I’m teaching a Minnesota authors class for the first time this year, and I want to make sure it’s hip and current and that it’s Duluthy. So I’m asking for help.

I want to do a brief (two-week) unit on song lyrics. I’m looking for Minnesota’s best song lyricists and their best lyrics.

Here is the partial start I got on Facebook of artists.

• Bob Dylan (because Ed Newman would kill me if I left him out)
• Dan Wilson of Semisonic
• Bob Mould and Grant Hart of Hüsker Dü.
• Lizzo (although she might be considered “lived in Minnesota” rather than “Minnesotan”
• Dessa (this is easy, as she has published a book of poems with Rain Taxi)
• “The Swingin’ Swede” Jimmy Jenson
• Paul Westerberg and the Replacements
• Kid Dakota, “Ten Thousand Lakes”
• Craig Finn of Lifter Puller and the Hold Steady
• Brother Ali
• Slug of Atmosphere
• Martin Zellar of the Gear Daddies
• Charlie Parr
• Dillinger Four
• Gary Louris and Marc Perlman from The Jayhawks
• Dave Pirner from Soul Asylum
• Curtiss A.
• Emily Gaarder of the Rhizomes
• Laura Sellner of Superior Siren
• Mary Bue
• Jason Wussow

My questions for the PDD audience are:

1.  Are there any song lyricists I missed? (I can’t add some of my fave musicians, like Tim Kaiser, because the man does not sing. As I look at this now, I remember how much I loved February in the 1990s. I know we are missing some.
2. Harder: for this list and for any other musicians not on the list, I need one song. One song that I can give to students to crystalize their genius. What would you recommend?