“Fear And Loathing” On Record Store Day ’26

(Title is an obvious nod to the brilliant Hunger S. Thompson)

Emboldened by the success I’d had running down to my local renown record store and snagging  a copy of the Stones’ new vinyl-only single “Rough And Twisted,” I decided to dip my toe back into Record Store Day this morning.

It had been years since I even attempted to participate in Record Store Day. The only thing I’ve ever been able to get ahold of was Springsteen’s American Beauty – EP and that was years ago (checks notes…2021).

The store I frequent was opening early today in honor of this twice annual holiday, at 7 am. I’m not a morning person but the Rock Chick and I resolved to head over there “whenever we happened to wake up.” Her words. The store usually opens at 11, but with people actually sleeping out in line, much like the old days for concert tickets, the early opening was warranted.

This year’s attempt to get ahold of something rare or exclusive was going to be different, the Rock Chick was along for the journey as she wanted to grab a copy of the Taylor Swift single, “Elizabeth Taylor,” for her daughter.

For years I’ve tried to get her to go down to RSD and she’s been disinterested… I’m not sure if Taylor was the pull or her daughter. I suspect it was a little of both. Our daughter is a rock star.

The Rock Chick and I got down there right around 7:35 am, so the place had been open for over a half an hour already. Yet the line I jumped in still stretched to the end of the block. There was a woman sitting on the curb wrapped up in a black hoody and blanket like a druid in prayer and she looked like she’d been there a while. I was a bit worried about her. God knows how many people slept out all night in the cold, Spring air.

I sent my friend Doug a pic of the line with the words “Record Store Day” attached. Apparently he was unencumbered by the knowledge of what RSD is as he responded “Cool pic, why the line?” I repeated, “Record Store Day… google it.”

For the uninitiated, Record Store Day was founded in 2008 as a twice a year holiday on the third Saturday of April and on Black Friday. Artists release rare recordings – singles, EPs, live stuff – on vinyl that could only be found in independent record stores. It was, according to Wikipedia: “to celebrate the culture of the independently owned record store.”

Typically, there are only a few thousand of these special records pressed so they almost instantly become rarities, much coveted in the vinyl community. And frankly, it’s always something cool. I’m down for anything that helps vinyl and the independent record store owner!

There are three designations on RSD. RSD Exclusive denotes a record that will only be available on RSD. For example, the Cars released a live album that was only available today.

Next is RSD First, which denotes this is the first opportunity to purchase the release. For example Springsteen released a 5-LP live box Live From Asbury Park 2024 today. It debuted today but you’ll be able to buy it later as well (on CD or vinyl or MP3).

Finally there’s RSD Local/Regional. I have no idea what that means. Obvious, artists with a local flavor, I suppose.

I have to admit, I’ve always loved the idea of RSD in theory but in practice, not so much. It’s just so hard to get your hands on anything and I have to admit, I’ve always felt like it was a party I wasn’t invited to. Kind of like March Madness (I hate basketball). That one time I grabbed the Springsteen EP, I happened to stagger into a record store on accident around noon and still found a couple of dudes grappling over the RSD racks.

However, after snagging the Stones’ single and knowing the Rock Chick wanted the Taylor Swift thing, I began to peruse the list of releases. That aforementioned Cars’ live album was from a 1984 concert on the Heartbeat City tour. It’s available as part of the Super Deluxe edition of the record, but this was stand alone. I love the Cars and they never released a live LP. That caught my eye.

Robert Plant and Saving Grace featuring Suzi Dian released an EP of 4 tracks that weren’t on their last LP, creative titled Saving Grace. After Plant’s (and Saving Grace’s) incendiary performance on Colbert the other night I was in… alas the version of “Ramble On” wasn’t on the EP, it’s four more folky covers but still I was interested. I did know that there were only a very few copies of this one. I’d need some amazing saving grace to grab that one. Either that or I’d have had to sleep out next to the half-frozen dark druid chick to get my hands on that one.

Finally, I saw there was a Tom Petty & The Heartbreakers live LP, that looked like a bootleg which I love, of a performance from 1978 at the Paradise Theater in Boston. I’ve been to the Paradise during my lost Boston Summer. While it was only a single-LP live album, it was from the tour for their sophomore album You’re Gonna Get It, and I was immediately drawn to it. Of course their lead guitarist Mike Campbell just put out a new single, “I Remember,” which may have fueled my vinyl lust.

Again, I’m not an early bird. I’m not going to sleep out for this thing… those days are long gone. On Saturday I like to take a more leisurely approach to getting out of bed… I woke early this morning after a fitful night. I staggered down at 7:15 and discovered the Rock Chick had already forgotten our RSD pact to get each other up and moving.

By 7:35 am I was already in line…I hadn’t seen that much “bed-head” since I’d stayed in a youth hostel in Europe. These people were all groggy but determined to have their vinyl purchase dreams come true. As I listened to the chatter I realized, these were my people.

As I watched people leave the store, with thick bags of vinyl, I realized the Plant was long gone. Each few people who left, they let a few more go in. I couldn’t help but think this record store, which is sizable, is going to feel like an old phone booth in the 50s where they cram as many people as they could into the thing. Why they did that is anybody’s guess?

I had visions of people rioting inside the store… racks of records tipped over as they wrestled over a rare single from the Stones or a live Thin Lizzy record (from ’78 no less!). The Talking Heads pulled their CBS Demos out of the box Tentative Decisions and were selling it stand alone… would that cause fists to be thrown?

I have to admit, I was having quite a bit of vinyl envy as I saw people stroll by with bags under their arms and smiles on their face. I didn’t know what I’d face once I got inside. At last, around 8:10 am – after only about a half an hour – we got into the store. It was packed and frankly, mayhem inside.

Lines for the register snaked through the racks all the way to the back of the store. The Rock Chick said, “Go,” and I was off. She found the end of the register line as the bouncer said, “The Taylor is at the register.” She lives by the rule, every man for themselves… I slid by the Cars slot – gone. I hit Plant next – gone.

At last I pushed my way to the Petty section and pay-dirt! They had several still left. With all deference to Meatloaf, in this case 1 out of 3 ain’t bad. The place was packed and there was an air of urgency and frenzy about the place but it was far from the “Beyond Thunderdome” I’d imagined in line.

I suddenly realized as I squeezed through the traffic, that I was having a really good time. I saw 3 of the 4 guys who stood out in line with me for the Stones’ single and chatted with a couple of them. Very cool guys so it was nice to see a few “fellow travelers” on the vinyl highway hanging out with their vinyl stack this morning.

I couldn’t decide if I should be looking for more releases outside of my list of three. The Thin Lizzy was enticing, but I decided, no. I glanced at the 5-LP Springsteen but I’ve already got the 5-LP Live From 75 – 85 and at that price, I was out. I might circle back on that one on CD. The Modern Lovers debut was there in a picture disc, nah.

I snaked back to the Rock Chick who was near the register and we paid and got out of there. All of my hesitancy to jump in on RSD had faded away. I was slightly disappointed with my “haul” but felt the Petty was a decent enough trophy. If I had deeper pockets I could have come out with a lot more. It was worth getting up “early.” If only I’d gotten up when I woke at 3 am…

If you’re out there on RSD, best of luck to you. If you’ve never heard of RSD or it’s not your thing, please support smaller, independent record stores. It’s still a groovy place to hang out, much like in the old days. It’s the one place where even if the music has changed, the vibe is still strong. There’s so much darkness right now, you gotta find the light wherever you can.

Happy RSD to all who celebrate. Take care of each other out there. Cheers!