S2E3: Spinning the Tea on Record Store Day

This week on Off The Record, we’re spinning the tea on Record Store Day! Dave and Kelly kick things off with a little chat about the current season of American Idol and its Hawaii vibes, then dive into the world of vinyl records, from their history to why they still matter in the modern era. They also talk Record Store Day, shout out Portland’s legendary Music Millennium, and share the very first vinyl records they bought with their own money. Plus, they get into the art of album covers and why great artwork should give you a real sense of the music waiting inside. It’s a fun, nostalgic, music-loving conversation with a little pop culture on the side. 

Transcript

SPEAKER_07 0:00

This is off the record with Dave and Kelly. Hey Kelly.

SPEAKER_01 0:28

Hi.

SPEAKER_07 0:30

This is going to be a fun episode because we're totally out of our out of our element.

SPEAKER_01 0:34

A little bit.

SPEAKER_07 0:35

We're recording in my living room today. So it's different. And Kelly has told me that she's not, she has, she's not getting all the things that she's used to having. So, you know.

SPEAKER_01 0:45

Yeah. I can't work under these conditions, I believe is what I said.

SPEAKER_07 0:50

That is what you said.

SPEAKER_01 0:52

And I don't mean to be a diva.

SPEAKER_07 0:55

Very practical things like I need a stand.

SPEAKER_01 0:58

I need a music stand. I don't have one.

SPEAKER_07 1:00

I guess we're holding it high.

SPEAKER_01 1:01

Okay. So, how are you today?

SPEAKER_07 1:04

I'm I am okay. We have we have uh been really busy.

SPEAKER_01 1:08

Uh yeah.

SPEAKER_07 1:09

Uh you've we've been so busy that we're like, hey, we should probably record a podcast.

SPEAKER_01 1:13

Well, we've been in the studio a lot. We have. We should mention that.

SPEAKER_07 1:17

We should.

SPEAKER_01 1:17

Well if we had in the studio.

SPEAKER_07 1:18

Yeah, kitty, kitty, capare. Is it Capair? Is that right? I'm gonna probably mess that up. Kitty Kapair. There we go. Recording. I would um we've we've been affectionately calling it Goth Country. Um just because it's kind of like if you took Alanis Morissette and you put her in Nashville and the cranberries.

SPEAKER_01 1:37

Yes. Absolutely.

SPEAKER_07 1:40

No, we had we had a good time. We actually recorded 13 songs in three days.

SPEAKER_01 1:44

It was insane.

SPEAKER_07 1:45

That was a lot. I slept a lot the next two days after that. Thanks to everybody who came out and did that. That was a long, that was a long haul.

SPEAKER_01 1:53

It was fantastic.

SPEAKER_07 1:54

You know, only so much uh you know junk food and sodas can go for three days straight. You were you were you were chastising me before we got on the air here.

SPEAKER_01 2:04

Oh, I was.

SPEAKER_07 2:05

What were you chastising me about? Because I was still plugging stuff in.

SPEAKER_01 2:09

Okay, well, I have been trying to madly catch up on American Idol for this season because it's been a minute since I've watched that show. But I was very intrigued by a few of the teasers that they had out there for the commercials and whatnot. And so I was like, oh, I want to watch that this time. And now we're, I mean, I think they're down to like the top nine, and uh I haven't watched a single episode. So I decided last night I was gonna watch a couple of them. I skipped through all the, you know, it drives me crazy to watch all the horrible people that cannot sing that they love to put on those early shows. Like people think this is entertaining. I'm sorry, but it's not.

SPEAKER_07 2:53

It is not entertaining.

SPEAKER_01 2:56

Stop doing it. It's it's just not my thing.

SPEAKER_07 2:58

It's a train wreck, it's the whole train wreck thing, and people like watching a train wreck. So that I don't.

SPEAKER_01 3:04

No. So I skipped those, of course, and I went straight to they they had their top 20 go to Hawaii. And so they had two episodes. I guess it was two separate weeks, maybe. I'm not sure. Because of course I'm trying to catch up. But they had two separate episodes, part one and part two, where they're at the Disney Resort in Honolulu, I think it is. Um I sent you a link of this amazing version of All Night Long by Lionel Richie, that one of the contestants sang, he made it his own. It was incredible. And Lionel Richie was like, hats off to you. You should record this immediately. And I'm like, Yes, he should. It was so good. And I sent it to you and you didn't even comment on it. In my defense. Okay.

SPEAKER_07 3:57

In my three-part defense.

SPEAKER_01 3:59

Three, okay. No, you get one. You get one.

SPEAKER_07 4:03

I was putting together like a 3D printer and a stand and a keyboard in the other room, and that's where I was focused.

SPEAKER_01 4:14

Okay.

SPEAKER_07 4:14

I'm just saying.

SPEAKER_01 4:16

All right.

SPEAKER_07 4:16

Well, you will probably benefit from this 3D printer at some point.

SPEAKER_01 4:19

You all listening should go run. If you haven't seen this performance, you should go listen to him and his rendition of this song because it's great. I mean, I don't even know if he's in the top nine, honestly, because I think they're down to like nine or eight or whatever it is. But he did a great job. And I was impressed.

SPEAKER_07 4:40

It takes guts to cover the song of a judge.

SPEAKER_01 4:43

Well, yeah.

SPEAKER_07 4:44

It takes guts.

