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| - The negative reviews are rather confusing. If you don't like rock and aren't into memorabilia, what in the world are you doing here?
This is the place for those who yearn to get beyond the normal CD-concert whirlwind, who watch VH1's Behind the Music not for the drama, but to get a little more personal with their favorite bands.
Maybe I read No One Here Gets Out Alive at too young an age, but I love seeing ordinary swatches from the lives of the people who provided the soundtrack to the 20th Century. Sure, a lot will be hit and miss according to who your personal favorites are. But who can resist the Elvis wing where we get to see his cars and clothes? Yet I was more knocked out by handwritten mortgage stubs from Graceland. The quieter things.
For me, the entire purchase price was worth seeing Ian Curtis's handwritten lyrics to Love Will Tear Us Apart.
Every time you turn your back, you're astounded by another tangible memory: the jacket Crissie Hynde wore on the Pretenders debut cover... rejection notices U2 received after sending out their first demo tapes ("Dear Mr. Hewson, we regret...). The first official U2 swag, a t-shirt Larry silkscreened in shop class!
I could have spent days and days just down in the basement. I loved how walls were dedicated to cities and movements that shaped the music: London, Seattle, San Francisco, LA. Ticket stubs, tour props, concert posters, even the overhang from the now departed legendary CBGB.
If you aren't into this stuff... well... c'mon. Spend your hard-earned cash elsewhere.
But if the thought of being left alone on Johnny Cash's tour bus gives you cold sweats... this is the place you belong.
As a final thought, don't you WANT a museum dedicated to rock-n-roll to be a bit of a mish mash? The last thing it needs IMHO is a Smithsonian approach that your great granny would approve of. Ken Burns is nice. We all love Baseball and Jazz and the Civil War.
But don't you think there's something electric and appropriate in turning an odd corner and being confronted by Steven Tyler's autograph in a place you would never ever expect?
Prepare for Italy, not Switzerland, and you will utterly be blown away. Just allow for the experience to happen... let your senses soak it all in. Then one day won't possibly be enough. If you're worried about the cafe and gift shop, man you've come to the wrong place!
As for practical details, metered street parking is available (if hard to come by) at peak hours. Walk a few blocks and the science expo and Cleveland Browns Stadium offer more options.
Keep in mind extended hours every Wednesday. Crowds were tiny when we were there... and yet they still had to kick us out at closing!
As for me, I can't wait to return! Hey, ho... let's go!
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