Competing With The Best Of Los Angeles, New
York, And Chicago
Yesterday (6/2/12), I visited
for the first time this incredible museum. In my opinion, it certainly belongs
to the best what the metropolitan area of Phoenix has to offer in terms of art
and culture.
Sennheiser Quality
This museum lives up to their
slogan “The most extraordinary museum you’ll ever hear” with Sennheiser players
to listen in to live recordings of music from around the world. The Sennheiser
player and headphone is included with the admission. I found the headphone to
be uncomfortable after long time of wearing (I am wearing glasses) and I
believe it is not a Sennheiser headphone (the logo is missing).
Too many songs are cut very short
(I estimate less than 20 seconds), especially in the rock music section of the
museum as if it is perhaps presumed that the visitor is familiar with the songs
anyway.
Admission Pricy
The admission price of $15 for
adults is a bit stiff and the museum does not seem to offer free admission on certain
days like other great museums around the country. Well, it appears to be a
privately financed and run museum. Hopefully, tax payers are spared and
unwanted government influence is avoided.
Both Thumbs Up On Thumb Piano Exhibit
Their current exhibit of African
thumb pianos was quite fascinating. Most of the live video recordings of
concerts or solo performances are well chosen. In particular, one video showed
an African metal smith using his bellows as a drum. This guy had so much fun
doing his hot work in the African heat.
Experience Conservation Live
I also quite liked that the
conservation lab has a huge window for passersby
to watch in amazement how staff restores old instruments etc.
Unfortunately,
there seems to be no museum floor plan on the website and I have already thrown
away the handout given to me with the purchase of the admission ticket.
John Lennon’s Untimely Passing
One thing though, I found
peculiar or was it a glaring example of political correctness or Orwellian
speak: One exhibit is dedicated to John Lennon, Yoko Ono and their song
Imagine. On the panel nearby it reads “… the song gained added poignancy
following Lennon’s untimely passing in 1980.” (emphasis added). Hhm, untimely
passing. Imagine this was done to protect innocent children, then this was a stupid
idea (pardon my French).
If I remember correctly, at
the age of 40 John Lennon was shot four times in the back on the street while he
and Yoko were returning to their home in the late evening near Central Park,
New York City. Of course, there is no need to mention all the gory details, but
“untimely passing” is a dangerous revision of history or is it a form of
brainwashing.
How Did The US Win World War II?
By providing hundreds if not
thousands of original Steinway upright pianos to the front lines for soldiers
in combat to enjoy. Just kidding. Here is a picture of such a rugged Steinway
piano:
Listen To Religious Rock Music
I was not familiar with guitar
virtuoso and vegetarian Steve Vai until I visited this museum. The live concert
video is about “I know you are here” (God), which he played on an amazing
looking three neck guitar. The long version of the music video can be found on YouTube:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jY8wyKuLY2k
Website Event Calendar Knows Only The
Future
In the late afternoon, I
attended an interesting lecture on the pioneers of music in Arizona. The
lecturer played so many different musical instruments and sang so many songs,
it was delectable. Among many other things I was introduced to the Bird Cage
Theater in Tombstone. This event was free, but as I found out one day later, the
event calendar on the MIM website does not seem to allow you to go back to past events.
What a petty, because I forgot the lecturers name presuming I would find his
name on MIM’s website again.
