Why buy a record, a CD or a vinyl, when you can subscribe to a streaming supplier like Spotify or Google Play Music free of charge (including commercials) or pay SEK99 per month for a premium version which is commercial free??

I say that there’s definitely room for both kinds of media. I pay the SEK99 per month, but use the streaming possibility to listen to new music and test new bands and new releases I have heard or read about. It has also been perfect for playlist of graduation-and jubilee parties in our home. When DJ’ing at my wife’s birthday party I never forget the question: ” Is it possible to wish a song” and the natural answer was: “Sit here yourself and play your own favorites for a while”. This led to that everything from country to modern house to heavy metal was played and raised the temperature in the house. A perfect party in many senses and the music was commented positively by many!!

Still, the visit to a record store, today often with used records, is a positive and genuine experience. Usually the staff is so knowledgeable that the musical experience from buying a record is sweetened with some valuable facts. I reward myself every Friday lunch a visit to Roadhouze records in Helsingborg. Normally, a couple of CD’s have been picked out for me by the staff from incoming collections during the week. It’s great! I meet a person who knows his/her stuff. I get to talk shop with someone for a while. I get my compact product, with the booklet, lyrics, stories and photos and not to forget I get the songs presented in the order of the artist. Normally, the artist/the band has an idea with the order of the songs and I still always mess up how songs are played when I use the streaming suppliers. It’s so much more to this than just downloading a song, consume it and throw it out. The music and the records is a life style and the best way to meet the artist/the band without really and actually meeting. In this sense even the vinyl is an even better experience!!

Record Store Day started in 2008 and is celebrated on the third Saturday in April. New record releases are made this day. Artists/bands are performing in record stores all over the world. On Saturday April 19 is time again. Due to Easter holidays this coming weekend the celebrations will in Sweden instead take place next Saturday April 26. Our small contribution to Record Store Day will be, of course, to buy a couple more records, but also to here recommend a few related records stores in the metalsouth region. Please, check these three out. Pay them a visit or contact them for orders.

http://www.roadhouze.se (Roadhouze Records, Helsingborg, Sweden)

Latest buys:

LOK: Naken, Blästrad och Skitsur (Sonet, 1999)

“Naked, Blastered and Pissed off”. Swedish brutal powerful metal worth listening to, although you don’t get the full meaning of the Swedish brutally lovely lyrics. (SEK79)

Janne Stark: The Heaviest Encyclopedia Of Swedish Hard Rock and Heavy Metal Ever (Premium Publishing, Stockholm, 2013)

An unbelievably valuable book for any hard rock and heavy metal fan…not only Swedish ones. It’s all in the English language and it answers all of your questions you can ever think of on Swedish bands in the genre. It’s great and weighs a couple of kilos. (SEK449)

http://www.sexbeatrecords.dk (Sex Beat Records, Copenhagen, Denmark)

One of the few stores around, which sells new releases. Normally connected to making a one day trip to wonderful Copenhagen. Great experience. Great knowledge!

Latest buy:

Soilwork: A Predator’s Portrait (Nuclear Blast Records, 2013)

A new release of the album from 2001, digitally remastered and with three bonus tracks. Just awesome!!!

http://www.repeatrecords.se ( Repeat Records, Lund, Sweden)

A fantastic record store in central Lund with an enormous collection of used vinlys! Good prices and a really good time can be spent in there.

Latest buy:

Frank Zappa: Chungas Revenge (Warner Bros. Inc.,1970)

This vinyl purchased for SEK200 made my road to a complete Zappa collection of vinyls slightly shorter.

Finally, we make a reference to the Swedish Rock’n’roll Magazine (http://www.rocknrollmagazine.se/) and the issue #6 2013 in which a great Record Store guide (Sweden) is published.

KEEP THE MUSIC-, CD-, VINYL- AND RECORD STORE BUSINESS ALIVE AND VISIT A RECORD STORE TODAY, ON RECORD STORE DAY AND ON ALL OTHER DAYS!!