thecure

Record Store Day | 2025

Posted on by gshslionsdenadmin

By: Kerrick Shaw 

Needles dropped on spinning vinyl after crowds of eager collectors filled music shops to celebrate Record Store Day. 

April 5 marked the 18th annual Record Store Day, an event that honors independent record stores with exclusive, limited new releases. In many cases, fans crowd the sidewalks before a store’s opening in an attempt to get the record they’re looking for.  

For Greensburg’s local music store, CD Warehouse, nearly 200 people were in line. 

The hall leading into CD Warehouse’s ‘Retro Room,’ where RSD releases were available.

Photo Courtesy: Michael Casper

“Being a part of Record Store Day is truly exciting,” CD Warehouse owner Michael Casper said. “It’s a fun day overall for everyone involved. Ultimately, my favorite part is seeing the amount of people that come out and support a small, locally owned business.” 

Around 1,400 stores participate in the celebration, which makes distribution of the releases challenging, according to Casper. He explained that stores are “not guaranteed” to get everything they order for the event. 

“We ordered 50 Gracie Abrams albums, but only received 10,” he said. “They only made 12,000 of them, so all stores only got a percentage of what they ordered. A total of 2,000 ‘Wicked’ Soundtracks were made for Record Store Day; you can imagine how limited that is.” 

Some artists found in the 2025 releases included Taylor Swift, Post Malone, Wu-Tang Clan, The Cure and many more. About 330 titles were available for this year’s date. 

The Cure’s “Head on the Door” vinyl picture disc, released for RSD 2025.

Photo by: Kerrick Shaw

Art teacher and record collector, Mr. Darryl Audia, said that events like RSD are helping to revitalize the use of physical media. 

“There’s a lot that you miss out on with digital media,” Mr. Audia said. “Growing up with cassettes, mainly, you had something to look at and something to hold in your hand. I often find myself creating a playlist but never listening to an artist’s entire album; records are great for fixing that.” 

For students, records are making somewhat of a comeback as well; some have listened to records their entire lives through family, and others are just diving into collecting albums recently. Freshman Annabelle Volk explained that she is “actively exploring new music” while looking for fairly priced albums. 

“I have about 20 records right now,” Volk said. “I normally go to CD Warehouse and find them for a decent price. I didn’t see anything from this year about Record Store Day, but I am really looking forward to learning more about it and experiencing it next year.” 

Another student, junior J’Taime Turner-Hill, collects records because of her grandma. 

“Growing up, she had a bunch of records,” Turner-Hill said. “Every Christmas she’d play the Michael Jackson Christmas album; it was like a tradition. I got a big bin full of records from her, I couldn’t even count how many.” 

The enthusiasm from younger collectors hasn’t gone unnoticed by record stores. Casper acknowledged how the support from people, especially on RSD, is “amazing” and would be for any store. 

“It’s exciting to see how we have grown and have been able to provide more people with the opportunity to get so many titles,” Casper said. “We have tried to make Record Store Day our own celebration; all of the employees here get really excited seeing everyone come to support small businesses. It’s amazing to see the support, and it feels good knowing that we’re doing a good job at providing physical media.” 

The Cure | “Staring at the Sea”

Posted on by gshslionsdenadmin

By Kerrick Shaw 

Photo by: Kerrick Shaw

Formed in 1978, The Cure, originally called Easy Cure, is a British rock band known for their varying styles in music and the frontman’s unique look.  

Through several lineup changes, the band has remained active, having released 13 studio albums and soon releasing their 14th. Robert Smith (vocalist, guitarist and primary songwriter) has remained the only constant member of The Cure, having originally formed it with Lol Tolhurst (drummer and keyboardist) and Michael Dempsey (bass guitarist). 

The 80s proved critical for the band’s success, primarily in the U.S., finding their way into rock radio channels, as well as onto the Billboard Top 100 in 1985 with songs “In Between Days” and “Close to Me,” both from their sixth album, “The Head on the Door” (1985).  

Their second album, “Seventeen Seconds” (1980), established their melancholic sound, especially apparent in “A Forest,” the seventh track. The darker style, different from the ‘70s punk feel of “Three Imaginary Boys” (1979), continued to be explored with many of their albums to come.  

Along with bands like Bauhaus, Joy Division and Siouxsie and The Banshees, The Cure helped to define gothic rock with their haunting instrumentals and sophisticated lyrics. “Disintegration” (1989), their best-selling album, is considered the greatest goth album of all time. 

Shifting between Gothic and New Wave, albums like “Kiss Me, Kiss Me, Kiss Me” (1987) and “Wish” (1992) have more upbeat tones with love-filled themes. The difference between a song such as “Lullaby,” with its long breaks of eerie guitar and synth sounds, compared to the strong and playful horns of “Why Can’t I Be You?” may make the two sound like completely different bands to those who are not familiar with them. Both albums lean more towards the Pop side of ‘80s and ‘90s music. 

When picking CDs for a long car ride or a record to play as loud as possible, “Staring at the Sea” is a go-to. Made up of all their singles released up until 1986, this compilation perfectly encapsulates their changes in sound, filled with hits such as “Boys Don’t Cry” and “The Lovecats.” 

In my opinion, The Cure has released some of the most emotion-inducing music; having equal portions of their darker goth rock music and their cheerful, keyboard led pop-like music, this collection is perfect for jumping around and flipping your hair to, as well as for sitting in a corner and moping.  

I see it as the best place to start for those interested in listening to The Cure as it appeals to different tastes as well as essential for fans of their popular songs to find lesser-known hits like “The Caterpillar.”