5 Artists We Want the Full Exhibit Treatment For at EMP After Nirvana

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Yesterday the folks over at Experience Music Project announced the museum will be getting a brand spanking new exhibit dedicated to the early days of Nirvana. Titled Nirvana: Taking Punk to the Masses, the exhibit is scheduled to open April 16, 2011 and will run for two years.

Having 200 pieces of Nirvana memorabilia on display under glass for two years will definitely attract tens of thousands of Nirvana fans, which means the folks at EMP will have to work hard to come up with a follow-up exhibit. Here are five artists that would be great for the full exhibit treatment at EMP after Nirvana ends its run in 2013.

5. Prince. The Purple One is begging for the museum treatment. Between his "Slave" days, aborted records, the brilliance of Purple Rain and his famed basketball skills, Prince is an ideal candidate to follow the Nirvana exhibit. The best part? There's already a great oral history of Prince as told by Charlie Murphy that EMP could use for the exhibit.

4. Tupac Shakur and Notorious B.I.G. Hip-hop music has been woefully underrepresented at EMP and that's highly unacceptable since the M in EMP stands for music. Given the posthumous popularity of these two titans of rap and their East Coast vs. West Coast rivalry, a Tupac/Biggie exhibit would not only attract hip-hop heads from around the country there would likely be worldwide interest here.

3. The Ramones. Punk rock is another lightly featured genre of music at EMP and a gallery dedicated to one of the most influential punk groups of all time would easily remedy that situation. Anyone who has seen the excellent documentary End of the Century: The Story of the Ramones knows there's plenty of material for a fantastic exhibit.

2. Van Halen. A Van Halen exhibit seems like it would have it all. They're a group of musical innovators (finger tapping anyone?) that caters to a broad range of rock fans and there's plenty of drama to boot. The only question is would Eddie Van Halen allow both Sammy Hagar and David Lee Roth to be involved? And not to mention Michael Anthony. Also, would the exhibit cover the unfortunate Gary Cherone years? But hey, imagine the promotional possibilities with brown M&Ms.

1. Rush. There are music fans and then there are Rush fans. Seriously, Rush fans are so crazy obsessive it's borderline Kathy Bates in Misery material. Maybe it's a Canadian thing. Despite the overall nerdiness and Dungeons & Dragons crowd the exhibit would attract (which would be perfect for the Sci-Fi Museum) the music is some of the most impressive progressive rock ever recorded and Neil Pert's drum kits are things of beauty meant to be displayed in museums. Plus, a Rush exhibit would be a great way to get our friends from the Great White North to pump some of their colorful Monopoly into our economy.