Tag Archives: The Negro Problem

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Song of the Day #929: ‘Bleed’ – The Negro Problem

Stew’s second album, also released as a Negro Problem record, was 1999’s Joys and Concerns. While Post Minstrel Syndrome was a grab bag of the songs the band had played over several years leading to its release, Joys and Concerns is a more cohesive album.

With a nod to the days of vinyl, the album is broken into sides, with the first six songs labeled “Joys” and the last six “Concerns.” I don’t see a real thematic difference in the songs on each half of the record, however. In fact, one of the “Concerns” songs is just a faster-paced version of the “Joys” song ‘Comikbuchland’ (which I featured on the blog two and a half years ago).

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Song of the Day #928: ‘Heidegger in Harlem’ – The Negro Problem

It’s been nearly two months since I’ve done an artist-based theme week. The first of 2011 belongs to Stew, a little-known singer-songwriter whose chops put him up there with just about anybody.

Stew (the stage name of Mark Stewart) has released six full-length CDs, sometimes under the name Stew and sometimes with his band, The Negro Problem. However, the members of The Negro Problem also play on his solo records, so the distinction is really more about the kind of music he’s releasing than the performers in the lineup.

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Song of the Day #474: ‘Ken’ – The Negro Problem

stew_color_front_shotStew — the creative mind behind The Negro Problem, three solo albums and the Broadway musical Passing Strange (soon to be released in film version by Spike Lee) — is a fine example of somebody who practices songwriting as both an art and a craft.

I compare him to Ben Folds in that sense. These are people for whom lyrics and melodies are as natural a language as their mother tongue. They are capable of crafting a tune that plumbs the deepest emotions but also spinning off a catchy number on the fly about a roadie they saw trip backstage.

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Song of the Day #53: ‘Comikbuchland’ – The Negro Problem

In a just world, Stew would be a superstar.

But in the world we live in, he’s barely on the map. He doesn’t even have the sort of fame Elvis Costello enjoys, where he’s never in danger of selling a million records but he shows up on TV and his albums are easy to find on Best Buy’s shelves. I’ve had to buy all Stew’s albums online, and his Negro Problem CDs aren’t even in print anymore. Very discouraging.

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