SPEAKER_01 4:46

I think they made that comment. I think Ryan Seacrest made a comment was like, Wow, you're gonna do this in front of Lionel. And well, yep, here we go. But he did a great job.

SPEAKER_07 4:57

I don't know that I could do it. I'm just picturing, I'm not sure that I could pull off singing somebody's song in front of them.

SPEAKER_01 5:03

I feel like the nerves would be way massive. Yeah. The magnitude of that would just be hard. But he did a great job. But there's a couple of other contestants that I really enjoyed. Uh, there's a gal named Kindle who was the industry. They they did something different this time, and they let certain people from the music industry choose somebody who had gotten cut originally and put them into the top 20. And she was the choice from the industry people. Her name is Kindle, and she sang a song that I had never heard before, and it was called Call Your Mom. I can't even remember off the top of my head what who the artist was, but I actually went and looked him up. I think it was Noah, somebody. Anyway, she did a great job. It was all about somebody struggling with um like even suicidal tendencies almost. And it was like, you know, when you get that low, I'm gonna call your mom and I'm gonna make sure that you're okay. And and she dedicated that to anybody who struggles with that. And I thought it was just it was very heartfelt, and she did a great job. That's right. So I don't even know if she's still in the top nine, so stay tuned for that.

SPEAKER_07 6:22

I like the idea that an industry person can choose to bring back somebody who was cut because one of my criticisms of American Idol, and I have many. Um be kind. Well, my criticisms are that they were leaving this up to the American public to vote. They're gonna vote for the person who's calling in to vote is a certain demographic, and they're going to generally vote for the same type of singer every time. So you end up with a pop star, right? Whether it's a male or a female, you end up with a pop star. Not always true. Don't don't at me. Okay. I know it's not always true, but it's they have a certain persona that they tend they tend to um they tend to vote for, and it's not always the most talented person. Case in point, Chris Daughtry. Chris Daughtry got cut and arguably is the most successful artist out of that entire season. So, well, maybe from my perspective it is, but that's my point. So I'm glad they get they were able to bring somebody back who, you know, say, hey, this person actually has talent. Let's bring it back.

SPEAKER_01 7:21

Yeah. Well, they did something different, which I was unaware of for the voting this time. Um, they allow you to go on Facebook on their page, and then you can vote multiple times. I think it's up to like 10 or something for the same person, but all you have to do is comment on their post for that night's competition. Okay. And you just put the name of the person that you are voting for in the comments. And so, I mean, that's that's a whole new thing.

SPEAKER_07 7:55

That's new. All right.

SPEAKER_01 7:56

But yeah, I have interest. I've been learned. Yeah. As have I. So what are we talking about this time? Wait a second, you're the one with the notes. Oh no, you printed off some pretty notes over there. I have handwritten stuff. Like I'm old school.

SPEAKER_07 8:10

Okay, I but I don't have the notes that you have.

SPEAKER_01 8:12

Well, okay, so the third Saturday in April, we celebrate a national day. What is it?

SPEAKER_07 8:20

It is called Record Store Day. National Record Store Day. Yes, it is.

SPEAKER_01 8:24

I didn't even know this was a thing until fairly recently.

SPEAKER_07 8:27

So this is a Bruno Mars. Uh he's kind of the I'll call it the uh uh the ambassador of uh of Record Store Day. And I think it's kind of cool. I mean it's uh It's very cool. The so you guys probably all know by now, we we live in the Portland, um, Oregon metropolitan area. The store to go to here is Music Millennium. Um and they are currently up for sale in case you want to buy a record store. I hear they're that give you a good deal.

SPEAKER_00 8:53

Please somebody buy them.

SPEAKER_07 8:55

Somebody buy them, please. Please. The guy's retiring. Uh the guy who's who owns it is retiring, and that's a great way to go out. I mean, hey, he he's been profitable and successful. Um, I I like them because they've actually had a couple of our artists come in and perform live. So uh Dustin Mose, who's actually been on this podcast. Yes, he has. Um, and then one of our other artists named Josh Hoke, and that was it was probably back in 2012. That was a while ago. And I remember driving by Music Millennium before he performed, and they had they had painted a caricature of him on the outside window of the store.

SPEAKER_01 9:33

Wow.

SPEAKER_07 9:34

Like they'd taken a picture of him, and they they did a pretty darn good job of making him a cartoon. Josh Oak live on this date.

SPEAKER_01 9:41

So Music Millennium opened in 1969.

SPEAKER_07 9:45

That was a minute ago.

SPEAKER_01 9:46

That was a while ago. Yeah. So it's also coined as the oldest record store in the Pacific Northwest. That I did not know. That's that's a broader spectrum right there. Which kind of surprises me because Seattle, I don't know. I I find that interesting.

SPEAKER_07 10:04

Well, I mean, I suppose prove them, prove them wrong, right? So I can't prove them wrong. We've walked around, we have walked around Music Millennium. I think we went in there looking for something. Um, and I was I was being really, really specific looking for something, and I knew they wouldn't have it, but I was like, We are the world. Yes, that's exactly what we're looking for. And we couldn't find it. That's we're trying to find that. Um, if you think you know where one is in the wild, please let me know because I will go find it. We are the world single. Um I don't want to go find on eBay. Don't I want to cheat? I want to find it actually at a record store and buy it. That's my goal. So um we were then looking for that, but it's just it goes from room to room. Every single room is its own thing. It's it's very eclectic. Um, they still have CDs there. I don't know people who are using CDs, but they do have CDs there. Um, I do believe they have some cassette tapes too, which I I hear is a uh a thing as well. Not my thing, because this is how cassette cassette tape sounds to me. That's what cassette tape sounds like.

