Record Store Day: Local Love

Shops around SoCal, and beyond, will feature live tunes, sweet specials, and more music-major doings.

Just about every other week, it seems, some buzzed-about social happening bubbles up on the more fashionable sites, from midnight supper affairs to "linner" lunch-dinner dates (as opposed to brunch) to celebrating all of your friends' half-birthdays.

Social trends wax and wane, of course, but here's a gathering that's been a gas since the first day the first gramophone hit the market in the 1800s: A listening party at home.

Inviting your pals over to hear a fresh disc, first one side, then the other, has never lost its cachet or ability to bring a friendly group closer. And that gratifying spirit of the listening party, and the love of music, takes flight each spring via Record Store Day.

Let's drop the needle on this one, for it doesn't need a lot of fuss or prelude: Record Store Day is a nationwide love-in for the mom-and-pop shops that sell vinyl and posters and host live bands on the regular and do everything they can to put music mavens in front of the next artist they're going to obsess over.

The 2017 shebang? It's on Saturday, April 22, all over the place, so find your go-to favorite store, down the street or a few neighborhoods away, and see what it has going for the big occasion.

Of course, make sure they're on this humongous participant list first, or check out what other Southern California-based record stores are up to on April 22. Every shop is a bit different, in its offerings, so get info before you go.

Amoeba Music is a major centerpoint for Record Store Day, as you might guess, and while there's a lot doing on the day, look for the special Crosley Radio, Star Wars-themed turntable that'll pop up at Amoeba on April 22.

The Scene

Want to find new things to do in Los Angeles? The Scene's lifestyle stories have you covered. Here's your go-to source on where the fun is across SoCal and for the weekend.

Theodore Payne Foundation's ‘poppy-ular' Poppy Days Spring Sale is about to sprout

The Broad is broadening: The contemporary art museum just unveiled a major expansion plan

And Atomic Records in Burbank has a Record Store Deal afoot — "10% off everything!" — so check out the shop's social media for all the info.

Will the at-home listening party be your go-to fun time over the summer of '17? Will it become your "thing" for the next several months? Will friends be asking you if you have a fresh platter they can stop by and hear? 

Even if you only make it your summer plan, remember this: The listening party is eternal, and impacted by no trend or fickle fashion. Best stock up on some albums, then, at Record Store Day, all with the joy of spreading your favorite sounds around to everyone you know.

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