Mad about museums

Magnet #358 - Rock & Roll Hall of Fame Annex NYC

So, my sister's been up here for the last couple of days, just hanging out in town, visiting museum after museum, eating tons of meals, and patiently waiting while I constantly checked my Blackberry, even though I was on vacation.

The great thing is, as I always say about this fabulous town, that I can always find things to do here in NY. You just never run out. In the last two days, we've done five museums, and only two of them were a repeat for me. And ya'll know I know from NY museums.

We visited the:

• Sports Museum of America, which was a really well-done museum, located in the supercool Standard Oil building downtown, which is slightly out of the way;
• Skyscraper Museum, also downtown, and with a sense of the ironic, only one story, housing one main exhibit comparing the skylines and buildings of New York and Hong Kong;
• Paley Center for Media, with a great photography exhibit from 24, where Kiefer and some of the production team took a bunch of snappies while filming Redemption;
• Museum of Art & Design, which I was so looking forward to, but was slightly disappointed - not by the art which was neat, but moreso by having to pay $15 for a museum we could mosey through in about an hour, and by the lack of cool MAD merchandise (including NO magnets) in the not as cool as I was hoping little shop; and finally the
• Rock & Roll Hall of Fame Annex.
  
  

By far, the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame Annex was the most expensive, at something like $24, plus tax. But, at least here can you can see where they put the money - from the ticketing area, to the pre-show holding pen, the awesome auditorium venue and film, the snazzy wireless headset to hear the museum soundtrack as you're looking at corresponding and superneat memorabilia.

Plus? They had the coolest little shop - with the best selection of rock magnets. I'm sad I bought only two. This magnet made me think fondly of my Metallica Pandora station. It's what I listen to when I'm pissed off at work - I turn the headphones up and rock out to Metallica. I can't tell if it mirrors my anger, soothes it, or exacerbates it. I just know that they happen to get me through my angry days at work. Too bad I wasn't' able to listen to them these last couple of days running around the city, BBing while crossing crosswalks.

Moving on...I freakin' loved this little Annex from start to finish. It's convinced me that I might be a Springsteen and Clash fan, an Otis Redding fan and definitely not an Amy Winehouse fan.

Seriously, these guys know how to put on a show. Right down to the flat-screen at the end running the Cleveland Hall of Fame on an endless loop. It makes you totally want to see the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame (designed by I.M. Pei) in person.

In fact, my sister's already planning her Ohio roadtrip in 2010.