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Post by H2IZCOOL on Sept 21, 2009 13:51:42 GMT -5
As most of you probably know, Nancy and I spent two days last week at the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in Cleveland. I took several pages of notes, and a few pictures in the limited area of the lobby where pictures were allowed. (I'll get to the pictures later, after they are developed.) What I thought I'd do is each day, post a little fragment of information that I learned at the Hall - or maybe a comment of my own as to how I enjoyed/didn't enjoy/interpreted/or whatever a particular exhibit. Since this isn't RL, and neither Retromaniac nor MOW are here to complain, I'll use a new thread for each snippet.  ;D I'll start with the first thing we saw when we got there. It was a 7 or 8 minute movie called "Mystery Train." It followed the pre-rock days of pop, R&B and country and showed how it meshed together into what became known as rock and roll. Really a very nicely done movie, that we both enjoyed. The thing I learned involved a song called "Irene Goodnight." I remember it from when I was very young as kind of a sing-songy standard that had as it's refrain: "Irene goodnight, Irene goodnight, Goodnight Irene, goodnight Irene, I'll see you in my dreams." Research tells me that it was a #1 song for The Weavers in 1950, when I was 6. So that is indeed the song I remember. What I didn't know until I got to the HOF was the song was originally recorded by Lead Belly in 1932. He claimed to have learned it from his uncle in 1918, before the uncle went to jail for murder. The Lead Belly snippet I heard in the Hall contained not the line, "I'll SEE you in my dreams", it was :"I'll GET you in my dreams." There was also a reference to taking morphine and dying. OK then ... this was not what a 6 year old would be hearing on the radio in 1950! -- But it is a very interesting beginning for a song I always considered a bland old standard. |
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Post by Dawn on Sept 21, 2009 15:34:53 GMT -5
As most of you probably know, Nancy and I spent two days last week at the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in Cleveland. I took several pages of notes, and a few pictures in the limited area of the lobby where pictures were allowed. (I'll get to the pictures later, after they are developed.) What I thought I'd do is each day, post a little fragment of information that I learned at the Hall - or maybe a comment of my own as to how I enjoyed/didn't enjoy/interpreted/or whatever a particular exhibit. Since this isn't RL, and neither Retromaniac nor MOW are here to complain, I'll use a new thread for each snippet. ;D I'll start with the first thing we saw when we got there. It was a 7 or 8 minute movie called "Mystery Train." It followed the pre-rock days of pop, R&B and country and showed how it meshed together into what became known as rock and roll. Really a very nicely done movie, that we both enjoyed. The thing I learned involved a song called "Irene Goodnight." I remember it from when I was very young as kind of a sing-songy standard that had as it's refrain: "Irene goodnight, Irene goodnight, Goodnight Irene, goodnight Irene, I'll see you in my dreams." Research tells me that it was a #1 song for The Weavers in 1950, when I was 6. So that is indeed the song I remember. What I didn't know until I got to the HOF was the song was originally recorded by Lead Belly in 1932. He claimed to have learned it from his uncle in 1918, before the uncle went to jail for murder. The Lead Belly snippet I heard in the Hall contained not the line, "I'll SEE you in my dreams", it was :"I'll GET you in my dreams." There was also a reference to taking morphine and dying. OK then ... this was not what a 6 year old would be hearing on the radio in 1950! -- But it is a very interesting beginning for a song I always considered a bland old standard. They don't allow pictures of the exhibits at all, other than the lobby? I remember the EMP was the same way, not allowing photos of the exhibits. The movie sounds interesting. Not much mention is made these days of how the different musical styles merged into rock in the early days, and yet it's fascinating. I've heard Irene Goodnight, but I too hadn't known it was originally done by Leadbelly. The story behind it is interesting, and definitely puts the old standard in a new light. |
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Post by Railyn on Sept 21, 2009 15:58:41 GMT -5
You are correct, Dawn. No pictures past the lobby. And if they catch you, it's not good. I watched them grab someone taking pictures with his cell phone the first time I was there.
