Even even I do have an iPod now and could never buy another CD for the rest of my life, I’m not about to give that up.  I still love the experience of getting a new CD, reading through the booklet and listening to the music with the book in hand, trying to figure out what the lyrics mean, and trying to figure out what the artist is saying in both the music and the artwork. 

Just as I still love that tactile experience, I still enjoy going to an actual record store and browsing around.  Sometimes I have a goal in mind – a particular album I want to get – and other times I just go in and see what catches my eye and ear, sometimes using a listening station if there is one available (why there aren’t more of these, I don’t know!).  The number of  independent music stores continue to dwindle.  In my area, Newbury Comics is the leading independent record shop, and I love them, but I still miss In Your Ear records on Thayer Street in Providence.

So when I heard about "National Record Day," I naturally got excited!  I went to the web site and immediately got a banner to put here on my blog:

While come over here to write this post up, I figured I should know what it is all about.  The site doesn’t really have much information for consumers on it; apparently all the indie shops are getting together to create an event at each of their stores on the same day and use their collective power to get freebies and more attention from the record labels. 

The irony here is kind of obvious – these are "indie" (that’s "independent" for you non-hipsters out there) stores (known for their fierce individualism), joining together, combining their power, to fight against mega-stores and discount stores that are stealing business from them.  Because those guys are big and put their power together to get more attention from the record labels. 

D’oh!

Of course, I realize that there is a greater good here, but I still find it a bit humorous.  I do hope that it gets people into a new local record store though, and maybe they will find some great music that they wouldn’t have found at their local Wal-Mart or Best Buy.  You don’t have to wait until April 19th to do it either – these stores are open between now and then, doncha know!?!?