We visited the Grammy Museum at L.A. Live on Wednesday, July 22, 2009 in the late afternoon/early evening . The museum opened in late 2008 and in the summer of 2009 they temporarily lowered the admission to $10. It’s open until 7:30 pm on weekdays and since Michael Jackson’s tragic death in June 2009 they’ve had a special exhibit for him on display. I left work at around 5 pm, met up with my wife at 7+Fig shopping center and we walked the mile or so to L.A. Live. The Grammy Museum is on the east side of L.A. Live along Figueroa Street just south of the Fleming’s Steakhouse. I believe they’re in the same building. We bought tickets at the window outside. The cashier complimented my wife on her t-shirt, a black shirt with the names of the Jackson 5: Michael, Tito, Jermaine, Jackie, and Marlon (actually order on the shirt possibly differs) in white letters on the front.
We entered the glass doors to the museum. A staffer scanned our tickets, gave us a map brochure, and told us to take the elevator up to the fourth floor. The lighting inside the elevator was deep blue like a disco or club. The first exhibit on the fourth floor was called Grammy: The Greatest Music. On two white walls facing each other they projected many video clips of the most famous performances at past Grammy Awards shows. Many clips appeared at the same time and they seemed to blend in to each other artistically. Some clips I had seen before from when I had watched the show. My wife caught the clip of Shakira. The sound played for some of the clips showed but not all of them. It was still a bit cacophonous.
In the next room was a long computer surface called the Crossroads. With it we could “click” or touch different musical genres as they floated by and learn more about them. The screen changed color from red to blue to green. They had so many different genres: Rock, Death Metal, Goth, Emo, Salsa, even some I hadn’t heard of. However, I couldn’t find Hair Metal or Hair Bands anywhere. When we selected a genre it gave a short description, examples of songs from the genre, sometimes a photo, and links to related genres. I tried Heavy Metal, Glam Rock, and others but still couldn’t find Hair Metal.
In the same room past the Crossroads were these small booth-like rooms featuring different major genres collectively called “Enduring Traditions”. They had screens in them showing videos of the history of the genre. On their walls were photos and memorabilia in display cases. There were four of these for Pop, Jazz, Folk-Rock, and Gospel. The one for Pop had a letter from an unknown friend to Elvis Presley. On the wall behind the booth were these stations called “Musical Epicenters” with a map of the contiguous U.S. We could select cities such as New York, Seattle, and L.A., view a time line, and read about important musical historical events that took place there. The one for Seattle had descriptions of early 60’s acts from the Pacific Northwest such as The Kingsmen who famously recorded the song “Louie Louie”. (I actually saw the Kingsmen sing the national anthem at a Seattle Mariners baseball game at the Kingdome 12-13 years ago.) To the right of the epicenters on a curved wall were more photos and descriptions of musical genres with stations for listening collectively called “Culture Shock”. There was a large station for Grunge and some listening stations for 70’s, 80’s, 90’s, and 00’s.
The next room, open to the previous one contained the Grammy Archives and Hall of Fame. It had its own listening stations where we could listen to any song nominated for a Grammy. The Hall of Fame itself was a white circular sculpture that looked like it was made up of many model microphones on the inside. In the corner were actual outfits worn by musical icons such as Miles Davis, Ella Fitzgerald, and BB King. The suit that Michael Jackson wore for the cover of the Thriller album was previously displayed there but was currently included with the special Michael Jackson exhibit.
The next couple of rooms were called “Artistic Voices: The Creative World.” In the first was a display case of influential instruments such as guitars used by Eric Clapton and Elvis Presley. The latter one had most of his name on it: “ELVI Guitar”. Across from the display case they showed a film in which songwriters discussed what inspired them. In the next room photos on the wall showed the first drafts of song lyrics and there were listening stations where songwriters such as Brian Wilson (“God Only Knows”) described how they wrote some of their most famous songs. The room led to the stairs down to the next level. The east wall was all windows and we had a pretty good view of the building across the street.
On Level 3 they had the special Michael Jackson exhibit. It was in a round room where I believe they used to show a film about the life of a recording on the wall screens. But this time they showed clips of Michael Jackson on past Grammy Awards shows. They showed him with his brothers, collectively the Jackson 5, and a famous drummer presenting the award for best Pop Vocal by a Duo or Group in 1974. The Jackson 5 actually performed lines from songs by each group such as “Love Train” by the O’Jays and “Cisco Kid” by War. Then they showed a clip of the Jacksons presenting the award for Best Female Pop Vocal at the 1977 Grammy Awards. This time they spoke in rhymes, almost rapping. Michael wore a white suit while his brothers wore black suits. Each nominee’s face appeared as a cartoon image on the screen as they were announced. There was a clip of MJ and Quincy Jones accepting the award for Producer at the 1984 Grammy Awards. MJ wore one of his shiny regal suits, his shiny white glove, and aviator sunglasses. The next clip was a long one with MJ performing “The Way you Make Me Feel” and “Man in the Mirror” with a full gospel choir. A display case near the screen showcased the Thriller album cover suit, some of his shiny regal suits worn on tour and his gloves.
