MUSIC: Our Top 5 Record Store Day Releases

Saturday April 21st marks a national holiday for us vinyl heads. Record Store Day stay started in 2007 and encouraged us to leave our iPhones behind and head to our local records store. Each year, the event has gotten larger and larger, and the absurd amount of custom vinyl gets even more absurd each year. We went digging through the releases and found the top 5 vinyl projects you should cop. Check it.

Flaming Lips and Heady Fwends

Okay, this one is just an indulgence on my part; they hooked me with the blood thing. WHY was Wayne Coyne collecting people's blood for this? You can actually buy a vial of Ke$ha's blood with the vinyl (well, not everyone)! I don't get it, and that's why I want it. But also, the track listing for this looks pretty dope. They got Erykah Badu and Biz Markie, a collab with Yoko Ono, and a song called "I'm Working At NASA on Acid," which even if it isn't a good song (but I bet it is) is still a fun topic to think about. Plus, if you want to go to sleep and pretend the whole thing never happened, you can just put on the Bon Iver-assisted track (HA!). (More info)

Gary Clark Jr. - Presents HWUL Raw Cuts Vol 1

If you haven't at least heard the name Gary Clark Jr. then I don't know what to tell you, but you could probably be excused from not having heard any of his recorded material, mostly because there isn't that much of it. He's been all but anointed as the next great Texas guitar hero, following in the footsteps of the Stevie Ray Vaughans and Freddie Kings before him, and he's been playing a bunch of shows around the country and puts on a badass live show, but I need a full album from him. I crave it. I need to know. And because of that, all new music - even if it's old tracks in a live setting, and maybe especially because of that - is more than welcome from his Clarkness. (More Info)

The Pharcyde - Bizarre Ride II The Pharcyde: The Singles Collection

Cause hell yeah, right? It's literally a box, with two discs of dirty tracks with full on liner notes that are themselves worth it. Oh, but there's also a huge poster of the cover art. Oh, but there's also a ONE HUNDRED TWENTY PIECE PUZZLE OF SAID COVER ART. Oh yeah, and when you open the box, an audio recording plays. It says "Oh, Shit!" Yeah. (More Info)

Never To Be Forgotten - The Flip Side of Stax 1968-1974

Vinyl box set of lesser-known tracks and artists from the Memphis label's extensive back catalog... this one seems like a can't-miss, unless you do, because there's only 4,000 hand-numbered copies being released to the entire world. Fifteen of them have autographed photos. ALL of them include an 84-page booklet full of interviews and history. I don't even know what else to say. (More Info)

CSC Funk Band - Inspired By Gang Starr

Fat Beats Records signed the CSC Funk Band and brought the funk to the classically hip-hop label. Gang Starr is one of those legendary groups that not only changed the face of hip hop but brought Guru and DJ Premier to the masses. Guru died two years ago today (shoutout Boston-based hip-hop!), so it's fitting to place this funk-tastic tribute to the groundbreaking duo here, especially cause it's probably gonna be one of the best things I've heard in a while. (More Info)