People shop for records on Black Friday Record Store day at Stinkweeds Records on 12 W. Camelback Rd in Phoenix. (Photo by Zane Jennings)Over the years, Black Friday has earned itself a reputation for exposing people’s insanity in pursuit of the best deals around. Whether it be Wal-Mart, Target or Best Buy, the commercial day of reckoning gets earlier and earlier each year, with a number of businesses opening on Thanksgiving Day itself.
Alas, not all hope for humanity is lost — civility is still alive and well within the vinyl community, and this Black Friday local record store Stinkweeds invited all the musical wax collectors out for a nice morning and a chance to nab collectible records.
I arrived at the downtown Phoenix local record staple around 8 a.m. to a group of 20 people standing outside waiting for the store to open at 10 a.m. Cloudy eyed, but not miserable, the customers waited outside in the pleasantly cool weather.
NAU junior Alexa Frechette praised the early morning waiting weather.
“It’s really cold in Flagstaff," she said. "(Today is) perfect record store weather. Ideal.”
People wait patiently outside Stinkweeds Records on 12 W. Camelback Road in Phoenix. (Photo by Zane Jennings)Unlike other Black Friday deals, where the prices are slashed and chaos ensues, Black Friday Record Store Day features a number of limited-edition vinyl pressings. And when I say limited, I mean limited. The most sought-after album, “Government Plates” by Death Grips, only had 1,000 copies available, which were pressed on special collector’s item vinyl and accompanied by a license plate.
Sadly, Stinkweeds did not have the Death Grips release. After finding out, there was a moment when everyone was wondering where it could be.
That’s not to say all was disappointing. As highlighted earlier in the week by a fellow State Presser, Miles Davis’ “Blue Xmas” was on display this week with a sweet blue wax finish.
Customers enter Stinkweeds Records for Black Friday Record Store Day. (Photo by Zane Jennings)When the doors opened at 10 a.m., people walked inside and took to the racks in search of their fancy. The St. Vincent 10-inch “Pietta” was a hot item, as a number of people were seen scrambling to get their hands on it.
All in all, it was an excellent morning for music lovers. As Stinkweeds manager Lindsay Cates, said, “It gets people excited about vinyl. Even those who don’t have record players yet want to get out and be a part of (Record Store Day).”
Tell the reporter about your favorite vinyl at zjenning@asu.edu or follow him on Twitter @humanzane
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