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Research Guides

The Rocket exhibit: Sounds of the Rocket

A guide to the UW Libraries exhibit commemorating The Rocket

Sounds of the Rocket Playlist

This playlist, available at the above YouTube link, is adapted from The Rocket’s “Top 300 Northwest Records of All Time,” included in the 300th issue of The Rocket on April 21, 1999. Published just over a year before the paper’s end, this list is a sampling of the music that defined The Rocket and the Northwest overall. The list itself was created from contributions from 51 Northwest music critics, pared down from 1,000 records to the 300 most revered that, as editor Charles R. Cross puts it, “deserve their place in history.” 

To create this playlist, we selected songs from The Rocket’s list, often through some extrapolation. When list entries identified entire albums–which was certainly the majority–we included the top song or songs from said album, rather than the entire thing. We excluded entries in this list that were released before The Rocket was in print, such as music from Jimi Hendrix or Rockin’ Robin Roberts and the Wailers, or music from compilation albums of various artists, such as Sub Pop 200. For the sake of brevity, we have not included songs representative of the entire list, but encourage listeners to explore the full list through the digital archive.
 

Track List:

  1. “Smells Like Teen Spirit” - Nirvana, Nevermind
  2. “Blew” - Nirvana, Bleach
  3. “About a Girl” - Nirvana, Bleach
  4. “Touch Me, I’m Sick” - Mudhoney
  5. “Jeremy” - Pearl Jam, Ten
  6. “Spoonman” - Soundgarden, Superunknown
  7. “Black Hole Sun” - Soundgarden, Superunknown
  8. “Alien Boy” - The Wipers, Is This Real?
  9. “Car” - Built to Spill, There’s Nothing Wrong with Love
  10. “Distopian Dream Girl” - Built to Spill, There’s Nothing Wrong with Love
  11. “Dig Me Out” - Sleater-Kinney, Dig Me Out
  12. “Heart-Shaped Box” - Nirvana, In Utero
  13. “Where Did You Sleep Last Night” - Mike Lanegan, The Winding Sheet
  14. “Speed Trials” - Elliot Smith, Either/Or
  15. “Ballad of Big Nothing” - Elliot Smith, Either/Or
  16. “In the Winter” - The Fastbacks, …And His Orchestra
  17. “Power Mowers Theme” - Young Fresh Fellows, The Fabulous Sounds of the Pacific Northwest
  18. “Rock and Roll Pest Control” - Young Fresh Fellows, The Fabulous Sounds of the Pacific Northwest
  19. “Hunted Down” - Soundgarden, Screaming Life
  20. “Nearly Lost You - The Screaming Trees, Sweet Oblivion
  21. “Lump” - Presidents of the United States of America, Presidents of the United States of America
  22. “I May Hate You Sometimes” - The Posies, Failure
  23. “Smoking Gun” - Robert Cray, Strong Persuader
  24. “Posse on Broadway” - Sir Mix-A-Lot, SWASS
  25. “Need” - Mudhoney, Superfuzz Bigmuff
  26. “This Town” - Green River, Dry as a Bone
  27. “Daughter” - Pearl Jam, Vs.
  28. “Gila” - The U-Men, The U-Men
  29. “Double Dare Ya” - Bikini Kill, Bikini Kill
  30. “Boris” - The Melvins, Bullhead