-find LP “Alabama/Africa” was recently on sale for a very reasonable $9.99.

At Cheapo Discs (914 North Lamar Street; 512-477-4499; www.cheapotexas.com), vast quantities of used music and great finds abound: $12.93 will buy you a vinyl copy of the “The Freewheelin’ Bob Dylan” and the new EP by the Austin soul screamer Black Joe Lewis. And, if you’re lucky, you might stumble into a live performance by a local band like Bear and the Essentials.

[BigDag]

I have enough vinyl to choke a horse. Actually, a whole ranch full of horses. Most of it is in very good condition, and I never listen to it any more. Is there a market for it? Could I go on ebay and finance my Jazzfest trip next year?

[festivalgirl]

I have enough vinyl to choke a horse. Actually, a whole ranch full of horses. Most of it is in very good condition, and I never listen to it any more. Is there a market for it? Could I go on ebay and finance my Jazzfest trip next year?

I think there's a market for vinyl out there. We have about the same amount of vinyl but we play ours.

[Moon]

I have enough vinyl to choke a horse. Actually, a whole ranch full of horses. Most of it is in very good condition, and I never listen to it any more. Is there a market for it? Could I go on ebay and finance my Jazzfest trip next year?

Hold on to it. It will only go up in value.

[CEfromLA]

I went kicking and screaming from vinyl to cd's. We have close to 2,000 vinyl albums. They are a total pain to store (I have bookcases devoted to them), but I still pull one out on occasion and play it.
OK, so then I finally break down and embrace the cd. 800 cds and two more bookcases later everyone starts buying ipods and downloading music.
Three months ago, I finally break down and buy an ipod. I have to admit that I absolutely LOVE it. I've downloaded about 300 cds into it so far. I love the idea of taking all my music with me, no matter where I am. I still buy actual cds instead of downloading music (I seem to have hoarding tendancies!).
It's getting harder and harder to find an actual 'record store' which is really sad......

[Gards]

I have enough vinyl to choke a horse. Actually, a whole ranch full of horses. Most of it is in very good condition, and I never listen to it any more. Is there a market for it? Could I go on ebay and finance my Jazzfest trip next year?

Hi BD
There is a lot of stuff that is worth money but from what I have seen it is normaly obscure early releases of people that didnt get wide distrubution at the time and then got deleted before the people became famous,or equaly as important influential to other important or big selling groups that followed.
Check out the Rhythms Magazine,which isa great Music Mag,their website www.rhythms.com.au and look at Vinyl Lives Keith Glass who writes that area,has a long history in Aus in lots of the music biz and now resides I think somewhere in the Mobile area,and reports in on how you can find and sell valuable records.
Cheers
Gards