Vinyl Manilow, Sausage Pizza and Twilight

Just a perfect day

Drink sangria in the park

And then later, when it gets dark

We go home

Just a perfect day

Feed animals in the zoo

Then later a movie, too

And then home

Oh, it’s such a perfect day

I’m glad I spent it with you

Oh, such a perfect day

You just keep me hangin’ on

You just keep me hangin’ on

Ahhh the sentimental crooning of Lewis Allan Reed (Lou Reed), off the album with the giant banana featuring The Velvet Underground. 

On this sunny Sunday morning, The Pear Tree Project pounded the pavement and pushed wide open the doors of Arthur L. Johnson High School. 

It was the return of the Clark Record Riot. 40+ tables of LPs, CDs, 45s and more. Dealers from PA/NY/NJ & beyond were on hand. From punk to funk, hip hop to country, and rock to jazz – all were equally represented. 

Gen Z, X and Baby Boomers mingled and found common ground amongst the hop and bop of good ol’ vinyl records. The isles were constricted, as casual shoppers and perhaps some aficionados hunched over or knelt while perusing the offerings. Still something was missing, the camaraderie often brought about by the mutual love of music and search for the obscure was absent.  

Many of the wholesalers, while knowledgeable, appeared bothered by inquiries or just too cool to converse. However, there was one vendor who made us laugh with his tale of the Dirty Dancing Soundtrack and the love of his life. Let’s just say that music can be a constant reminder of things we wish we could forget. 

The price point of many of the items was surprising and limiting for the budget conscious consumer. In our day, albums and cds were found in bins or in dimly lit record shops, stories were shared and friendships were sometimes kindled. This motley crew seemed less about the excitement of discovering new tunes or reminiscing about records you wore out, and more about monitoring your perusal.

At one point it was difficult to sequester sarcasm. Dude, I do not intend to steal your cracked copy of Manilow singing Mandy live in Helsinki. And please bathe. Thankfully, there was an abundance of pizza ordered for the vendors and the smell of cheese and sauseech covered the too often available stench of stale black t-shirts and plumber’s jeans.

In the end, this melancholic stroll through vinyl history was fun, informative and successful.

And, there was a purchase made – Electric Light Orchestra (ELO) who defined their 70’s sound with symphonic rock and melodic messages, left the building with us. 

Doowop dooby doo doowop

Doowah doolang

Blue days, black nights

Doowah doolang

When I look into the sky

The love you need ain’t gonna see you through

And I wonder why

The little things you planned ain’t coming true

Oh, oh telephone line

Give me some time, I’m living in twilight

Did You Know? In recent years, vinyl records have experienced a resurgence in popularity, with more people opting to buy and collect vinyl instead of CDs or digital downloads. This resurgence can be attributed to the unique sound quality and the tactile experience of handling a physical record. The growth has been huge, for example in the US alone there were over 43 million records sold in 2024 compared to only 1 million in 2006.