Overrated/Underrated: Iliza Shlesinger remains lethal on ‘Elder Millennial,’ and the return of Cat Power

UNDERRATED

Iliza Shlesinger’s ‘Elder Millennial’: Shlesinger is one of the busiest comedians working today, with multiple specials under her belt since winning NBC’s “Last Comic Standing” in 2006, and her latest stand-up show is worth finding amid the usual deluge of comedy specials arriving on Netflix. Again mining a rich seam of dating and the differences between men and women, Shlesinger uses a lethal, finely honed mix of energetic physical comedy and elastic voices to also examine the oddball relics of early ‘00s nostalgia and spins some hard-won relationship wisdom as a woman on the cusp of marriage.

Cat Power’s ‘Woman’: After her previous album, “Sun,” proved that singer-songwriter Chan Marshall’s weathered, expressive voice can find a cozy home in electronic, even upbeat arrangements, the recording artist also known as Cat Power returns this fall with “Wanderer,” her first new album in six years. While her recorded output since rising out of the indie scene more than 20 years ago has been true to the new record’s name, the first single finds her in a sort of earthy comfort zone backed by bluesy organ, sharp guitar and a similarly enigmatic voice in pop star Lana Del Rey.

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OVERRATED

Impatience on streaming TV: Apparently, we’re not the only ones who hate waiting when it comes to streaming our shows (from a connection speed standpoint, anyway) with word that Netflix has canceled both Joel McHale and Michelle Wolf’s talk shows after their first seasons. Both will land on their feet, especially Wolf, whose hard work and fearlessness as a comic are well established. But given Amazon’s recent cancellation spree, this speaks to an Internet-appropriate hastiness for these supposedly cash-rich outlets when shows must either catch fire right away or risk being snuffed. From an entertainment perspective, “failing faster” shouldn’t always be the goal.

‘Miss America’: It’s 2018, and somehow the Miss America pageant still exists with another prime-time broadcast scheduled for next month. But as much as the event’s very concept seeming like a retrograde relic, the organization has been in the news with most recent winner, Cara Mund, accusing the organization of preventing her from speaking her mind along with levying allegations of “workplace bullying.” Until this can be sorted out, maybe it would be best if the event were cancelled and replaced by a Mr. America pageant — although a warped case could be made for that already having been established by the presidential campaign, in which case there could certainly be improvements.

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