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Featured Destination: Seattle, Washington |
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| Text by Norman
and Brian Thorpe |
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| Past
Issues |
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A new museum in Seattle, Washington,
has become an important destination for fans of popular music - drawing
1.6 million visitors since it opened a little more than two years ago. The
museum combines state-of-the-art audio and visual technology with a spectacular
collection of memorabilia, offering music lovers an opportunity to be immersed
in the history of rock and roll and the artists who created it and even
to make music of their own.
| The museum is housed in a bright, multicolored building
unlike any other. The unique architecture curves, swoops, and undulates
in a physical representation of music. The wavy, asymmetrical "sides"
are plated with steel and aluminum panels that cast strange reflections.
Some visitors love the design; others say it looks more like a big
ball of gelatin that plopped down from the nearby Space Needle, Seattle's
landmark tower. At first sight, it may be hard to imagine that such
an unconventional structure houses one of the most high-tech collections
of musical artifacts.Called the Experience Music Project (EMP for
short), the museum was a brainchild of wealthy Microsoft co founder,
Paul Allen, and an associate, Jody Patton. It sprang from Allen's
passion for guitarist Jimi Hendrix, who grew up in Seattle before
setting out on the trail that led to his international fame as one
of the rock and rolls most innovative performers. |
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| Alien, former partner of
Bill Gates, amassed the worlds largest collection of Hendrix memorabilia,
then decided to share the collection with the public. At first, only a Jimi
Hendrix museum was planned, but soon a broader mission took shape: build
a much bigger rock music museum that would celebrate all kinds of pop music
innovation. The museum was built to be a place to explore the forces that
influenced a multitude of rock musicians, hear their music and the musicians'
own comments about it, and even see their hand-written lyrics. |
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The $240 million museum houses a collection of more than 80,000
artifacts that helped shape music history, including one of the first
electric guitars ever invented, and others used by artists such as
Bob Dylan, Bo Diddley, Muddy Waters, and Kurt Cobain. It has extensive
archives of recorded music, film, photographs, stage costumes, rare
song sheets, and fanzines from around the world. More than 1,200 artifacts
are on display, and others can be seen and heard electronically.
The destination is popular with both young and old. Young people,
who live in a culture steeped in rock and roll and deeply marked by
its musicians, are fascinated to learn about rock and rolls history
and see instruments and other relics from this famous period of music
development. But people aged into their sixties also grew up with
rock and roll, and still harbor fond memories of the songs, artists,
events, language, and clothes popularized by rock and roll culture
40 or more years ago. For many of them, rock and roll culture defined
their youth, and the museum reconnects them with that era. |
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| "Pretty neat,"
says an older man viewing the Fender Stratocaster guitar that Jimi Hendrix
played at Woodstock less than a foot away. While looking, he can also hear
the legendary version of "The Star-Spangled Banner" that the guitar
god played at Woodstock. Each visitor to the EMP is assigned a small electronic
pack that allows the visitor access to information about any exhibit, or
high quality music clips. |
Visitors enter the exhibit area through the expansive
Sky Church, which takes its name from a Jimi Hendrix song. The room
is a great hall of sorts, where concert footage and music videos are
shown on the worlds largest indoor video screen. At other times the
Sky Church is used as a concert hall.
Early on their tour, visitors also encounter a sculpture, two-stories
tall, crafted from more than 500 guitars and other musical instruments,
many of which are linked to robotics so they play on cue. |
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| Each customized guitar plays
only one string at a time, so it takes six guitars together to create a
single chord - a metaphor for how musical styles and traditions mesh. From
there, visitors go to various exhibit galleries, some of which include:
Guitar Gallery, tracing the evolution of the guitar, the
signature instrument of rock and roll, from being a quiet instrument in
the 1700s to the modern electric guitar, with its roaring feedback, throbbing
bass, and big fuzz-toned power chords. More than 50 guitars are displayed
- each incorporating historic innovations that changed the course of music.
