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Minnesota - Northern Light

Back in the day, before the world got so small, regional hits sometimes appeared on the pop charts.  One that was big where I grew up never made the national Top 40 - though it did crack the Top 100 - but is fondly remembered by many from Albert Lea to Zumbrota and all points in between: "Minnesota" by Northern Light.

Songs about places appeal to our natural hometown pride.  Shoot, name a city in Texas and odds are I can name a song about it.  Next to love songs, place songs may be the most durable genre.  That's because at heart they are love songs, too, directed not at a who but at a where.

NY - Frank Sinatra.  Georgia - Ray Charles.  Los Angeles - Randy Newman.  San Francisco - Tony Bennett.  Minnesota?  Northern Lights.

After the jump - what the Beach Boys would have sounded like if the beach was Lake Minnetonka instead of Malibu - and answers from Northern Light's David Sandler.

A letter from you know who

A Letter from Anne Marie - Grant Hart

Songs that one loves are generally easy to categorize - those that were huge hits; those that feel like they should have been; and those that will only appeal to a smaller audience for whatever reason.  I usually can sort my favorites into these buckets without a problem.  But once in a while there's a song I could listen to endlessly on a loop and I can't quite grasp if it's something a lot of other people would like if they heard it or if it's just me.

"A Letter from Anne Marie" by Grant Hart is a prime example.  To me, it could be a Phil Spector produced track for David Bowie from the 1970s that became an FM staple.  Or maybe a lost Lennon track from the White Album.  But that's not to say that it's a facsimile of other artists - it's a total original by Hart that he sings with real passion.  It strikes home to me.  Everyone can relate to waiting in vain for a letter that never comes - even though now, only 13 years after the song was released, a personal letter arriving via US Mail is a rare thing.

Below the jump: the music and some thoughts from Grant, who graciously responded to my queries with humor and great candor, as you will see.