SPEAKER_01 11:09

Awesome. Well, thank you for that. Well, it's definitely a cultural hub, I feel like Music Millennium is. And it, you know, it's on a very unassuming street. It's just it's kind of tucked away almost on the edge of a neighborhood. It's it's wonderful. But it's on a main drag.

SPEAKER_07 11:28

I mean, it's you you can't miss it, um, which is good. I think that one of the things that surprised me about Record Store Day, back to the whole point we're talking about this, is how many artists are are releasing an album on Record Store Day.

SPEAKER_01 11:45

Yeah, that was interesting.

SPEAKER_07 11:46

Because we were trying we're trying to find numbers and we're looking for things, and we found a list. It was like six pages long of artists who have who were releasing something on that day specifically, and it ranged everything from you know, Bad Bunny, you know, to Taylor Swift, and then you know, things like Metallica. I mean, it's always different bands doing different things, re-releasing some things.

SPEAKER_01 12:05

Black Sabbath.

SPEAKER_07 12:06

Black Sabbath was one of them, yes. But they're re-releasing some of their old stuff. Um, people doing some new stuff, like Taylor's. Um, Elizabeth Taylor comes out um on the on that date, her the vinyl, yeah, the single. So it's that's kind of a cool. I mean, if you're gonna release an album, do it on record store day. That's kind of fun.

SPEAKER_01 12:24

Absolutely. It will draw people in, and I mean, that's that's a cool now.

SPEAKER_07 12:30

I should be specific, these are vinyl records we're talking about. Yes, yes. So it's not just you know, they're releasing their album. There this is a release specifically on a vinyl 12-inch LP in some cases, or you know, or a single. Um, but so yeah, that's that's kind of fun.

SPEAKER_01 12:47

I have a fun fact thing for you. The first modern vinyl record was released on what date? Well, not date, but let's go with the year. How about that?

SPEAKER_07 13:00

Was it 48? Yes. Okay, 1948.

SPEAKER_01 13:03

Excellent job.

SPEAKER_07 13:04

The which actually surprises me that it was that late, but as I sat there and thought about it, vinyl itself isn't that old. I mean, it's like you only developed vinyl, you know, a a few years prior to that, because it was a um a man-made substance. So that makes sense that it took it took them that long to create a vinyl record. But there's there were things prior to that too.

SPEAKER_01 13:29

Absolutely. I mean, you had the Victrola, you had the gramophone. There's a whole history here of all of that kind of stuff. And you know, the gramophone, which I thought was interesting that Thomas Edison was credited with making the first recording device.

SPEAKER_07 13:46

Right. Right.

SPEAKER_01 13:47

Which was not the gramophone, but I can't remember what they called it. But that's really interesting to me. I mean, he he's credited with an awful lot. That guy was crazy smart.

SPEAKER_07 13:55

I I think that he probably had some people on staff that were also doing some of those things, but he got the he got their credit for it, yes.

SPEAKER_01 14:01

Yeah. So the gramophone was introduced in 1887, and then the Victrola came along in 1906, and then we had the first record player that came in the 1950s. It didn't have a specific year, but said 50s.

SPEAKER_07 14:18

I think a bunch of them came out. That's the reason why I couldn't figure out the actual date. A bunch of them came out at the same time.

SPEAKER_01 14:23

So one of the things we had had looked up was the number of vinyl albums that have been released this year. 19.

SPEAKER_00 14:33

Wow.

SPEAKER_01 14:35

No, 2026. We're talking only 2026. So we're what four months in?

SPEAKER_07 14:42

So the so the back the the backstory here is that I we were sitting here trying to debate, you know, how many artists are releasing things on vinyl.

SPEAKER_00 14:50

Yeah.

SPEAKER_07 14:51

And we were trying to think, okay, is it is it most? Is it every, you know, is it a is it still just really a select few like it was a few years ago? So this is kind of the rabbit hole that we went down looking at this information. So we found by accident how many vinyl albums have been released from January 1st, 2026 to tax day.

SPEAKER_01 15:14

So and that number is 69,466.

SPEAKER_07 15:19

Can you even imagine?

SPEAKER_01 15:21

That's a lot.

SPEAKER_07 15:22

It's a lot, and there's the okay, that number is huge.

SPEAKER_01 15:26

But yeah, while this is impressive, you have to take into account that people are releasing multiple versions of said albums, right?

SPEAKER_07 15:37

Every single time they release something that looks slightly different, it has a new SKU or a new UPC number. So I believe like if you have a red vinyl, it has to be one number, but if it's a blue vinyl, it has to be a different number. So like uh Taylor Swift released has how many versions?

SPEAKER_00 15:55

24.

SPEAKER_07 15:56

24 versions of uh Life of a Show Girl. So that's why the number is high, but still, even if it were a 20th of that, it would still be high.

SPEAKER_01 16:08

Yeah. So I have a question for you.

SPEAKER_07 16:10

I have an answer for you.

