The following is an excerpt from Black Time and the Aesthetic Possibility of Objects by Daphne Lamothe, which is available wherever books are sold. In May 2013, someone anonymously uploaded a sixty-second video titled “Stromae Bourré à Bruxelles!” (Stromae Drunk in Brussels!) to YouTube. The images, seemingly captured by a cellphone, show the musician Paul Van Haver in a state of apparent emotional distress. In the video, Van Haver, who goes by the stage name Stromae, has abandoned his carefully curated persona: known to his fans as a fastidious and elegant dresser, his dishevelment startles. His melancholy...