So, did everybody have fun picking up one or more of the Record Store Day exclusive releases for Black Friday today? I hadn’t planned to do much, but then I remembered that there was an exclusive release from U2, an exclusive 7″ from Tom Petty and oh yeah, an exclusive 7″ from that Bruce Springsteen guy.

Well, the U2 ended up being a hotter item than I would have expected.  Shut out. Still looking for one.  HELP?

An early call on my cell phone brought me vinyl pal Stacy to let me know that she had a copy of the Bruce in her hands…and did I want it?  Yes indeed. Score!

As for my own pickups, I grabbed the exclusive 7″ release from the Gaslight Anthem for Brian and a copy of the Tom Petty 7″ (which means that I now have a copy of “Surrender” for the jukebox if I ever get around to getting one).  The Petty is a numbered limited edition and the copy that I got is #9 in the series.  Awesome!

My personal score of the day had nothing to do with vinyl and instead, it was a used copy of Fresh Out Of Georgia Live Like A Satellite, the import only live DVD (PAL format) from Dan Baird & Homemade Sin.  8 bucks.  Sweet!  (Huge amounts of credit go to Kevin for hooking me up with a CD copy of the same show a year or so ago.)

I’d love to pull the trigger on a copy of the new All Things Must Pass vinyl reissue but I wasn’t feeling like making a $50 impulse purchase today.  Yep, I was good for once instead of bad. It happens every now and then.

I love these exclusive releases and although occasionally I feel like some of them could be priced a bit more reasonably, the end result is good: People are buying music instead of stealing it bringing some much needed support to both indie record stores and the record industry.  And we all end up with something new and cool to listen to that we didn’t have before.  That’s alright with me.