Journal valued at $39.99 and below. Open to US residents only.

Check the below details for how to enter. Contest ends May 31, 2012. Winner will be notified via email at completion of the contest and provided with a coupon code to select the journal of their choice from Vintage Vinyl Journals. Good luck!

a Rafflecopter giveaway

The best part upon finding this poster is recalling how ridiculous the video for this song was so I decided to check it out again to see if it really was still that ridiculous – well, it is.

The video featured “…a lusty Olivia, dressed in a tight leotard, as a gym teacher trying to make several overweight men healthy. She repeatedly tries to make the men lose weight, but her plans fail and she leaves the room to take a shower. Suddenly, the men work out on their own, and they transform into muscular attractive men. In one part, one muscular man glances at his overweight self. Olivia is shocked when she sees this, and starts to flirt with them. At the end, two of the men secretly go out, holding hands, inferring they are gay. Olivia is surprised to see this, and so she and one of the overweight men play tennis. The gym setting may have been partly an attempt to divert attention from the overt sexual connotations of the term “physical”. This was further emphasized by the twist comedy ending of the video, when the transformed men who are now oblivious to Newton-John’s advances are ultimately revealed to be gay.”  This video was a source of controversy and MTV (back when they played videos) frequently cut the ending and the sometimes sensuous nature of the video also led to it being banned outright by some broadcasters in Canada and the United Kingdom.

Olivia also stated that she did not want the video to be shot and was afraid it would ruin her reputation.  It actually turned out the other way and Billboard.com ranked Physical one of the “Top 50 Sexiest Songs” of all time. It became the biggest single of the decade and the most popular of Newton-John’s career.

If you haven’t seen this video ever or since you were a child check it out below to see how ridiculous it really is.

And what Mom couldn’t use a book to keep her ever growing to-do lists, a place to create lasting memories with the kids photos, a cool recipe book or just to record her thoughts of the day.  For some Moms vinyl was an important part of their childhoods and growing up.  Our journals may help them remember some good times we bet!

We’ve compiled our top 20 Mother’s Day journals to make the process of choosing for her pretty easy depending on whatever kind of relationship you have with your Mom, Grandma, Stepmom or just any Mother-figure in your life!

1. Is your Mom your best friend?  Then pick up Queen Greatest Hits featuring the hit “You’re My Best Friend.”
2. Ever-lasting flowers do exist!  This Rolling Stones journal, Flowers, is sure to please without the mess and fuss of falling leaves.
3. ABBA Greatest Hits featuring the song “Mamma Mia” – need we say more!?
4. Do you love your Mom just the way she is?  Bill Joel “Loves You Just the Way You Are” too.
5. For all those kids not embarrassed to dance with their Moms, this Beatles journal, Something New, features the song “I’m Happy Just to Dance With You”.
6. Do you consider your Mom an angel?  Then pick up this Aretha Franklin journal featuring the song “Angel”.
7. Mothers always love roses!  So why not  give your Mom a single red rose that will last this year with The Rose featuring Bette Midler.
8. The Turtles featuring “Happy Together” is the perfect way to say you are happy when you spend time with your Mom!
9. Want to recall “The Best of Times” with your Mom?  This Styx Paradise Theater journal will help you do just that.
10. Honor your Mom with a classic Barbra Streisand  journal.  Barbara Joan Streisand features the song “Love”.
11. Do you and your Mom emulate “Girls Just Want to Have Fun!”  Then this Cyndi Lauper journal is the perfect journal for her!
12. “Walking on Sunshine” when you spend time with your Mom?  This journal would be a cool way to tell her she brightens up your day and a way to brighten hers too.
13. This Elton John journal will have you and your Mom signing along remembering good times—- “Bennie and the Jets” is a fabulous song to sing as a duet and one you just cannot get out of your head!
14. Our 10,000 Maniacs In My Tribe journal would fit those families that refer to themselves as a tribe.
15. Give your Mom something nice to look at!  This journal features Mr. Bruce Springsteen’s “Born in the USA” butt as the back cover!  There’s a reason it’s a top-seller of ours!
16. Building trust is not an easy thing.  Janis Joplin can help express your trust with your Mom with “Trust Me” a popular hit featured in this journal.
17. Are you your Mom’s “Beautiful Boy…?”  This John Lennon and Yoko Ono journal is just your ticket to making her smile.
18. Were you a bit of a “Wild Child” and sometimes pushed your Mom’s buttons by taking a “Walk on the Wild Side?”   This journal is perfect for you.
19. Fleetwood Mac, Rumours, is great way to say thank you if your Mom was a big supporter of your “Dreams”.
20. Does your Mom rock-out and “…Love Rock N Roll?” Give her this fun journal from Joan Jett & The Blackhearts!

We offer gift wrapping services and can include a note and exclude a packing slip in orders.  Please leave us a message in the comments section when you place your order or just email us directly afterwards.  We want to make it easy for you this Mother’s Day!

Happy Mother’s Day!

p.s. if you don’t want your Mom to be hipper than you, then why not get yourself a Vintage Vinyl Journal too!  Pick up 2 and use coupon code ONEYEAR10 for 10% (expires 5/11/12).

“We’re Rockin’ in the Bee World!”

The event was run by a local musician, Arianne Rox, of Dharma’s Kindness, and hosted by Country Creek Winery.  Arianne is very passionate about the environment and she decided one way she would be able to make a difference was to organize an Earth Day benefit to raise funds for the Perkiomen Watershed Conservancy. The Perkiomen Watershed Conservancy is a nonprofit organization founded in 1964 by local citizens to combat pollution in the Perkiomen Creek and its tributaries.  The watershed encompasses 362 square miles and 57 municipalities in Berks, Bucks, Lehigh and Montgomery counties in Pennsylvania.

