You don’t have to wait in line, just go to your record store any day and get new, unique music.

This year’s official Record Store Day has come and gone. The annual injection of business into independent records stores around the country has no doubt put a smile on the face of shop owners and record store clerks alike. The special events (DJs, bands, etc.) played their part by entertaining while people were in line or shopped in each respective store. But Flea Market Funk was not there. We didn’t even make an attempt. You know what we did? On Friday night, we took two hours and went to our local record shop and dug. In fact, we dug for two hours mostly alone, except for one random dude that brought in a dusty crate to trade in for store credit. It was sad that a record store that was open until 9PM on a Friday night in the country’s most diverse city, as well as one of the fastest growing cities in New Jersey had tumbleweeds blowing down its aisles. I swear I thought a crow said something to me in between the changing of the music. You may point out that the next day was Record Store Day and people were saving it for the next morning, but before you do, that’s my point. You can got to a record store every day and discover new music, especially music that hasn’t be repackaged and jacked up in price. Record stores are meeting places. Record stores are hang outs. Record stores are gatherings. RSD used to be every Tuesday and Friday when new releases came out, that’s just how it was. It was also any other day for that matter. People actually had to wait in line for new releases, not just push a button while eating deviled eggs in bed (man that is a bad thought). Technology has changed, people’s buying habits have changed, but records haven’t. For us here at FMF, there is still the thrill of the chase, the sound from opening up of a sealed record from 40 years ago, the musty smell of old records, the crinkle of shrink wrap, the liner notes that mp3s don’t have, as well as the album art you don’t need a magnifying glass to actually see. That’s what we live for. We live for the record store banter and getting turned on to new music from actual people who talk to you. While digging by myself that night, the needle was set down and picked up many times, pushing out the sounds of Seu Jorge, DJ Krush, and various other LPs that were spot on. We looked through sections we normally wouldn’t have. We dug deep into the dollar bins (we always hit them first) and the Jazz Funk bin. We perused the psychedelic bins, saw some of the same records we always hope are still there that we say to ourselves “gonna get that next time”. And most were. We were bummed that the Pete Rodriguez full length on Alegre that was semi-cheap was gone. All part of the record experience folks. For shits and giggles, we asked about a RSD release, J Dilla’s “F@ck The Police” picture disc. My guy told me that they ordered a bunch but were sent none. So even if there was something I wanted (just to have it for the police shield picture disc), they didn’t even get it. Whatever RSD politics goes into that, just add more BS to the aura of the day. We were able to pull some unique, cheap finds (all original pressings), shopped in peace, and spent $30. Here’s what we dug up:

Gene Dozier and the Brotherhood – Blues Power
Chrome Children – Chrome Children
Eddie Palmieri – Suprimposition
James Brown – Cold Sweat
The Gene Norman Group – Dylan Jazz

+ bonus book:
The Record Players: DJ Revolutionaries

What are we gong to do now that RSD is over? Nothing. We will do the same thing as we have always done. We will just go to the record store and buy records. Think about that the next time you wait in line once, twice, or three times a year to get an overpriced common on 180g vinyl. You can get 10 records for the price you just paid for another reissue of that record that have been in the cheap bin since it came out. Support your local record shop as much as you can because they need more than one day a year to stay open.

Keep Diggin’!