curiously strong mint

it may be a few days before i recover from what i witnessed this weekend. i saw the band mint condition perform in raleigh, north carolina where they covered a century of american musical history in a two-hour set. i screamed (thanks for screaming with me, lois!), headbanged, laughed, fought a lump in my throat and swooned all in one night.

most of the band is from minnesota's twin cities, except for bass player ricky kinchen who's from chicago and houston native, drummer chris dave who tours with them. they are doing a fine job of continuing the legacy their minnesotan predecessors began.

they may speak the contrary, but they really seem to be peerless. there are very few bands with a 20-year history that have a voracious work ethic, are still making relevant albums and touring on a regular basis. these guys are, and they're still a well-kept secret.

their flagship song, "breakin' my heart (pretty brown eyes)" was a tremendous commercial hit in 1991. other hit ballads followed: "you send me swingin'" (1993), "what kind of man would i be" (1996) and "if you love me" (1999). but this is a compact band that makes complete albums, not just one hit and a bunch of filler.

people are doing themselves a huge disservice if they only stop at the hits. mint condition satisfies every musical appetite, from straight-ahead rock ("sometimes," "fallin' apart"), funk and jazz to elements of gospel, classical, caribbean, hip-hop, latin, afrobeat and blues. sometimes you get a surprise treat like the two hidden tracks at the end of 1999's, life's aquarium, or they'll throw in some steel pan, reminding you that this instrument exists! other times, you'll get several elements in one song ("the tempest").

they do a thorough job of using their instruments to explain why they do what they do. it feels like a church service--you watch them simultaneously worship, praise and perform. at the raleigh show, they paid tribute to their hometown heroes (guitarist, o'dell teased the crowd with riffs from "d.m.s.r." and "777-9311") and james brown (they did a funked up rock romp version of "soul power"). there was also an exhaustive drum duet between lead singer stokley and chris dave and a jazz segment featuring their keyboardist lawrence waddell and keyboardist/saxaphonist jeffrey allen. when it was all over, i stood there, deranged and inspired.

gwen & fergie: fraternal twins

when fergie’s album, the dutchess, was released, i had conversations with people who would say “there’s no way that london bridge song would’ve been popular if gwen stefani had a new project out.” many argue that gwen is the more original of the two. well, not really. gwen’s just a little better at hiding the source of her inspiration.

both women started out with groups or bands. gwen had several hits with no doubt. fergie, however, didn’t have worldwide success during her curvier-bodied, blonder days as stacy ferguson with her first group, wild orchid. two other girls were in the group with her, but all three were pretty forgettable. the hot-girl-in-the-band formula definitely worked in her favor after she joined the black eyed peas. she became the pop centerpiece for a hip-hop group that started off as a trio who specialized in quirky, original lyrics and b-boy madness.

black eyed peas’ will.i.am probably reached an agreement with fergie: you help us go pop, i help you go solo. that was not the case for gwen. she had apprehension about her solo aspirations, which is clearly spelled out in “what you waiting for?” from her love.angel.music.baby debut.

their beginnings may be vastly different, but their current singles borrow heavily from ‘80s girl rap groups. "fergalicious" is really just an updated and less interesting version of jj fad’s "supersonic." the same can be said for gwen’s "wind it up" and l’trimm’s "cars that go boom" she even uses part of that lyric. everyone’s so preoccupied with her “sound of music” vibe for the video and song, they’re missing the real sample.

for gwen, the borrowing is a continuation of all the 80’s lusciousness on love.angel.music.baby. for fergie, it’s a safe way for her to experiment with rapping in a way that doesn’t imply she’s trying to infringe on a genre in which her vocal origins are not rooted. “fergalicious” is quite a nasty song, actually, most of which is about how her image gives guys erections. but that raunchy braggadocio is camouflaged under the same sing-songyness jj fad used to talk about nosey people.

gwen’s done similar borrowing before. the call-and-response feel of “hollaback girl” reminds me of “double dutch bus.” is it any coincidence that megawatt producer, pharrell williams is behind both “hollaback girl” and “wind it up?” he and will.i.am do a good job of bringing pop sensibilities to the songs they write for women. they’ve definitely done their research on women’s contributions to 80’s pop music. proof positive: pharrell knows every word to mc lyte’s “paper thin.” he was singing along with her from the audience during a hip-hop tribute at the 2004 bet awards.