The next room had many displays that had to do with the recording process. There was also a special exhibit for Neil Diamond with many of his flashy (and silly, I thought) suits he wore at early concerts. From the display I learned that Diamond didn’t start out as a singer but as a saber fencer. He attended NYU on a fencing scholarship. There was a station where we could record our voices speaking to a cheering crowd. Along the walls were descriptions and photos of the history of sound recording from records to cassette tapes to CD’s, profiles of recordmen such as Clive Davis, sound engineers, and session musicians such as Bela Fleck (who I actually saw in concert with his Flecktones in Juneau many years ago.) There were booths where I think you could record your own CD track. On the outside wall of the circular room were photos from each Grammy Awards along with the major winners listed. The display “On the Red Carpet” shows some of the famous outfits worn by performing celebrities at the Grammy Awards. They included the marching band outfit worn by Kanye West for a performance and the famous green dress worn by Jennifer Lopez when she was a presenter. There was a large screen showing famous performances at the Grammy Awards such as TLC in the early 2000’s and Stevie Wonder in the 1970’s.
Off to the side was a small room with trivia questions on turnable panels about notable Grammy winners. On the other side near the stairs was a TV screen showing scenes from the Latin Grammy Awards such as Shakira performing “La Tortura” with Alejandro Sanz. I remember watching the first Latin Grammy Awards on TV nearly 10 years ago. Shakira won at least two awards that year and performed “Ojos Asi”. They also showed clips of Juanes. We went down the stairs to Level 2. On this level they had the museum store and a row of large framed photographs along a curved wall. But we didn’t have much time to look at them because we could hear the beats of Michael Jackson’s song “Billy Jean” coming from a dark open doorway to the right. We followed the music into the Soundstage, a 200-seat theater where they were showing Michael Jackson music videos on a big screen. I believe they also use this stage for musicians to give talks and perform intimate, acoustic concerts. We saw the end of “Billy Jean”, all of “Beat It”, the full length of “Thriller” that features the Palace Theater that’s just a few blocks away on Broadway, “Bad” though I’m not sure if they showed the non-singing parts directed by Martin Scorsese, “The Way You Make Me Feel”, “Man on the Moon” a video I hadn’t seen before, “Smooth Criminal” and the beginning of “Dirty Diana”. By that time it was 7:30 pm and the museum was closing. A staffer told us we had to leave. We left without seeing much else on Level 2. We walked to Panini Café for dinner (see later review) before catching the subway and Metrolink train home.
It was fun visiting the Grammy Museum. We didn’t get to see all of it but that gives us a reason to return someday. I’d say it ranks equal to the Experience Music Project (EMP) museum in Seattle that we visited in November 2001. Of the four major music museums in the U.S. we’ve visited the EMP and the Grammy Museum. I’ve stood outside the Country Music Hall of Fame and Museum in Nashville, TN. The fourth is the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in Cleveland, OH. I don’t know if we’ll ever go there. But at least the Grammys are just a train and a subway ride away.
We entered the glass doors to the museum. A staffer scanned our tickets, gave us a map brochure, and told us to take the elevator up to the fourth floor. The lighting inside the elevator was deep blue like a disco or club. The first exhibit on the fourth floor was called Grammy: The Greatest Music. On two white walls facing each other they projected many video clips of the most famous performances at past Grammy Awards shows. Many clips appeared at the same time and they seemed to blend in to each other artistically. Some clips I had seen before from when I had watched the show. My wife caught the clip of Shakira. The sound played for some of the clips showed but not all of them. It was still a bit cacophonous.
In the next room was a long computer surface called the Crossroads. With it we could “click” or touch different musical genres as they floated by and learn more about them. The screen changed color from red to blue to green. They had so many different genres: Rock, Death Metal, Goth, Emo, Salsa, even some I hadn’t heard of. However, I couldn’t find Hair Metal or Hair Bands anywhere. When we selected a genre it gave a short description, examples of songs from the genre, sometimes a photo, and links to related genres. I tried Heavy Metal, Glam Rock, and others but still couldn’t find Hair Metal.
In the same room past the Crossroads were these small booth-like rooms featuring different major genres collectively called “Enduring Traditions”. They had screens in them showing videos of the history of the genre. On their walls were photos and memorabilia in display cases. There were four of these for Pop, Jazz, Folk-Rock, and Gospel. The one for Pop had a letter from an unknown friend to Elvis Presley. On the wall behind the booth were these stations called “Musical Epicenters” with a map of the contiguous U.S. We could select cities such as New York, Seattle, and L.A., view a time line, and read about important musical historical events that took place there. The one for Seattle had descriptions of early 60’s acts from the Pacific Northwest such as The Kingsmen who famously recorded the song “Louie Louie”. (I actually saw the Kingsmen sing the national anthem at a Seattle Mariners baseball game at the Kingdome 12-13 years ago.) To the right of the epicenters on a curved wall were more photos and descriptions of musical genres with stations for listening collectively called “Culture Shock”. There was a large station for Grunge and some listening stations for 70’s, 80’s, 90’s, and 00’s.
