The Siren Song of Siren Records: A Music Store by Music Lovers, for Music Lovers By: Jessica Lydon
The storefront and interior of Doylestown’s Siren Records.
California is well known as a hub for great music, and justifiably so. The punk scene of Orange County, the endearingly sleazy metal of Hollywood, the psychedelic and folk rockers of Laurel Canyon, the “Bakersfield Sound” country music of its namesake, the Bay Area’s rap and thrash metal…the knowledge that California had such a strong culture and community around music is one of the many things that motivated me, as a creative and music lover, to leave the much-less-artistic East Coast behind for it.
Unsurprisingly, with such a strong musical history, California is also a great place for record collecting, which filled my 80s rocker heart with joy (and my freshman dorm with more Mötley Crüe merch than any dorm should ever have to hold). But I had eighteen years of life and music loving behind me before I finally left the East Coast, and I managed to uncover a few of its hidden music gems. A particularly priceless one is Siren Records of Doylestown, Pennsylvania.
Siren Records has anything any music lover could ever desire, from the classic records and posters to a used bookshelf of rock n’ roll memoirs to band logo-branded school supplies. I have never walked out empty-handed. There was always some must-have vinyl, some fascinating magazine, some striking poster of an artist I loved. However, my personal favorite experience at Siren was much more unique, and a very welcome reminder that Pennsylvania wasn’t an entirely hostile land for people like me.
Many writers, artists, and other creative types are very passionate. I’m not the exception, and I’ve never been particularly subtle about what I like. I walked into Siren Records in a leather jacket and Mötley Crüe shirt, then almost immediately picked up a vinyl of the audiobook for Nikki Sixx’s The First 21. Not only did the employees immediately comment on how much of a fan I was, but they gave me a large, very soft black and red blanket with all four members of the band on it. When I asked them how much it was, they said it was free, and they were just waiting for a fan to give it to.
I was already surprised to feel so welcome and wanted as a Gen Z fan of 80s hard rock music. Spaces for us are few and far between, especially in suburban Pennsylvania. But Siren had more in store for me still. Not long after handing me the blanket, the staff told me they had a large assortment of Mötley Crüe posters that weren’t on the floor yet, and they took out several large bins just for me to look through them. They explained that they had another customer who was (as they affectionately called him) “a Mötley Crüe freak.” The posters I was browsing through were all his work. He’d remade every variant of poster from Mötley Crüe’s 2022 stadium tour, all masterfully photoshopped to say “Citizens Bank Park, Philadelphia” and the matching date rather than the tour’s other cities. I ended up choosing a Wild-West-style Wanted poster featuring a glamorous illustration of the band during the early 80s Shout At The Devil era. Since the posters were massive and great quality, I was nervous when I asked the employees how much mine would set me back. Imagine my surprise when they told me I could have as many as I wanted for three dollars each. That Wanted poster hung above my bed in my dorm for my entire freshman year of college, and it’ll be restored to that place of honor once I start sophomore year in August. I like to think of it as a little reminder that, wherever I am and however few they may be, there are other heavy metal misfits out there.
Much of Bucks County is so close-minded and so harsh on any deviation from the dull, palatable mainstream that I often refer to it as “Utah without the Mormonism.” I desperately needed an escape from the passionless conformity, and Siren Records provided it. Long before I started college and was granted the opportunity to move to California, Siren gave me a taste of the culture I’d spent years watching longingly from afar: appreciation for the rock and metal artists I adore so much, community with other music lovers, and places where authenticity is rewarded rather than ridiculed. Siren is a little slice of SoCal in PA, and in my humble opinion, that makes it a little slice of heaven on Earth.
The author’s own beloved Siren Records customized Mötley Crüe poster
0 Comments
There are no comments yet. Be the first one to post one!