metafictional mindfuckery, but whatholdshis
new feature together are the terrific performances,
which maintain their emotional groundingeven
as the movie becomes more dreamlike. a. w.
POP MUSIC- (^) Listen to
The Ascension
An indie-rock darling returns.
Asthmatic Kitty.
Five years after the downcast folk masterpiece
Carrie & Lowell, an elegy for his late mother,Suf-
janStevensseemstowanttodanceagain.Early
previews of the versatile singer-songwriter’s
eighth album find a blend of chirpingsynthsand
organic instruments and lyrics that speaktothe
state of the nation. c.j.
TV - (^) Wat ch Wilmore
Back on late night.
Peacock, September 18.
Comedy Central canceled The LarryWilmore
Show a few months before the 2016 presidential
election. Now Peacock is bringing himbackwith
a new talk show, ahead of the big 2020vote. j.c.
BOOKS - (^) Read Young, Gifted
and Black
More than a coffee-table book.
D.A.P., September 22.
Young, Gifted and Black surveys the nextgenera-
tion of Black artists but with an eyetowardthe
generation just before. In examining theart collec-
tions of Bernard Lumpkin and CarmineBoccuzzi,
this tome presents critical and personalessays
from curators, collectors, writers, andartistslike
Jordan Casteel and Kevin Beasley.
CLASSICAL MUSIC - (^) Listen to Bach:
Goldberg Variations
Lang Lang behind the keys.
Deutsche Grammophon.
Leave it to the pianist with 200-horsepowerhands
to wait 20 years before getting aroundtoBach’s
Goldberg Variations and then put outa double
album. The results are, as always withLangLang,
a mixture of the astounding and the maddening:
Some variations move in slo-mo, othersat luge
speed; some are spare, others encrustedwithorna-
mentation. j.d.
TV - (^) Wat ch Ratched
Big Nurse’s origin story.
Netflix, September 18.
Sarah Paulson takes on the role of Nurse Ratched
in a series that considers her history inpre–
Cuckoo’s Nest days. j.c.
MOVIES - (^) See Beau Travail
A classic restored.
VOD via the Criterion Collection.
The rerelease of Claire Denis’s mesmerizing 1999
reimagining of Herman Melville’s Billy Budd
among young French Foreign Legion soldiers in
Africa is exciting news. Surpassing narrative con-
vention, Denis focuses on the soldiers’ training
exercises, and the movie feels at times like it’s com-
posed entirely of bodies running, fighting, and
sometimes dancing. bilge ebiri
ART - (^) See Nicola Tyson
Self-portraits.
Petzel Gallery, 35 East 67th Street,
through October 3.
Once upon a time in the 1990s, a teeny walk-up
gallery opened in Soho. This was Trial Balloon, a
women-only project space, co-run by excellent
British-born painter Nicola Tyson, whose own
semi-abstract, semi-figurative work predated by
decades the very kind of paintings that so many
are making today. Here, see Tyson, now 60, firing
on all optical cylinders. j.s.
TV - (^) Wat ch Primetime
Emmy Awards
Live from 114 locations.
ABC, September 20.
Will this year’s virtual ceremony honoring the
best in television be more like the wild MTV
VMAs, the smoothly executed DNC, or a Zoom
meeting hosted by a tuxedo-clad Jimmy Kimmel?
Watching is the only way to find out. j.c.
OPERA - (^) See Houston
Grand Opera
Scenes from Carmen, Werther, Don Quichotte,
and more.
houstongrandopera.org,
September 25.
Among the pandemic’s many cultural casualties
THE 60-SECOND BOOK EXCERPT
LIKE A BIRD
By Fariha Róisínnothing is as important as honor
was ringing in my ears. Nothing. It was
as if all the years of advice had led me
to this point. Had he always wanted
to throw me out? And did she always
want to let him? I didn’t care about his
mind anymore, the way it broke my
spirit to see him stumble on the easiest
pronunciationsorthe small,tempered
shakehishandswerenowrhythmed
with.I didn’t care.My grief knew no
limits,too,yetnowit wasbeingyanked
likea weedoutofthetopsoil.
As I begantomove about my
room—theirroomnow—my mother
wheezedintothewallopposite from
me.I feltsickwatchinghercry. There
wasnoroominsidemeforsympathy.
(UnnamedPress,September 15)nymag.com/ogsGet Lost
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