The next room, open to the previous one contained the Grammy Archives and Hall of Fame. It had its own listening stations where we could listen to any song nominated for a Grammy. The Hall of Fame itself was a white circular sculpture that looked like it was made up of many model microphones on the inside. In the corner were actual outfits worn by musical icons such as Miles Davis, Ella Fitzgerald, and BB King. The suit that Michael Jackson wore for the cover of the Thriller album was previously displayed there but was currently included with the special Michael Jackson exhibit.
The next couple of rooms were called “Artistic Voices: The Creative World.” In the first was a display case of influential instruments such as guitars used by Eric Clapton and Elvis Presley. The latter one had most of his name on it: “ELVI Guitar”. Across from the display case they showed a film in which songwriters discussed what inspired them. In the next room photos on the wall showed the first drafts of song lyrics and there were listening stations where songwriters such as Brian Wilson (“God Only Knows”) described how they wrote some of their most famous songs. The room led to the stairs down to the next level. The east wall was all windows and we had a pretty good view of the building across the street.
On Level 3 they had the special Michael Jackson exhibit. It was in a round room where I believe they used to show a film about the life of a recording on the wall screens. But this time they showed clips of Michael Jackson on past Grammy Awards shows. They showed him with his brothers, collectively the Jackson 5, and a famous drummer presenting the award for best Pop Vocal by a Duo or Group in 1974. The Jackson 5 actually performed lines from songs by each group such as “Love Train” by the O’Jays and “Cisco Kid” by War. Then they showed a clip of the Jacksons presenting the award for Best Female Pop Vocal at the 1977 Grammy Awards. This time they spoke in rhymes, almost rapping. Michael wore a white suit while his brothers wore black suits. Each nominee’s face appeared as a cartoon image on the screen as they were announced. There was a clip of MJ and Quincy Jones accepting the award for Producer at the 1984 Grammy Awards. MJ wore one of his shiny regal suits, his shiny white glove, and aviator sunglasses. The next clip was a long one with MJ performing “The Way you Make Me Feel” and “Man in the Mirror” with a full gospel choir. A display case near the screen showcased the Thriller album cover suit, some of his shiny regal suits worn on tour and his gloves.
The next room had many displays that had to do with the recording process. There was also a special exhibit for Neil Diamond with many of his flashy (and silly, I thought) suits he wore at early concerts. From the display I learned that Diamond didn’t start out as a singer but as a saber fencer. He attended NYU on a fencing scholarship. There was a station where we could record our voices speaking to a cheering crowd. Along the walls were descriptions and photos of the history of sound recording from records to cassette tapes to CD’s, profiles of recordmen such as Clive Davis, sound engineers, and session musicians such as Bela Fleck (who I actually saw in concert with his Flecktones in Juneau many years ago.) There were booths where I think you could record your own CD track. On the outside wall of the circular room were photos from each Grammy Awards along with the major winners listed. The display “On the Red Carpet” shows some of the famous outfits worn by performing celebrities at the Grammy Awards. They included the marching band outfit worn by Kanye West for a performance and the famous green dress worn by Jennifer Lopez when she was a presenter. There was a large screen showing famous performances at the Grammy Awards such as TLC in the early 2000’s and Stevie Wonder in the 1970’s.
Off to the side was a small room with trivia questions on turnable panels about notable Grammy winners. On the other side near the stairs was a TV screen showing scenes from the Latin Grammy Awards such as Shakira performing “La Tortura” with Alejandro Sanz. I remember watching the first Latin Grammy Awards on TV nearly 10 years ago. Shakira won at least two awards that year and performed “Ojos Asi”. They also showed clips of Juanes. We went down the stairs to Level 2. On this level they had the museum store and a row of large framed photographs along a curved wall. But we didn’t have much time to look at them because we could hear the beats of Michael Jackson’s song “Billy Jean” coming from a dark open doorway to the right. We followed the music into the Soundstage, a 200-seat theater where they were showing Michael Jackson music videos on a big screen. I believe they also use this stage for musicians to give talks and perform intimate, acoustic concerts. We saw the end of “Billy Jean”, all of “Beat It”, the full length of “Thriller” that features the Palace Theater that’s just a few blocks away on Broadway, “Bad” though I’m not sure if they showed the non-singing parts directed by Martin Scorsese, “The Way You Make Me Feel”, “Man on the Moon” a video I hadn’t seen before, “Smooth Criminal” and the beginning of “Dirty Diana”. By that time it was 7:30 pm and the museum was closing. A staffer told us we had to leave. We left without seeing much else on Level 2. We walked to Panini Café for dinner (see later review) before catching the subway and Metrolink train home.
It was fun visiting the Grammy Museum. We didn’t get to see all of it but that gives us a reason to return someday. I’d say it ranks equal to the Experience Music Project (EMP) museum in Seattle that we visited in November 2001. Of the four major music museums in the U.S. we’ve visited the EMP and the Grammy Museum. I’ve stood outside the Country Music Hall of Fame and Museum in Nashville, TN. The fourth is the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in Cleveland, OH. I don’t know if we’ll ever go there. But at least the Grammys are just a train and a subway ride away.
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