In a sense Record Store Day reminds me a little of Valentine’s Day or, to be a little more facetious, Don’t Beat Your Wife Day – yes the message is the right one, but what, only today?  What about the other 364 days of the year?

The issue of eBay scalpers is one which came back quite hard this year as well. With so many exclusives, the opportunities were rife, and everything I wanted to buy was already on eBay long before I got to the end of the hour-and-a-half-long queue at Avalanche in Edinburgh.

Thanks to extremely sensible policies by Kevin in Avalanche (a maximum of six items per person and only one copy of any one item) I did manage to get my hands on the two things I came in for (David’s Town by Fucked Up and the Twilight Sad/Frightened Rabbit demos tape, since you asked), so the simmering resentment which builds in me every time I find myself standing in a long queue was diffused and, by the end of the day after a couple of fine live performances, I ended up really enjoying myself.

The problem for me was really this: Record Store Day is a good idea, but I couldn’t help but feel a little cynical about the number of people flocking to shops for that one day and then presumably flocking back to eBay, Amazon or whatever other internet shopping destinations they prefer immediately afterwards – and I’m not criticising either, it’s something I have to confess to doing myself.

Nevertheless, when I am in shops, I do spend money.  In fact, in common with many music fans I would guess, I actually struggle not to spend money.  And with the recent boom (alright, let’s be honest, it’s more of a mini-boom) in cassette and vinyl purchases, I do feel that in amongst the Maelstrom of Infinitely Uninspiring Possibility which is the digital music revolution, there is an increasing counter-revolution amongst the music fetishists which emphasises the physicality and craft of music.

We are people.  We like buying actual shit, and talking bollocks to each other as we do so, it’s that simple.  As such, Record Store Day feels just a little like a missed opportunity.  I reckon that instead of emphasising the exclusive releases, which do so much to benefit the scalping parasites on eBay, Record Store Day should be more about events, performances, and getting people back into shops that way.

But also, maybe more importantly, a record shop should not be just for Christmas.  It occurred to me this weekend that it might be nice to take advantage of the space at the back of Avalanche to do regular tea-and-biscuits events, with the aim of getting people back into shops on a regular basis, and maybe getting people from the disparate Edinburgh scenes to actually spend a bit more time together.

We could get together once a month, on a Sunday afternoon, say, and read the new issues of Loud & Quiet or The Stool Pigeon, we could have tea and biscuits, we could get a couple of bands to play ultra-stripped-back acoustic sets, Song, by Toad Records could take the opportunity to do preview listenings of our future releases – so could anyone, in fact – and just generally make a laid back Sunday afternoon of it.  Football people do it all the time with a beer and a burger and the Sunday matches on Sky, so why can’t music people?

So what do you reckon, does this sound like a good idea?  The first Sunday of the month perhaps, from about 1pm until closing time?  I think it’s worth a go, myself, but if you think it’s shite, just say so!

Yes, it’s me wheedling for assistance again, sorry.  Next week, as you know, is the Song, by Toad Records Christmas Party, down at the Queen Charlotte Rooms in Leith on Thursday 16th December.  As we have two stages to take care of, both in terms of sound and in terms of being door monitor, and a merch table full of goodies as well, I am not going to be able to cover it all myself.

So, if any of you would like to volunteer to help out then I would be only too happy to waive tickets in exchange for spending some time either minding the door or the merch table – and I might even make you a nice compilation CD as a present too.  Ideally, we will end up with six volunteers and you can do half the night on whichever job you choose – door upstairs, door downstairs or merch table.  You won’t miss out on the music in your room if you do the door, but bear in mind who you might not want to miss up- or downstairs before you volunteer to help in the other room at that time.

And for those of you with no intention whatsoever of doing any work and who simply want to get pissed and have a good time, tickets are now available at Avalanche Records down on the Grassmarket, as well as online here.  We’re probably about halfway through our allocation of tickets, so I wouldn’t want to confidently assert that you can get them on the door.

And just as a bit of general information, we can fit about 180 people into the venue as a whole, but probably only about eighty or so into the acoustic room upstairs, so if there is anything up there you are particularly determined to see, it might be worth staking out a spot early.  We are going to stagger the bands as best we can, to try and give people a chance to see as much as possible, but I am going to have to ask for a bit of understanding on that count, sorry.

Well I know I normally let Dylan sort out the Sunday Supplements, and I cheated last week by writing one myself, but I am going to have to do it again, sorry.

The reason is simply that there is a lot of label news happening at the moment, and I really don’t want to overwhelm the blog with label chat if I can avoid it.  I am sure lots of you come here for reasons other than me trying to sell you things to pay for that yacht in the Caribbean we record labels generally aim for.

So, the news this week, in bullet point form for the lazy, is this:
1. Inspector Tapehead to play in-store at Avalanche Records on Thursday 30th September.
2. Meursault UK and European tour booked for October/November, with showcase gig at the Caves on the 25th.
3. The Stormy Seas added to the bill for the Inspector Tapehead album launch on the 30th.

1. Instore! Yep, the Tapeheads are currently touring the UK in the Toad Van (the shit one which works, not the cool one which doesn’t), but in advance of their album launch show on Thursday 30th September they are playing an in-store gig at Avalanche Records on Cockburn Street.  This will start at around half five when the store closes, I guess, and I will bring a case of beer as an additional inducement.

2. Tour! Having had a hectic festival season, Meursault have been taking a bit of a breather for the last month or so.  And they’ll need it because their October/November schedule is going to be hellishly busy, with a UK and European tour booked in back to back. The whole thing is kicking off with a headline show at the Caves in Edinburgh on the 25th October, supported by Port Royal and Enfant Bastard – tickets here.

