Record Store Day 2023 – My Guide to the Most and Least Essential Releases

For as long as I can remember, independent record stores across the world have celebrated Record Store Day. At first a small initiative to get people to shop at their local record stores, it’s now an excuse for thousands of people to join hours-long queues at record shops across the world to buy one (or several) of the several hundred special releases made for that day that will only ever be sold in stores, and for which pre-orders are not allowed to be taken. As the list of releases has grown, the quality of those releases has diverged. While some of the announced records are long-awaited reissues of rare and important material, others are obvious cash grabs meant to appeal to the completist nature of a certain type of collector. Now, I’ll sort some of these in buckets for you, starting with the most essential and ending with the least essential.

I’ve focused on the U.S. list for this post as this is where we are and will be waiting in line. 
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Vinyl Reissue Spotlight: The Return Of The Greatest Hits Album

There are a lot of things unexpected about 2020 that are less than enjoyable… You know, like the raging pandemic threatening to destroy civilization as we know it and ruining pretty much all joys in life. One surprisingly pleasant thing is the return of the “Greatest Hits” record. With the whole “spending 100% of my time at home” business that comes with life right now, I’m finding myself putting more music on my turntable and doing a lot less streaming and making playlists. The sound is warmer, and the ceremony of putting on a record continues to fill me with great joy. The “greatest hits” format also means you get the songs that have followed you around- the songs they played live, the tracks you’d hear out and about, back when going out and about was a thing you could do without risking your life and the lives of all your loved ones. It’s comforting to reminisce about the pre-pandemic life over the joy of a hits compilation. 

I’m also an apartment dweller in the Bay Area, so shelf space is at a premium. Continue reading “Vinyl Reissue Spotlight: The Return Of The Greatest Hits Album”

Vinyl Reissue Spotlight: Gimme Some Truth. The Ultimate Mixes. by John Lennon

Terminology in recorded music can get really confusing sometimes. There is the “remix,” which is generally a dramatic alteration of a song, with new elements added, and some elements removed. The “mix” is only a small element of the change. When I opened up the press release for Gimme Some Truth. The Ultimate Mixes, I was skeptical to say the least… I was expecting a full album of Diplo-fied John Lennon songs, and expected it to be pure pain. By the grace of either God or respect for one of rock’s most important songwriters ahead of his 80th birthday, this release is NOT that. Instead, it’s a compilation of many of John Lennon’s greatest tracks, only going back to the original master tapes and giving a few subtle adjustments to the actual levels of different elements. Continue reading “Vinyl Reissue Spotlight: Gimme Some Truth. The Ultimate Mixes. by John Lennon”

The Spinning Platters Guide to the 33rd Mill Valley Film Festival

Colin Firth in early Oscar buzz favorite THE KING'S SPEECH, making its Bay Area debut this week at the Mill Valley Film Festival. All photos courtesy of the MVFF.

The 33rd annual Mill Valley Film Festival kicks off tomorrow, October 7, boasting a genuinely impressive roster of major 2010 film festival favorites making their Bay Area debuts. The MVFF will also host appearances by actors Edward Norton, Annette Bening, Sam Rockwell, and James Franco, directors Julian Schnabel and Alejandro González Iñárritu, and many more. Look after the jump for our 11 MVFF Must-Sees. For complete festival and ticket information, check out the MVFF official website.

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