UNTOUCHABLES
It's fall, and the gangs of turkeys on the streets of Spokane have their colors showing and tails flared out. We can either treat this as a welcome addition to the autumn scenery, or a show of mockery from the untouchable city birds who don't give a second thought to the coming Thanksgiving holiday. (WILSON CRISCIONE)
ON THIS WEEK'S PLAYLIST
Some noteworthy new music arrives online and in stores Nov. 24. To wit:
BJORK, Utopia. The delightfully freaky Icelandic artist is always worth checking in on. This is her ninth solo album.
NOEL GALLAGHER'S HIGH-FLYING BIRDS, Who Built The Moon? Anglophiles, rejoice! The main songwriter for Oasis goes a bit psychedelic and power-pop on his latest. (DAN NAILEN)
R.I.P. THE RIFF
Little brother Angus Young gets most of the attention in AC/DC, thanks to the lead guitarist's manic stage presence and the schoolboy attire he's worn for most of the band's 44-year career. But music geeks know it was quiet big brother and rhythm guitarist Malcolm Young who was most responsible for the simple but incredibly satisfying riff-rock that propelled the Aussie band to stardom. AC/DC has sold more than 200 million albums around the world and landed in the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2003. Malcolm Young died Saturday after retiring in 2014 due to the onset of dementia. His death inspired an outpouring of online love from the likes of Ozzy Osbourne, KISS, Eddie Van Halen and Ryan Adams and the Foo Fighters' Dave Grohl (playing Spokane Dec. 4), who opened the Foos' Saturday show with AC/DC's "Let There Be Rock." (DAN NAILEN)
PIONEERING POETRY
Washington Gov. Jay Inslee on Monday appointed Seattle's Claudia Castro Luna as the state's next poet laureate. A native of El Salvador who fled the war-torn country at 14, Castro Luna (pictured) becomes the fifth state poet laureate, and the first immigrant and first woman of color to serve the two-year stint promoting an appreciation of poetry across the state. She previously served as Seattle's first Civic Poet and has worked as a K-12 teacher. Castro Luna takes over Feb. 1 from Spokane's Tod Marshall, the first Washington poet laureate from Eastern Washington. Marshall's crisscrossed the state many times over, producing a book, WA129, with a poem representing each year of Washington's existence. He'll host a WA129 reading on Wed, Nov. 29, at 7:30 pm at Gonzaga's Wolff Auditorium, joined by several of the included poets. (DAN NAILEN)
THE ART OF DRINKING
Two watering holes in downtown Spokane now feature murals by local artist Ruben Villarreal. Pictured is Villarreal's work at Mootsy's (406 W. Sprague); the other is at Garageland (230 W. Riverside). (JASON STILL)
MACY'S THANKSGIVING DAY PARADE
Millions will tune in on Thanksgiving morning to watch the 91st annual Macy's Thanksgiving Day parade through Manhattan as they prep for the big dinner. This year's parade not only features performances by 98 Degrees and Gwen Stefani, but also several new balloons, including Frozen's loveable snowman Olaf, a character from the hit kids' show PAW Patrol, a new version of the Grinch and "Harold the Baseball Player," a recreation of a balloon from 1946 that was featured in Miracle on 34th Street. Watch it starting at 9 am on NBC, or via livestream on Verizon's YouTube page. (CHEY SCOTT)
