Sex and rock & roll—on display!

New York City gave birth to many of popular music’s most influential artists and storied venues, yet it took an out-of-towner to give the city its first repository of rock. The Rock & Roll Hall of Fame Annex NYC traces the history of the genre through artifacts, video installations and special exhibits.

“We thought it would be a good place to do a smaller version, given New York City’s central place in the history of rock & roll,” says Jim Henke, vice-president of exhibitions and curatorial affairs. And it shows: One whole gallery is devoted to all things NYC; artifacts include the awning from CBGB and David Byrne’s big suit from the film Stop Making Sense.“Everyone has a different definition of rock & roll,” says Henke. “We try to define it very broadly so there’s something for everyone.” Some of the museum’s most rockin’ holdings include Johnny Ramone’s guitar, a pair of John Lennon’s glasses and some of Madonna’s old gear.

Meanwhile, in Midtown’s former Tenderloin district—known for brothels and dance halls in the 1800s—the Museum of Sex has recently spiced up its permanent collection with several steamy new acquisitions, including an exhibit of Tijuana Bibles. These four-by-three-inch comic books depict your favorite cartoon characters as total nymphos. “They weren’t actually from Tijuana,” says MoSex curator Sarah Jacobs. “Experts say the Mafia were responsible for them. Back in the ’30s, they were considered raunchy and scandalous.” Um, they still kinda are.

It will rock you!

Classic guitars
Each of these axes boasts a nugget of rock history. On the left is a Vox guitar-organ hybrid. “It was a prototype of an experimental guitar that was presented to John Lennon in the mid-’60s,” says Henke. The Les Paul (center) was used by noted guitar destroyer Pete Townshend on the Who’s 1973 Quadrophenia tour, while the white Mosrite was wielded by the late Johnny Ramone. “He played it at the Ramones’ last show, but then brought it out of retirement to do an encore at a Pearl Jam performance.” (Eddie Vedder was one of Ramone’s closest friends, and was at his bedside when he died of cancer.)

Lennon’s gear
In 1969, John Lennon and Yoko Ono staged a “bed-in” in a Montreal hotel room and recorded “Give Peace a Chance”; you can see this poster in the background of a video filmed at the time. The museum has also acquired a pair of Lennon’s glasses. Says Henke, “He wore a lot of styles, but these are the ones that he’s most identified with.”

Madonna’s clothes
This gold bustier, designed by frequent Madonna collaborator Jean-Paul Gaultier, was worn by the Material Girl on her Blond Ambition tour. “Rolling Stone called it the best tour of 1990,” says Henke. “Her use of sexuality onstage made it controversial, and Pope John Paul II even called on people to boycott concerts in Italy.” Another iconic Madge item: a leather jacket worn during some TV appearances in the 1980s, featuring a design by Keith Haring.

Hendrix’s lyrics
Of this paper with handwritten lyrics to one of Jimi Hendrix’s most famous tunes, Henke says, “It’s one of the first manuscripts of that song; he wrote it in a dressing room of a nightclub in London.” The dual title—“Purple Haze/Jesus Saves”—is allegedly the by-product of a dream that Hendrix had, in which he was chased by a large purple cloud; he was saved by the big J.C. himself.

The X factor

Tijuana Bibles
You’re going to wish Donald Duck wore pants when you see this new exhibit of four-by-three-inch comic books depicting your favorite cartoon characters as total nymphos (case in point: Dagwood’s eating a lot more than sandwiches). “They weren’t actually from Tijuana,” says MoSex curator Sarah Jacobs. “Experts say the Mafia were responsible for them. Back in the ’30s, they were considered raunchy and scandalous.” Um, they still kinda are.

Suspension cage
This nine-foot-tall, steel-framed love pen was used to punish naughty “slaves” during floggings. “Domina M., a NYC dominatrix, was cleaning up her dungeon and donated it to us,” says Jacobs. “A lot of time was spent on the design of it.”

Abyss real dolls
One of the museum’s most famous artifacts was its squeezably soft love doll torso, on display for two years. Sadly, the worn-down dummy is being replaced with a younger, fitter model. On the plus side, we’re finally getting to meet her male counterpart. “I thought it was very important to have a balance,” says Jacobs. So how does he measure up to the real thing? “I would say it’s a medium-sized penis—we didn’t want something ridiculous—and made of a harder silicone.”

Time Out New York / Issue sg09 : Aug 3, 2009–Aug 2, 2010

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