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A countdown to the December 6 grand opening of the Grammy Museum at LA Live has begun, and its curators have just announced the first exhibition to occupy the halls of the new facility.

Titled Songs of Conscience, Sounds of Freedom, the exhibit will take a look at the link between American music and its effects on political values.

Consider how punk music has become synonymous with anti-establishment ideologies, hip hop and rap dwell on racism and inequality, country music celebrates traditional family life, and folk music rallies for civil rights.

Spanning 200 years of music history, Alan’s Jackson controversial “Where Were You (When the World Stopped Turning)” might be featured next to songs like “Pop Goes the Weasel,” which when adapted to American culture in 1856 (believe it or not) was intended to address social and political issues of the time.

Five special documentary films, over 100 artifacts and 70 rare photographs from government archives and private collections will do the talking.

Some items on display will include:

• Guitars and banjo belonging to Pete Seeger, Woody Guthrie, and Bob Dylan
• 1848 edition of The Anti-Slavery Harp, an abolitionist songbook
• Grandmaster Flash’s turntables
• 1816 edition of “The Star Spangled Banner”
• Handwritten lyrics from Patti Smith, Tom Morello, Tim McGraw, and others
• John Philip Sousa’s conducting baton and gloves
• Labor organizer Joe Hill’s “My Last Will”
• J. Edgar Hoover’s FBI summary of the MC5
• The iPod of a U.S. soldier serving a tour of duty in Iraq

Songs of Conscience, Sounds of Freedom will run for a full year on the museum’s second floor before touring nationally.

The Grammy Museum at LA Live
800 W Olympic Boulevard
Suite A245
Los Angeles, CA, 90015
213-765-6800
grammymuseum.org
Open Daily: 10:00am–6:00pm