Record Store Day: A day celebrating the cultural aspect of record stores

Header image for Interrobang article CREDIT: MELISSA NOVACASKA
Record stores worldwide celebrate the cultural phenome of Record Store Day on April 21. Check out local London record shops such as Grooves Records for some great deals and steals on vinyl.

Record Stores have been around for decades selling vintage and new vinyl records. Even as technology advances and other ways of listening to music have been invented, many still prefer vinyl. This is evident through the abundance of record stores that still exist.

Record Store Day, an annual celebration of record stores, was created in 2007. This year (during its 11th year) it takes place on April 21, 2018. A statement on the official Record Store Day organization website says:

“Record Store Day was conceived in 2007 at a gathering of independent record store owners and employees as a way to celebrate and spread the word about the unique culture surrounding nearly 1400 independently owned record stores in the US and thousands of similar stores internationally. The first Record Store Day took place on April 19, 2008. Today there are Record Store Day participating stores on every continent except Antarctica.”

According to a press release from the Record Store Day organization, the organization itself “is managed by the Department of Record Stores and is organized in partnership with the Alliance of Independent Media Stores (AIMS), the Coalition of Independent Music Stores (CIMS). Record Store Day, the global celebration of the culture of the record store, takes place annually in April”.

Over the course of nine years, Record Store Day has gained prominence all over the world. Record stores in London even take part in the celebrations. Such stores include Grooves Records on Dundas Street. This day tends to include some deals on vinyl pricing as well as special releases, among other things. Live music can also be heard at Grooves, while this year Westerns alumna Poesy, who gained widespread recognition while on CTV's The Launch will be performing some tunes at the shop.

Second year Media Theory and Production (MTP) student, Zach Litzgus, has never been able to attend a Record Store Day event, but appreciates what the day celebrates. “I believe it has brought attention to the growing popularity of vinyl records,” Litzgus said. “I think it's really cool that artists release [Record Store Day] exclusive records which sometimes have never [before] heard content and can become collector items.”

Litzgus went on to explain why he prefers records over other mediums.

“While it obviously isn't the most convenient way to listen to music, I believe it is the highest quality of music listening, especially in comparison to earbuds and an iPhone.”

First year Fanshawe television broadcast student, Jocelyn Wong, said that while she has also never taken part in Record Store Day in the past, she most likely will this year.

“I'm going to go check out the gigs at Grooves. They usually host musicians there”.

Wong also shared why she enjoys listening to music on vinyl.

“I like vinyl. It has a certain quality to it which changed my entire listening experience,” Wong said. “I usually shop for my records at second-hand book stores. I want to get an original pressing of a record. I usually listen to Motown stuff.”

Make sure to check out your local record store on April 21.

For more information, visit recordstoreday.com