The event featured some of the finest and award winning local area musicians who donated their time to bring “One Festive Party for a Good Cause!”  The event was filled with wine, food, prizes, education and music.  The local musicians featured were The Whiskeyhickon Boys, Mike Greer & Co., Dharma’s Kindness and Chris Murphy.

Arianne and Katie connected when she emailed asking for a donation for the event… finally, she said, a local artist that makes something out of recycled materials!  Katie thought of another way to help and she suggested to bring along some bee education materials and beekeeping supplies to help educate the attendees about bees and possibly to recruit some new local beekeepers!  Katie thought what a cool way to tie the bees and journals together which worked out wonderfully for all!  The Revival was a huge success in spite of having to be moved indoors due to rain downpours all day.

Vintage Vinyl Journals salutes Arianne Rox and the Country Creek Winery for hosting the benefit — what a great cause to raise money and awareness for.  We can all do our part in small and large ways and Arianne is a local gal doing hers.  We look forward to being part of this event next year as well as other local area bee education and awareness events!  Stay tuned!

Photos from the event:

After perusing some of our Star Wars albums we found a cool book that contains photos of each Star Wars character and some great photos from the movie.  Check it out:

May the Force Be With You!

The Narberth Music and Arts Festival does a great thing by having the event free but asks everyone to give $1 towards Philabundance. Philabundance is our region’s largest hunger relief organization. In fiscal 2011, they acquired 21 million pounds of food, distributed 19 million pounds in their service area and exported 2 million pounds of food to assist other area food banks.

Narberth has a very small-town feel and you can tell it’s a close-knit community which is often rare to find these days. The event was well organized and the MC was a local newscaster who stressed the donations towards Philabundance. Having live music was something that really drew us into this festival, as well as local dancers performing. The musicians that performed where Vox Prophet, Narband, The Lucky Stiffs and Powerhouse. The response to the journals was fairly good for the amount of traffic that was drawn into the festival and being the Artist’s Alley was a new feature for the event.

Thank you to The Narberth Music and Arts Festival for organizing the event and raising money for Philabundance! The Festival will be held again in June and throughout the Fall. Check out the event photos below:

Michael Gray is a critic, writer, public speaker & broadcaster recognized as a world authority on the work of Bob Dylan, and as an expert on rock’n’roll history.

Gray has published many books, including those about Bob Dylan, Elvis Presley, Frank Zappa, and Blind Willie McTell.  I urge you to check them out – link to his Amazon page here.

His work has also been published in Rolling Stone, The Times, Literary Review, Independent, Guardian, Observer, Sunday Times, Weekend Telegraph, Independent on Sunday, Sunday Telegraph, Melody Maker, Uncut and more.

Check out the review of our journals on his blog post via the link and my response to the question of whether it worried me that I was in effect destroying a lot of terrific old records.

Check out the full post here! Thanks Michael Gray for taking time out of his busy schedule, we at Vintage Vinyl Journals appreciate the support!

The receipt is from the store “Young Ones” located in Kutztown, PA. The buyer purchased a copy of Born in the USA for $1.99 and Springsteen Live (a 5 LP set) for $9.99.

The credit card receipt actually shows the full Visa numbers and the buyers name is listed (folded under in the below photo to protect his identity).

The bottom of the store receipt states “***Chain Stores Suck*** *** Buy Independent***”

Young Ones is still in existence and looks to carry more CD’s than anything.  According to their website “…our staff is gorgeous.”

The UBCC expanded their message of “keeping it local” with special acknowledgement of business like us that manufacture locally. They took the “Made in America” words to heart and designed their business expo to identify and promote the businesses right in our own backyard that are the makers of products people use every day either in business or for own personal consumption.

This expo is the largest business exposition in our region showcasing over 100 other exhibitors marketing their business and/or community service.  As probably with most places, most of the residents and businesses are unaware of the magnitude and diversity of products that are being made right in their own backyard.  I commend the Upper Bucks Chamber of Commerce for helping to promote that awareness and increase the power of networking through their expo.

We were among other manufacturers of locally-made products, including Knoll furniture, K’nex toys and Avery Denison.

Our “booth” was a 4 x 2 foot space on a table and every inch was filled up!  We had a great location front and center from the entry doors.  You couldn’t miss our vibrant colors and eye-catching journals!

The expo was open to the public and admission was free.  Other highlights of the day included lunch from Chick-fil-a and all the Philly soft pretzels you wanted, samplings from local restaurants, door prizes galore and a live broadcast from a local radio station.

VVJ thanks the Upper Bucks Chamber of Commerce for allowing us to participate in this wonderful event and we are pleased to spread the word about VVJ and to have meet some new customers and fans!  Check out the photos from the event here:

Our random record sleeve find this week features an invitation to join and order merchandise from the Motley Crue S.I.N. Club.

This merchandise is rad. You can choose from Official Fingerless Gloves with Logo for only $14.00, a Muscle Tee with 4-color front and back prints for only $11.00, a Crue Poster Pack with five individual color action posters for $6.00… and the best of all…

Motley Crue ladies spandex panties with logos! …because what lady wouldn’t want to proudly show off her love for Motley Crue on her bum?! The two pack of spandex panties cost $8.00.

On the reverse side of the order form is an invitation to join the Motley Crue S.I.N. Club. The S.I.N. is a reference to Las Vegas – “Sin City”- from what I gather. Perks include a Crue newsletter, behind-the-scene facts, autographed photos and chances to win backstage passes. The cost to join was just $8.00.

Through recent research The Motley Crue S.I.N. Club has not been taking new members since 2011 as “the band is exploring new & different ways to enhance the fan club experience going forward.”

I think they should offer the fingerless gloves and panties again as part of their fan club merchandise, this would definitely make for a better experience.