The Alleyways Mural Project continues to grow in downtown Spokane with the installation of its second piece, a work by Pullman artist Jiemei Lin. Located on the 100 North block alley between Howard and Wall. The summery scene of two children swimming in pools in two separate panels is meant to represent "shared global connections." The piece joins the first installation, the Fortune Katz mural by artists Erin Johnston and Tim Lacey III, completed last year. (DAN NAILEN)
HISTORY OF VIOLENCE
Charles Harrelson was a petty crook and a killer-for-hire throughout the 1960s and '70s, but it wasn't until he was convicted of the 1979 murder of federal judge John H. Wood Jr. that he was thrown in prison for life. The podcast series Son of a Hitman examines the sordid life of Harrelson, who died in 2007, with a focus on the nature of his guilt: Not only have his sons Brett, Jordan and Woody — yes, that Woody Harrelson — claimed their father was wrongfully convicted for the judge's murder, but the drug dealer whose testimony brought about a guilty verdict later recanted his accusation. Oh, and there's the business of Harrelson claiming (and then retracting the claim) that he was involved in the Kennedy assassination. It's a wild story. (NATHAN WEINBENDER)
WOO HOO!
Music fans, head on over to @springfieldalbums on the ol' Instagram and have a laugh thanks to the page creators injecting characters from The Simpsons onto heavy metal album covers, along with a few classic-rock covers, too. Something about seeing Ned Flanders on Iron Maiden's Piece of Mind, Chief Wiggum on Anthrax's Fistful of Metal and Homer on Twisted Sister's Stay Hungry is just delightfully silly. (DAN NAILEN)
'I'M SORRY, DAVE...'
I'm not sure I've ever played a video game through the perspective of a computer, which is what makes Observation so interesting. In it, your space station has drifted wildly off course and has taken major damage. Dr. Emma Fisher, seemingly the only survivor, is investigating what went wrong and how to contact Earth. Your ability to move throughout the ship is limited, so much of the game is controlled through various user interfaces and surveillance cameras to solve its riddles. Imagine 2001: A Space Odyssey, but through the perspective of HAL 9000. Similarly, the computer in Observation also seems to be hiding something. Recently added to Microsoft's Game Pass. Also on Playstation. (QUINN WELSCH)
THIS WEEK'S PLAYLIST
Some noteworthy new music hits online and in stores July 24. To wit:
COURTNEY MARIE ANDREWS, Old Flowers. It's a heartbreak album, and in this stellar singer-songwriter's hands, it's bound to be a killer.
NEON TREES, I Can Feel You Forgetting Me. The power-pop crew returns with songs of solace for self-isolation.
X, Alphabetland. Released digitally in the spring and now available on vinyl and CD, the L.A. punk pioneers' new one is a vital addition to their catalogue, one of the best albums of the year so far. (DAN NAILEN)
