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PCR #124. (Vol. 3, No. 32) This edition is for the week of August 5--11, 2002.
Mike's RantMike's Bust
Hello gang! Greetings from Cleveland, Ohio..............the town of my birth. Not too much to rant about this week so I'm just going to give you my thoughts on the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame! Shall we begin?

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THE ROCK 'N ROLL HALL OF FAME
I remember years ago when Huey Lewis and the News released "The Heart of Rock and Roll," that a woman once called the radio station to ask a question about the lyrics. When Huey sings that the heart of rock and roll is "still beating," the woman thought he was saying that the heart of rock and roll is "in Cleveland." Well, in a way, she was right.

Surrounded by gigantic "themed" plexiglass Fender Strats, the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame is located in the center of downtown Cleveland. A beautiful glass and metal structure, it stands out amongst the older buildings in the city. The lobby entrance is large enough to accomodate a small concert crowd. On our visit, the band P.O.D. was doing their sound check when we arrived getting ready for a concert this evening.

Upon entering the hall, you are shown two short films that trace the history of the music. One takes the viewer from the very early influences to the late 1950's. The second takes us from the British Invasion to the present. After the films, you are invited to view the hall at your own pace. There are several great interactive displays as well as enough memorabilia to fill 50 Hard Rock Cafe's. The only drawback is that photographs and video taping of the exhibits are not allowed. Of the many incredible displays and attractions, the following really impressed me:

A letter signed by all of the Rolling Stones sent to Carlos Santana asking him to allow the use of his performance of "Persuasion" at Altamont to be included in the film "Love in Vain," which was the working title of the great documentary "Gimme Shelter."

The Jimi Hendrix Surround Sound Theatre, which featured many different concert clips from Hendrix. Of the ones I caught, the one I enjoyed the most was his debuting of "All Along the Watchtower" at the Isle of Wight. Incidentally, as a cool rock and roll footnote, my next door neighbor was lucky enough to have attended Woodstock, Altamont and The Isle of Wight concerts. Talk about a rock and roll road trip!

Many handwritten lyrics to some of the greatest songs ever recorded. Songs from Hendrix, James Taylor, John Lennon and others are presented. The one thing that struck me about all of these talented songwriters was that there was very little correction on these sheets. Very few crossed out lines or words that were later changed. The songs seemed to flow from these artists as though they were writing themselves. Having written songs I can tell you it isn't that easy. Incidentally, my PCR colleague Matt Drinnenberg used to write songs the same way. Jeesh, talk about talented.

A lot of these artists dabbled in other areas. Included was a vast collection of original art work and drawings by Hendrix, Jim Morrison and others. It was funny to read on a Christmas card Morrison made for his father in 1952 that he told his dad to have a "cool yule" in the greeting. Also, in pencil on the front, he wrote, "you better get me something!"

The display dedicated to Rolling Stone magazine included two very different letters. One, a letter to the editor, was written in 1972 by Charles Manson, who, basically, agreed with the article the mag had recently done on him. Manson did, however, ask to meet with the reporter if he had any questions that he hadn't found the answers to. The other letter was from Mick Jagger, offering to publisher Jann Wenner the right to use the copywritten term, "Rolling Stone" in exchange for several cover stories and cheaper ad rates.

An excellent tribute to the nations disc jockeys who kept spinning the music, including the man who coined the term "rock and roll," Cleveland's own Alan Freed.

The final stop on our visit was the "LENNON" exhibit that has been held over for almost two years. There was an extensive collection of John Lennon's guitars from before his Beatle days to the day he died. Many of his costumes were displayed, including his "Sgt Pepper's" jacket and the white tuxedo he wore at the end of "Magical Mystery Tour." Another highlight was the Oscar Lennon won (along with the other three Beatles) for the song score for "Let it Be." The final display in the Lennon exhibit was a tall, beige column. On it were written the words, "December 8, 1980. Inside, encased in plexiglass, were two items donated by Yoko Ono. In one section, a brown paper bag can be seen. A message from Ono explains that after the trial of Mark David Chapman, the New York City police department gave her this grocery sack with all of Lennon's blood stained clothing and personal effects. Among the items were the eye glasses Lennon had worn the night he was killed. Those glasses were displayed on the other side of the exhibit. I had chastised Ono in the early 80's for putting these glasses on the cover of her solo album, "Seasons of Glass." To see them upclose like that was very disquieting.

Anyway, that's the Hall in a nutshell. If you have the time, I suggest you take a trip and check it out for yourself.

Well, that's it for this week. Heading to Detroit tomorrow. Have a great week, dear readers and be safe! See ya!

NEWS FLASH--08-08-02: Just heard the announcement that Colin Farrell ("Minority Report") is slated to play the Caped Crusader in the upcoming "Batman vs Superman" movie!
(And I further heard Jude Law was slated to play Superman. I thought these two were just short-list nominees, but looks like it's come down to the wire!---N)
BTW, 2 weeks after I mentioned the disquieting thought of Miss Piggy shilling for Denny's, "Entertainment Weekly" picked up on it. I wonder if they read us and then wait a week to steal! :-)
(Hey, are we cutting-edge or what? LOL! Thanks!---Nolan)


"Mike's Rant" is ©2002 by Michael A. Smith. Webpage design and all graphics herein are creations of Nolan B. Canova. All contents of Nolan's Pop Culture Review are ©2002 by Nolan B. Canova.