Spring cleaning

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I'm continuing the improvement and purging of my apartment tonight, selling a bunch of XBox games and installing a new shower head. So in that spirit, here's a variety of things that have been banging around in my head for a while.

Chuck Dugan is AWOL: A Novel with Maps, by Eric Chase Anderson. I've mentioned this book once already, and I've got it in my Favorites over on the right side. Eric Chase Anderson is the brother of Wes Anderson, and if you've seen the Criterion Collection edition DVDs of The Royal Tenenbaums or Rushmore, you may recognize his illustration style. This is his first novel, illustrated throughout with maps to guide you through the story. It's fun, quirky, and very much in the vein of his brother's work. What it lacks in polished writing style, it makes up for with the delicious details of the illustrations.

Barnum! In Secret Service to the USA, by Howard Chaykin and David Tischman, art by Niko Hernrichon. My friend Kory hooked me up with this graphic novel which reminded me a lot of The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen graphic novels. The general idea is that Barnum uses the circus which made his name so famous as a front to travel around the country on secret missions for the government. His enemy? The inventor Nikola Tesla. Major points for creativity.

"Lips Like Sugar", Echo & The Bunnymen. I can't escape this song lately, so I had to download it tonight. Totally gorgeous 80's pop that I first heard many years ago on a mix that an ex-girlfriend gave me. Now that there's some distance from those memories, I can appreciate it for the great song that it is.

"Wires", Athlete. I heard this song on woxy.com recently, and I'm completely haunted by it. It will be on their forthcoming album, Tourist, which as usual has already been released in the UK, but hasn't made it over here yet. Soft, followed by softer vocals, wrapped up in strings and echoing guitar. It's a great Coldplay-esque song, which brings me to my next item...

Coldplay. The new single "Speed of Sound" is no great departure from the last two albums, and why should it be. Stick with what works. They just announced an August date at Deer Creek (I refuse to call it by its stupid corporate moniker). Count me in. And even better, I just found a live mp3 of Coldplay covering "Lips Like Sugar". So good.

Indianapolis on the cultural radar. Rumor is, an H&M is opening here in the fall. What with a new 7-screen independent movie theater opening soon, a good lineup of bands for the summer, and a variety of other stores like Crate & Barrel on the way, Indy's beginning to look a little more like a real city. Now if only somebody would open a worthwhile independent restaurant this year.