Pause to rock on Record Store Day
Yesterday was Record Store Day and I got completely stymied in all my attempts to be anything but a snowed-in sister seeing my long-gone brother (he is back from France after eight months, and we just hung out at my parents’ house all day yesterday, eating cinnamon rolls). So instead, today I clickety-clicked through YouTube, vicariously living through all the wonderful performances popping up on there from independent record retailers across the country:
The excellent Salt Lake City band Devil Whale (courtesy of Dainon):
Silversun Pickups – “Lazy Eye” at Rasputin Records in Berkeley:
Avett Brothers at Grimey’s in Nashville – “Paranoia in Bb Major”
This crowd singalong from Mute Math (“Peculiar People”) is downright buoyant:
…and this Beatles cover from Record Store Day in Portugal may just be the effing coolest thing I’ve seen in a while (courtesy of musician Samuel Úria):
There are dozens more, like Graham Coxon or Patrick Wolf in London, Manchester Orchestra in Atlanta, or…Cheech and Chong in Australia?
God bless independent record retailers! How did you spend the day, dear reader?
Name: Heather Browne
I went to the Atlanta Record Store Day to see Manchester Orchestra. It was great! Nobody puts on a show like Manchester Orchestra. It’s just so emotionally charged and powerful. Not only did they perform, but they offered a package of their new (and unreleased) album on vinyl and disc, and then they signed! It was an awesome night indeed.
Chase — April 19, 2009 @ 4:52 pm
I took my 6 year old son to Twist & Shout in Denver. While picking up the latest from Neko Case and “Streets of New York” by Willie Nile, we both listened to the great music they were playing over the loudspeakers. And because he let me take my time (as one always should at T&S), I got my son a “Where the Wild Things Are” bobblehead. Great day.
Glenn — April 19, 2009 @ 5:02 pm
Man, I forgot all about Record Store Day.
Matthew — April 19, 2009 @ 6:54 pm
Went to a small indie record shop here in Edinburgh, was good day of small instore performances.
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scott — April 20, 2009 @ 5:26 am
That Beatles cover is just great. Looks like improv. What are they saying?
Jesse — April 20, 2009 @ 7:36 am
It’s not improv, Jesse. Samuel Úria played it on the previous show also, which I attended.
He just freely translated “Something in the way she moves”, made it a new poem in Portuguese. He’s a great writer, he makes sublime use of Portuguese words when translating. It’s funny, yet emotional and great.
He made the same with Kim Wilde’s “Kids in America”. Covered the song and translated the lyrics, turning it into a decadent, dark ballad. People can’t help it but smile, occasionally laugh and it’s beautiful.
Joana — May 2, 2009 @ 8:34 am