Minneapolis

The bone-chilling temperatures that are part of life in Minneapolis/St. Paul must be nature’s way of keeping the place from melting, considering all the heat generated by the Twin Cities’ multitude of musical heroes. Of course, the first Minneapolis music man most folks think of is Prince, but the purple-clad genius behind the sleek synth-funk of “1999” came up in a scene where the Time’s suave-but-sexy call of the wild on “Jungle Love” commanded plenty of attention too. Alt rock as we know it simply wouldn’t exist without the raw rebellion of the Replacements’ “I Will Dare” or Hüsker Dü’s “Don’t Want to Know If You Are Lonely.” And Minnesota boy Bob Dylan may have moved to New York before conquering the world, but he came back to Minneapolis to cut his classic romantic-triangle tale “Tangled Up In Blue.”

Follow the family tree of the Minneapolis music scene, in Next Steps.

Taking a closer look at the Minneapolis scene, it’s easy to see a continuum of coolness, as the roots and branches of the town’s musical family tree stretch out further and further. For instance, quirky ’80s college-rock cult heroes Trip Shakespeare (“Toolmaster of Brainerd”) evolved into ’90s alt-pop stars Semisonic (“Secret Smile”), while roots-rock supergroup Golden Smog (“Won’t Be Coming Home”) has held members of Soul Asylum, the Replacements, and alt-country kings the Jayhawks (“Two Angels”). And fans of the Time followed the band’s guitar man Jesse Johnson as he flexed his own funk muscles on his solo single “Be Your Man.”

Discover the secret heroes of Minneapolis music, from psychedelic warriors to fleet-fingered bluesmen, in Deep Cuts.

For every platinum-plated artist to emerge from the Minneapolis scene, there are so many others worthy of attention we’ve barely got space to scratch the surface. The Michael Yonkers Band crafted cracked, psychedelic, underground masterpieces like “Boy in the Sandbox” in the late ’60s, but they weren’t heard by the wider world until their 21st-century reissue. Folk/blues fingerpicker Spider John Koerner has been a cult hero and local semi-secret since even earlier than Yonkers, and he makes even the coffeehouse staple “Froggie Went-A-Courtin’” sound like a standard from another planet. And up-and-comer Aby Wolf shows that the Twin Cities have a bright future in store, as she weaves her bewitching whisper around the entrancing acoustic ballad “Thanks 4 Listening.”

Few cities have enjoyed as vibrant a self-made music scene as Minneapolis and its sister city, St. Paul. While Prince and Soul Asylum put the Twin Cities on the map, lesser-known (but no less talented) acts like Jonny Lang, the Honeydogs, Babes in Toyland, and the Rembrandts solidified its exalted status as a premier music town. Today, forward-thinking acts like Har Mar Superstar and Motion City Soundtrack are keeping the chilly Minneapolis scene piping hot.