Anchored by the Shins' "Wincing the Night Away," indie retailers used the Jan. 23 release date to bring back an old tradition -- the midnight sale.

Eric Levin at Criminal Records says he hasn't opened at midnight since the 2004 release of the Beastie Boys ' "To the 5 Boroughs."

"I wouldn't blame it on the Beastie Boys ," Levin jokes of abandoning the practice. "When you go anywhere online and hear any record, you don't have the need to go out at midnight. But I felt like there was a need for Jan. 23. There's the Shins, there's Deerhoof, there's Of Montreal, and there's Menomena."

So how did it do? With little advertising outside of his store's mailing list, Levin says about 40 people showed up, and the store did $500 worth of business.

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