Good Bunny

 

The following was posted on social media by a friend of a friend:

"Bad Bunny didn't say a political word, and that was the most political halftime show ever. They took a selection of things that are exuberantly gorgeous about Latinx life and they put them in a snow globe, and they put the snow globe down on the biggest stage in the world. And then they shook the hell out of it. I don't think I've ever seen anything like it."

That may be a hot take, but I like it. 

Truth be told, I wasn't feeling that while I watched it taking place. The cynic in me was too preoccupied with other things, like the music itself, whether or not any of this was live, the elaborate sets and camera angles, the special guests, how long the breakdown of the sets would take before the start of the third quarter. It was a circus, for sure, and the 13 minutes of Bad Bunny music didn't send me flying to my nearest streaming service to binge on his records. The music always comes first and that halftime show was surely not the best way to be introduced to Bad Bunny, who I admit to never hearing a note before last night.

When all was said and done, and it clearly proved to be a success, I was elated. It was pure joy, given the circumstances surrounding it all. Just like Kendrick Lamarr's performance last year, I needed a day to process it all.

Sometimes I try so hard to be positive on social media, I can feel my ribs crack. It's not easy these days. It's hard enough to get out of bed in the morning, knowing that by the end of my first cup of coffee, I will have read about one more atrocity at the hands of this administration. And while I have no intention of burying my head in the sand, I think I need to appreciate distractions like last night's halftime show more than I do.

We all do. 

Songs Of The Week, 2026: 1/31-2/6

 

Red Top- King Pleasure
Lipstick Traces- Mink DeVille
Living In Another World- Talk Talk
Anything For You- Jack Blades & Robin Zander
Pay Me- Tom Waits
Hold On Tight- David Werner
Topaz- The B-52's

zip

 

Red Top- King Pleasure
(One of the coolest songs of all time, you could do cartwheeels in the space of this groove.)

Lipstick Traces- Mink DeVille
(Not the Allen Toussaint tune, but a track that jumped out at me during my Willy DeVille binge last week.)

Living In Another World- Talk Talk
(Hard to pick just one from "The Colour Of Spring.")

Anything For You- Jack Blades & Robin Zander
(A new discovery courtesy of hpunch, from Night Ranger singer's 2012 release "Rock N Roll Ride," with help from Robin Zander, dig this little power pop gem. And Cheap Trick fans with smart ears might recognize the Zander section, which he recycled 10 years later for "So It Goes," on CT's "In Another World" album.)

Pay Me- Tom Waits
("It's nobody's business but mine when I'm low/
To hold yourself up is not a crime here you know")

Hold On Tight- David Werner
(Always fun to pull this lost 1979 classic off the shelf.)

Topaz- The B-52's
(Pure bliss from Kate & Cindy.)

 

 

Now Playing 4.1

As I mentioned at the start of the year, the Now Playing blog will have a little more content than just a list of what I am listening to. As of yesterday, I will be adding a few mixes to the proceedings when something inspires me. 

Check it out and enjoy. It's more fun than this weekend's wind chill, I guarantee that! 

Also, I have officially canceled my subscription to the site that has hosted all of the zip files for the last 15 years. It has become a major disaster since their migration and their support has been unsupportive. The zips will stay active through September, so if there is anything you see that appeals to you, grab it while you can.

Moving forward, it will be one link and I will be using We Transfer, which is actually a bit more expensive, but it can be paid monthly and it feels more reliable.

Donations are greatly appreciated. 

RSD, 4/18/2026

 

As per every Record Store Day, the list of releases is filled with pointless wastes of wax and time. There are picture discs, and Zoetrope vinyl with animated imagery, "breakout" releases, which really only means something that was already released in a deluxe box made available separately, and live albums that no one will play more than once, or at all. Yay.

 

Still, the fanatic in me found a few things worth getting, including a proper reissue of The Walker Brothers final studio album, "Nite Flights" from 1978 and a smart reissue of The Who's "A Quick One," which will feature a MONO remaster on LP number one, and a second LP of related singles and b-sides, including the "Ready, Steady, Who" E.P.. 

There are other things that are somewhat interesting, records I would have possibly purchased if they were a) not so expensive and b) just released properly like the old days before this stupid event. Releases by the Bad Brains, David Bowie, The Blasters, Captain Beefheart, Marshall Crenshaw, Todd Rundgren, Tommy Keene and Jurassic 5 all have some appeal, just not at $30 to $50 a pop.

That's all I've got. My mind is frozen. I will hopefully be more inspired when the temperature gets above 40 degrees. 

 

 

 

Ken Peplowski, 1959-2026

 

Ken Peplowski wasn’t just a giant in the jazz world, he was a giant mensch, and one of the funniest people I have ever had the pleasure to call a friend. I’m truly shocked by his sudden passing. He had been battling cancer, but it was in remission. He was on a jazz cruise and was scheduled to hit the stage, but he never showed. He was found in his cabin. They are saying it was a heart attack.

I met Ken at at the shop back in the 90's. He was a regular, a lover of power pop, The Beatles, Elvis Presley, and curiously, a Joe Cocker completist. But the best part was that we couldn’t be in each other's presence for more than 10 seconds without laughing hysterically.

In the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina, the band I was playing with at the time, The Cool Jerks, set up a benefit for New Orleans at a club in Tribeca. Both Ken and another late, great jazz legend, drummer Joe Ascione, jumped at the chance to perform. Tony Award winning actor, and another friend of the shop, Ruben Santiago-Hudson brought his blues harp and his friend, blues great Bill Sims. It was a special night. But before Ken played a note on his clarinet, he stood up at the mic and said, "Hi everybody! Forgive me. I'm flop-sweating like George Bush at a spelling bee." He won the crowd over as he had won everyone over. He only needed seconds.

But the hardest I ever laughed was when he smacked me down, deservedly. Ken had a hard time with computers and was struggling to master iTunes and importing CDs into his iPod. He would call me twice a day and ask the same questions. I was surprisingly patient. But one day he called and I had not been in a great mood. Pick your reasons. He asked the same questions again, and I exploded. 

"You just asked me this question! How many more times do I need to say this to you? You need to import the CD first! Once it’s imported, then you drag it into your iPod. DAMN IT! It’s not that difficult!"
 

He calmly replied, "Play anything on the clarinet."

 

Just retelling that story is hurting my heart.

Listen to Ken's music. He was something else.

 

 

 

 

Got Me Bonin': Bonerama's Back With "So Much Love"

I first saw Bonerama at the New Orleans Jazz Festival in 2000. The memory is vivid. It was hot. The field was crowded at the Sprint Stage, but not uncomfortable. They were funky and massive and they covered both "The Long Run" by The Eagles and "Never Had A Dream Come True" by Stevie Wonder. You really haven't heard those songs until you hear five trombones taking the lead. I know people who hear "brass band" and think "half time show." This is not that.

25 years later and Bonerama have just released a new record, "So Much Love." As expected, it's as massive and funky as that first experience, and it's about as New Orleans as it gets. The album has a number of special guests including Trombone Shorty, Ivan Neville, and my man Stanton Moore on two tracks. This record snapped me right out of my winter malaise and it just might do the same for you, if only for an hour. 

"My Girl's Oh So Fine" feels very traditional, whereas their cover of Pink Floyd's "In The Flesh" from "The Wall" absolutely does not! A timely cover of "Ohio" has a second line, gospel dirge feel to it, making the subject matter even more intense.

Show some love for "So Much Love" and get your copy at the Louisiana Music Factory. 

Tell Barry, Sal sent ya!