Todd Grant
“Strangled Soul”
-ism Recordings
Grade: A
Not one aspect of Todd Grant’s
“Strangled Soul” shows weakness.
Not one song is the runt of the litter,
nor is one song a poster child for the
entire release.
It’s all just so incredibly strong.
After the second time around, lyr
ics and rhythms are sticking in your
head, and it leaves you with an
inspiring, intense feeling.
Grant, whose name won’t be
found on any Billboard chart (yet)
but whose name is familiar to local
music fans, offers us a very pol
ished, very solid 13 songs on
“Strangled Soul.”
It’s always self-defeating to lock
a musician into a specific sound,
but it’s fair to say that Grant has the
monopoly on dark passion.
“Strangled Soul” is like the man
trying in desperation to reach the
light at the end of the tunnel, but not
knowing why he ’ s even going there
in the first place.
Grant’s use of a variety of in
struments and backing vocals re
ally give “Strangled Soul” an edge
on variety. It allows for so much
expansion within each song. It’s a
perfected type of raw.
Everything is mastered perfectly.
Sometimes it’s hard to warm up to
local music if you’re a Billboard
Top 20 buyer. But “Strangled Soul”
is so addictive, it could change your
mind.
— Paula Lavigne
Bettie Serveert
“Lamprey”
Matador Records
Grade: A
After listening to “Lamprey,”
Bettie Serveert’s second full-length
American release, I’m ready to go
out on a limb and say they’re my
favorite band from the Netherlands.
Okay, so they also happen to be
the only band I know of from the
Netherlands. But if Bettie Serveert
is any indication as to what Dutch'
music sounds like, I’m ready and
willing to check out some more of
it.
Chock-full of sugary guitar,
catchy rhythms and bitter angst,
“Lamprey” is a quality follow-up to
“Palomine,” which was arguably
one of 1992’s best albums.
But 1992 was a long time ago,
musically speaking. If memory
serves correctly, Nirvana sat atop
the record charts, flannel was the
Big New Thing and Bettie Serveert
was being mysteriously touted as a
“grunge quartet.”
Wait a minute. Did I just put
Bettie Serveert and grunge in the
same sentence? Pardon me, I must
have been smoking crack.
What Carol van Dijk, Peter
Visser, Herman Bunskoeke and
Berend Dubbe are is definitely not
grunge. It may have the occasion
ally fuzzy guitar and cynical tone
that propelled Soundgarden and
Mudhoney into the hearts of mil
lions, or at least thousands.
But the surly growl and=smoky
scream of grunge is nowhere to be
found in this band. Van Dijk doesn ’t
groan her lyrics out nonchalantly;
she releases them in a sweet and
distinctive voice that is one of pop
music’s most beautiful possessions.
Guitarist Peter Visser cuts loose
with a subtle barrage of guitar noise
that engrosses but somehow man
ages to sneak up from behind at the
same time. His style manages to
elude any solid description, but I
kind of like to describe it as clean
and scrappy.
Overall, I’d have to say that
“Lamprey” secures Bettie Serveert
a steady place in the American music
world. It proves “Palomine” was by
no means beginner’s luck and that
the Netherlands has a lot more to
brag about besides tulips and
wooden shoes.
—Jeff Randall
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Sheldon’s new program
to attract fresh crowds
By Jeff Randall
Staff Reporter “
Instead of sleeping in this Sunday,
students may want to consider step
ping into the Sheldon Memorial Art
Gallery.
Sheldon at Six, a special commit
tee for the Nebraska Art Association,
is sponsoring “Sundays at Sheldon”
throughout March, said Kathy Piper,
executive director of NAA.
“Sundays at Sheldon” will be every
Sunday in March between 11 a.m. and 2
p.m. Visitors—the event is open to the
public — will be treated to bagels and
coffee, and live music will be present,
Piper said. Admission is $3.
“This is the first time we’ve tried
this, but hopefully it will be just the
beginning of an annual tradition,” she
said.
“Our main mission is to get people
in here,” she said. “Once they see the
gallery, I think they will definitely
want to 'come back. We just want to
give them that initial experience.”
Sheldon at Six’s initial goal was to
attract and provoke interest in the
Sheldon among younger people, Piper
said. But the newer programs have not
been as audience-specific.
“We want anybody and everybody
to come,” she said. “We have a very
active and enthusiastic committee and
they are dedicated to getting people
interested in art and Sheldon.”
“Jazz in June” is a program similar
to “Sundays at Sheldon” that has been
successfully held by the NAA for the
past four years, Piper said.
“Nationally, programs such as this
have worked tremendously well,” she
said. “It seems that the music is a real
attraction for people.”
The “Jazz in June” program has
attracted hundreds of people in the
past, Piper said, and she hopes “Sun
days at Sheldon” will have similar
results.
“This is just atrial balloon, really,”
she said. “But if public response is
favorable we’ll be happy to continue.
“We have one of the country’s best
art galleries right here in Lincoln, and
people need to realize that. We don’t
want a great resource like this to go
unnoticed.”
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Raphael
Continued from Page 9
own experiences, Raphael saidhis
writing was not entirely autobio
graphical.
Ln addition to a book of short
stories and a novel, Raphael has
published several non-fiction
books. He also has completed a
new collection of short stories and
a mystery novel with a gay, Jew
ish main character, which have
yet to be published. Also in the
works is a movie based on the
short story “Dancing on Tisha
B’av,” for which Raphael already
has signed a deal with a screen
writer.
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