I hate to admit it, but last month’s Record Store Day Drop was something of a bust for me. The one album that I most desperately wanted—a 12-inch reissue of the 1981 U2 single “Fire”—was nowhere to be found in Oklahoma City, apparently due to an ordering problem. Heartbroken, I still haven’t ordered it online, as the price has now nearly doubled.
Regardless, I still had high hopes for last Saturday’s second and final drop of the year, my heart unequivocally set on the WAR vinyl collection. But, with Guestroom Records ordering only one copy per store, I knew that my chances weren’t that great. Not only that, but since I’m currently housesitting in Norman, I would be celebrating at a record shop that I was quite unuse to, the store at 125 E. Main Street.
Still, I was able to procure an appointment for 9:20 a.m., hoping that the spirits of the Latinx band would be traveling with me as I search for their long-awaited and long-wanted—by me, at least—box-set.
Norman’s version of Guestroom is a bit more old-school than what I’m used to in Oklahoma City. The hefty brick walls deliver a slimmer design to the storefront, but every time I’ve been in there, I’ve admittedly felt a bit lost, never knowing quite where to start and where to begin. But, as I lined up outside that early morning, I began to feel a bit more at ease, talking to some of the other patrons, learning who they are and their own buying habits.
I think most people in this wretched decade don’t even know who WAR was which, honestly, would usually have me up in arms regarding this lost generation of youthful trash. In this case, however, I quietly praised their lack of musical aptitude, with most music-fans there for some record with the Foo Fighters and their underhanded mocking of the Bee Gees. I sincerely hope they got their platters.