5 Record Store Day Recommendations

Well, tomorrow's the day: the 10th anniversary of Record Store Day, a yearly Saturday in April best known as the day where i spend way too much money.  But hey, i get some bitchin records to take home...and that's important.  This year is seeing the release of tons of great stuff, as per usual.  And i'm trying to narrow my selections down and keep to my budget, which generally means i'll have to make some cuts while i'm at the record store tomorrow morning.  But here are 5 releases i'll be searching for, and that i recommend you save a little scratch for.

Good luck.

 1. David Bowie - "Cracked Actor (Live Los Angeles 74)" 3LP
This one's kind of a no brainer for me, a 3 disc Bowie live album from 1974, lovingly mixed and mastered by Tony Visconti, featuring a whole slew of great songs from Bowie's earlier years.  Yes!  Yes!  Yes!

2. John Scoggins - "Pressed for Time" LP
Rhino Records reissues a rare power pop gem from the 1970's from John Scoggins.  Finding an original copy of "Pressed for Time" will set you back a few hundred bucks, so this reissue is probably the way to go.  Oh, and it's fucking great.

3. Ike Reiko - "You, Baby" LP
A mix of erotic jazz, spy music, and Japanese pop, all with a quirky Serge Gainsbourg vibe, Ike Reiko's very rare "You, Baby" LP is a wonderful oddity that needs to be on my record shelf.

4. Popol Vuh - "Cobra Verde" OST LP
An exotic and trippy Popol Vuh score to a Werner Herzog film starring crazy person Klaus Kinski?  Why would i not own this?

5. The Wipers - "Better Off Dead" 7"
Old Wipers records are pretty hard to find, and usually kind of expensive when you do, so what better way to close out you record buying bonanza tomorrow with a reissued copy of the legendary band's debut release?



So there you go.  I could easily recommend a dozen more (The Bad Signs, Dennis Wilson, Nico and The Faction, etc.), but i wanted to keep it reasonable.  Have fun tomorrow.