Jukeboxing Herkimer

Where they haven’t been replaced by charmless, trend-crunching tune-bots, jukeboxes say a lot about a place—nay, enhance the place. In Jukeboxing, Decider spends some quarters and punches some buttons at Twin Cities bars and venues. This edition takes a look at the jukebox at the Herkimer Pub & Brewery.

The box: A Rowe AMi, a modern-looking box except for the four dramatic lightning bolts, which give it an ‘80s feel. Inside is a crowd-pleasing selection, from Tom Petty & The Heartbreakers and Interpol to Murs and Louis Armstrong.

Price: $1 for 3 songs, $2 for 7 songs, $5 for 18 songs.

Drinkin’ songs: If you need to erase the memory of a broken heart, try Ryan Adams’ Heartbreaker in its entirety. By the time eleventh track “Why Do They Leave?” comes on, you won’t remember how many of the bar’s signature mini-burgers you’ve consumed. If you need more of a rousing sing-along, try something from The Hold Steady, or the Stones’ Exile On Main Street. Or persuade the clientele to join a group dance number set to Feist’s “1-2-3-4”.

Nerd jams: There isn’t much obscure music on this jukebox, which is part of its appeal. But tipsy snobs can show off their knowledge about Clinic, whose debut Internal Wrangler is here. Producer snobs can revel in Mark Ronson’s Version. Hip-hop snobs can revel in the rap summit Black Star, featuring Mos Def and Talib Kweli. If nothing else, there’s always the endless bar debate about whether Steely Dan sucks: Start with Aja.

Mixes: Nothing homemade here, but plenty of compilations: Neil Diamond’s Classics, The Essential Clash, the 2007 Radio K sampler, and a Marc Bolan & T. Rex best-of.

Locals: This is where the jukebox really excels. The box has enough local hip-hop (Atmosphere, Brother Ali, Doomtree), rock (The Hold Steady, The Replacements, Tapes N' Tapes, Soul Asylum) and everything in between (Dosh’s Wolves And Wishes) to host your own Twin Cities party. Besides, you can’t hear Craig Finn sing “gonna walk around and drink some more” too many times.

For closing time: Nothing clears the joint like drunkenly crooning “Girl, you’ll be a woman soon” to a group of regulars. If that doesn’t work, try Louis Armstrong’s “What A Wonderful World” on repeat.

Witnesses: There aren’t too many songs that bartender Tina Thayer hears too much. “I hear the Ting-Tings a lot,” she shrugs, and adds that she only slightly minds hearing the Talking Heads’ “Once In A Lifetime” a few times a day. “When I first started here, ‘Stronger’ by Kanye West got played a lot,” says server Chris Carlson. Now, he says, MGMT’s “Time To Pretend” is the track to beat.