From The Vault: Gems and junk from Minnesota music history

We all know that the MN music scene is one of the best damn scenes in the country, and we sort of never get tired of saying it. But—lest we forget—perhaps we should stop and take a moment to remember just how this scene got so hot. Was it ever thus? Or were there moments in our torrid past that we’d rather forget? The A.V. Club unlocks the musical vault to find out.

It’s Slow Jam Wednesday here in the Vault, and we’re taking you on a little trip back to the most improbably sensuous part of the late ’80s and early ’90s, here epitomized by Minnesota’s own Mint Condition. (Yes, the group apparently still does gigs.) We couldn’t decide between these two classic panty-droppers, but together they paint a bold picture of the group’s first two albums, Meant To Be Mint and From The Mint Factory, respectively. Sit back, relax, and let the music do whatever it wants to do to you, baby.

“Breakin’ My Heart (Pretty Brown Eyes)”
This little joint offers a silky smoov reminder of what love-making was like during the days of Malcolm X hats and Arsenio blazers, when a 7-foot-tall, high-powered female music video producer could manhandle her client without someone crying sexual harassment. Those were the days, gurl, yes they were.

“U Send Me Swingin’”
With all those loose-jawed vowels and gold-laden mock turtlenecks, how do you not jump these funky fresh bones? The way they swing their hips in unison while staring directly into camera—that’s how you know they’re for real.