It's that time of the year again, the day we all queue for hours for overpriced records because we don't want to buy them even dearer on ebay. All jokes aside, I love RSD. I think it's a great day that celebrates music, music lovers and, of course, record stores. Many critics say that we should celebrate everyday and not just today, but you can't get an exclusive Bowie live album everyday, can you? And your local record store won't be celebrating with live bands or discounts on standard releases everyday. The first shop I went to this year was Ignite Records inside Oasis in the centre of Birmingham, this is a great little record store, with a friendly owner and a fantastic variety of records. Here is what I got there...
Bastille - Comfort of Strangers (Ltd. to 1000)
Bastille are one of my favourite bands out there at the moment, their 2016 album 'Wild World' was one of my favourite releases of the past year. It was a great mixture of pop and, in places, contemporary dance. Understandably I was very hyped to pick this up once I saw it on the list. I know this was very expensive, but it is an unreleased song that I'm very excited to listen to, and with the B-side of Warmth performed live at Capitol Studios, which was one of my favourite song son 'Wild World' this is a great selection. Not to mention, it's pressed on white vinyl and the 7" is housed in a slip sleeve mirrorboard that looks very neat.
Blossoms - Blossoms Live from Festival No. 6
I recently saw Blossoms live and they were phenomenal so on this year of live releases I knew I was going to be getting this. To my knowledge it isn't very rare and I've seen ALOT of people picking this up on Twitter and Instagram, but this is a very pretty picture disc. With a mixture of pink, blue and purple swirls and the bands logo emblazoned across it, it's very pretty and I'm sure it will sound excellent.
Cabbage - Young, Dumb & Full of... (Ltd. to 1000)
Cabbage are a post-punk band that mix lyrics of humour and politics together expertly, with bashing beats and you get an excellent debut collection of EP's. After seeing the album being released exclusively and on Orange Vinyl I knew this was going to make it onto my list because it's one of my stand out albums this year. The vinyl is incredibly flimsy but I can only put this down to the pressure on pressing plants leading up to RSD. Nonetheless, this is an excellent addition to my collection.
David Bowie - Cracked Actor (Live in LA, 1974)
David Bowie is one of my favourite artists of all time, and whilst I dont agree with some of his record store day releases, like the No Plan EP, this was definitely something I wanted to pick up. I was umming and arring over the this for weeks because I was expecting it to be incredibly expensive but at £35 I was more than willing to shell out for this. To add to my collection a previously unreleased Bowie Live Album is an incredibly exciting prospect, because I can never afford the Reality tour album. I can't wait to spin this and soak it all in on wax. As far as I know there were lots of these about all over the world so in a few weeks they will probably not be worth a lot on ebay.
That's all I got from Ignite, but it's not all I got. Whilst walking to get breakfast with my girlfriend we decided to go and check the other record store in the middle of Birmingham, Swordfish, a classic record store with a great mixture of new and old records at competitive prices. This is what I got there...
Hudson Mohawke - Watch_Dogs 2 OST
This was one of the top 3 things I wanted on RSD. The excellent soundtrack to the brilliant Watch_Dogs 2, which was my favourite game of 2016. After I didn't manage to get this at Ignite I was devastated, but Swordfish had 3 copies available and I couldn't purchase it any quicker. If you've played through the game then I definitely recommend trying to get this, it's great electronic music that brings back memories of a great game.
T.I. - I'm Serious
A classic Hip-Hop album from a rapper that has fell off as late, and tends to focus more on his acting now. But this southern album is one of the best rap albums to come from there, it's got great flows, raptuous beats and is considered by many to be a classic. There were only 500 of these, and it's printed on red and white vinyl. It looks amazing and the fact it's hand numbered makes this even more special!
That's everything I got from my incredibly successful Record Store Day in Birmingham. Thanks to Ignite and Swordfish for being such good hosts and stocking exactly what I wanted. I'd love to know what you guys got on the day so let me know on Twitter!