With the passion behind Jeff Tweedy’s rant about his affinity towards record stores, it’s no wonder why the Wilco frontman would be an advocate for Record Store Day [April 18]; allowing an exclusive pre-release of the band’s new DVD to indie retail.

Ashes of American Flags follows the Chicago-based indie band on their 2008 tour across the Midwest, and is a teaser for Wilco’s newest studio album which should be released sometime this summer.

Tweedy told Billboard, “My introduction to a lot of great music and to the ‘music business’ came from hanging around and eventually working at independent record stores in Belleville, IL, and St. Louis many years back. It’s the life I know. Nothing beats browsing in your favorite store, listening to music, finding something new or old that you’ve been searching for, being ignored by the store clerks, all that. And without these stores, there’s just no way Wilco would still be around. They’ve been with us from the very beginning, through thick and thin. Even if I wasn’t in a band, I’d still support Record Store Day. It’s a great thing and I’m glad we could do something special with them for our DVD.”

The DVD will be available in indie retail locations two weeks prior to the real release date. If the pre-release of Ashes of American Flags excites you, check out the other releases on Record Store day, which include a 8-inch from Matador with a Sonic Youth cover of Beck’s “Pay No Mind,” and an unreleased LP of Pavement in Cologne, Germany from 1997.