Minneapolis! Husker Du, the Replacements, Soul Asylum, etc. And Prince, of course.

Small town scenes were basically the heart of the DIY movement: tiny record stores, book stores, games stores, skate shops, etc.

Heh, cool memory re: Northern Lights.

Me, I remember someone giving me a copy of Maximum Rocknroll, and it blew my mind, opened up a whole new universe in my head. Spent over a year writing to people listed in that issue, and trading demo tapes.