Foraging

Thinking back to some of your strongest memories around music, it's likely fairly easy to remember the approximate time and place when you heard something that really impressed you - or even changed your life in some way. (For me, Beastie Boys' License to Ill came out when I was in 6th grade; later, U2's Rattle and Hum, and getting REM's Green on CD are just a few early examples.)

Local record store manager Neal Schneider, a Marin County native who has worked in the industry since 1999, shared several such memories:

"My earliest recollection of going to a record store would be in 4th grade...going to Village Music in Mill Valley to purchase Guns N' Roses Appetite for Destruction on cassette tape...and some of my fondest memories are from high school. I didn't get my drivers license until I was 17, so I would ask my friends to drive up to Tower Records in Greenbrae at least once a week after school so I could buy a new CD. When Wu-Tang Clan released Wu-Tang Forever I remember racing up there during our lunch break - which from Tam High was a little bit of a journey but totally worth being late back to class after lunch."

Now we have the convenience and instant "on demand" availability of music thanks to iTunes, Amazon and others, but for many of us like Neal, these early recollections also involved going to a record store (Note to many of you out there: this is also often where we had to stand in line for concert tickets "pre-internet" but that's a different story for another time).

Fact is, record stores still exist in physical form - and many are thriving to this day - there are at least 4 or 5 in Marin County. Maybe these come to mind more quickly to me, since I often prefer to dig through dusty bins for a "new" old find, or ask real questions of really knowledgeable people, or just browse - and I don't mean in Chrome or Firefox. Don't get me wrong, iTunes and similar services are great, albeit a bit intangible.

Certainly you can find CDs at these retail outlets; what you may not realize if you haven't checked out your local record store lately is that it's probably full of records too. It's projected that nearly 6 million vinyl records will be sold in the US in 2013, a big increase from just one million in 2007. Billboard magazine estimates that two percent of all the albums sold today are on vinyl. And while CD sales continue to slide, sales of vinyl records are up 33 percent this year.
(Many vinyl records sold today also include a digital download card). 

But how does this relate to giving thanks, and the tryptophan and post-cranberry haze that is sure to be tightly gripping many households across Marin County (and across America) this week?

In 2008, a grassroots effort gave birth to Record Store Day. Celebrated annually on the third Saturday in April, various promotions and exclusive releases bring together fans, artists and thousands of independent record stores across the globe. Later, this was expanded to Black Friday as well - and this year promises to be pretty spectacular.

According to the official website at www.recordstoreday.com - where you can also find a handy list of record stores and releases on vinyl and CD - "Back To Black Friday...gives record stores exclusive releases as part of the attempt to redirect the focus of the biggest shopping day of the year to the desirable, special things to be found at local stores."

Certainly we are no strangers in Marin to shopping locally. Back to Black Friday is is a great way to find a neat gift for yourself or an unexpected stocking stuffer or surprise for someone. And to meet and talk with your local, knowledgeable music experts, who can probably direct you to that next seminal album that you've yet to discover.

For Schneider, albums that surprised him in 2013 included Iasos' Inter-Dimensional Music Through Iasos ("a really good spaced-out new age record from 1975") and The Congos Heart of the Congos ("I don't really like reggae music but that is a great record!")

Regarding Back to Black Friday, Schneider, who manages Bedrock Music & Video (on the Miracle Mile practically on the San Anselmo/San Rafael border) offers this:
"We got in an awesome selection of items this year, and when people shop at Bedrock they are not only shopping locally - but are also supporting a local non-profit organization helping at-risk young adults."

Go forth and forage, and perhaps you'll find something that will occupy your frontal cortex for awhile, or even compete for space on your theoretical "desert island" playlist. Schneider's is constantly changing despite many years in the music and record industry...likely a function of hearing so much music, he says.

"I read an article where someone said that My Bloody Valentine's Loveless would be one of their "desert island picks" - I read that in 2000, bought Loveless, and still hear new things when I listen to Loveless - so maybe that record would be included if there are enough copies left for everyone to take to their own islands…"