Curators:
The Newseum and The Rock & Roll Hall of Fame
Floor:
Level 0

Louder Than Words
Rock, Power & Politics

Louder Than Words: Rock, Power & Politics looks at some of the most important debates in our country through the lens of rock music.

About the Exhibit

The exhibit includes exclusive video interviews with people such as Bono and Jimmy Carter, and combines them with interactives, photography and artifacts to examine how music has both shaped and reflected our culture norms on eight political topics: Civil Rights, LGBT Issues, Feminism, War & Peace, Censorship, Political Campaigns, Political Causes and International Politics. The exhibit is organized by presidential administrations – from Eisenhower through Trump – and uses historical context to shed insight into how we view these issues today. Examples of artifacts included in the exhibit are:

  • Grace Slick’s vest from Jefferson Airplane’s performance at the Woodstock Music and Arts Fair in 1969
  • 1966 Fender Telecaster Electric Guitar belonging to Joe Strummer of The Clash
  • Correspondence between the FBI and Priority Records regarding Public Enemy’s “Fight the Power”
  • Original handwritten lyrics from Bob Dylan’s “The Times They Are a- Changin’,” Chuck Berry’s “School Day,” Neil Young’s “Ohio,” Bruce Springsteen’s “Born in the U.S.A” and Green Day’s “American Idiot”
  • Original Village People stage costumes
  • Artifacts related to the Vietnam war, the May 4, 1970 shooting at Kent State, the fall of the Berlin Wall, and the #BlackLivesMatter
  • Andre Soriano custom "Make America Great Again!" gown worn by singer Joy Villa at the 59th Annual GRAMMY Awards

Curators from the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame and the Newseum worked with veteran music journalist, author and television producer Bill Flanagan (VH1 Storytellers, CMT Crossroads, CBS News Sunday Morning) to create this unique exhibition.

This exhibit is fully booked.