Record Store Day 2024 + Collectors Convention Haul!

By Kayla Harper

 

This article is going to be more informal than my usual ones and more personal!  There’s been so many new additions to the collection recently and some big days for music collectors including Record Store Day, so I wanted to do an article highlighting on my experience working at a record store during RSD as well as do a little haul!

 

Record Store Day was one of my favourite days at work so far!  It was so exciting to see the amount of people that came in, not only looking for exclusive titles, but simply celebrating independent stores because that is what the day is really about!

 

The big titles this year were the Sabrina Carpenter “Feather” 7″, the Noah Kahan “I Was/I Am” and the Noah Kahan and Olivia Rodrigo “Stick Season/Lacy” 7″.  (I did find it strange how sought after the “Feather” 7″ was considering it was on UMG’s website a year earlier).  We ended up being the only store in our city with copies of the Sabrina Carpenter 7″ so, we had people lined up at 4am for it, which is insane.  Their devotion is crazy and they totally deserved those titles.

 

All of our record store day titles sold out within the first five minutes!  The rest of the day was very busy, but it was a lot of fun to talk to so many people who loved music!

 

A week later, there was a music collection convention in my city that I went to with fellow music collector friends of mine!  Another exciting day to celebrate our love for music and collecting physical formats!  Between the convention and Record Store Day, my sister and I ended up adding a lot of new items to our collection.  Therefore, I thought it would be fun to do an informal article different than anything I’ve posted before –A haul of all our recent new arrivals.  Not to brag of course, just for the love of collecting and sharing music!

 

1. Maisie Peters The Good Witch LP RSD24

My sister, Kaitie, secured a copy of the beautiful Maisie Peters picture disc containing six deluxe tracks from her second album, The Good Witch, and one hidden bonus track not listed on the tracklist!  My sister and I got into the British pop singer a couple years ago, and really enjoy her witty, honest lyrics combined with her adorable personality.  Unfortunately we missed her in concert this past summer, since we were on a family camping trip, hopefully we’ll catch her next time!

2. Apocalyptica Worlds Collide LP RSD24

I was very happy to secure a copy of Apocalyptica’s Worlds Collide LP.  I got into this album recently when my friend/manager sent me their song “I’m Not Jesus” featuring Corey Taylor, who she knows is one of my favourites ever! (Corey Taylor is the frontman of both Slipknot and Stone Sour for those who don’t know).  The entire album is beautiful as is the actual vinyl records.  It’s insane to me that the music is primarily composed of cellos, but sounds so metal.  It’s definitely a 10/10, a great sounding pressing and probably my most sought after on the 2024 RSD list.

3. Corey Taylor CMF2b…Or Not To b LP RSD24

My second most sought after (or tied first with Apocalyptica) is the Corey Taylor RSD title!  Of course we all know by now how much I adore Corey Taylor so I was very excited to get my hands on this beautiful candy floss coloured vinyl!  (I am convinced he knew how much  I adored pastel pink and chose the colour just for me)!  The album is composed of covers, including one of Led Zepplin’s “Ten Years Gone”, which all sound incredible…anything Corey Taylor sings sounds incredible though.  It also features a rendition of the Stone Sour song “Bother” called “Bother ’23 (Still Bothered)” and a live version of Slipknot’s “Snuff” from 2016.  The rest is composed of Corey Taylor’s original solo work.  Not only does the pressing look gorgeous, but it sounds awesome too!

4. Lana Del Rey Did You Know That There’s A Tunnel Under Ocean Blvd  LP Exclusive Pink Pressing

My sister and I bought this LP together at the music collectors convention.  It was one of the exclusive Lana releases we had missed out on prior so we were happy to find it for a fair price.  The album cover as well as the vinyl pressing are beautiful variations of the original album.  Anyone who knows me, or who has read the article I wrote previously on this album, knows that it is a very special album to me.  Lana poured all of the emotional weight she carried with her into this record, making it a meaningful piece of art that has helped me cope with loss, change, heartbreak, and other aspects of life.

5. Lana Del Rey Violet Bent Backwards Over The Grass LP

My sister added this to our collection recently.  Surprisingly we hadn’t bought it yet, we had been wanting too, but just haven’t.  Anyway, my sister ended up buying it at my work completing our Lana collection minus the bootlegs.  It is a beautiful collection of poetry read and written by Lana, so definitely a must have for any Lana collectors!  After listening multiple times, I have learned that I NEED more poetry albums in my collection.

