Review: “Curse,” by Stew & the Negro Problem

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TRACK 4

“Curse”

From Stew & the Negro Problem’s Making It

Liner notes: “You don’t need a new girlfriend/What you need is a nurse,” sings Mark Stewart (a.k.a. Stew) on this ballad about romantic disaster, which mirrors his breakup with longtime girlfriend and bandmate Heidi Rodewald.

Behind the music: The Los Angeles-bred Stewart launched the Negro Problem in the early ’90s and garnered mainstream attention with the stage production Passing Strange, which won a 2008 Tony Award and was adapted for film by Spike Lee. Stew and Rodewald’s next play is scheduled to debut in New York City in early 2012.

Check it out if you like: Rockers with a theatrical streak, like David Bowie, Peter Gabriel, and Green Day’s Billie Joe Armstrong.