Passing Strange the Stew Musical

For those of you that don't know, I'm a big fan of singer / songwriter Stew. In the past he's had success in the independent music world and in the NY, SF and LA music scenes. He's fronted a band, who's abbreviation we'll call TNP (look it up). His songs tell comic and poignant stories about junkies and other NY/LA art world types, just trying to make it and/or fake it.

In 2007, Stew had a musical produced off Broadway, where he performs on stage with other cast and band members. He went on that year to win the Tony Award for best book for a musical. Recently, I picked up this soundtrack and I've been loving it. It tells the story of Stew's life growing up in South Los Angeles, then moving to Amsterdam, which to quote one of the numbers "...makes Berkeley (CA) look like the bible belt!" After, Amsterdam, Stew moves on to Berlin "...a black hole with taxis", during that city's political and artistic tumultuous period. I'm really stoked, because Spike Lee filmed a performance of the musical, that debuted at The Sundance Film Festival and soon will be aired on PBS, probably becoming a DVD, so I at last will get to see it. This show has been touted as "the musical for guys that hate musicals." You gotta love a musical CD with a parental advisory sticker for explicit content on the cover. Check it.