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Seattle Center and the EMP
The Seattle Center originally came to fame as the site of the 1962 World's Fair and the Space Needle that was built for the Fair. In case some of you don't remember what it looks like, here is a nice shot.
We didn't actually do more than gaze at the Space Needle, because Seattle Center has filled up with many, many interesting buildings and displays and we were bound for one of the most bizarre--Experience Music Project. This is Paul Allen's homage to his rock 'n' roll youth and his great admiration for Seattle hometown boy, Jimi Hendricks. Except for the ridiculous and hard-to-remember name (and acronym, EMP - huh? and website), this is well worth a trip especially for those of us born before 1955.
One of the fun things about Seattle Center is you get to go there on the mono-rail, also built for the World Fair. Our hotel was only about 4 blocks away from the downtown terminus so it all worked very efficiently for us. The 1.2 mile ride, $3.00 roundtrip, takes just moments and as you round the last curve THERE is the EMP building. It's truly amazing, designed by Gehry Partners architectural firm in 2000. "The fragmented and undulating forms of the building are inspired in part by the image of a shattered Fender statocaster guitar, an image that is reinforced by looping steel cables which suggest broken guitar strings." (I borrowed the quote and the photo from an article about The Phaidon Atlas of Contemporary Architecture)
  Inside is, as they say "...an amazing multimedia experience. Cutting-edge technology and innovative design open up the doors to a world of music!" There's lots to see and it's a good deal for $20.00. They offer to rent you a museum tape-and-earphones so that you can have more information about the exhibits, but for us it was information overload anyway, so we passed.
First we goggled at the dozens of costumes in their collection (this is in the free area) which featured about 90% from male rockers--Elton John padded silk, James Brown capes, Jerry Lee Lewis monogrammed tux. Oh and they also have Superman and Batman and Robin costumes from the early TV shows. My favorite, though, was KISS, seeing those extravagant outfits close up, and the heels!!! How in the heck they ever performed in those is amazing. More amazing than Tina Turner, even, primarily because they were guys. Jeffi says she saw KISS in NYC in their embryonic stage -- way back when they were looking for a manager and their outfits were not that elaborate. But, she says, she figured even then that "anyone who could play that fast for that long are going to do alright."
We spent a long time in the guitar gallery, which also is about 20% about basses. The collection is arranged historically beginning in the 18th century with lots of good information about the evolution of the instrument and a constantly-playing large screen video of the best guitar players in the world. I could have watched this over and over but we decided we didn't have time. I did, conclude, though, that my favorites, Bonnie Raitt and Jeff Beck, can hold their own. What a treat to see some of the old performers -- Chet Atkins, Les Paul and Mary Ford, others I didn't even know.
Probably the most enduring image from the museum is the tower of guitars,  representing "the collision of forces that created rock 'n' roll." Be sure to check out the photo at the link, it's a lot better than ours.
Next we went through the special Bob Dylan exhibit, which closes in September. This was beautifully done, with lots of samples of his music, but also with headlines and articles and artifacts that put it all in context, a very thoughtful and thorough rendering of his musical relationship with Joan Baez and their (and others') role in the political culture of the '60s. And even though I never cared much for most of his music (especially, like many of my generation, after he "went electric"), I was very moved by the memories that the exhibit evoked. It seemed appropriate to the Memorial Day weekend.
We also visited the permanent Jimi Hendrix gallery, of course, after a quick in-and-out of the "Pops in Progress" room, which was stuffed with excited 13-year-olds, grooving (or whatever they do these days) to Britney Spears and 50 Cent. The Hendrix gallery features Paul Allen's astonishing collection of memorabilia on Jimi, starting with report cards and letters to his grandma, including many hand-written song sheets and running right up through pieces of several smashed guitars from the late '60s. There's music, of course, set up with the best acoustics I've ever experienced, so you can listen and 5 feet away, your fellow museum-goer can listen to something entirely different with no interference--this is without the earphones.
The majority of these displays are definitely "museum quality," the most disappointing to us was the one on The Beatles, especially compared to the others. It seems like only Ringo was willing to give anything up and it was mostly media "stuff." But, of course, there are probably hundreds of Beatles displays in the world, and this museum, opening just five years ago, came a little late to the party.
The major "Experience" part of the Experience Music Project was our final stop, in the "Sound Lab." But since we were there on a weekend and there were so many children and young adults we didn't get to play much, just watch and listen. But here's what you can do. Play by yourself or learn with an interactive computer program on drums, keyboard, guitar and bass. Practice vocals in a mini-studio by yourself or with a few friends. Watch yourself and others dance on a video-camera-covered disco-floor (we did do this). Practice your rhythm chops on a large electronic mat that looks sort of like a trampoline and makes really great noises (we did this too). Take a whole band's worth of friends and record your own music video (this costs extra). I really wished I could have all my singing cousins there and have them make a video, wouldn't that be a great family keepsake?
There are several other galleries listed on the web site that we didn't find; if you go, a little web-based planning will get you a more efficient and cpomplete experience. But then again, when did rock 'n' roll try to be efficient? We were thoroughly satisfied and we still had the Folklife Festival to go that day. And that's next.
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