The exhibit also celebrates the work of such innovators as Orville Gibson,
Leo Fender, and Les Paul. |
| Milestones, a series of exhibits
spanning the 1940s to the present, each marking diverse expressions
of creativity and the independent spirit of rock and roll. The exhibits
include the roots of rock, hip-hop, and punk, and a section focusing
on three key innovators: Bob Dylan, Eric Clapton, and Janis Joplin.
Displays include Dylans harmonica and acoustic guitar; Joplin's floral
bell-bottoms, velvet blouse, and feather boa; and original artwork
for Joplin's "Cheap Thrills" album. A fascinating part of
this gallery asks the question: "What was the first rock'n roll
record?" Although there was no single beginning, the museum says
that by 1956 everyone knew rock and roll had arrived. The exhibit
explores the development of rock and roll and the influence of such
music genres and artists as: Popular postwar music by Wynonie Harris;
Jump and boogie music; Gospel and doo-wop; Hillbilly and honkytonk,
including the music of Hank Williams; Electrified blues from Muddy
Waters, John Lee Hooker, and Big Mama Thornton; New Orleans rhythm
and blues by Fats Domino and Lloyd Price; And the birth of rock and
roll in 1956 with Bo Diddley, Chuck Berry, Carl Perkins, Elvis Presley,
and Little Richard. |
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| Northwest Passage,
a tribute to musical development in the Pacific Northwest region around
Seattle, a center of rock and roll universe for many years. The EMP traces
such events as the "Louie Louie" phenomenon and the garage bands
that spawned it. The "Louie Louie" lyrics were even investigated
by the FBI, which thought they might be subversive. Here you can see files
from the FBI investigation. The gallery also explores the influence of the
Northwest music scene with other singers and groups such as Ray Charles.
The Fleetwoods, The Kingsmen, The Ventures, Heart, Queensryche, Nirvana
and Kurt Cobain, Soundgarden, Pearl Jam, The Presidents of the United States
of America, and Sir Mix-A-Lot. |
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Hendrix Gallery, the EMP's
most popular exhibit. Although its one of the smaller displays in
terms of size, it's probably the most comprehensive in terms of classic
memorabilia and artifacts. Visitors gain a deep sense of Hendrix's
accomplishments before his untimely death in 1970. Representative
of the material in the gallery is a hilarious audio clip of The Who's
Pete Townshend talking about how jealous he was when Hendrix used
Townshends trademark guitar-smashing act. Artifacts here include shards
from guitars that Hendrix smashed at his Farewell to London concert
at the Saville Theatre in 1967, and at the Monterey International
Pop Festival later that year. Other items include stage costumes,
notebooks of Hendrix's hand-written lyrics, his pedals and audio mixing
gear, and his 1969 Woodstock contract. Because of the Hendrix Gallery's
compact size and because of the number of fascinating items, there
can be a significant wait to get in. While waiting to get in, visitors
are entertained with music video of B.B. King, Led Zeppelin's Jimmy
Page, and Rage Against the Machines Tom Morello.
The EMP focuses on rock music, but it doesn't ignore hip-hop. Among
the other exhibits, one chronicles the roots of rap that began with
break dancing and New York City's subway graffiti art. Artifacts include
Grandmaster Flash's turntables and clothing worn on stage by Snoop
Dogg, RunD.M.C., and The Fearless Four. Another mind-blowing exhibit
focuses on punk rock and the Los Angeles punk scene. There's also
a theme park "Funk Blast" ride that shouldn't be missed.
Still other exhibits change from time to time.
The Sound Lab is the answer for a sudden urge to jam after viewing
all this musical genius. There, visitors can learn to play simple
guitar and bass guitar riffs as well as drum bits. More experienced
musicians can visit one of the 12 soundproof practice rooms. The museum
also hosts many concerts and special events.
Visitors should arrive early and expect to stay late. (The museum
has dining facilities.) Wear comfortable shoes, have fun, and enjoy
the music. |
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| Norman Thorpe writes
frequently for Asiana. He lives in Spokane, Washington, USA. Brian
Thorpe is a student at Wesleyan University in Middletown, Connecticut,
USA. He plays guitar and has written extensively about rock music.
| Photo Credit: Photos by Stanley Smith and Lara Swimmer. Copyright
2000 by Experience Music Project. |
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