SPEAKER_01 16:11

Okay. Why is vinyl such a thing? Like what would what would be the reason for me to go out and buy a record?

SPEAKER_07 16:22

So I think there's a mul there's multiple answers to this. I think it's a lot of things that have that have all kind of come together. Um, probably the most basic answer is that it is art. And you have, if you go buy an album, you get this you know 12-inch by 12-inch cover where you can actually see the cover art of you know this artist that you love, that you're enamored by. Um, because you know, I I love seeing album covers, but to look at my Spotify on my phone, I can't really see the detail of said album cover. So even on CDs, it was still you know, whatever that is, you know, four inches square. It's not that big. So I think that that has been a that by itself could do it right there. Um the other the other aspect is the is the audiophile um aspect, which is how it sounds. And I think that uh the harshness of digital sound, the digital music, uh people are starting, their ears are getting tired of it because it's super crisp and there's a the it's there's so much perfection that your human ear just goes, this is boring. Um and so what a vinyl does is it gives it a warmth, and I wish I could come with a better name for it, but that's what it's like. Richness, it's it's a depth that you're hearing of a physical device, um, you know, that with a with a needle on it being played back. And there are certain aspects, I don't want to get totally technical, but you're stuck with me. So um on vinyl, you can't crank up the bass. That is something you can't do. So, like when you have if you do it wrong and you have someone mix a song that goes on vinyl and has too much bass on it, guess what happens? The needle skips. Literally, the needle will skip off the record if the bass is too high.

SPEAKER_01 18:18

Really?

SPEAKER_07 18:18

Yeah, so you can't do you can't do that. You have to actually dial the bass back a little bit. So some of that it has when people go, Oh, that's what a record sounds like, part of it is the fact that the bass is not quite as deep, if you will. Um, and then of course, the other thing is that if you do what I did when I was playing my records, which is I just cranked the bass up on the EQ, right? Because I want to hear the bass. The problem then is if your speakers are on the same, you know, cabinet as your record player, then the speaker's bass will make this stupid needle skip. Yes. But I mean, I appreciate, I mean, we went we went and saw a concert. My wife and I, and Kelly, your husband and I went and saw uh a concert down in Salem uh with an artist who I love, his name is Steve Taylor, and he did a good he did a great job along with with Russ Taff. Um, but he he did what I always say I will always honor, which is from stage, Steve Taylor asked the audience to buy his album. I'm like, darn it. So that means I have to go buy it, which I mean I wasn't complain that much, but that that's my rule. If you ask me from stage, I will buy your stuff. So he did, and like it doesn't matter that you know he's a successful, he's a professor, you know, at Lipscomb University. I'm still gonna buy your darn album. But his albums were colored, and that is the big thing that you're starting to see, which is all these different colors, and I think it's cool because you could it adds another aspect of things you can collect. So, like for me, it would be okay, can I go find all the blue versions of all these albums? That would be my thing. Your husband would be red, right? If it's all the red versions of the album, so it has some exclusivity to it. Now it's a a limited edition that you're having to go collect and not just one more black circle object that you put on the record player that you could just play on Spotify.

SPEAKER_00 20:12

Yeah.

SPEAKER_07 20:12

But like here we are in my here we are in my living room, and the record player, which is right behind Kelly, this it's so modern that it will connect to Bluetooth in my house. And you're like, oh, Bluetooth is not that interesting. Here's why it's interesting it is a reverse Bluetooth, so it can go seek out a Bluetooth signal and connect to it without any instructions. It just goes, Oh, there's a Bluetooth, I'll grab it and I can play it through my entire house. And again, I had the bass up too loud and it skipped.

SPEAKER_01 20:41

Really? So here's a fun fact for you. U.S. vinyl sales passed one billion in 2025.

SPEAKER_07 20:52

I you I never would have called this.

SPEAKER_01 20:54

Billion with a B.

SPEAKER_07 20:55

With a B. I would never have called this. I thought it might be kind of a cool, you know, nostalgia thing, and you'd buy a couple records, but a billion dollars, that's that's real, that's real sales. So that's great. I I love it.

SPEAKER_01 21:09

I mean, that says a lot to me about artists that are wanting to release their albums on vinyl to have it sound with that depth and that richness and that texture that you're talking about. But it also, um, I mean, anybody can stream these off all the music pro platforms, sure. But to be able to listen to it in real time on a turntable, I mean, that's pretty cool.

SPEAKER_07 21:38

It's a physical device, it's never going anywhere, right? It you you can't take away the technology that plays a record. Yeah, it's a needle on a turntable. That is that is the entirety of the technology.

SPEAKER_01 21:48

Yeah, I just I don't know. I'm enamored with it. I mean, I I've been enamored with it since I was itty bitty, and my mom had this extensive record collections, and I was I would just go through the albums just to look at them. And you know, she played them all the time on the big stereo that they had, but it I don't know. I there's something about a record, and it has a specific smell.

SPEAKER_07 22:15

It does, it really does.

SPEAKER_01 22:16

It's so cool.

SPEAKER_07 22:17

And it's a combination of the three main things. It's a combination of the cover, the plastic cover, the actual cardboard that is the sleeve, and the vinyl itself. Those three things put together, that's the that's the smell that's in your head.

SPEAKER_01 22:31

Well, and the paper, too. Thing that goes over the record before it goes in the sleeve, right? So yeah, all the things.

