Man. The New York Times has a pretty depressing story today on the state of the indie record store. Here’s the nugget you all should take away:

“Some 3,100 record stores around the country have closed since 2003, according to the Almighty Institute of Music Retail, a market research firm. And that’s not just the big boxes like the 89 Tower Records outlets that closed at the end of 2006; nearly half were independent shops. In Manhattan and Brooklyn at least 80 stores have shut down in the last five years.”

Well. We can do something about it. National Record Store Day hits this Saturday. A number of area shops are getting in on the action. Crooked Beat in Adams Morgan plans to mark the day with free grab bags of cool stuff. The first 50 paying customers will get bags stuffed with CDs, stickers, 7-inch singles, buttons, and posters.

One lucky customers will receive a bag containing a $20 gift certificate to the shop. Sounds like a good time as it always is at Crooked Beat.

So at least for one day, we should stop downloading, freeloading, and burning.