Some huge names in music have particular album releases tied to right now, File Retailer Day. We spotlight a number of – and take a pay attention.
SCOTT SIMON, HOST:
File Retailer Day is right now. How can we observe it? What sort of card do you ship? Stephen Thompson from NPR Music is right here as our information. Stephen, thanks a lot for being with us.
STEPHEN THOMPSON, BYLINE: It’s a pleasure to be right here, Scott.
SIMON: I am afraid I do not know what File Retailer Day actually is.
THOMPSON: Nicely, File Retailer Day began in 2008 as a approach of attracting clients again to brick-and-mortar document shops – encouraging individuals to rise up off their couches, cease simply listening to music by their computer systems, go to an precise document retailer and purchase some music. And together with that, File Retailer Day has a complete bunch of sort of sponsored, unique releases.
SIMON: Nicely, what sort of music are you wanting ahead to?
THOMPSON: For me, there are a pair that stand out. You recognize, one among my favourite bands from the ’90s, Harvey Hazard, put out a document known as “King James Model…”
(SOUNDBITE OF SONG, “MEETINGS WITH REMARKABLE MEN (SHOW ME THE HERO)”)
HARVEY DANGER: (Singing) I bowed earlier than the avatar. He mentioned, the issue’s clear to me. You by no means obtained over Morrissey. Yeah. I mentioned, nicely, proper you’re. It is a lot tougher to be underfed than under-understood, he mentioned. Yeah.
THOMPSON: …Twenty-five years in the past, which makes me really feel very previous. It is a great document. It did not do very nicely, and now it is getting a deluxe reissue on vinyl with bonus tracks. That is one which I will definitely be on the lookout for. Followers of the French band Air – they’ve a traditional album known as “Moon Safari” from 1998. It is getting a deluxe reissue with reside tracks and demos and stuff like that. And it will get extra esoteric from there. There are some actually obscure titles, a few of which I am fairly enthusiastic about.
SIMON: Is that what the day’s for – in some ways, to have fun music that possibly has been missed?
THOMPSON: Nicely, I feel they definitely attempt to have it each methods. You’ve got a mixture of titles which are fairly esoteric to carry out the music nerds, however they will additionally typically have titles by greater artists. And every year, File Retailer Day appoints a special ambassador – a sort of huge, A-list pop, rock, hip-hop star who will launch an unique title that may carry out extra informal followers. This yr, that artist is Publish Malone. And Publish Malone is dropping an album known as “Publish Malone Tribute To Nirvana,” which is the first-ever vinyl urgent of a livestream Publish Malone did in the course of the pandemic, the place he carried out a bunch of Nirvana songs.
(SOUNDBITE OF SONG, “COME AS YOU ARE”)
POST MALONE: (Singing) Come as you’re, as you have been, as I need you to be, as a good friend, as a good friend, as a identified enemy.
THOMPSON: And that is being pressed as a File Retailer Day unique – 17,000 copies. And so followers of Publish Malone will go to their native document shops and decide that up. There’s additionally a 7-inch single of “Fortnight,” which is the track he did with Taylor Swift. That is definitely been on vinyl for a very long time. However for collectors who need this particular urgent of it, they’ll solely get it through File Retailer Day.
SIMON: Stephen, I wish to ask you rigorously a couple of responsible pleasure.
THOMPSON: (Laughter).
SIMON: Possibly one thing you will purchase and play only for your self over some headphones so nobody can hear it.
THOMPSON: (Laughter) You recognize, now that you simply point out it, there’s a title that I am very enthusiastic about. And I really feel like solely a small handful of individuals shall be as excited as I’m, however there’s a urgent of an album by a bunch known as The Rock-afire Explosion.
(SOUNDBITE OF SONG, “WILL YOU MARRY ME”)
THE ROCK-AFIRE EXPLOSION: (Singing) And if solely it was mine to decide on, I would by no means ever wish to lose my Lucy.
THOMPSON: Scott, have you ever ever heard of the Rock-afire Explosion?
SIMON: Certain. No, by no means.
THOMPSON: (Laughter) The Rock-afire Explosion was the animatronic band that performed in ShowBiz Pizza eating places within the Nineteen Eighties. Chuck E. Cheese additionally has had…
SIMON: (Laughter).
THOMPSON: …These sort of animatronic, you realize, robotic bands.
SIMON: Yeah.
THOMPSON: However ShowBiz Pizza had a bunch known as The Rock-afire Explosion, and so they performed unique compositions unique to The Rock-afire Explosion. And I shall be in search of out an album known as “Unique Desires: Songs From Showbiz” by The Rock-afire Explosion.
SIMON: This can most likely not shock you. I have been instructed that my tastes, just about in every little thing…
THOMPSON: (Laughter).
SIMON: …Are what they name fundamental.
THOMPSON: (Laughter) Put on it with delight.
SIMON: So – nicely, I wish to speak in confidence to you. What I would like to purchase and hearken to are songs from the film model of “Cats.”
THOMPSON: (Laughter). Nicely, that might carry out Taylor Swift followers, ‘trigger she is within the…
SIMON: What does she sing from “Cats”? How do I not know this?
THOMPSON: She sings an unique track. It isn’t from the unique “Cats” manufacturing, the place the entire film grinds to much more of a halt than it had already floor to carry out Taylor Swift to carry out a track that didn’t get nominated for an Academy Award.
(SOUNDBITE OF SONG, “BEAUTIFUL GHOSTS”)
TAYLOR SWIFT: (Singing) All that I needed was to be needed.
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