SPEAKER_07 22:40

So and the problem here, guys, this sounds like a really basic thing. A lot of the record companies who excuse me, the record manufacturers, uh manufacturing outfits that made records, they all shut down because they're like, well, records are over. Yeah. So they shut down, they close all these places and whatnot. So now there's only so many places that make records. So, like for instance, you know, we we have to put you know records together and CDs and streaming stuff for all of our artists that we work with in the studio. If we had to go print vinyl right now, it's about a two-month wait to get them. There's that much backlog to get one because you got to get it on their production line, they have to master it, they gotta do all those things that have to happen. But it's just a matter of there's just so many people that want them done that it just takes that long.

SPEAKER_01 23:32

And it's not an easy process, correct?

SPEAKER_07 23:35

No, there's some really great YouTube videos on how it works. I mean, there's really cool things.

SPEAKER_01 23:39

But you have to meet certain criteria, like you have to own the songs 100%, and like explain that a little bit.

SPEAKER_07 23:45

So, for for the last time we we did a um uh a pressing for vinyl, it it shocked me how many things I had to produce for them to prove the fact that we owned the music. Because it that what it does is it stops a it stops somebody from getting uh a copy, you know, of you know Hanel's Messiah or something like that, and just giving it to a record company and saying, go make records from this. You have to own it. And if you if you have a song that you have permission to record, you have to produce all the receipts. So you have to bring it here, here's the letter, here's the mechanical rights, here's all the different you know things you gotta prove. But and it makes sense. I I like the fact that there's a barrier to that because there's no well, no barrier, there's very little barriers on online. You could pretty it's pretty much the Wild West, and if you you can do whatever you want to get caught. Um, but like you can't just make a record because they will stop you and go, Yeah, we're not gonna do that.

SPEAKER_01 24:42

So tell me this. What was the first vinyl that you owned? Whether it was given to you or you purchased it, whatever, what's the first vinyl that you can recall having in your hand?

SPEAKER_07 25:00

I you know, I do think it is Starz on 45. I am pretty sure that's what it was.

SPEAKER_06 25:04

Interesting.

SPEAKER_07 25:05

Um I think that I had a record player that played some of these flimsy, you know, plastic things that you could get like on the back of a cereal box.

SPEAKER_01 25:14

Yes.

SPEAKER_07 25:14

You had to put a quarter on it to keep it on the on the on the actual player.

SPEAKER_01 25:18

Oh my gosh.

SPEAKER_07 25:19

Um, but I I got I think I had some Christmas money, and I went down to warehouse music in San Diego, and I bought Starz Auto 45. Please, oh please, can we play some of that?

SPEAKER_01 25:32

Yes, we must hear it.

SPEAKER_07 26:09

Oh, the stepping is tastic that that was. It actually came out in 1981.

SPEAKER_01 26:14

Oh, really?

SPEAKER_07 26:15

Yes, I believe it came out in January 1981. Um, because that's why I had the Christmas money left over.

SPEAKER_01 26:20

Well, there you go. See.

SPEAKER_07 26:22

Yes, that I I'm not saying if I'd known that was gonna be my first vinyl and I was gonna be asked this question, I might have picked something a little more classic. But that's what was in my head at the moment.

SPEAKER_01 26:32

Well, you want to hear my first absolutely I do. So here's a little backstory for you, though. But I was given a record player at the age of four. Um, I got it for Christmas. You remember this? Oh, I I very vividly remember it. It was red and white, and it had a clock. Like when you opened the lid inside the lid, there was a clock and you could move the hands on it. I don't know why, but anyhow. So this record player became like my best friend. I was an only child for eight solid years, y'all. So the records were the thing. But anyway, I re very vividly remember playing an Alvin and the Chipmunks little 45 record over and over and over and over.

unknown 27:20

Alvin!

SPEAKER_01 27:21

Yes, listening to him say that. But that's that's the first one that I remember being in possession of. Now, like I said, my mom had a huge, extensive record collection, 45s and the big album, the whole bit. And I she would play them and I would sit and just look at the album cover and wish I could be those people.

SPEAKER_07 27:44

Read every single liner note.

SPEAKER_01 27:45

Oh, yeah. Absolutely. So, what about like your first big vinyl album you purchased?

SPEAKER_07 27:56

Okay. See, I I have thought about this. You asked me this earlier, and I had to think about it, and I am 99% sure that it was thriller.

SPEAKER_06 28:04

I love that.

SPEAKER_07 28:05

I am pretty sure that it was. I mean, Michael Jackson's Thriller, great album, and is the arguably one of the reasons that I have any music today. So, yes, I believe it was Thriller. That's cool.

SPEAKER_01 28:16

I love that. For me, it was Amy Grant's Age to Age album. I was in the eighth grade, and I loved her. And yeah.

SPEAKER_07 28:26

You've seen Amy a couple times live.

SPEAKER_01 28:28

I have.

SPEAKER_07 28:29

You have. Was it on that tour that you saw her?

SPEAKER_01 28:32

No, no, the first time I ever saw her live was on her straight ahead tour.

SPEAKER_07 28:37

Which was the album after that. Yes. Yes, okay.

SPEAKER_01 28:40

And Michael W. Smith was her opening act. Isn't that crazy?

SPEAKER_07 28:46

Uh and then they had the the the the duet, right?

SPEAKER_01 28:50

Friends are friends forever.

