What to Hear: It’s not clear whether you can still label Sturgill Simpson’s music Country. And from the opening guitar riffs on his latest album, to a song called, Make Art Not Friends, I’m pretty sure he doesn’t care what you label it. That seems like the right attitude, and this seems like a killer (and aptly named) new album: The Sound and the Fury. (It even comes with a trippy animated Netflix movie.)

+ What to Book: “Every paragraph of this book will make you laugh, but it will also (I promise) change the way you think. Joel has written a brilliant exploration of the supposed divide between elites and populists, cleverly disguised as a humorous personal excursion.” That’s Walter Isaacson on the excellent Joel Stein’s much-anticipated book: In Defense of Elitism: Why I’m Better Than You and You’re Better Than Someone Who Didn’t Buy This Book. Maybe Andy Borowitz put it even better: “With this indispensable book, Joel Stein firmly establishes himself as the Ted Nugent of elitism.” (Full disclosure. Joel Stein is a friend of mine. That said, I still hope his book sells well.)

+ What to Watch: Woody Harrelson is the host and Billie Eilish is the musical guest as SNL returns for it’s billionth season (I’m rounding up, but not by much).