As a lead-in to a piece that Townsman KingEd is working up that touches on the influence of Jimi Hendrix on a well-known Friend of the Hall, I thought it would be a good time to revisit this discussion, initiated by Townsman Hrrundivbakshi almost 2 years ago. We've fawned over the magic and majesty of Hendrix before, and Ed's upcoming piece probably won't be the last time. While we await our next related Hendrix-centered thread, think about what HVB and others said way back when.

This post initially appeared 6/24/07.

Today's burning question

Why do we love Jimi Hendrix so much?

That's not a trick question, by the way, or a snarky way of letting the universe know that I think he sucks major ass. 'Cause I don't. I think Jimi Hendrix was an astonishing, timeless talent -- one of the few "rock" musician types that truly deserves to be placed in that awkward "genius" category.

For me, Hendrix is simultaneously forward-looking and free; focused and intense; hippy-dippy and sweet; brutal and bludgeoning. He was avant-garde without being precious, snide, or academic about it. His virtuosity never -- and I mean that literally -- never ceases to amaze me. There's always something new and unbelievable to hear in a Hendrix song, if you're listening with those kind of ears. And if you don't, or can't, listen as a player, it don't matter, 'cause his songs are strong.

He also had a dynamite Look -- man, that (pardon me, and insert 1974 Rottun Teef Keef "tracksssss..." voice here) "super spade" thing, combined with a stage presence that turned him and his guitar into one giant, raging rock hard-on, was just fucking unbeatable. Think of Mick Jagger or Robert Plant or any other white front man contemporary of Hendrix's -- in their rock posturing prime, on their best night -- and they all seem positively tea cozy and cardigan sweaters compared to this dude.

But look -- I'm opening up this thread because I just want to know how and why you love Hendrix as much as you do. I'm also looking for those spine-tingling recorded moments that make you wait in eager anticipation -- like the hair-singeing opening notes to "Foxy Lady" or the moment when "Ezy Rider" comes roaring back into the main riff after the bridge, or -- well, you get the idea.

Why do you love Jimi Hendrix so much?

We recently re-ran an early Rock Town Hall (blog edition) piece by Townsman BigSteve on his visit to Seattle's Experience Music Project (EMP). I was just in Seattle for a quick weekend work trip, and during my 2 hours of free time I made sure to check out this museum with my own ears and eyes. BigSteve's piece had me stoked!

My hotel room offered a fantastic view of the body of water and mountains surrounding the city. The city itself was surprisingly unkempt and weatherbeaten, dare I say "grungey," but the natural setting was impressive. Straight ahead, maybe a mile away, was the Space Needle and what looked like a colorful clump of molten plastic. This was the EMP building.

I thought about taking the monorail over to maximize my 2 free hours, but wisely, as it turned out, decided to walk. A block into my walk, the monorail train I probably would have caught had broken down on the tracks. Fire engines and rescue ladders blocked 5th Street. I crossed over to 6th Street and caught whiff of some doughnut factory. Doughnuts do not smell that good when baked en masse.

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Another FRIDAY FLASHBACK! based on my own upcoming road trip. It's off to Seattle, where I plan on visiting Experience Music Project, the Seattle-centric rock museum that Townsman BigSteve chronicled in one of our earliest Rock Town Hall blog posts. I'd hoped that a monthy Trippin' series would develop, in which Townspeople would report on their own rock-related road trips, but to date I think this is the only rock road trip report. Hrrundivbakshi did report on a curiously named record store he found somewhere in Japan, I believe, so I'm holding out hope that this series will catch fire yet. Should I make it to EMP this weekend, I'll be sure to share my thoughts. Now let's revisit a very cool post!

This post initially appeared 1/23/07.

BigSteve, our Townsman in New Orleans, files the following report from Seattle.

I went to the Experience Music Project yesterday. I thought it was definitely worth the visit, and there was more than enough to keep me occupied for 3 hours. There's actually not that much exhibit space, and one of the, presumably temporary, exhibits was a commercial for Disney musical product that gagged me. The history of rap exhibit was more interesting, but at least the Disney shit helped keep the busloads of kids away from the interesting stuff. The other useless parts of the museum were the interactive areas – you pay extra, go into a "studio" and `make your own CD by playing with a few computer stations. There's also something where you pay and end up with a DVD of yourself onstage playing with other people in a band. I don't know how it works, and I wasn't interested enough to find out.

There's a very nice exhibit, I assume permanent, on the history of music from the Pacific Northwest. From the Fleetwoods through the Ventures and Raiders and Sonics to grunge and punk. Lots of posters, artifacts, instruments, video - not enough time to look at it all.

The Hendrix exhibit is pretty amazing. I mean, they have the white Strat that he played at Woodstock, the guitar he was most often seen playing. They have pieces of many smashed guitars. Really I could have spent all day looking at this exhibit alone. They had lots of video of him playing, and then they had many of the outfits he was seen wearing in the videos, and you know how important fashion is to me.

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Rock Town Hall apologizes in advance for the Prince-directed video that is used to represent Jimi's last great single.

It's a truism that the live bill briefly pairing The Monkees with opening act Jimi Hendrix was the most mismatched live bill in rock. Of course, at the heart of this mismatch was the fact that the headliners were a concocted, confected bubblegum band put together to serve a tv version of a fictional American Beatles while the opener was soon to make his mark as the Greatest Guitar Hero of the genre, a true artist and visionary. However, Jimi Hendrix and The Monkees had more in common than initially met the ear.

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