Spencer White

“The good people at Racket have deemed themselves arbiters of rock ’n’ roll territoriality, at least when it comes to Minnesota acts. They would have you believe that the Hold Steady are not a Minnesota band because, although the group features several North Star Staters, they formed in New York City. The case of Marcy Playground is a bit trickier. While it’s true the band also formed in NYC and they’ve also boast multiple Minneapolitans (frontman John Wozniak and bassist Dylan Keefe), Marcy Playground were named after the Minneapolis school Wozniak once attended—that’s screamingly local! I urge my sometimes-benevolent sometimes-bosses: Broaden your definitional framework to include the Minnesota dudes behind “Sex and Candy.” (Editor’s note: Sure, why not? Marcy Playground are local now.)”