Cleveland To Turn It Up To 2011

Achtung rock history geeks!

I’ve got nothing specifically U2-ey here to say, but man, oh man is this music to my ears. The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and Museum in Cleveland, OH, plans to open a long-awaited library and archives that will make more of its stuff available to students, teachers and the public.

See, the RRHFM has stuff, stuff and more stuff, a lot of which has been sitting in storage for years in nearby Berea. It’s the kind of stuff that might not draw the masses into the museum, but it helps tell in detail the stories of the vast cast of characters in rock and roll history. It’s the kind of stuff that gets geeky fans, students and academics — not to mention the director of the U2 Conference — really, really excited.

Up to now, most of this stuff has not been on display or accessible to anyone save the Rock Hall’s curators and archivists.  But come spring 2011, the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame Library & Archives will open its 22,500-square-feet not far from the museum on the metro campus of Cuyahoga Community College, in Tri-C’s new Center for Creative Arts. One wonders what U2 goodies will come out of hiding in Cleveland?

There’s a great, informative write-up about all of this by the Beacon Journal‘s popular music writer Malcolm X Abram, which you can read for all the details. I’ll share a few lines here that are almost (I said, almost) as thrilling as hearing leaked clips from a new U2 album.

“Upon completion, the facility will have two primary areas. The first is the library, a public resource that will house a plethora of books, periodicals and audio and video recordings in many formats that anyone can use. The second is the archives, which will house a permanent collection of papers, photographs, recordings, vintage posters, handbills and tickets, and other rock and roll ephemera. Access to the ‘white glove material’ will be more tightly controlled for preservation and security reasons.”

“Over the years, rock and roll and popular music in general have become an important part of American culture, not only reflecting the tenor of the times but often providing the soundtrack to movements advocating social change. This is one reason the academic study of rock and pop music has been growing. “  – Dr. Laura Onkey, rock hall vice president of education

“We wanted it to be for scholars and academics, but we also wanted it to be for fans and journalists who are interested in learning about the music. It’s not cordoned off for just people in universities. We think we have a chance to get a really wide audience as well as enhance what we do at the university level.” – Dr. Onkey

“To talk like an old DJ, we want to be the No. 1 destination in the nation for the study of this music, and the library and archives can really make that happen.” – Dr. Onkey

On that last note, I wonder how a little ol’ confab studying the music, work and influence of a little ol’ Irish band would fit in to their wish to be the No. 1 destination for the study of rock and roll?

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