SPEAKER_07 28:52

If the Lord's Lord of them, I could recite every single lyric and I haven't heard it in 20 years.

SPEAKER_01 28:57

Yeah. Oh, yeah. Why would you go listen to that?

SPEAKER_07 29:02

I heard it a lot.

SPEAKER_01 29:03

Yeah, it was kind of it, it was played to death, let's just say that. But I I have to tell you that by far my favorite album that I ever had growing up was a Donnie and Marie album.

SPEAKER_07 29:18

I love this.

SPEAKER_01 29:21

Yeah, I'm sure it will shock you to know that I had the Donnie and Marie Barbie dolls. Like, I don't think they were a Mattel Barbie doll, they were just their own thing. This is my shocked face. They were actual Barbie dolls. And they came with this whole stage thing that you could carry them around in, and they had special holders where you could stand them in there, and they came with their own little albums, like the plastic flimsy ones you were talking about. Yeah. But I had their real albums, and probably my favorite song that Donnie, because you know, I was more about Donnie than Marie, but my favorite song that he would sing was Come on, Mary Ann. We're gonna play, you know where to play that. We are? Okay, let's do it.

SPEAKER_03 30:11

Oh, he does.

SPEAKER_01 31:06

Than when I heard this song. I mean, no judgment here, y'all. I loved Donnie Osmond.

SPEAKER_07 31:16

Uh, the um I I I was not a huge Osmonds fan, but standing here watching you dance to that was worth the price of admission right now.

SPEAKER_01 31:27

Okay, hush up right now. That was not supposed to be on the podcast. Okay, so I went down a rabbit trail here.

SPEAKER_07 31:36

Okay.

SPEAKER_01 31:37

I wanted to know the history of record stores in the United States. In the 1980s, there were about seven to eight thousand somewhere in that ballpark, independent record stores.

SPEAKER_07 31:53

So not the box stores, not the big okay. Right.

SPEAKER_01 31:57

So independent tower records, those kind of we're talking independent record stores, between seven and eight thousand.

SPEAKER_07 32:03

In the US, okay.

SPEAKER_01 32:04

Okay. Yes. Okay. And in the 70s, there was a rapid expansion because, you know, that's when they really exploded, right? And we couldn't find anything that talked about prior to that.

SPEAKER_07 32:18

Yeah, the 70s was the was the big growth time for the for vinyl for sure.

SPEAKER_01 32:22

Yeah. Um, so but then in the 1990s, it declined. Why do you think that is?

SPEAKER_07 32:29

Well, that it's the CD. That's that's all it is, right? The CD came out, and therefore the record stores didn't have to um how do I say that a different way? Um, it was easier for the big retailers to carry in stock CDs because they were less expensive and they were smaller. So you could go to Target and pick up a CD. Um whereas you before that you would have to go to a record store and look through all the records, and there was a lot of real estate involved, and I think that's the reason why it declined in the 90s. There's my personal opinion.

SPEAKER_01 33:02

So then in the 2000s, there were only like 700 records.

SPEAKER_07 33:07

That's that's what tenth that there were in the 80s, right?

SPEAKER_01 33:10

That's crazy.

SPEAKER_07 33:11

So we went down for every 10 record stores that were open in the 80s, one of them is still open.

SPEAKER_01 33:17

Survived. In the early 2000s. So then 2010, it bumps back up to just over 2000. And then currently we have 1,500.

SPEAKER_07 33:30

Yeah, I I think there was a lot of speculation that it would that vinyl would grow faster. Um, and I think it was on a slow burn. So I think that it cranked up over a period of time. And so some of these record stores that tried to open before it really had taken seats, I think they ended up closing. So I think it right-sized, if you want to use that term.

SPEAKER_01 33:52

I feel like also you've got online, you can go straight to an artist's website and purchase special editions or signed editions or this plus, you know, liner notes or songwriting notes or whatever. I mean, I've done this with Taylor. Sure. And so, I mean, you can do things where you don't have to go to a record store nowadays. You can go on Amazon, for instance, and purchase. I mean, it's crazy, all the options that we have. But there's something about going into a record store.

SPEAKER_07 34:28

It's the experience. Yeah. And I think that if if you are a record store retailer right now listening to our little podcast, make it an experience. That that's what people want. So the the idea that that people are gonna go to um record store day um on Saturday, and you know, some of these stores are opening as early as 6 a.m. to let people in early and get that experience. Um that is they can go back to their, you know, they can bring back an album that was released on that day that's on vinyl, and they have this memory of the experience of going to a record store day on that day and buying that particular album that was released on that day. So that's what that's what they're that's what they should be selling is that experience.

SPEAKER_01 35:13

But there's a whole generation, well, there's generations of people who don't know what this means. They've not experienced that. So if you've never been to a record store and you've never purchased a record in a record store, I would love to challenge you to go out on April 18th of this year and go to find a record store and purchase a vinyl.

SPEAKER_07 35:39

If you want to make the record store employees day, go in knowing you're gonna buy Taylor's album, whatever you're gonna you're gonna buy, you know you're gonna buy that. Go up to one of the you know the people who are working there because I guarantee you, if somebody's working at a record store right now, they are doing it out of passion. They're not doing it because you know they're making tons of money, they're doing it because they love music. Go to them and say, Here's what I like. I like this style of music. What would you suggest that I would have never found on my own? And they will light up. They'll be like, Oh, you should absolutely check out this, and they'll have they'll escort you to four different things you could possibly buy that you would have never had a chance to listen to, you would have never crossed it on Spotify. Um, that that's a great challenge.

