The University of Washington ethnomusicology department has acquired revered sound engineer Jim Anderson's live-music recordings sourced from the Crocodile Café (2002-2007), numbering over 3,000 hours of performances from over 2,000 artists, both famous and obscure. There's a good chance that you attended some of these shows, if you were a serious music head in '00s Seattle. And why the hell wouldn't you want to relive those priceless experiences? You only live twice, so seize the night.
Anderson is a meticulous capturer of sonics, so even in digital form, these concertsâdubbed The Crocodile CafĂ© Collectionâshould pop in your headphones. The list of performers is impressive: A Frames, Acid Mothers Temple, Arctic Monkey, Beach House, Bob Mould, Bridget St. John, Built to Spill, Damo Suzuki Network, Earth, Fleet Foxes, Mudhoney, Joanna Newsom, Liz Phair, Love Battery, Low, Oneida, Robyn Hitchcock, Russian Circles, Sebadoh, Shawn Smith, TrĂ€d, GrĂ€s Och Stenar, Wolf Eyes, Wolves in the Throne Room, and others.Â
To access the entire Crocodile Collection, you need to schedule an appointment to visit the University of Washington Ethnomusicology Archives, located on Suzzallo Library's 3rd floor. Right now, only a few examples can be heard online [see SoundCloud embed below], including all of the recordings of Harvey Danger, whose lead singer and lyricist was former Stranger all-star, Sean Nelson.Â
In other Seattle music history news, The Rocket magazine's 333-issue print run from 1979 to 2000 has been digitized and made searchable by keyword. (Go here to freely access it.) Former editor and owner Charles R. Cross helmed the project, with help from John Vallier, curator of UW Ethnomusicology ArchivesâVallier also brokered Jim Anderson's stash. As Cross did not possess every issue of The Rocket, he had to track down missing editions through the collections of about 20 former Rocket employees.Â
In its heyday, The Rocket was the foremost music publication in the Pacific Northwest, peaking with a circulation of 150,000. It became the first outlet to cover grunge stars Nirvana, Mudhoney, Pearl Jam, Soundgarden, and Alice in Chains, as well as devoting substantial space to lesser-known bands who never blew up, but did blow minds. Through its classifieds, The Rocket also served as a crucial node for musicians to form bands. For some local music enthusiasts, perusing these ads will bring as much pleasure as reading the features and reviews proper. They offer snapshots of the era's musicians' mass consciousness and capture the essence of the Seattle scene, like an accidental documentary.
In addition to its music coverage, The Rocket also incubated the early careers of comics legends such as Matt Groening and Lynda Barry, and it gave revered poster/album-cover artist Art Chantry a big break by making him art director.Â
Readers have been lamenting the demise of The Rocket for over two decades. Finally, they can relive their youthâand/or do some serious researchâwith this new archival upload.Â
"For a decade, people have been saying, âI want The Rocket online, letâs get it online,ââ Cross told the Seattle Times late last year. "I felt the paper was always a labor of love for me and for everyone who worked on it. To me, The Rocket was always a resource for the Northwest."