The Weird and Wonderful Record Store Day Exclusives

• by Melissa Bobbitt
• Apr 13, 2015

The semiannual Record Store Day is upon us April 18, and there’s a flurry of goodness this go-round. In addition to the “standard” vinyl offerings, you’ll see rare cassettes, tote bags and other nifty gifts from artists big and small. Here are some items that piqued our interest:

Metallica - No Life ’Til Leather

Records are so common. Real men and women collect cassettes. And this is the big daddy. Here you’ll find early demo versions of blazers off Kill ’Em All, the album that put the revolutionaries on the map.

Father John Misty - “I Loved You, Honeybee”

The indie crooner’s dreamy “I Love You, Honeybear” gets an alternate makeover and a new name pressed on lovely heart-shaped red vinyl. Included is the exclusive B-side “Never Been a Woman.”

Grandmaster Flash and Stiff Little Fingers - “The Message”
Record Store Day organizers take great joy in messing with people’s expectations, in a positive way. Here, they’ve put side by side the formative hip-hop anthem with a punk rock homage.

Interpol - “Everything Is Wrong”

This 7-inch beaut off 2014’s El Pintor comes with new artwork from pop connoisseur Shepard Fairey. (Did you know he once had a gallery of all Interpol-inspired art?)

Mystery Release!
Are you willing to gamble on a blind vinyl purchase? The RSD officials hint that this “mystery release” will feature two artists performing the same song, ala the Grandmaster Flash/Stiff Little Fingers item listed above. We’d love to see a split of Sister Sledge and Babes in Toyland doing “We Are Family.”

Various Artists - The Wrestling Album/Piledriver
It’s exactly what it advertises: wrestling songs. The World Wrestling Federation in 1985 and 1987 released compilations of their star athletes’ walk-on numbers. It’s Hulk Hogan vs. “Rowdy” Roddy Piper vs. the Honky Tonk Man on this two-LP release.

Hanni El Khatib - “Devil’s Pie”

As if D’Angelo couldn’t get scrumptious and sexy enough, Hanni El Khatib covers his “Devil’s Pie”… and puts it on a dessert picture disc. Nom nom nom ear candy!

The Pizza Underground - PU Demos

You, too, can now own a slice of the bizarro Velvet Underground tribute from Macaulay Culkin. Originally available on cassette, these pizza parody demos are now on an appropriately circular 7 inch.