6. Arctic Monkeys Humbug LP

Another one that wasn’t bought as a record store day exclusive or at the convention, however, it was still a sought after album of mine!  Humbug is my favourite album from Arctic Monkeys and features my favourite AM song of all time, “Fire and The Thud”.  I have been on the hunt for this LP for a long time and although it isn’t expensive or rare, it was really difficult for me to find it.  I’m very happy to add this one to the collection!

7. Slipknot All Hope Is Gone LP

I was excited to find a copy of Slipknot’s All Hope Is Gone at the music collectors convention.  Considering it is my second favourite Slipknot album, I surprisingly did not own it on vinyl yet (just on CD)!  It is a beautiful orange pressing that sounds incredible!  I am extra happy that I found a sealed, new copy, shrink and hype sticker in tact!  Although Corey Taylor sounds amazing on all his albums, I find his vocals especially impressive on this album highlighted in tracks like, “Snuff”, “Dead Memories” and “Sulfur”.

8. Fleetwood Mac Fleetwood Mac LP

This is one of my favourite Fleetwood Mac albums!  I did have a copy of the original album I had snagged from my grandpa’s collection only to learn it was scratched and badly warped.  I have been holding out on buying a new copy of the album until I could find another original used copy since the reissued Fleetwood Mac pressings do not sound even close to as good!  Therefore, finding an original used copy today in near mint condition was very exciting!

10. Taylor Swift, The Tortured Poets Department, CD and LP variants

During this exciting music collecting week two of the CD variants and one of the LP variants I ordered of The Tortured Poets Department finally arrived!  I have an article with my initial thoughts on the new Swift album posted already, and another more detailed review will be out soon!  I believe this is Swift’s best pop album so far as it strays from the standard basic pop you’d expect and is much more complex storytelling-wise.  Almost like Lana Del Rey and Taylor Swift morphed into one artists.  The album that arrived was the Albatross variant which is a beautiful grey pressing and my favourite cover for the album!  The CD variants that arrived were The Albatross and The Black Dog, both of which came with a bunch of little goodies pictured below!

11. Twenty One Pilots, Location Sessions, RSD2021 12″ EP

As long-term Twenty One Pilots fans (courtesy of our Dad in the early 2000s) my sister and I were excited to discover this at my work!  I don’t know how I had no idea it had been there this whole time, but I’m glad I found out because we snagged it and not because I was selling it to someone else.  The Location Sessions were some small shows lead singer, guitarist, pianist, bassist, etc.  Tyler Joseph did during the Trench era.  Although we did attend the Bandito Tour, Kaitlyn and I unfortunately did not attend any of these small shows, however, we did livestream them all in real time.  Stripped back versions of songs from the bands fan-favourite album are included on this 12″ EP on a beautiful grey pressing.  Although, the band failed to include our personal favourites, “Smithereens (Live from Brooklyn)” and “My Blood (Live from Brooklyn)”.   Regardless we’re still excited to own this EP because Trench, as is most fans, is our favourite era and album from Twenty One Pilots, as it’s the most sonically cohesive and lyrically complex (although that is hard to argue because I truly believe there is not an album in their discography in which Tyler Joseph lacks).

11. Tupac (Multiple Albums) CD

My sister was very excited (can you tell) to find many Tupac CDs at the convention as she is a huge fan of the iconic late rap artist.  The albums she bought are pictured above.  Although I’ve never been a huge hip-hop/rap girl myself, my sister has got me hooked on some Tupac songs over the years.  I’ve got admit, especially after watching his documentary, that boy had a beautiful heart and soul and was gone much too soon.  He was beyond talented and only ever trying to make the world a better place.  R.I.P. Tupac Shakur.

 

Aside from the new arrivals specified above, my sister and I also raided our Dad’s old CD collection, finding artists ranging from hip-hop/rap to hard rock and metal.  We also found he had two original Pink Floyd Pulse CDs which were super cool.  I am lucky to have such a cool Dad who is willing to share his love of music with me and let me look at his old collections (and even steal a couple to keep with my own).

 

Again, this article is not to brag in any way, it is simply just me sharing my love for collecting music.  There were some big days for music collectors the past two weeks so I wanted to sum them up into an informal, but fun article highlighting on the new additions to my sister and I’s collection!