*Emilie Friedlander’s roommate
“Hello from the Visitation Rites North American Headquarters!
Just in time for Record Store Day, my first labor of love, I Need That Record! The Death (or Possible Survival) of the Independent Record Store, hits shelves on Saturday, April 17th at independent record stores via MVD Visual , Junketboy, and ThinkIndie. The documentary examines why over 3,000 independent record stores have closed across the U.S. in the past decade, and features interviews with Thurston Moore of Sonic Youth, Ian MacKaye of Fugazi/Dischord records, Noam Chomksy, Mike Watt of the Minutemen, Lenny Kaye of the Patti Smith Group, Glenn Branca, Patterson Hood of the Drive-By Truckers, Chris Frantz of the Talking Heads/Tom Tom Club, Pat Carney of the Black Keys, BP Helium from Of Montreal, Legs McNeil, and more.
The film has a 3-month indie record store exclusive until July 27th, when it will be available everywhere. But please please please patronize the local indie record shops, to whom we all owe such a great debt. I’ll certainly be swinging by Earwax, Academy, and Other Music here in New York…
Its been a long road since I made the film for my senior thesis at Hampshire College, with I Need That Record! playing at over 25 film festivals worldwide. When it came to packing the DVD with extras there was absolutely no skimping. Included are 2+ hours of extensive interviews with Mike Watt, Ian MacKaye, Thurston Moore, Glenn Branca, Patterson Hood, Pat Carney, and Legs McNeil. Some gems are: Lenny Kaye’s inspiration for Nuggets, Ian MacKaye’s obsession with his first stolen record — The Who’s “Summertime Blues” — and Glenn Branca’s ruminations on Britney Spears and Madonna(!).
Below are some clips of Thurston Moore and Ian Mackaye talking about their first records, record stores, and those damned major labels.
It will be a while before you hear from me again, as I am currently neck-deep in interviewing, transcribing, and digitizing footage for a collagic portrait on Please Kill Me-dedicatee and all around tastemaker/hellraiser Danny Fields, who helped bring The Doors, MC5, Stooges, Ramones, Modern Lovers, and that “bigger than jesus” John Lennon quote to our consciousness. Ramones demos and footage of Television live at CBGBs in ‘75, anyone?”
Death Unit at Coco66 in Greenpoint, January 29, 2010
With collector paradises like 