25 Oct 2010 – The Caves, Edinburgh
26 Oct 2010 – Head of Steam, Newcastle
27 Oct 2010 – The Harley, Sheffield
28 Oct 2010 – Royal Park Cellars, Leeds
30 Oct 2010 – The Luminaire, London
31 Oct 2010 – The Playhouse Bar [free entry show], Norwich
2 Nov 2010 – Star & Garter, Manchester
3 Nov 2010 – Stereo, York
4 Nov 2010 – Dexters, Dundee
5 Nov 2010 – Beach Ballroom, Aberdeen
6 Nov 2010 – Stereo, Glasgow

19 Nov 2010 – Oh Galery, Caen, FRANCE
20 Nov 2010 – International, Paris, FRANCE
21 Nov 2010 – Planet Claire Session, Paris, FRANCE
22 Nov 2010 – Dwaze Zaken, Amsterdam, NETHERLANDS
23 Nov 2010 – Piala Libri, Brussels, BELGIUM
24 Nov 2010 – Musikbunker, Aachen, GERMANY
25 Nov 2010 – Schlachthof w/ Telekinesis [tbc], Wiesbaden, GERMANY
26 Nov 2010 – Spart 4, Saarbrucken, GERMANY
27 Nov 2010 – Cave du Bleu Lezard, Lausanne, SWITZERLAND
28 Nov 2010 – Le Lounge, Marseille, FRANCE
30 Nov 2010 – Stadtgarten, Erfurt, GERMANY
1 Dec 2010 – Morph Club, Bamberg, GERMANY
2 Dec 2010 – Feinkostlampe, Hannover, GERMANY
3 Dec 2010 – Gaengeviertel, Hamburg, GERMANY
4 Dec 2010 – Schlachthof, Aurich, GERMANY
5 Dec 2010 – [venue tba], Groningen, NETHERLANDS

3. Stormies! At the time I did the first posters for the Inspector Tapehead album launch we only had Humble Soul heroes The Miserable Rich and the Tapeheads themselves confirmed to play the show, but the Stormy Seas have since been confirmed as the final piece of the jigsaw.  The gig is taking place at the Edinburgh School of Art’s Wee Red Bar on Thursday 30th September, and tickets can be purchased here.

This is a co-promotion with my friends Tallah and Jim from This is Music, and Ali and Elaine from A&E Promotions.  The technical term for several promoters working together is is, I believe, a Clusterfuck, and the new flyer can be seen below:

Dan Willson is clever fucker, really he is.  I always think indie Christmas music fails somewhat, primarily because all the pain and unhappiness which I tend to like in music clashes with what tiny of fragment of Christmas spirit may still survive within me.

With that in mind, Avalanche Records have managed to pull something spectacular out of the bag with their Alternative Christmas charity album.  It’s a fucking great compilation, really it is – enjoyable and actually quite festive-sounding, without being at all lame.  I don’t use that word very often, but indie Christmas music generally does sound rather lame, and this record really doesn’t.  God knows how they’ve done it.

The proceeds all go to a local charity, and to Avalanche’s own charity in aid of African street children, and the record can be bought here.  If you want an antidote to the sort of cod-classical shite or painful pop garbage which gets liberally shovelled around at Christmas I guarantee you will not do better than this.

Which brings me to the jewel in the crown of this compilation: Withered fucking Hand.  There are some great songs on this – donated songs from eagleowl, Rob St. John, Frightened Rabbit and Broken Records, and a couple of specially recorded ones by Song, by Toad Records bands The Savings and Loan and Meursault – but Dan has written one specially and it’s amazing.

In typical Dan fashion, he manages to batter the shite out of the modern concept of Christmas, whilst still generating a strange sense of optimism.  In his skewering of modern, identikit Christmases you can hear the inverse – the echo of some idealistic Christmas which exists in Dan’s head and to which reality is signally failing to live up, and the picture he manages to paint as some sort of negative of the one he actually depicts manages to give a reassuring warmth to a song which might otherwise be really rather depressing.

It’s not though, it’s heartwarming, maybe because that idealised Christmas which exists in our heads is actually the best thing about the whole bloody festival to begin with.

Withered Hand – It’s a Wonderful Lie

Audio clip: Adobe Flash Player (version 9 or above) is required to play this audio clip. Download the latest version here. You also need to have JavaScript enabled in your browser.

A couple of bits of news for you.  Firstly, I know this was mentioned in the comments on Monday, but I thought I’d give it a post of its own: Meursault are playing an in-store gig at Avalanche Records in Edinburgh this Saturday, 7th February.  This is really nice for a couple of reasons: firstly, I really like small record shops and, secondly, because Avalanche have sold rather a lot of copies of the album, which is rather nice.  It’ll be kicking off around closing time – about 5.30pm or so, and I might just be tempted to bring along a beer or two.

Leonard Cohen – Avalanche

Audio clip: Adobe Flash Player (version 9 or above) is required to play this audio clip. Download the latest version here. You also need to have JavaScript enabled in your browser.

Secondly, I am back on Fresh Air Radio again tonight.  I have a one-and-a-half hour slot starting at 7.30pm, and will be joined by Dylan from Blueback Hotrod.  I am looking to invite a different guest who is in one way or another associated with the Edinburgh music scene.  Basically, it gets boring nattering away to myself in the studio, so I’d just rather have someone to chat to.  It tends to make for a better show anyway, so do listen in from half seven on Thursdays for the next couple of months.

The Twilight Sad – Three Seconds of Dead Air

Audio clip: Adobe Flash Player (version 9 or above) is required to play this audio clip. Download the latest version here. You also need to have JavaScript enabled in your browser.