For lovers of vinyl, Record Store Day is Christmas. It blends deeply felt passion with crass commercialism. I know from writing about it for a while that the whole idea will never make sense to a lot of people.
On the one side, there's Shrevie – Daniel Stern's audiophile from the classic Barry Levinson movie Diner. A man who needs to know everything about the platter he carefully tends and places on his turntable when in need of comfort.
On the other side, his wife Beth, played by Ellen Barkin, who cannot be bothered with fine print. “I just want to hear the music, that’s all.”
If you are a Beth – and if you haven’t seen the movie, be advised that she comes off as the more grounded of the two – then Record Store Day is not for you. But if you’re a Shrevie…
Record Store Day 26 features something for every punk rock lover
I won’t bore you with the history. All you need to know is that RSD was created to promote your local record store, an establishment that was once a staple but has come under increasing pressure in the age of streaming services. The local stores work with labels to create limited editions of 100s of new records each year.
They cover every genre. They cover every time period. This year, there is music from modern artists KATSEYE and Khruangbin. There is a collection of recordings dating back 100 years from Ma Rainey. There are double albums and singles, and everything in between.
Sometimes they have been cleaned up and remixed. Sometimes they feature lost tracks – or entire live shows - that have never been out on vinyl before. There are new liner notes and photos, and very often the albums are pressed on neon green or shocking pink.
You can get the entire list of nearly 400 releases here, but I want to take you through eight albums that any punk fan would simply adore. I know I’ll be looking for these come April 18. (That’s when RSD actually occurs this year. I probably should have mentioned that earlier.)
Bad Brains – Live
From 1988, when the band was touring their seminal I Against I album. By this point, calling DC’s Bad Brains a punk Band was a little like saying the Beatles played Merseybeat. Frontman HR had evolved, allowing his Rastafarian beliefs and love of reggae to seep more deeply into the frantic rock and roll the band was known for.
They were a fusion of reggae and metal, but they never abandoned their punk roots, and in Dr. Know, they had one of the ‘80s greatest guitar players. 14 tracks, concluding with a bonus cover medley of “Daytripper” and “She’s a Rainbow.”
Dinosaur Jr. – Live in Hollywood, 1991 – The Green Mind Tour
Dinosaur Jr. was one of the great bands of the 1980s hardcore punk movement. By 1991, tensions between the difficult genius frontman J Mascis and bass player Lou Barlow had exploded. Barlow was gone, and Green Mile, their fourth album and first on a major label, was almost entirely the work of Mascis.
Mascis’ evolution as a songwriter – slowing the tempo a bit from the frenetic early days – was one of the foundational components of a new genre that was grabbing the public – grunge. This album – on transparent vinyl – includes ten tracks from a live show in Hollywood.
The Gits – Etcetera
Another band that was around at the birth of grunge, the Gits remained on the punkier side of Seattle’s early ‘90s scene. There’s no telling where the band or their sensational lead singer, Mia Zapata, would have gone had she not been murdered in 1993 at the age of 27. A collection of rarities and live performances, this promises to be very special.
Lunachicks – We Can Be Worster
Proudly carrying on the stylish brand of riotous punk that only NYC can produce, the Lunachicks assaulted the ‘90s with sex, volume, speed, and attitude. A compilation of classics from “Badass Bitches” to “Babysitters on Acid.” Get the album and then keep an eye open for Ilya Chaiken’s documentary about the band due out later this year.
Misfits – Famous Monsters
They took what the Damned had started and went much farther into horror punk/metal. The band was initially heavily associated with their frontman, Glenn Danzig, and they split up upon his departure in the early ‘80s.
But they got back together with singer Michael (yes, that’s how he spelled it) Graves for a couple of first-rate albums in the ‘90s. This was the last of that incarnation, sludgy, tuneful songs about death and monsters. An underrated gem newly released on purple and green splatter vinyl.
The Muffs – Live at Fort Apache
One of the prototypes of pop punk was led by Kim Shattuck. This live recording features a great selection of undeniable rock from their first two albums. This is classic mid ‘90s pop punk in 14 outstanding tracks from their Blonder and Blonder era.
Ramones – Live in San Francisco
We close with the two most iconic bands in the history of punk. The first is a titanic double album from the Ramones, recorded at San Francisco’s 1979 Summer in the City Festival. It features 27 tracks taken mostly from their first five albums – pretty much every early song you would want to hear from the boys from Queens.
Sex Pistols – Jubilee (25th Anniversary Edition)
A rerelease of the 2002 singles compilation. Since the band only released one properly-recognized studio album, fans have had to wade through plenty of flotsam to find their favs. This is a great collection featuring songs with Johnny Rotten as well as songs without Johnny Rotten. Rotten or not, they’re still the Sex Pistols.