2. Pearl Jam vs. Ticketmaster (1994)Pearl Jam takes Ticketmaster to the Department of Justice in protest of what the band feels are unfair business practices. The band decides against stadiums for its spring tour in favor of small arenas and college campuses.
3. Nirvana's surprise show at the Crocodile (1992)While opening for Mudhoney, Nirvana's Kurt Cobain tells the crowd, "We just wanted to know what it felt like to be an alternative band in a nightclub again."
4. Erotic Music Bill (1992)March 20, 1992: Washington Governor Booth Gardner signs a bill making Washington the first state with a music censorship law. Washington State House Bill 2554 says record-store owners can be arrested for selling "offensive" records. Members of Soundgarden, Nirvana, and Pearl Jam fight to get the bill thrown out. Eventually it is.
5. Sub Pop party (1997)The flashy but floundering local label goes all out (again) by setting up a celebration showcasing its more popular acts such as Afghan Whigs, Murder City Devils, and Sebadoh. A disgruntled Lou Barlow gets roaring drunk and plays a brilliantly shambling set with Sebadoh, much to the embarrassment of the label's management.
6. Modest Mouse releases Lonesome Crowded West (1997)The Issaquah trio releases its second full-length for Up Records. A rambling collection of gorgeous songs about loneliness and alienation, the album showcases singer and lyricist Isaac Brock's quirky brilliance and paves the way for a broader audience when the band signs to Epic in 1999. 2001 sees Modest Mouse sell out the Paramount Theatre.
7. R.E.M. plays surprise show at the Crocodile (2001) Following the group's previous night's show at KeyArena, R.E.M. plays a stellar set that revives its reputation as one of the greatest bands spawned out of the alternative music genre. When he isn't serving as the band's cocktail gofer, Eddie Vedder joins Stipe and Co. for a couple of songs.
8. The "Flagpole Sitta" phenomenon (1998)In a year when Limp Bizkit is actually paying radio stations to play its songs, Harvey Danger's single "Flagpole Sitta" (released on London records) goes gold, reaching #1 on modern-rock radio charts. The band appears on David Letterman, MTV's Beach House, Almost Live, and Craig Kilborn. The single is featured in such films as Disturbing Behavior, American Pie, and EDtv , and in a bunch of TV shows, including Friends, Dawson's Creek, and NYPD Blue. (Harvey Danger says no to The Man Show, which wants the single as its theme song.) "Flagpole Sitta" is also on the very first Now That's What I Call Music sampler (U.S. edition), without Harvey Danger's knowledge, and is played at the Super Bowl, between innings at the World Series, and at sports arenas everywhere.
9. "Baby Got Back" mania (1992)On July 4, 1992, booty-appreciation hit "Baby Got Back" by rapper Sir Mix-A-Lot becomes the number one song in America, and holds that position for five unprecedented weeks. Sir Mix-A-Lot is the only Seattelite to achieve that kind of success on the singles charts.
10. David Lee Roth plays Bumbershoot (2001)Though some arty types think the hammy former Van Halen singer to be a blight on Seattle's vaunted annual Labor Day weekend music celebration, David Lee Roth draws tens of thousands of fans to the Seattle Center Arena, where he performs nothing but his former band's famous hits. Simply put: Roth OWNS Bumbershoot 2001.
