Clients sometimes commission architects hoping for an instant icon. That was certainly the case when, hot on the heels of the Bilbao Guggenheim, Frank Gehry was hired by the Microsoft billionaire Paul Allen to design the Experience Music Project in Seattle. But there is no such thing as an architectural Midas touch. The EMP is confused and confusing, a mishmash of forms, materials, and colors that tries too hard to be a literal representation of rock 'n' roll and falls flat. The architectural concept feels as forced as the whole idea of a museum dedicated to the history of popular music.