In 2002, following two straight releases under his own name, Stew put out his third Negro Problem album, titled Welcome Black. Like Joys and Concerns, Welcome Black is an avant garde mashup of pop, R&B and funk, filtered through Stew’s cerebral worldview.
The album’s closing song (not including hidden tracks) is a great example of Stew’s talent for absurdist comic tales (the title song of The Naked Dutch Painter is another). In ‘Bermuda Love Triangle (The Waterbed),’ a woman answers a personal ad from a couple seeking a threesome and gets to the hotel to discover her ex-boyfriend and best friend. Don’t you hate it when that happens?
‘Lime Green Sweater’ is a favorite of mine, and showcases another aspect of Stew’s songwriting acumen. It’s a swinging doo-wop look at the double lives of a few recreational drug users, including a teacher and a librarian.
All up in the club till the new morning light
How does she keep her job at the library?
There must be something at the luncheon
Keeping fruit on her tree
But something’s got to go from bad
To better yeah
(do do do do do do do do do do)
She says “Maybe we can burn some rope together yeah”
(do do do do do do do do do do)
(do do do do do do do do do do)
Mr. Wayne’s a teacher at the magnet you see
He keeps the kids awake with his oratory
He’s like a rock star strumming electric chalk
But when a period’s free
Sometimes he goes for a walk
To see Mrs. X ’cause she makes him feel better yeah
(do do do do do do do do do do)
She says “Maybe if we burn this rope together yeah”
(do do do do do do do do do do)
(do do do do do do do do do do)
I looked out my window
Lord and there was Mr. Wayne
Just climbing like King Kong and feeling no rain
Said I am raising the rent
But I’ll give you a hint
My voice is like a dent on
68 Barracuda
Silent
Miss Elder fits neatly into this final verse
Because she’s always got something wicked inside her purse
It’s such a mystery grab bag
From Beirut to Baghdad
That Miami afghan
In Humboldt she wore a kaftan
But now she’s partial to lime green sweaters yeah
(do do do do do do do do do do)
C’mon baby if we burned this rope together yeah
(do do do do do do do do do do)
Oh she pulled something out of her lime green sweater yeah
(do do do do do do do do do do)
Oh and said “Maybe if we burned this rope together yeah”
(do do do do do do do do do do)
Meet Me In Montauk 
nice enough tune, but I think you may have lost 75% of your audience with the Stew week. Better do another Glee theme week stat!
Fairweather fans… who needs ’em?
Hate to be called a fairweather fan–but wow, I do love this beat and sound, now I need to go back and review the past week 🙂
I laughed out loud at Dana’s comment, but I promise my absence was not due to this theme week. Rather, my schedule has been off this week, so I haven’t visited the blog during my typical times. I’ll try to get back into the swing of things (not that another Glee theme week would hurt!)
Kewl. It’s kinda like the ‘Pina Colada’ song all over again. Well kinda…