This Saturday, lines will be forming early in the morning at independent record stores all over the world in order to participate in Record Store Day 2019. Originally started in 2008 as a way to bring in more customers to smaller non-chain stores, the occasion has morphed into a highly anticipated event that sees the release of special, limited-edition vinyl pressings from both obscure and some of the most widely known names in music.
These titles could be both reissues of classic albums that had previously been out of print, brand-new releases, and even kitschy fun releases like the new 3-inch singles being put out by Jack White’s Third Man Records. The music nerd’s holiday generally picks a famous musician as its “ambassador” and this year Record Store Day has chosen Pearl Jam to take up the mantle.
“Independent record stores are hugely important to me, and have been ever since I was 12 years old,” said Pearl Jam lead guitarist Mike McCready in a release. “Before I even really knew what they were — there was a certain feeling of ‘this is a dream come true,’ and it’s a wonderland and there’s so much to learn in here… and it’s still that way.” To mark the occasion, the band will be joining on the fun and releasing an official live release of their 2005 performance at the small Seattle venue Easy Street.
While any music fan will be running the risk of ridicule by releasing their list of picks to the public, we at Metro (yours truly) thought it would be a good idea to run through all of the hundreds of selections available and give you our picks of some of the best releases you can find only on Record Store Day 2019.
Record Store Day 2019: Metro’s picks
Jeff Tweedy — “WARMER”
Right on the heels of last year’s amazing “WARM,” Wilco frhttps://recordstoreday.com/SpecialReleasesontman Jeff Tweedy is releasing his second album of new material strictly under his own name this weekend. With the first single “Family Ghost” taking on similar themes to last year’s intensely personal record — which if you haven’t heard it, drop this paper and go get it — expect this to be another amazing entry from one of the great living songwriters.
Frank Black — “Teenager of the Year”
Pixies frontman Frank Black — or Black Francis — has always had a pretty big shadow to outrun when it comes to releasing his own solo records. But his 1994 album “Teenager of the Year” is just as good as anything he ever released in Pixies glory days.
DEVO — “This is the Devo Box”
Is there another band that is so singular unto themselves than DEVO? Well, you could probably say “Weird” Al Yankovic. But, I digress. The legendary art-punks will be releasing their first 6 albums on Warner Brothers in a big box set for Record Store Day this year with each record pressed on different colors.
The Flaming Lips — “King’s Mouth: Music and Songs”
The world’s most fearless freaks The Flaming Lips will be releasing their brand new album “Kings Mouth: Music and Songs” on Record Store Day ahead of its wider release in July. Little is known about the album except that it will include 12 new songs with narration by the Clash’s Mick Jones. The album will also be pressed on gold vinyl.
Weezer — “Dusty Gems and Raw Nuggets: The B-Sides”
While Weezer fans don’t have to look very far for new material these days, fans of the older records — real fans — should be jumping for joy with this new compilation of B-sides from throughout their career. The set will include some of the band’s lost non-album tracks as well as some early demos of some of their most beloved classics. And, all on blue vinyl to boot!
Editor’s note: I understand that this list is very limiting in terms of gender and musical scope in general. But, because this article was taken from print and with space limitations I only chose to include the few records that are on the top of my list. To see the full list of releases, head over to the official RSD website.
