6 minute read
Binge This Week: Our staff’s latest recommendations
SCREEN TIME The Disney+ series Prop Culture searches out lost costumes and props from Tron, The Nightmare Before Christmas and more.
Never Have I Ever
WEEK THIS
Grace and Frankie
With six seasons and 78 episodes available, it’s a good time to revisit 70-year-old friends Grace and Frankie—played by Jane Fonda and Lily Tomlin, respectively—whose newly out ex-husbands (Martin Sheen and Sam Waterston) have left them … for each other. Follow the heartfelt and often hilarious duo as they navigate the pitfalls of aging, dating and running their own vibrator shop. Netflix. –Leslie Ventura
Podcast Dolly Parton’s Americ a
Radiolab host Jad Abumrad takes listeners on an unlikely and heartfelt journey to his home state of Tennessee, where he spends nine luxurious episodes exploring the life and times of Dolly Parton. Even if you’ve never given a thought to the country music icon, prepare to become a fan of her songwriting, her homespun history and her ability to unite a divided nation. Taking deep dives into her (non)feminism and Abumrad’s own background, it’s an exemplar of the podcast genre. wnycstudios.org/podcasts/dolly-partonsamerica. –C. Moon Reed
TV Never Have IEver
If you’ve been missing Kelly Kapoor from The Office, here’s your chance to see her as an overachieving high school student in the new Mindy Kaling-created Netflix sitcom Never Have I Ever. Sophomore Devi Vishwakumar tries to navigate the halls of high school with equal parts confidence and angst, while dealing with hormones, the recent death of her father and the high expectations of her mother. (During a Ganesh Puja celebration, her mother hisses at her, “Pray you get into Princeton. Don’t waste your prayers on stupid things like world peace.”) Witty and full of heart, it’s a coming-of-age story unlike anything you’ve seen on the small screen. Netflix. –Genevie Durano
Hungry? Turn to Page 30 for our Takeout & Delivery Guide.
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FOR THE OUR PICKS WEEK AHEAD
LISTEN UP David Bowie now has a dedicated SiriusXM station—and it’s free to stream throughout May. siriusxm.com
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PODCAST
OFFICE LADIES
NBC’s The Offi ce is a lockdown must-watch. It’s not just a remake of a British show; it’s a top-shelf cast (including Steve Carell and John Krasinski) and writing staff (including Brooklyn Nine-Nine creator Michael Schur and Parks & Recreation creator Greg Daniels) working together at creative apogee. Now, two members of that terrifi c ensemble—Jenna Fischer (Pam Beesly) and Angela Kinsey (Angela Martin)—are reliving, reviewing and reconstructing every episode on this funny, big-hearted podcast. Expect surprise guests, behind-the-scenes dish and some happy tears, too. offi celadies.com. –Geoff Carter
MUSIC
TY SEGALL’S PIG MAN LIVES: VOLUME 1
Demos collections tend to be only-for-fanatics affairs—glimpses into an artist’s process that rarely bear long-term listening fruit. Leave it to nonconformist California rocker Ty Segall to explode that tradition. The early takes collected on November’s Pig Man Lives: Volume 1—of catalog gems like “Feel,” “You’re the Doctor” and “She”—are raw but rockin’, their uproduced forms ideal for conveying the sort of furious energy Segall brings to the stage. It’s also a blast to sift through: 47 tracks sprawling across more than two and a half hours and, if you’re so inclined, eight vinyl sides. Binge indeed. tysegall. bandcamp.com. –Spencer Patterson
Noise
Caught steeling
ran sidem an Joe l Ferguson ste
s a pedal steel guitar player, Joel Ferguson has never been the frontman. At 66 years old, Ferguson waited more than four decades to put out his own solo album, but now, he’s finally found the confidence to share his own stories under the name Mighty Joe King.
“This is kind of an unusual thing, I know, to put out my first solo CD, but the timing was right, and all the stars lined up,” Ferguson explains.
He’s played with countless locals, like Kristen Hertzenberg, The Rhyolite Sound, Paige Overton and Justin Mather. He has also participated in the Smith Center’s lauded Composers Showcase, a regular gathering of Vegas artists sharing original music with one another and their audience.
“That was a big turning point in me getting my confidence to the place where I was like, ‘Oh, people like my original instrumental music,” so it inspired me to do more,” Ferguson says. “I had never played any of my music in public and I always had just kind of been a sideman or been in a band, so that was very inspiring. A
By Lesl ie Ventura
ps to the fo ref ront on hi s fi rst album
It kind of fired me up to get more happening.”
Mighty Joe King’s October album, The Human Revolution, came together with help from friend and Million Dollar Quartet star Ben Hale, along with a group of studio musicians. Hale, who had moved to Nashville, was in the midst of a six-month engineering class at Blackbird Studios. As his final project, Hale offered Ferguson a chance to record at the renowned Nashville recording studio.
Always a musician at heart, Ferguson began playing the banjo at age 6 before switching to the drums at 8. During college, Ferguson got into the pedal steel and began loaning his gritty, bluesy take on the oftenfolky instrument in a number of bands.
The Human Revolution is a reflection of that sentiment. As Mighty Joe King, Ferguson shows off the pedal steel guitar in a different light, blending jazz, rock and blues into a cohesive sampling of his expansive talents. And while it’s primarily an instrumental album, it does spotlight Ferguson’s twangy vocals and lyrics on a handful of tracks, like “Voodoo Doll,” a song showcasing his Southern rhythm and blues influences.
For Ferguson, releasing an album has given him a new outlook on his craft. “It’s helped me believe that I was as good as I wanted to be,” Ferguson says. “We have this constant, ‘I wish I was at this level or that level.’ Going through this has helped me believe what other people have been telling me.” MIGHTY JOE KING spoti.fi/3bT9mYd amzn.to/3aTMqqv bit.ly/3f6FU2W
VEGAS WE KNOW
