George Harrison: Living in the Material World

Tim was the one who called, ten years ago, to tell me George Harrison had died.  Although not completely unexpected—he had been fighting cancer for several years—the news was nonetheless devestating, especially since George was the youngest Beatle. 

To celebrate George’s life and highly successful career, the Grammy Museum is currently presenting a four-month exhibition, called “George Harrision: Living in the Material World.”  It complements the fabulous Martin Scorsese-directed HBO documentary  of the same name that aired earlier this month.  The exhibit features everything from handwritten song lyrics to the jacket George wore during the famous Beatles Shea Stadium appearance in 1965, as well as postcards from the Beatles’ first trip to Germany, guitars of various shapes and colors, photos, and footage of his more notable performances, including the groundbreaking concert for Bangladesh—the first ever rock-n-roll all-star benefit—and a Traveling Wilburys video.

The Museum had mounted a similar exhibit last year, celebrating what would have been John Lennon’s 70th birthday, but somehow “Living in the Material World” is more gratifying, even though John has always been my “favorite” Beatle.  Perhaps it’s because George lived two decades longer than John and so was able to accomplish much more in his short 58 years.  Or maybe it’s because George was so spiritual.  Regardless, it’s a joyous exhibition that anyone interested in the Beatles—and/or George Harrison specifically—should see.

As we were leaving, an out-of-town couple and their young adult son stopped Tim to ask if the Museum was worth visiting.

“Are you a musician?” Tim asked the young man.  He said, yes, he plays guitar.  

“Then you should absolutely go inside,” Tim advised.  “You don’t want to miss this once-in-a-lifetime opportunity.”

With that, we headed home to watch the DVD of George’s concert for Bangladesh. 

Super Bowl Sunday

After hiding from the rain all day Saturday, we fled the house on Sunday as soon as the sun came up. Like everyone else in Culver City, we drove up to the relatively new Baldwin Hills Scenic Overlook to admire the windswept view. (The best thing about rain in L.A. is how clean everything is the day after!) No new snow on the mountains, but the view of the city was spectacular. The Scenic Overlook is quickly becoming one of my favorite destinations.

From there, we drove downtown and used Tim’s pass to park for free in the ESPN lot. We then walked half-a-mile to the subway station at Figueroa and 7th.

“What?! Los Angeles has a subway?” you say.

Why, yes we do. And it’s a pretty darn good one, too, though it doesn’t go very far--only from downtown L.A. to North Hollywood (about 11 miles). Still, it’s new enough to be relatively clean and it’s fast, cheap and on time. It cost us only $5 total to ride to Hollywood and back--far less than the cost of driving there and parking. Plus, most of the subway stops are decorated in art depicting the local neighborhood. Our stop in the heart of Hollywood (Hollywood Blvd. and Vine St.), for instance, was festooned in film cans (the ceiling!) and old movie cameras. The hand-painted wall tiles reflected L.A.’s car culture.

I was hot to see the new W hotel that opened last weekend across the street from the Pantages theater, so we went to the W first. The red-carpeted stairwell and modern fixtures were dramatic; but at almost $300 a night (and that’s with my AAA card!), I doubt we’ll ever stay there. Back outside in the real world, we headed up Vine toward the Capitol Records building, where Beatles drummer Ringo Starr was due to get his star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame the following night. In the distance, we could see the Dept. of Public Works’ plastic barriers standing guard over Ringo’s covered star and, next to them, a man on his knees cleaning the sidewalk. Turns out he’s a volunteer who has “adopted” (i.e. maintains) John Lennon’s star. I, of course, immediately struck up a conversation.

I attended the ceremony when John posthumously got his star in 1988 and was thinking of schlepping back up to Hollywood to see Ringo, so I asked the guy what he knew about the festivities. He was happy to tell me and even offered to peel-back the protective covering over the newest star. But I decided Ringo should see it first and so graciously declined his generous offer.

We then turned our sights to the famous Hollywood farmer’s market, where we bought the usual fruits and vegetables (luckily, I always carry a microfiber bag in my purse for just such occasions!). From there it was a short walk to the subway station. It seemed a shame to be underground on such a gorgeous day, but my feet were happy for the rest. We were back home in time for the Super Bowl kickoff.

By the way, I never did return for Ringo’s ceremony, but I did watch it live on the Internet.