Sunday, October 18, 2026

Preface To Violins: Peanuts April 8, 1963

A four panel Peanuts strip features Lucy & Schroeder. In the first panel, Schroeder holds up an album & tells Lucy, "Buying records cheers me up. Whenever I feel love, I buy some new records." In the second panel, Schroeder, looking down at the records in his hands, tells Lucy, "I was so depressed today I bought Mendelssohn's Violin Concerto, Brahams' Second Piano Concerto, & Handel's Oder For St Cecilia's Day." In the third panel, Schroeder walks away as Lucy, her hand to her face says, "Wow!" In the fourth & last panel, Lucy looks at the reader & asks, "How depressed can you get?"

This is a very famous Peanuts strip from 1963 - April 8 to be precise. The first panel is used all over the place, in particular for Record Store Day. I also feel like there are some panels where a different record - like perhaps a Smiths record - is placed in Schroeder's hand in the first panel.

My computer image search found this because the word "violin" is in the second panel, but obviously the strip isn't about violins. This week's Self Help Radio will in fact be about violins. But like this strip might not have actually have many violins in it.

By the way I scanned this strip myself from the Fantagraphics Complete Peanuts collection. Obviously the rights do not belong to me.