Jukeboxing Mickey's Tavern

Where they haven't been replaced by charmless, trend-crunching tune-bots, jukeboxes can say a lot about a place, not to mention make it more fun. In Jukeboxing, Decider spends some quarters and punches some buttons at Madison bars and venues. This edition takes a look at Mickey's Tavern.

The box: Mickey’s may not be the ritziest joint in town, but the jukebox is an “Emerald Ice,” its front glittering with images of incandescent jewels. Be patient, however: a handwritten sign insists on no juking until 10 p.m.
Price: Three for $1, 20 for $5.
Drinkin’ songs: Records don’t come much boozier than The Pogues’ Rum Sodomy & The Lash, laced with enough stompers and tearjerkers to fit benders of all shapes and sizes. If Shane MacGowan’s  growl is too sentimental for your tastes, go for the addled fire and brimstone of Nick Cave’s two principal acts, The Birthday Party and the Bad Seeds, each of which gets a greatest-hits comp.
Nerd jams: Music snobs could easily spend more money at this jukebox than at the bar, so hit up that ATM. Show you’ve graduated from the Punk 101 of the Ramones and The Clash (though they’re here too) by cherrypicking tracks from yelp-rock pioneers Pere Ubu’s early singles and a career-spanning Fall compilation. But a true nerd is only happiest when he’s nitpicking, so furrow that brow and alienate everyone within earshot by demanding to know why Brian Eno’s superior Taking Tiger Mountain is filed under the album art for his preceding Here Come The Warm Jets.
Mixes: More than anything, this box brims with esoteric mixes, including one curated by Madcity Music Exchange owner Dave Zero. You know you’re somewhere special when even the “Janitor’s Mix” has Scott Walker and Bobby Conn, and the obligatory '80s comp features Liliput and Fugazi.
Locals: Kiss the ring of newly reunited local heroes Killdozer by spinning the indelible us-not-so-against-them anthem “The Pig Was Cool.” Then move on to contemporary Madison acts like The God Damns, The United Sons Of Toil, and The Arge.
For bar time: Going home alone? Take out your frustrations on the other patrons with the disorienting screech of Scratch Acid, a perfect sonic match for the bleary effects of last-call inebriation. On the other hand, if you’re about to hook up with a total stranger, broach an uncomfortable topic by pressing play on Ween’s cheery “The HIV Song.”