Record Store Day is almost here! Check out these mouth-watering limited, exclusive 45s... remastered Zappa single available on vinyl for the first time in 40 years; Pink Floyd on pink wax; an amazing David Bowie "Drive-In Saturday" picture disc; and the Rolling Stones 5x5 EP, re-pressed for the first time since 1964! You're gonna have to line up early for these. See you on Saturday for RSD13!

Download our menu (.pdf) of exclusive Record Store Day titles available on April 20, 2013.

See our list of events and happenings at all three stores on RSD.

 

Likelihood of a Billy Joel and Alicia Keys duet at the 12-12-12 Sandy Benefit, NY Beard and Mustache Competition open to both men and women, 32nd anniversary of John Lennon's murder expected to draw large crowds to Strawberry Fields, DJ legend Danny Krivit does a special holiday styled dance party for his long running 718 Sessions, Bay Area artists The Coup and DJ Shadow visit NYC this week, copping last minute tickets to The Late Show with David Letterman, a review of last weekend's 8-Ball Zine Fair, Cannibal Ox reunion, and an NYC-themed rap music video by Ja Rule are among the items covered in this installment in New York State of Mind - the weekly Amoeblog series in which I report, from a New York City perspective, on music and other entertainment and happenings in the Big Apple.

Open to both men and women, The 3rd Annual NYC Beard and Mustache Competition is happening this weekend in Williamsburg. Not to be confused with the equally popular 5th Annual Coney Island Beard and Mustache Competition that took place a few miles further out in the borough of Brooklyn (home to many a mustachioed fellow), this Saturday evening's event is being presented by the Gotham City Beard Alliance whose mission statement is "To promote tolerance and acceptance of all facial hair. The GCBA desires to help our local community, through donations from events planned by GCBA or volunteering at non-facial hair related events." At this weekend's GBCA event there will be a series of facial hair competitions that anyone can sign up for on the night. Just get to the venue by 6:30pm for the 7pm start time of the the three hour event. And note that the male leaning competition is not for men exclusively. Women are also encouraged to enter by making their own beard and mustache creations that will be judged in such categories as Most Realistic and Most Fantastic. Saturday, Dec 8th, 7pm at Warsaw: 261 Driggs Ave. in Williamsburg, Brooklyn. Phone: 718-387-0505 Tickets and more info here. Club directions + general info here.

Photographer Alec Byrne has been covering rock music since 1960s London, starting when he was just 17 years old. Over the next 10 years, he photographed everyone from The Beatles, The Rolling Stones, Jimi Hendrix, The Who, David Bowie, and Mott the Hoople. Bryne's archive of 50,000 images has mostly been in storage for the last 40 years and has never been seen by the public. You can view some of these amazing photographs and meet the photographer himself one night only, December 1, at Smashbox Studios in Culver City. Admission is free and you can RSVP here.

Amoeba is proud to sponsor this incredible event, along with LA Weekly, Uber ARCHIVES, KCRW, Smashbox Studios, and BowHaus.

What: Alec Byrne: Rock & Roll Time Capsule
Where: Smashbox Studios, Culver City, CA
When: Saturday, December 1 7-10pm
Cost: Free

A pre-sale for limited edition archival quality prints will begin December 1, but you can buy limited edition show catalogs and lithographs online now.

Find out more about this one-night only exhibition.

This year's Black Friday Record Store Day (RSD) - the day after Thanksgiving - brings with it a slew of  new 10" record releases, as well as a bunch of RSD exclusive 7" singles.  Below please find a list of ten recommended 7" records from all different artists.

Many are new reissues of older recordings. For example, there's a new  David Bowie picture disc of "Jean Jeanie!" The Rolling Stones have a four song 7" EP. There are three Captain Beefheart & The Magic Band singles being released. The White Stripes also have three different 45's for this Black Friday's RSD:  “Fell in Love With a Girl” b/w “I Just Don’t Know What to Do With Myself" + “Hotel Yorba” (Live at the Hotel Yorba) b/w “Rated X (Live at the Hotel Yorba)" + "Dead Leaves and the Dirty Ground” b/w “Stop Breaking Down.”

The Rolling Stones 7" EP cover artwork/layout (above) is real nicely presented: a great old black and white photo of the Stones with song titles done in throwback 7" EP font style, classic Decca logo, and the "mono" tag. The record features the songs "Poison Ivy," "You Better Move On," "Money," and "Bye Bye Johnny."  Meanwhile, the three Captain Beefheart and His Magic Band 7" singles for RSD are "Abba Zaba/Yellow Brick Road" + "Plastic Factory/Where There's A Woman" + "Upon The My-O-My/I Got Love On My Mind" - all released by Sundazed.