In rotation: 3/1/19

Here’s the full list of Record Store Day 2019 releases: The full list of releases for Record Store Day 2019 has been announced – featuring exclusives from Green Day, IDLES, Fleetwood Mac, Queen, Iggy Pop, Prince, David Bowie, Elastica, Jeff Buckley and many more. See the full list below. Set to take place this year on Saturday April 13, Record Store Day 2019 will see hundreds of vinyl and cassette releases sold exclusively through independent record shops for one day only. Among the range of re-releases, expanded editions, new releases and special coloured and shaped vinyl this year are Green Day’s legendary set from Woodstock 1994, alternative recordings of Fleetwood Mac’s 1975 self-titled album, Elastica’s ‘BBC Sessions’ released on vinyl for the first time ever, a compilation from Steve Lamacq of ‘Lost Alternatives’ from the 90s, a set of unreleased Jeff Buckley studio recordings for ‘In Transition’, and IDLES’ ‘MEAT’ and ‘META’ EPs on vinyl for the first time.

Vinyl Now Makes One-Third of the Money in Physical Music: A new report from the Recording Industry Association of America shows continued growth for paid streaming and record lows for CD sales. For the third year in a row, the U.S. recorded music business in 2018 was graced with double-digit growth mainly due to the boom of subscription music streaming, according to numbers released Thursday by the Recording Industry Association of America. The annual report, which tracks sales across digital and physical platforms, found that paid streaming continues to be the biggest driver of growth for the music business while CD sales revenue have hit a 32-year low. Revenues from recorded music overall grew 12 percent from 2017 to 2018, reaching $9.8 billion at estimated retail value. Streaming revenues comprised $7.4 billion, or 75 percent, of that figure, with subscriptions (e.g. Apple Music and Spotify’s paid tier) contributing the bulk of that. “You can feel rising excitement and optimism within the halls of the record labels, and it’s a moment worth celebrating,” said RIAA chairman and CEO Mitch Glazier in a statement accompanying the report.

Washington, DC | Skip Groff, 1948-2019: Remembering the D.C. music legend, who inspired and shaped a generation of local punks. …Groff taught people how to consider music, to understand it deeply, and he encouraged them in their own musical forays by providing financial and other support. “It’s impossible to underestimate how much Skip contributed to the D.C. music scene,” says photographer and Dischord alum Bert Queiroz. “His production and support, from Pentagram, to Slickee Boys, to Bad Brains, Manifesto, to the entire Dischord scene… His support of the bands—producing and releasing their records, advertising their shows, hiring musicians at Yesterday and Today—was massive.” Perhaps most importantly, Groff gave the young musicians who surrounded him a kind of validation.

Cincinnati, OH | If you want to keep a record store open for 20 years, you’re gonna have to Shake It: Vinyl enthusiasts will remember, and longtime Northsiders will, too. Before moving into what has become its long-familiar digs along the east side of Hamilton Avenue, Shake It Records first opened in a storefront across the street. That was 1999, and Shake It’s brother-owner-operators Jim and Darren Blase are marking the anniversary of 20 years in business with a month-long celebration in their record shop. The Blases deserve to celebrate, having survived the music industry’s digital-format takeover while establishing Shake It as a Northside landmark, a stop for consumers who find pleasure in holding music in their hands rather than storing it in their phones. The draw is Shake It’s two floors of stock – used vinyl, the lifeblood for any record shop these days, rounded out with new vinyl titles, compact discs, books and other pop-culture products. But Shake It also offers something in addition to the retail experience, a place for neighborhood folks to linger and chat with staff about all things music and otherwise.

Julian Cope’s Autogeddon given 25th anniversary box set reissue:Featuring rare 12″ and 7″s, postcards and a 24-page book. Maverick musician Julian Cope’s 1994 album Autogeddon is set to be reissued on vinyl for the first time, via Once Upon A Time, this June. The final part of a trilogy of releases that included 1991’s Peggy Suicide and 1992’s Jehovahkill, Autogeddon was released on Echo following Cope’s split from Island Records in 1992. A record that is as prescient in its concerns today as it was 25 years ago, Autogeddon faces down the prospect of individualised, motorised transport and its environmental impact. This new vinyl edition is housed in a cloth cover box with silver foil lettering. The original album appears in a gatefold sleeve and is accompanied by a 12″ version of four-track EP Paranormal in the West Country, previously only available on CD. A 7″ pairing rare singles ‘Conspiracist Blues’ and ‘Highway Blues’ is also included.

Rega reveals limited edition Record Store Day 2019 turntable: Another Record Store Day, another commemorative Rega deck. For years Rega has made a habit of releasing a limited edition turntable to commemorate Record Store Day in April – and guess what, this year is no different. While last year’s was a hybrid of the Planar 1 and Planar 3, Rega’s 2019 effort is a custom designed Rega P1-Plus. The P1-Plus, which received five stars when it arrived on the scene last year, is the company’s most plug-and-play deck yet, with a built-in phono stage (based on the Award-winning Fono Mini A2D), a moving magnet cartridge and a performance that’s “hugely enjoyable”. The Rega P1-Plus deck for RSD 2019 is limited to just 500 units, each costing £299 – £30 less than the standard model, then. Its phenolic black platter is marked with the words ‘Record Store Day UK’ – in the place of ‘O’s are record graphics, natch – and on top of it sits an exclusive RSD custom design mat. If it’s anything like the special 2018 and 2017 models, a number of them could end up being signed by various music artists, too.

The Wax Trax Documentary is Going On a Multicity Tour. Industrial Accident: The Story of Wax Trax! Records is coming to a House of Vans near you. Oh, and a soundtrack for Record Store Day too. Industrial Accident has been making the rounds on on the festival circuit and city screenings for the last year. It’s been showcased more than most music documentaries, and there’s a good reason for it: Wax Trax is important, really important. It was in a sense Chicago’s version of Factory Records – more grit, more grime, but the same type of incubator of amazing talent in a place that other record companies had all but gave up on. And it’s an important part of the city’s musical legacy too, both the label and the record shop and the way both were inexorably intertwined with Chicago’s electronic music scene.

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  • SUPPORTING YOUR LOCAL INDIE SHOPS SINCE 2007


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