BROCKHAMPTON IS BACK
Ginger, the swagger-filled fifth studio album from hip-hop collective Brockhampton, is a welcome return to prominence after the failure of their last release. Throughout the sound feels quite fresh and much different than the cookie-cutter projects of other artists seeking the top of the charts. If you don't have time for a whole album, "No Halo" is probably the best song — it's clever, unique and has multiple distinctive verses. If you do have time, it's not just 12 great songs — it's a full album worth listening all the way through. (CARSON McGREGOR)
THIS WEEK'S PLAYLIST
Some noteworthy new music arrives online and in stories Oct. 11. To wit:
Kim Gordon, No Home Record. Punk-rock mama bear and Sonic Youth vet drops her solo debut. Hopefully her ex Thurston Moore is in the crosshairs of a few tunes.
Big Thief, Two Hands. The Brooklyn buzz-band's fourth album arrives just eight months after their third, U.F.O.F. Prolific!
Beetlejuice Original Broadway Cast Recording. Featuring Spokane's own Sophia Anne Caruso as Lydia!
Lightning Bolt, Sonic Citadel. The fact they have songs called "Hüsker Dön't" and "Van Halen 2049" on this album is all I need to know — I'm in. (DAN NAILEN)
WITH FRIENDS LIKE THESE
PBS's Frontline regularly delivers some of the best documentaries in news, and I can't recommend enough its recent episode "The Crown Prince of Saudi Arabia." A year after the murder and dismemberment of Washington Post columnist Jamal Khashoggi, Frontline reporter Martin Smith visits Saudi Arabia to explore Mohammed bin Salman's role in the murder, his often brutal rise to power, and his friendly relationship with the current U.S. president — both before and after Khashoggi's demise. It's an eye-opening crash course in modern U.S.-Saudi relations, now streaming on pbs.com. (DAN NAILEN)
MOUTHFUL
I was late to jump on the Big Mouth bandwagon, but season three is here and I couldn't be happier. The new episodes pick up right after the events of season two. The kids are facing a uniform policy that unfairly targets the girls. Like most Big Mouth episodes, it's a conversation equally applicable to the pubescent characters as it is to real-world adults — but with a healthy sprinkling of perviness. (QUINN WELSCH)
THAR SHE SHOWS!
A local theater production is going big-time this winter. Moby Dick - the Musical was workshopped in April at the Spokane Civic Theatre with an assist from a Spokane Arts SAGA grant, and now the show created by writer Ed Bryan, composer William Berry and director Jean Hardie has been accepted as one of eight new musicals (from more than 90 applicants) to perform at the Chicago Music Theatre Festival in February. The trio will stage five shows in Chicago — and more if those sell out. Kudos! (DAN NAILEN)