SPEAKER_01 36:22

Well, let's switch gears a little bit because we watched the Grammys this year.

SPEAKER_07 36:28

And if you didn't catch the Grammophone Grammys, you get it? That's that's where that came from.

SPEAKER_01 36:33

That's kind of where it came from. Uh the Grammys actually added a new category this year, didn't they? They did. And what was that?

SPEAKER_07 36:44

This is the best album cover, album art, right? So they have had in the past, and you've heard me joke about this probably, which is they've had best packaging before this. And the packaging referred to the entirety of the retail thing that you could buy. So the cover and the inside and the packaging and how the album looked, and the one look, all that stuff was packaging.

SPEAKER_01 37:05

Did that include liner notes?

SPEAKER_07 37:07

It did. Absolutely. Um, that was part of the equation. Because that's something we both love. Absolutely, please. Record companies put more liner notes out. So that's been out for a while, but this specific thing had to do with the artwork of be the face of an album. And so this is the first year they've ever done it. And there were several um nominees, and it was interesting when we looked at them.

SPEAKER_01 37:33

Yeah, so here's the the entire list of the nominees. We had Bad Bunny, we had Wet Leg, we had perfume geniuses, we had uh an artist that DJ O is how they spell it. Joe Joe, I'm not sure how you say that, and then Tyler the Creator. That was the entire nominee list. And who won?

SPEAKER_07 38:01

I well, it was Tyler the Creator. Um and we looked at it and we first saw the cover, we're kind of like that's not that interesting until you look at it in a bigger format. So we were looking at it, you know, on a screen, two-inch screen, right? And you're like, oh, it's not that interesting. It's really good. I mean, the the way that they created it and his his um it's kind of like he's becoming he's a saint, but it's not it's not disrespectful. It's like he's he's becoming this the uh the saint of what was the name of the album? Chromacopia. Thank you, Chromacopia. Yeah, so Saint Chroma, I think is uh the character that he's supposed to be on the on the front cover. And it's good. I mean it's it's it's it's kind of a cool thing. And I just I just love the fact that they did it all, right? Um, I know uh like a bad Bad Bunny's album. When you're asking me what was what the name of the album was, I'm like, ah, it's in Spanish. Um but the translation of the album was um I should have taken more pictures, which is a great album name. Nice job, Bad Bunny. But yeah, it's kind of fun to see all those different uh those different um graphics, so to speak.

SPEAKER_01 39:09

Yeah, so I was interested to know what the criteria was based on this award. And what we found was it's um artistic excellence, creativity, and design in album artwork with a focus on visual impact. So it's it's an interesting concept to think, okay, so if I'm an artist and I'm creating an album cover, what would I want to really seek after? And so there's your list. Yeah, that's what you would look for. And I'm I when we're doing albums in the studio, you always make a pitch to the artist about be very, very intentional with your album artwork.

SPEAKER_07 39:57

It's the first thing somebody's gonna see. Even if they don't hear your music, they're gonna see it. Um, and anybody can go on right now on a list of AI sites and say, I'll go create an album cover for this, I don't want it to kind of look like this. It looks like AI art. He's like, yeah, all right.

SPEAKER_01 40:19

Lame.

SPEAKER_07 40:20

It's it's not it's not that interesting. And it's quick, it's dirty, I get it. Um, but it's certainly not that interesting. So even if you you know take a chalkboard and draw something out and take a picture of it, I mean do something. Yeah, but I want to also kind of have an understanding as to what the album is gonna be by looking at it. Um like looking at Tyler the Creator's you know album, uh you kind of go, oh well, hip hop, maybe, maybe jazz, and maybe RB. Guess what? It's all three of those things.

SPEAKER_01 40:48

Yes, yes, and yes. So tell me this.

SPEAKER_07 40:52

Okay.

SPEAKER_01 40:52

What was your favorite album artwork when you were growing up? Yeah, there are that you recall.

SPEAKER_07 40:59

There are so many, uh, and there's some really great ones that are out there. I mean, Super Tramp did some great job uh with some some of their stuff, and uh band called Petra did a great job with their stuff with doing like incorporating like electric guitars and their artwork and stuff like that. But I think the my favorite album cover of all time uh is Sgt. Pepper's Only Hearts Club Band um by the Beatles. Because the the detail that went into that, the thought that went into every single character who's on that cover was very intentional and very good. So that stands out in my head. Is there one that stands out for you?

SPEAKER_01 41:34

Well, I mean, you know, I struggle with this because I I it's so hard for me to pick a favorite in any category of any anything ever.

SPEAKER_07 41:45

If like try and narrow it down to some other category than just best album.

SPEAKER_01 41:49

I have so many favorite things. But, you know, my mom, like I mentioned, my mom had a lot of records, and I loved anything with real people on the front because that would give me a window into you know, you can listen to a record, but if you can see what this person looks like on their album, it gives you a visual. And this was, you know, when I was a kid, we didn't have videos. I mean, you could see them on a live talk show, maybe, but it was, you know, it was a very different experience. So yeah.

SPEAKER_07 42:22

The the two albums that come to mind when you when you explain it that way, the two albums that come to mind for me would be Neil J Neil Diamonds, the jazz singer.

