H E A R__I T

"Do It"
The Spice Girls
(768k)

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T A B L E__T A L K

Louis, Dizzy, Miles or Wynton: Who is your favorite? Discuss jazz greats in the Music section of Table Talk.

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R E C E N T L Y

The Beach Boys
The Pet Sounds Sessions
Capitol Records
(11/12/97)

G-Love and Special Sauce
Yeah, It's That Easy
Okeh/Epic
(11/11/97)

Jon Nakamatsu, Gold Medalist
Tenth Van Cliburn International Piano Competition
Harmonia Mundi
(11/10/97)

Various Artists
Great Jewish Music: Serge Gainsbourg
Tzadik
(11/07/97)

Various Artists
Live from 6A
Mercury
Live on Letterman
Reprise
(11/06/97)

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V O W E L L

Sound Salvation
By Sarah Vowell
Stop the violins!
(10/31/97)

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F E A T U R E

The gospel according to Paul
By Mark Hertsgaard
Paul McCartney's authorized biography makes a convincing case that McCartney stood equal with John Lennon
(11/12/97)

"Brand New"
Salt-n-Pepa

See, the Costello brigade is unable to dance -- and it has a deep-seated contempt for the opinions of little girls. Thus, like Madonna and Alanis Morissette before them, the Spice Girls have drawn more than their fair share of ire, despite the fact that criticizing them is a bit like shooting Bambi with an Uzi. Why even bother? It can only be that the Girls -- Emma, Geri, Victoria, Mel B and Mel C -- represent a real threat to certain factions: the threat of the popular girls, all grouped together at the best lunch table, laughing at all the geeks.

The geeks have struck back with slings and arrows, but alas for them, the only grounds they can find are that the Spice Girls are "prefab" -- unlike, you know, Joni Mitchell or Patti Smith. They are an INVENTION -- paradoxically, like the beloved Kiss (or, to take a better example, the Supremes). Thus, they have no creative control, and are therefore anti-feminist, and a bad example to our youth.

But there's an inherent double standard when it comes to this type of criticism, to wit: the barbs leveled at the Girls are true also of highly regarded female black acts like TLC, SWV, En Vogue and Salt-N-Pepa. It's as if what critics consider unacceptable for white women is perfectly OK for black ones, and this hurts on two levels. The implication is that no one expects black women to be capable of creative control, while white women are simultaneously punished for not taking hold of something that they've never been allowed to handle in the first place.

That's why it would be better for all concerned if both types of female group -- black and white -- were judged by the same standards, or better yet, on the basis of their music. If that were the case, then the Spice Girls could be praised for what they are: tuneful, jaunty, high-spirited and pretty -- all the things that little girls admire -- and Salt-N-Pepa could be praised for all that AND for their execution, which is indeed superior to that of the Girls.

The reason that Salt-N-Pepa seem superior, however, is not because they're black and the Girls are (mostly) white, or because they have more creative control, but because they are American rather than European. It's really the Englishness of the Spice Girls that makes them seem insipid to American ears: What they create is well-heeled Europop, a type of music that will always sound empty to many American ears.

On its own terms, however, the group's second record, "Spice World," is an irresistibly infectious G-rated number -- relentlessly upbeat, musically Abba-esque. Songs like "Spice World," "Never Give up on the Good Times" and "Do It" are pure froth; the ballads, "Viva Forever" and "Too Much," are blander but still appealing.

True, Spice stuff is emotionally pretty vapid -- but no more so than the music of Toni Braxton, Whitney Houston or Mariah Carey. Moreover, there's something about the sweet blend of the Spice Girls' voices that approximates a more Beatlesy, bandlike union. That very unity adds a touch of roughage to an otherwise over-produced genre: The band has undeniable personality, which is more than can be said for most studio-created groups.

On first glance, Salt-N-Pepa have a lot in common with the Spice Girls -- they are, in essence, a pretty, sexy, dance troupe whose central tenet is female empowerment. But the band's new album, "Brand New," its fifth, is the opposite of a Spice Girls record in that it is positively mature in its outlook and sonics; it utilizes better samples -- from Rick James (on "Gitty Up") to a hella great re-interpolation of the rhythm track on Gary Wright's otherwise awful song "Love Is Alive" on the title cut -- and sexier voices. (Weirdly, the Spice Girls give co-writing credits on one song, "Move Over," to Faces Ron Wood and Ron Lane, but I've been unable to figure out the sample.)

"Brand New" is also the first effort on which Salt-n-Pepa were allowed production and writing control, but its superiority to the Spice Girls' work probably has less to do with creative control and more to do with longevity: At 10 years and counting, Salt-N-Pepa are now, along with LL Cool J, one of the longest-lived rap acts of all time. The Spice Girls won't last 10 years -- indeed, overexposure is bound to fade them out as surely as light on film -- but if they did, perhaps they too would get a little deeper. After all, the ultra Spice-like "Push It" is as far from "RU Ready" as "Wannabe" is from ... who knows what?

"Brand New" addresses deeper issues than does "Spice World," and it does it in a deeper way. But both records have similar principles. Salt (Cheryl James), Spinderalla (Dee Dee Roper) and Pepa (Sandi Denton) are not so much concerned with finding love and having fun as with achieving equality and respect. On "Good Life," Spinderella sings, "I work hard and now I'm living large/I bust my ass to get the green," while on "Do Me Right," Salt says, "I want the baby carriage and the marriage." The Spice Girls might not express this quite as frankly -- after all, they are all a good 10 years younger than Salt-N-Pepa -- but though their aims are more shallow, their self-reliant outlook is the same: "You think you're quick/but I'd like to see you keep up with me" (from "Denying") is an essential Salt-N-Pepa sentiment. So is "I'm not alone/and you're not in my mind ... boy you were a fool/to treat me that way" from "Saturday Night Divas."

Both groups are also interested in that old pop given, World Peace, but while the Spice Girls' lightweight take on it is "All you need is positivity," Salt-N-Pepa address it from a racial point of view: "Imagine if we could live in this world without being prejudiced," sings Pepa on "Imagine," one of the CD's best songs. "Judging each other is so crazy." In short, Salt-N-Pepa are the more empowered, more thoughtful and ultimately higher artistic expression of the Spice Girls' pop confectionery. One is aimed at women and the other at girls -- but to knock either is to be on the wrong side of the argument.
SALON | Nov. 13, 1997