In a time when just about any media you can think of is available at the click of a button, there’s something special about hunting down physical releases from your favorite artist. Yes, it’s not instant, or found free on YouTube, but, it feels more special.
Record Store Day, beginning in 2008, and held annually on the third Saturday in April, celebrates music and the community built within independently owned record stores. Each year offers music lovers and collectors an opportunity to get their hands on limited pressings, exclusive covers or never-before-heard versions from their favorite artists.
At Lovell’s Records in Uptown Whittier, a line forms hours before doors open and wraps around the block by 7:00 AM. Jonathan Angulo, the first person in line this year, shares, “I’ve been waiting for almost 9 hours…this is my third year coming [to Record Store Day]. I always come for Laufey, she has a release every year.” Mady, who joined with a few friends, shares, “I’m really excited for Ethel Cain’s EP release of Inbred, it’s never been pressed before! Her music really speaks to me and I’m excited to have a piece of her work.”
But it’s more than just the music, it’s about the community. Angulo shares, “I just like being here and seeing what they have, even if I’m not going to buy it. Everyone is always so nice.” Another attendee, Jonathan Melgar shares, “I love the community of it all, I’ve been collecting records since I was a child, it’s a really big part of who I am.”
Ruben, Lovell’s store manager, agrees, “it’s a lot of work, but, for us, we’re excited to showcase these collectibles and we do it for people to have fun, share their stories… and maybe they get a taste for it and want to come back…” The momentum and desire for physical media has risen significantly in recent years. Ruben shares, “the store has been around since about 1965. We’ve seen ups and downs, all sorts of media. We were here since before Record Store Day and hopefully we’ll be here long after Record Store Day isn’t a thing anymore.”
The rare releases also draw resellers, who flip the item for a profit. Conversations online show fans frustrated by the online price spike that results from exclusive Record Store Day releases. One fan shares, “it sucks because each title is limited to a certain number of pressings and fans are competing with people who are greedy and just looking to resell for sometimes double the original price.” Ruben adds, “some people do come in just to get things to resell, but I’m not going to get hung up on that as a small business. That’s just life.”
As fans await their entrance to Lovell’s, huddled in blankets and sipping warm cups of coffee, they also turn to one another and become friends. They talk about music, favorite bands, upcoming concertsand share stories about their first CDs bought with their allowance. As Stevie Wonder says, “Music is a world within itself, with a language we all understand.”
