Record Store Day a 2/3 bust.

I'm pretty sure Record Store Day is one of my favorite days of the year, and at the same time, a day that I loathe. I love the idea of limited edition releases being made available in support of the nearly-extinct record store. But I hate crowds. Combine the two and you've got Record Store Day.

Arriving at my local record store this morning exactly one minute after they opened their doors, I was met with shoulder-to-shoulder music snobs like myself searching for their short list of items available at that moment for the first time. My list this morning included three things -- a 7" from Justin Townes Earle and 10" and 12" releases from the Black Angels. Looking for the Black Angels for my brother, my plan was to buy copies for myself as well if they'd allow me more than one.

  

Standing on my tip-toes to see over the mass of people between me and the wall of Record Store Day releases, I quickly spotted the Black Angels 12". Good for my brother. Then I heard one of the store employees say something to another customer about "one copy per customer." Bad for me.

With the store owner nearby, I decided to save myself a headache and just asked if he had copies of either of the other two releases I was looking for. He did not. Bad for my brother. Bad for me. Apparently, as the store owner said, the "powers that be" only allowed him a select stock of merchandise with no rhyme nor reason to what he was provided.

That's all I needed to hear as I headed to the check-out line. It was time to get the hell out of there as quickly as I had come in. Total shopping time: nine minutes.

You win this year, Record Store Day.