Feeling Minnesota: 5 Songs for Minneapolis
This week's songs are from Prince, the Replacements, Dessa, Cadillac Blindside, and Leo Kottke
RIP Sly Dunbar
The Jamaican drummer Sly Dunbar passed away yesterday at 73. He worked with everyone from Bob Dylan and Jackson Browne to Herbie Hancock and Grace Jones. In between he played on countless reggae tracks (Jimmy Cliff, Peter Tosh, Bob Marley). Here he is holding down a tremendous groove on Junior Mervin’s “Police & Thieves,” which the Clash famously covered.
I had something more lighthearted planned for this week, but am pulling an audible. With federal agents executing protesters in Minneapolis, the government lying to our faces about it and trying to assassinate the character of these innocent people, I’m struggling with many of the same feelings I imagine many of you are. It’s horrifying to see it, to see the inhumane responses from so-called leaders, to think about where this could end up, and so on. I feel powerless to do anything about it. There are things to be done that can make a difference and we should still do them. But the sense of helplessness has and will persist.
With Minneapolis on my mind, I see one (inconsequential, but symbolic) way to show support for all of the people out there looking out for their neighbors, and that is to celebrate the work by a few of the many, many great musicians Minneapolis has given us—some superstars, some not.
Instead of running out an exhaustive list, I’ll direct you to the Minnesotans featured on the legendary venue First Avenue’s wall of stars. A few notable I’ve skipped over here I have plans to feature in upcoming entries.
Finally, I was watching Tomorrowland with my kids over the weekend, and a parable shared between two characters caught my attention:
There are two wolves and they are always fighting. One is darkness and despair. The other is light and hope. Which wolf wins?
Whichever one you feed.
Here are 5 songs from Minneapolis musicians, to feed the right wolf.
“I will always live in Minneapolis…[because] it’s so cold, it keeps the bad people out.” - Prince
Prince - “The Everlasting Now”
Prince Rogers Nelson, the Purple One. Minneapolis through and through. The above quote can be aspirationally relevant to the present and a comment about just how cold it gets. But first and foremost, it should be viewed as an incredible compliment to the quality of the people that are there.
“Share the truth, preach the good news
Don't let nobody bring u down”
“The Everlasting Now” references Sly Stone, being a Jehovah’s Witness, race in America, and a stripper not giving up on her dreams, but maintains a pure party atmosphere—a full spectrum of Prince right there. It mixes in crowd noise to sound like a live recording, but that’s a little energy boost to liven up the funky jam. Question for the group: does anyone do a false stop better than Prince?
“Minneapolis audiences are mighty reserved, and learning to command an audience in a place where people are notorious for being quiet will either make you a wallflower, quiet artist, or it will make you really boisterous, aggressive or flamboyant, which is what it did for [Prince and us].” - Paul Westerberg
The Replacements - “Sixteen Blue”
If you haven’t read Bob Mehr’s Trouble Boys you absolutely should. It honors the legend of an incredible band—the brilliant live shows, self-sabotages, drunken debauchery, the many ‘fuck yous’ to people trying to get them to do something they didn’t want to do—as well as the human side—their hard-scrabble, sad upbringings, untreated mental illness, substance abuse, and (again) the self-sabotages.
I learned of the Replacements from—what else?—Can’t Hardly Wait, the 1998 teen movie with a surprisingly eclectic soundtrack. Busta Rhymes, Parliament, Third Eye Blind, the Replacements, Barry Manilow, White Zombie, James Gang—it’s all over the map. I would put “Can’t Hardly Wait” in my Top 20 songs ever. It’s romantic and fun and sad and anthemic, a perfect driving song; like I said about “Bonzo Goes to Bitburg,” you can put it on in any mood and it makes you feel better. And goddammit those horns are perfect, too. So I went out and bought the only Replacements album I could find: Sorry Ma, I Forgot To Take Out The Trash. It’s a rougher, gruffer blast of energy. 18 songs in 36 minutes. I had a lot to learn. The real treasure of the Replacements’ career is in between those to endpoints Sorry Ma…and “Can’t Hardly Wait.” It’s nearly impossible to decide which song to pick for this, and I want to set aside their biggest ones. So I’m going with “Sixteen Blue” because its just enough of a deep cut to remind casual fans of just how polished, mature, and lyrical these blue collar, fuck up kids could be—Bob Stinson, the oldest member, was 25 when it was recorded; his brother Tommy was 17! It’s a beautiful, deeply felt song about the confusing teenage years, and my god, what a great exit solo…
“Minneapolis has provided me with a great foundation—they really care about the arts here. For example, people generally vote yes during local elections to devote some tax money to supporting the arts. When people go out on dates or out with friends, they usually see a local band. That isn’t the case in every city, but in Minneapolis it’s baked into the culture.” - Dessa
Dessa - “Kites”
Dessa is something of a multi-hyphenate. She raps and sings, fusing multiple genres into something uniquely her. She’s been a member of Doomtree and Gayngs and fostered a substantial solo career. “Kites”, from 2011’s Castor, the Twin, leverages an atmospheric guitar line to showcase the dynamism in her voice—fluid, jazzy, and comfortable shrinking and expanding syllables to play with meter and melody.
Cadillac Blindside - “Read Em and Weep”
One of the first club shows I went to was to see Less Than Jake at the Vic as a 15 year old. We got there super early, so were right up front and closer to a stage than I’d ever been. The opening act came out—three wiry guys in beat up clothes (you could’ve mistaken them for janitors) and a woman behind the drums, hair in her face. They played with an intensity and energy I had not witnessed before. I was absolutely knocked out. While it wasn’t anything too crazy, it was new to me and absolutely shifted my expectations for what I wanted out of live music—immediacy, energy, and passion; being right in front of the band. I would see them at least 2 more times at the Fireside Bowl and brought a video camera to record one of the shows. Yeah, I was that kid —but it was pretty common at punk shows back then. They broke up soon after releasing their second album. If I recall correctly, lead singer Zachary Zrust had an epiphany after a horrifying experience on an airplane and gave up on music. Looking them up now, I was a bit surprised, but not shocked, to see they’ve reunited for a few dates.
Their music leans towards the emo end of the spectrum, but it’s got a post punk edge to it…but it’s all big and loud guitars. What stands out to me still is how well the band works as a unit, never sticks with a single tempo; how melodic the drumming is, and how all of the parts fit together on a big splashy canvas. Their second full length These Liquid Lungs polishes up the formula a little bit but has a few solid tracks on it, but unfortunately their debut Read the Book, Seen the Movie isn’t on Apple Music. Here is “Read Em and Weep” off of the EP The Allegory of Death and Fame.
“There’s a great song by Cheryl Wheeler called ‘Take Away the Guns.’ Amen to that.” - Leo Kottke
Leo Kottke - “Little Martha” (Allman Brothers Cover)
I can’t recall what song it was, but I do recall having a Leo Kottke song on a mix CD someone made for me a long time ago. While not born in Minnesota, Kottke has lived there for 50-plus years. It’s not music I typically seek out, but when the mood hits and there’s a need for something a little meditative, I would opt for acoustic instruments over the synth-y electronic music that typically passes for soothing music. John Fahey, Yasmin Williams, William Tyler, and even Bill Frisell. Here Kottke is playing a version of the Allman Brothers’ “Little Martha.” According to songwriter Duane Allman, he first heard the song in a dream where Jimi Hendrix appeared, showing him the melody using a bathroom faucet. The credits list a cello and synthesizer on Kottke’s version, but it sounds like chimes or woodwinds, which add a nice color to the guitar.
Thanks for reading. Enjoy listening.
Full playlists of songs featured in 5 Songs: