RSD: DIARY OF A MADMAN

“Oh baby, don't it feel like heaven right now? Don't it feel like somethin' from a dream? Yeah, I've never known nothing quite like this. Don't it feel like tonight might never be again?” Yes indeed, the waiting is the hardest part

AND SO THE RITUAL BEGINS…

I figured I should give Record Store Day its own section.  Why?  Why not.  I devote probably hundreds of hours leading up to the day.  Sound extreme?  It should.  Between the official RSD and the Black Friday version, that’s when I buy the majority of my yearly vinyl allotment.  Look, I’m married, for fuck’s sake, even my wife has limits.  It may not seem so simply because she married me, but she does have limits.

Hundreds of hours, you ask?  Okay, maybe I’m exaggerating.  But there’s a ritual every release day and the clock starts with waiting for the release list, which is basically the vinyl collector’s Groundhog Day.  You stare at the website like it’s going to blink first and when it finally drops, you remember the old line: “The best‑laid plans of mice and men often go awry.”  No matter the wants, the passed, the list, albums get pushed, albums get cancelled. The sometimes, albums appear out of nowhere like they were smuggled in under a trench coat.  It’s not common, but when it happens, it’s usually something half the community has been foaming at the mouth for.

Before we go any further, let’s be honest; is RSD even for you?  If you’re into live albums, congratulations, RSD is your buffet.  If you’re into rap or hip‑hop, you’ll find reissues that cost less than a used car, which is more than you can say for the OG pressings.  If it’s Wu‑Tang, you better be standing in the right store at the right time, because those things flip for stupid money.  Jazz?  RSD treats jazz like royalty.  This year’s Coltrane Live in France vanished instantly and deserved to.  Then there are the picture discs, Zoetrope’s, weird formats; they’re all here.  And if you’re like me and have no boundaries when it comes to musical taste, this is your playground; 300‑plus releases across every genre you can think of.

Now the preparation and this is where the wheels come off.

I get out four highlighters, a pen, and a Sharpie.  The Sharpie is the executioner.  If I run that Sharpie through a title, it’s done, gone, zero interest.  It sounds dramatic because it is.  But when you’re staring down 300 to 360 releases, extreme is survival.

I always print off the list from RecordStoreDay.com. The first pass; highlight the bands that catch my attention.  Doesn’t mean I’m buying them, it just means they earned a glance.  Then I look at the format: 7”, 10”, 12”, single, EP’s…I don’t usually buy those unless I already collect the artist’s full discography or the release has some weird, kitschy hook. Those go to the “maybe” pile.

Then I run through the list again to double‑check my handiwork.  I use their dropdown to list alphabetical by artist is how I print it.  I file my records by last name for solo artists, first letter for bands and “The” only counts if the band is literally “The The”; RSD goes by last name and for bands the first letter.

Next, I look at each artist/title combo.  If I’m even a teentsy bit interested, it gets highlighted.  If not, it’s Sharpie party time.  Then I hit the RSD “Web” button.  That’s where you get the details: pressing numbers, whether the album is hand numbered, what extras are included, all the nerdy stuff that makes collectors feral.  First pass gets a check mark.

And yes it does gets worse.  Now that I’m typing this, I may indeed have an illness.

Because after that, I print another list, then another, maybe a third.  This time, I also print the “web” release sheets because they include pressing quantities.  And while pressing numbers don’t tell the whole story, they tell enough.  A run of 500 doesn’t guarantee a sell‑out any more than a run of 20,000 doesn’t guarantee availability.  You learn to read the tea leaves.

By now, I’ve highlighted 150 to 200 titles.  That’s the fantasy list; the “if my checking account had no ceiling” list.  From there, I mark the must‑haves.  Those get the purple highlighter.  Those are the ones I’ll elbow someone’s aunt for…I’m kidding, sort of.

 Still with me?  If so, I’m not the only mental patient in the room.

After the “musts” come the “wants”.  Two variables; Do I have money left after the musts?

And is the RSD price worth it?

I’m not buying for the flex or brag buying, I’m buying to listen; hopefully more than once.  The “wants” get either a check mark or a question mark, depending on how the stars align.  The question mark is there for me when looking back after this psychotic episode ends to question, if available or if the price is right Bob.

Then I make my master list with Microsoft Word.  And yes, I will watch those annoying wannabe professors of pomp, RSD content creators.  If I’m on the fence about something, I want to know what I’m missing.  Maybe it’s a special live cut I was unaware of, maybe it had bonus tracks.  Hell, maybe it’s something I overlooked because I was too busy drowning in highlighter fumes.

One final tip for navigating the RSD site; scroll to the bottom, set the “per page” dropdown to 200, and for the love of all that is holy, right‑click and open releases in a new tab.  If you don’t, the site resets and dumps you back at page one like it’s punishing you for caring.

And that’s the ritual, in all its maddening and glory. The sickness, the thing that makes Record Store Day feel like Christmas morning, tax season, and a scavenger hunt all rolled into one.

Next go round, we cut through the shit and see what Louie brough home to roost.