Singer’s presence gives town ‘pleasant’ addition
By Cherie Krueger
Staff Reporter
Wally Pleasant is much like his
music would lead his listeners to be
lieve.
He is laid-back and not really seri
ous about anything. The 27-year-old,
who grew up in Detroit, has developed
quite a following in Lincoln.
' In between his two shows Monday
night at Mudslide Slim’s, 1418 0 St.,
he joked about playing 10-cent games
of Keno for hours and looking for the
missing clue at the book depository
in Dallas while he was there for a
show.
Pleasant, whose real last name is
Pleasantowski, has done shows at col
leges, bars and coffee houses.
“I’ve been doing this kind of stuff
for about six years or so. I’ve been
playing the guitar for probably about
10 years, but I never wanted to be like
Eddie Van Halen or anything,” Pleas
ant said.
Before he began his career of sing
ing offbeat folk music, he did go to
college. He received a degree in po
litical science at Michigan State, but
realized that he could not really have
. •• ' »’
a regular job if he wanted to sing.
“I’d like to get a job, but I’d have
to take off for a while to do shows and
stuff, and they tend to frown on that,”
he said.
Judging from the way large groups
of teen-age girls flocked around him
after his all-ages show, his female fans
would be disappointed to hear that he
is married and has been for the past
three years.
His wife, Jennifer, comes with him
to some of his shows, but she has not
been with him on his current tour.
“I haven’t seen her for about two
months. She was with me when I went
to California, but she stayed back in
Michigan this time,” Pleasant said.
He is just about to finish a two
month group of shows that included
shows in Lincoln toward the beginning
of the tour and again on Monday.
Pleasant said he spent a lot of time
driving in his van (the dog curtains that
cover the van’s windows show a defi
nite touch of his personality.) and used
this time to write songs.
“Sometimes one sentence will go
through my head, and I’ll just try to
build a song around that. A lot of times
it happens when I’m driving,” he said.
“It seems like a combination of driv
ing,- not much sleep the night before
and coffee helps me come up with my
songs.”
He said he always was coming up
with new songs and was thinking
about doing a song about cowboys. He
never has written a song about them
and is trying to find the inspiration for
one, he said.
“I’ve thought about buying little
cowboys to line up along the windows
in my hotel room” he said. “I think
that might help me.”
“I’m working on this one song
about a guy who wants a stalker,”
Pleasant said.
Pleasant, who plays in Lincoln fre
quently, said that outside of Dallas,
Lincoln was one of his favorite places
to play.
“Lincoln has a really nice down
town. I like the Rock ‘N Roll Runza,”
he said. The Haymarket is nice, too,
he said.
It seems to be obvious that Lincoln
likes Wally Pleasant, and Wally Pleas
ant appears to like it here. His fans can
be sure that he will be returning in the
near future.
Cherie Krueger/DN
Satiric folk singer Wally Pleasant tries to explain a new song
he is working on about a man who wants to have a stalker.
Pleasant played two shows Monday night at Mudslide Slim’s.
Ruby
“Socratic Gilligan”
Little Man Running Music
Grade: B
Ruby, who is probably in the
midst of changing its name because
of the R&B singer using the same
" name, is aMihneapolis-bas>ed b&rid
whose songwriting abilities strike
cither very close to home or very
far away.
Formed by two brothers, Paul
andTim Franrtzich, and bassist Tim
Johnson, with a changing list of
drummers. Ruby has a very acous
tic-based sound.
Two absolutely spectacular
songs are the most ear-grabbing on
the album. The first is “Blackbird
Possessed.” The lyrics are entranc
ing, -»
“I found a broken bone in south
west South Dakota/It once held the
weight of the beautiful and the
brave/There was water in the
weather that day as far as I could
see/As I walked the muddy road to
read the names upon the grave.”
The second enrapturing song is
the saddening “Memory, a song
about loss and regret.
“I wish that T could live counter
clockwise/That would mean tomor
row I could tell you/That yesterday
I saw an angel/Dancingjust the way
you do.”
When the chorus swings in, the
whole melody sweeps you away,
and may even bring a tear to the eye.
“I’ve memorized your memory/
Now it’s time for me to remove my
heart/No matter where I go, no
matter what I do I’m going to carry
you with me/But now it’s time for
me to remove my heart.”
The rest of the album is up and
down, with both some good tracks
and some tracks that aren’t really
great listening, but those two songs
alone make this album worth own
ing.
— Cliff Hicks
Lou Reed
“Set The Twilight Reeling”
Warner Bros. Records
Grade: B
A lot has happened since Lou
Reed’s last album, “Magic and
Loss.” And his new one, “Set The
Twilight Reeling,” reflects that.
“Magic and Loss” was released
in 1992. In 1993, the Velvet Under
ground did a very brief reunion
tour, resulting in a two-disc live set.
