No matter what Canadian city you travel to, chances are you can find an indie record store to feed your need for sound. But which is the best? Which shop dishes out the best musical wares, left-of-mainstream advice and good old-fashioned human contact? This is what CBC Radio 3 wants to find out with its new Searchlight contest series, which begins today.
In attempts to crown the Canadian king of indie shops and to generate some needed enthusiasm for these chunks of brick and mortar, the station will be asking listeners what they think. Do they believe Zulu Records in Vancouver is the best? Or perhaps Scratch? Maybe its Torontos Rotate This or Montreals Atom Heart that takes the cake. Megatunes in Calgary? Halifaxs CD Plus?
"In this digital era of music, it is a very real possibility that the indie record store may go the way of the dodo, said CBC Radio 3 host Grant Lawrence in a statement. "We want to shine a light on all the great stores across the country that are making a go of it, in the spirit of independent rock n roll, and surviving against the odds.
The station will be taking nominations for a week (starting at 12:00 p.m. PDT and 3:00 p.m. EDT today at cbcradio3.com and on Sirius channel 94) before presenting a Top 30 list on their website. Then record store lovers can start voting online and whittle a list down to a solid ten. And on April 19, the day officially marked as Record Store Day, all the votes will be tallied up and the winner will be announced.
So get out there, cast a vote and give your favourite shop the bragging rights they deserve.
In attempts to crown the Canadian king of indie shops and to generate some needed enthusiasm for these chunks of brick and mortar, the station will be asking listeners what they think. Do they believe Zulu Records in Vancouver is the best? Or perhaps Scratch? Maybe its Torontos Rotate This or Montreals Atom Heart that takes the cake. Megatunes in Calgary? Halifaxs CD Plus?
"In this digital era of music, it is a very real possibility that the indie record store may go the way of the dodo, said CBC Radio 3 host Grant Lawrence in a statement. "We want to shine a light on all the great stores across the country that are making a go of it, in the spirit of independent rock n roll, and surviving against the odds.
The station will be taking nominations for a week (starting at 12:00 p.m. PDT and 3:00 p.m. EDT today at cbcradio3.com and on Sirius channel 94) before presenting a Top 30 list on their website. Then record store lovers can start voting online and whittle a list down to a solid ten. And on April 19, the day officially marked as Record Store Day, all the votes will be tallied up and the winner will be announced.
So get out there, cast a vote and give your favourite shop the bragging rights they deserve.