Photographer Menelik Puryear on the Summer Everything Was Delicious

Menelik (right) in 2007, a.k.a the year he discovered music.

It’s hard to get excited about, well, anything these days. Every Sunday we throw another week on the heaping pile of trash that is 2020, and wonder what the hell kind of nonsense the next one will bring. Which is why, when something good, or fun, or unexpected happens—it feels like a jolt of pure electricity. That’s how we felt when we got the chance to talk to Menelik Puryear a few weeks ago about his Haystack Story. We’ve never actually met him IRL (remember meeting IRL?!?) but he’s part of a very charming group of Fort Greene-based photographers (full disclosure: Jayna’s husband is one of them) who have been safely meeting up for coffee during this insane time. It was probably partly the novelty of chatting with a stranger, and partly the fact that he’s an absolutely lovely human being, but it was mostly just the fun of going back in time with someone. The joy of hearing them remember forgotten details about a thing they loved and to hear all the reasons why they loved it. It’s why we started this site, and it was wonderful to be reminded of how powerful an escape it can be. So thank you Menelik – now let’s all go listen to Cold War Kids!

Name: Menelik Puryear
Occupation: Photographer
Handle: @mr_puryear
Location: Brooklyn, NY

What’s the item that stars in your Haystack Story?
My item is a song—We Used to Vacation by Cold War Kids.

Can you describe it?
I have this huge amount of nostalgia for the summer of 2007. It was the first summer after I got sober and I felt more alive and I had more fun in that year than I have ever had because it was one of those times in your life when there was zero responsibility. I was bartending and I didn’t have anything to do with my days and I had a friend group that was a mix of my old friends and my new friends that I made after getting sober. And the song was about somebody who was a drinker and there was such a cathartic release to have found this song that year, and it also was this bigger thing for me about music. I didn’t care about music before I got sober—I only really listened to it at work or when people came over I had like one Tribe Called Quest CD because it was just easy and like, no one could get annoyed about listening to them. So I had a weird belief that I didn’t care about music and didn’t like live music, which is a crazy notion for me now. But that year I started skateboarding and going to hear bands play and got really really into music. I was 25 and I went out so much and wanted to feel cool and be part of going out culture in New York. And I somehow magically blended this group of friends—half drinkers half non-drinkers and we all wanted to go out together. I had nothing to do but drink coffee and go to the gym and skateboard all day and I was just having so many more experiences in the city. Before that summer I would wake up at 7pm—I wasn’t experiencing life. But 2007 was the year when everything was delicious, like the sunrise was delicious. And when I hear the song it instantly brings me back to that year when I discovered music.

Why is it so perfect?
I feel like the song is an anthem. It’s a little bit sad but a little bit triumphant. There are lyrics like ‘this will all blow over in time.’ It’s melancholy and triumphant all in one. And I happened to find this band at a time when they really just spoke to me personally. Because there was this conversation in the song about this person being a drunk and it was just cathartic to discover them and the song. I’ve seen them live a couple of times—the best time was at the bandshell in Prospect Park. I think because of it being outdoors and sharing it with friends and that summer feeling in New York, when there’s all this culture going on and you feel like you’re in the know. I don’t have that as much anymore. At the time you checked Time Out New York to know what was going on—I don’t even know if that exists anymore! But just waiting hours for the show to start and hanging out with all my closest friends.

Who did you have a crush on back then?
I had a crush on this guy named Domenic who was a radical activist and I think a professor and he had abs for days and that’s everything a boy in Brooklyn wants in someone.

If you had $20, what would you have spent it on?
Clothes! I was such a shopper back then. I had a lot more disposable income once I got sober because I wasn’t spending it on drinking. I bought a lot of vintage T-shirts that I probably don’t fit into anymore but I’ll never get rid of. I have a Prince muscle tee from his world tour that’s probably like a midriff tee on me now, but I’ll always keep it.

Menelik in Brooklyn, circa now (photo by Jon Pack).

What did a perfect Friday night look like?
Well it would be a perfect Sunday night because I bartended so Sunday was my Friday. It would be going out to dinner with a big group because we always traveled in a group of like 6 to 10 people. So going to Blue Ribbon or Franks for dinner and then going to see a band or a DJ.

How are you the same as you were back then, and how are you different?
I think I’m the same in that I’m always wanting to find a new sense of adventure—that’s one of the reasons why I like my career as a photographer so much—I don’t do the same thing every day, it’s always doing something different. There’s a different project so it’s a brand new day all the time. So I have a similar sense of adventure to the one I had back then. I’m different because I don’t go out at night anymore. For the last few years it’s been my New Year’s resolution but I just then always think ‘ugh, I gotta get up so early for work’ and it just doesn’t happen.

What was your favorite snack?
Nacho cheese combos! I was always eating those. Or chocolate covered pretzels.