SPEAKER_00 42:29

Oh yeah.

SPEAKER_07 42:29

Um, that's a great cover, striking. Um, and then you know, Kenny Rogers, the gambler, you know, that's that that was a fun cover too. You know, I I would I'm like, I I want to get dressed up like that.

SPEAKER_01 42:44

Yeah. What the albums that come to mind for me are like The Carpenters or uh The Fifth Dimension. I mean, those were albums that she had and Ray Coniff, the Ray Coniff singers, and they would all dress up and yeah.

SPEAKER_07 42:59

For those of you who do not know, the fifth dimension did songs like The Age of Aquarius.

SPEAKER_01 43:04

There we go.

SPEAKER_07 43:27

Which I remember from watching the 40 year old virgin. Um, it's the last scene of the 40-old virgin. So let's move on to another subject show.

SPEAKER_01 43:37

Okay, yes, let's do. So let's just for funsies, tell me the first C D you ever purchased.

SPEAKER_07 43:45

Oh, wait. Is this gonna be like do I have to say this on the air?

SPEAKER_00 43:48

Yes, I'm asking you.

SPEAKER_07 43:50

What year would that have been?

SPEAKER_00 43:51

1989, 90? When depends on when you purchased a C D. I don't know.

SPEAKER_07 43:57

I suppose. Vanilla Ice.

SPEAKER_00 44:00

Oh really?

SPEAKER_07 44:01

It was vanilla-ized. And again, if I'd known I was being asked this question in 2026, I might have made a different decision.

SPEAKER_01 44:10

Well, at least it wasn't Milly Vanilli. I mean.

SPEAKER_07 44:15

You're right.

SPEAKER_01 44:17

Oh, that's funny.

SPEAKER_07 44:18

Do you remember your first CD?

SPEAKER_01 44:20

Well, so, okay, here we go. Truth be told, the first CD I ever purchased was not for me.

SPEAKER_07 44:28

You bought it as a gift?

SPEAKER_01 44:29

Yeah.

SPEAKER_07 44:30

Who was the lucky male?

SPEAKER_01 44:34

Well, you're not wrong. Uh yeah, I saved my babysitting money and I think I was working in a tanning salon my senior year, but I purchased for my high school boyfriend sweetheart, my high school boyfriend, the Chicago 18 album on CD.

SPEAKER_07 44:52

Which is arguably a great album. So I mean you have great taste. But yeah. You gave it away. The first one you ever bought.

SPEAKER_01 44:59

I did. I don't even remember the first CD I bought for myself, quite honestly.

SPEAKER_07 45:03

It's kind of a little blurry. It's hard to think about, I think. Especially when you like us and you probably have bought hundreds and hundreds and hundreds of albums. Like which one was first?

SPEAKER_01 45:14

Yeah. Well, speaking of vinyl, I feel like we should spin an AM record here because we are pretty much at the end of our time. So what do we have? I mean, I I feel like we should we should find something in the vein of good cover art. And you know, of course it has to be an AM artist. And a good song.

SPEAKER_07 45:44

Um something that puts you in a record store in your head. That's the experience that was happening at the time. So I I think it is good by a stranger by a stranger. And and if you haven't seen that album cover, go look at it. It's actually really it's really done well. But yeah, that's a really good album. We should do that one for sure.

SPEAKER_01 46:10

That sounds great. Hey, side note. I just had this thing happen to my head. Can you think of a movie that has a record store in it? Like with a scene. I know it's on the spot, but I literally just had this scene. So for me, it's pretty in pink.

SPEAKER_07 46:31

That is it.

SPEAKER_01 46:32

When Ducky comes in and Molly Ringwald is working in the record store, and and he comes in and he's lip-syncing to some song that's playing. I wish I could remember what it was, but and you know, it's a great scene. I feel like there are other are there other movies out there?

SPEAKER_07 46:51

Probably.

SPEAKER_01 46:52

Okay, y'all are challenged with commenting on our post for this podcast with your favorite record store scene from a movie or even a TV show.

SPEAKER_07 47:06

That's good. I like that.

SPEAKER_01 47:07

I wanna I wanna hear. I know there's others, but I like it.

SPEAKER_07 47:14

Good challenge, good challenge.

SPEAKER_01 47:15

Okay.

SPEAKER_07 47:16

Alright, so here's uh here's super tramp. Let's uh let's spin the vinyl.

SPEAKER_04 47:20

It was an early morning yesterday. And I really haven't enjoyed this day. But I must be moving on. Like a king without a castle, like a king without a joke. I'ma know you on a love, and I must be moving on. Now I believe in what you say is the undisputed truth. But I have to have things my own way to keep me in mind Like a ship without an anchor, like a slave without a chain. Just a thought of those leaders, send a shit out through my feet. Now we're going shiny, shining like brand new. Until I look behind me, my troubles will be few by stranger, it's been nine The whole you find them, they're gonna see the long you dream, all the food, food, by dream, will we feel our sorrow, feel the shame I have to do every day I make the change Well yeah, Now some that do and some that don't And some you just can't tell like And some that will and some they won't For some it's just as well You can laugh at my behavior And that'll never bother me See the devil is my savior But I don't pay no you know I shine you shine a light from you I'll never look behind me My toes will be few Goodmaster O'Heck