‘Treme’ is less than two weeks away.

And HBO has uploaded a 14-minute preview. You can check it out below. Also, TV critics are starting to weigh in. The Baltimore Sun’s David Z...

I, Obama

Have y’all noticed something peculiar – and a little off-putting – about Barack Obama’s rhetorical style as president? Have you noticed how ...

Playlist: Killer musicians

Today I’m streaming tracks by four recording artists with something in common. These men are notable not just for making music... but for ta...

UBM goes to Metairie

This morning, for the first time since coming to Louisiana, I drove through Metairie (the nearest suburb to New Orleans). Needed to pick up ...

Saturday morning cartoon

Sending love to Garry Shider

Word comes via the online grapevine that Garry Shider of P-Funk has been diagnosed with brain cancer. Shider has been a loyal soldier in Ge...

Happy birthday, Martin Short.

Martin Short , probably my all-time favorite improvisational comedian, is 60 years old today. Which is all the excuse I need to stream this ...

Smith & Wesson makes a fragrance.

I drove to Metairie today during my lunch break to buy a sportcoat, dress shirt and tie. I went the “big & tall” route to make sure I fo...

Random whiteness

Random wrongness

Marva Wright (1948-2010)

Another New Orleans music star has passed away. Blues woman Marva Wright – who sang on Bourbon Street, in the White House and throughout Eu...

Tuesday 12-inch Flashback: ‘Got to Give It Up’

New cuts from Bernie Worrell

One of my favorite living musicians has a new album out, and I never would’ve known except for a casual search of the eMusic database. Keyb...

Bernard “Bunchy” Johnson (1952-2010)

Quite sadly, I pass along news that longtime New Orleans drummer (and part-time actor) Bunchy Johnson died today, according to the Louisian...

A free Lightspeed Champion download

Seattle’s KEXP.org provides a nice new FREE MP3 from the eccentric hipster known as Lightspeed Champion . Click here to hear “Marlene” on ...

Saturday morning cartoon

Name this band, win a prize.

Tonight is St. Joseph’s Night, and that’s a big deal in New Orleans... because the Mardi Gras Indian tribes will take to the streets in the...

Another sneak peek

A free Geri Allen download

Pianist Geri Allen , one of the great women of modern jazz, has a new album out called “Flying Toward the Sound.” The title track is availab...

Playlist: Irish soul bands

In honor of St. Paddy’s Day, I went searching for some Dublin funk. If you saw “The Commitments,” you know that the Irish dig soul music. M...

The New York Times Magazine on ‘Treme’

This weekend, the New York Times Magazine will run a cover story on my old bud David Simon and his new HBO drama series, “Treme.” The arti...

Tuesday 12-inch Flashback: ‘I Don’t Wanna Lose Your Love’

Speaking of Stevie...

... I never knew that “All I Do” – one of the great tunes off of “Hotter Than July” – was originally written for Tammi Terrell, and that she...

Random Japaneseness

A free Balkan Beat Box download

Here’s a new FREE MP3 from Balkan Beat Box , a crew of Brooklyn hip-hop fusionists with roots in Israel. Click here to hear “War Again” on ...

‘Treme’ trailer

Coming on April 11...

Saturday morning cartoon

A free Mulatu Astatke download

I first blogged about the Ethiopian jazz master Mulatu Astatke a year ago. The vibraphonist has a new album coming out at the end of March...

Random hipness

UBM’s first annual ‘Nice Try’ Awards

Why? Because I give. I’m a giver. And now, without further adoo-doo... Third place: Second place: First place:

Before/after

Meet Kayotic , a New Orleans rapper. I don’t know this cat or his music. Just stumbled on him on YouTube. But we filmed part of an episode i...

A free Garaj Mahal download

The jazz-funk jam band Garaj Mahal (which I blogged about in 2008) just dropped a new album . Want a FREE MP3? This track was composed by ...

Random hotness

Tuesday 12-inch Flashback: ‘Let’s Start the Dance’

Bohannon-hannon-hannon...

Playlist: Recently downloaded from eMusic

I’ve been a subscriber at the MP3 retail site eMusic.com since 2001. And for most of that time, eMusic did not offer major-label albums. So...

Saturday morning cartoon

This slick animated short, “Logorama,” is up for an Academy Award tomorrow. It starts getting good at 2:42. (PARENTAL WARNING: Adult langua...

Scandalous!

We’re in the midst of filming the second episode of “Treme” written by me. I titled it “Smoke My Peace Pipe.” (The old heads know why.) Coo...

Playlist: We want Bootsy!

Bootsy Collins is cooking up something in his kitchen, y’all. He has been tweeting about various folks coming to Cincinnati and working on...

Random blackness

To find out what became of this gifted lad, follow this link .

Tuesday 12-inch Flashback: ‘Forget Me Nots’

Bow down to Freddie Washington .

‘The Best of Soul Train’ on DVD

This was a long time coming. Time Life is offering a 9-DVD set called “The Best of Soul Train.” List price: $149.95. The DVDs won’t ship ti...