Our Soundtrack

I didn't leave the Rock-n-Roll hall of fame with one song repeating over and over in my mind, I left with my head in a tangled knot of emotional string. The stimulation didn't stop. The images, memories, wonder and emotion streamed through, like military jets attacking at Mach 2. Things forgotten were brought to the surface in an endless vision on a topsy-turvy ride.

The museum recreates a complicated soundtrack for an interesting era. A Credence Clearwater Revival song appeared in the cacophony, instantly taking me back to high school shop class where Jerry Emm played the band constantly, over the sounds of banging hammers and arch welders. CCR - There's a bad moon on the rise. An eight-track tape of Fleetwood Mac next to the dress Stevie Nicks wore in the cover shot. You can go your own way. James Taylor's first guitar, his brother painted blue, it changed the sound, James never played it again. I've seen fire and I've seen rain. Smokey Robinson describing early motown. The tears of a clown, when there's no one around. Little Stevie Wonder, Very Superstitious writing on the wall. Diana Ross and the Supremes. Baby, baby, where did our love go...

Lyrics, music and talent expressing our time, our journey, our humanity. Loneliness, beauty, vulnerability, anger, frustration, love, sensuality, confusion, exuberance, laughter, hope, on and on pieces of our lives strewn about this magnificent six story glass pyramid on Lake Erie.

The journey of emotion left me exhausted and reflective. How afraid we are to be alone and how difficult it is to be together. We are all different, yet we share profound commonality and music helps express every facet.