You can buy pictures of things and books in the gift shop. It's not the same, but I abide by the rules.
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Post by Jughead on Sept 21, 2009 16:03:25 GMT -5
Oh, please...Retro and MOW are the two worst offenders of posting multiple threads. It was us calling him out on it on RL that left MOW to YAGE from there.  Look forward to seeing whatever few pictures you did take. |
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Post by Dawn on Sept 21, 2009 16:10:08 GMT -5
You are correct, Dawn. No pictures past the lobby. And if they catch you, it's not good. I watched them grab someone taking pictures with his cell phone the first time I was there. You can buy pictures of things and books in the gift shop. It's not the same, but I abide by the rules. Yes, we saw some people taking photos at the EMP, despite the postings. Much as I would have liked to have had pics of the exhibits, the museum staff have their reasons for not allowing photos, so we didn't try to take any there, other than shots of the building exterior. |
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Post by Dawn on Sept 21, 2009 16:12:12 GMT -5
Oh, please...Retro and MOW are the two worst offenders of posting multiple threads. It was us calling him out on it on RL that left MOW to YAGE from there. Look forward to seeing whatever few pictures you did take. Ditto. Feel free to post all you like, Ed - look forward to seeing them. |
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Post by H2IZCOOL on Sept 22, 2009 7:47:50 GMT -5
You are correct, Dawn. No pictures past the lobby. And if they catch you, it's not good. I watched them grab someone taking pictures with his cell phone the first time I was there. You can buy pictures of things and books in the gift shop. It's not the same, but I abide by the rules. To quote the info in the Exhibit Guide, "Due to our agreement with artists and donors who have generously loaned or donated artifacts to the Museum, photography and video are allowed only in the Museum lobby. All cameras and cell phones with digital cameras must be checked at Coat and Camera Check before touring." I interpret that as "if you could take pictures, you would not buy the inferior ones we have in the gift shop." We did not try to take pictures in non-lobby areas, but I did have both a camera and a cell phone in my pocket, and Nancy had a cell phone in her purse. We did not check them, and no one asked us to. We were even using our cell phones (for their primary purpose, which I believe, is still making phone calls) in the 3rd floor cafe. |
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Post by H2IZCOOL on Sept 22, 2009 7:49:57 GMT -5
Oh, please...Retro and MOW are the two worst offenders of posting multiple threads. It was us calling him out on it on RL that left MOW to YAGE from there. Look forward to seeing whatever few pictures you did take. Ditto. Feel free to post all you like, Ed - look forward to seeing them. I was using a cheap, old fashioned "throwaway" camera, so I'll have to get them developed. They are not that numerous and I'm sure the quality isn't that great either, but I will post them when I can. |
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Post by Dawn on Sept 22, 2009 10:42:31 GMT -5
You are correct, Dawn. No pictures past the lobby. And if they catch you, it's not good. I watched them grab someone taking pictures with his cell phone the first time I was there. You can buy pictures of things and books in the gift shop. It's not the same, but I abide by the rules. To quote the info in the Exhibit Guide, "Due to our agreement with artists and donors who have generously loaned or donated artifacts to the Museum, photography and video are allowed only in the Museum lobby. All cameras and cell phones with digital cameras must be checked at Coat and Camera Check before touring." I interpret that as "if you could take pictures, you would not buy the inferior ones we have in the gift shop." We did not try to take pictures in non-lobby areas, but I did have both a camera and a cell phone in my pocket, and Nancy had a cell phone in her purse. We did not check them, and no one asked us to. We were even using our cell phones (for their primary purpose, which I believe, is still making phone calls) in the 3rd floor cafe. Wow, that is a strict policy to require checking of cameras and cell phones - too strict, I think. Considering that most cell phones these days have cameras, they're potentially looking at phones from hundreds of museum attendees at once to keep track of - seems like a lot of effort and potential for loss on their part. |
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Post by Ken on Sept 22, 2009 12:58:20 GMT -5
Hi Ed, I'm looking forward to reading more and seeing those pics of your trip to the R&R HOF!  |
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;D 