In 1995. Velvet Underground’s gui
tarist, Sterling Morrison, died and
shortly later, the Velvets were in
ducted into the Rock ‘N’ Roll Hall
of Fame.
Somewhere along the line, Reed
fell in love again.
“Set The Twilight Reeling” re
flects all of that and more. It is 11
tracks that take you inside Reed’s
heart and mind and show you the
world through his eyes.
The lyric songs are plentiful on
“Set the Twilight Reeling,” from the
title track, in which Reed talks
about the rebirth inside of himself,
to the thought-provoking “Finish
Line,” which is dedicated to
Morrison.
The album really contrasts itself.
“Trade In” and “Set the Twilight
Reeling” back to back can get a bit
repetitive because they share simi
lar themes. But several other songs
break them up.
“NYC Man” and “Hang On To
Your Emotions” arc the most re
laxed, and two of the best songs,
off the album. The politically ag
gressive “Sex With Your Parents
(Motherfucker)” is humorous the
first few times around, but cvcntu
ally it becomes relegated to one that
can be skipped most times around.
Another song to pass on is
“Hookywooky,” which neither
snags the ear nor the intellect. Luck
ily, it is followed by “The Proposi
tion,” which reflects on destiny and
love.
“Set The Twilight Reeling” is a
good album, although not as mov
ing as “Magic and Loss,” or as bit
ter as “New York.” Still, the good is
good enough to merit owning a
copy.
—Cliff Hicks
Genius/Gza
“Liquid Swords”
Geffen
Grade: A
It is not lightly that I give the top
grade available to an album. In fact,
“Liquid Swords” is the first album
I have reviewed to receive this
honor.
But Genius, also known as Gza,
has released one of the most impres
sive albums since the inception of
the Wu-Tang Clan. ~
If you do not know what the Wu
Tang Clan is, listen up. Nine hip
hop artists combine in one group
and give us the most diverse crew
ever to emerge in the rap scene.
Each member has his own style,
lent to the whole. Genius had been
dubbed the head of this creature.
Gza moves heads with knowl
edge and verbal assault. In his art,
he is truly a master.
Check “Labels,” the first single.
Three minutes crammed full of ev
ery hip-hop record label he can
think of packaged in a tight story
like form.
Because Gza is the only Wu
member to have a previous solo al
bum, he comes off with the wisdom
of the ages. His perspective gives
him what is needed to coordinate
the aural mindscape.
“Liquid Swords” is a story
within itself, but also reads like the
fifth chapter of the Wu-Tang novel
— the essence of the plot. Don’t
forget to read chapters one through
four: Wu-Tang Clan’s “Enter the
Wu-Tang”, Method Man’s “Tical”,
01’ Dirty Bastard’s “Return to the
36 Chambers” and Raekwon’s
“Only Built 4 Cuban Linx ...”
Gza’s brother Rza carries the
story through, taking simple snare
and kick drum hits and melting
them with crazy samples of horns,
choirs and tiny sound effects. The
end result mesmerizes you, forcing
you to hit repeat to catch again what
Gza said or what Rza looped.
Taken by itself, “Liquid Swords”
is a great album. Taken as a whole,
the Wu-Tang experience is a mas
terpiece.
— Greg Schick
1 Misfits
“Collection II”
Caroline Records
Grade: A+
The very best music elevates
man’s soul and makes him aware
of the beauty of his humanity —
and of his godliness.
Even as enthusiastic piety seizes
i those who hear Beethoven’s Ninth
Symphony or Handel’s “Messiah,”
the Misfits’ “Collection IF’ tempo
rarily transforms the listener into a
grave-robbing viking.
Glenn Danzig, the mightily tal
ented founder of the now- defunct
band, compiled the songs, which in
cludesix rare tracks, two never-be
fore-released tracks, three alternate
versions, and eight others widely
available.
The B-sides “Attitude” and
“Ratfink” transmit blood lust. If the
only version of the classic “Last Ca
ress” you’ve heard is the Metallica
cover, it’s well worth $15 to hear
Danzig sing it. It’s odd to think of
Metal lica as understated, but the
band is downright tasteful com
pared to Danzig, Satan’s lounge
singer.
The compilation also includes a
lyrics sheet, which thrilled me.
Often Danzig is singing “aarrr”
or “whoaa,” but not all die time, and
it can be rough to grasp the specific
message of his sensitive material.
For instance, 1 don’t think I ever
would have figured out the
“Bloodfeast” lyric “When it drips
from the mouth be forewarned, be
prepared for a grizzly bloodfeast.”
Every song on the album is
comically vicious; these greasy,
grimy guts songs represent the Mis
fits at its best, Danzig at his best,
and rock music at its best.
The Misfits were great because
they combined ferocious anger with
amazingly good, if simple, melo
dies. “Collection IF’ is reason to
take up your broadsword and mer
rily hack off heads — brain-eaters
rejoice!!
— Kathleen Peistmp