Good morning — and happy Wednesday! I’d forgotten how much good music can give you joy.

Last night, as we settled down for dinner, my GF rediscovered D-Nice’s Club Quarantine. It had been a regular feature of our initial lockdown back in March/April. D-Nice had 100,000 people tuning into his Instagram, with folks like Rihanna, Oprah Winfrey, Mark Zuckerberg, and Joe Biden dropping by and chatting in the comments.

Last night, the crowd peaked at 4,000. It was still fabulous, and a trip down memory lane to the early days of the pandemic.

It got me thinking about how much I miss our bars, the intimacy, the serendipity, and the music. I went in search of our May 2017 feature on the playlists of Hell’s Kitchen bars.

I messaged my friend, Suzy Darling, to check if she’s spending her time in Pocket Bar hibernation creating a new playlist. She told me: “I’m not changing a thing! I’m living for the day the whole bar sings again. I feel after this incredibly challenging year (that’s code for complete and absolute crap) every song of the old playlist has taken on a new meaning anyway, from Miley’s Party In The USA to Celine’s It’s All Coming Back To Me Now. The playlist always was and still is about survivors.”

Set your Spotify or Pandora or Sirius Radio to these lists and enjoy...


What we’ve been reading

Fancy shoveling snow for the city? (Bowery Boogie)

What would be your pick for the High Line plinth? Pigeon? Pink Tree? (Patch)

Ever wondered what the Mayor of NYC actually does? Read on. (Gothamist)

Come from Away — coming to your home! (Variety)

Fun ways to find out if your pooch is a genius. (The Conversation)

Andrew Yang has tested positive for the coronavirus. (W42ST.nyc)


Freeze Frame

Dr. Vino Palli at MiDoctor on 9th Avenue messaged us last night with this picture and a plea: “COVID ain’t over yet! A sick COVID pneumonia patient was transferred from MiDoctor to Mount Sinai after being evaluated by our Board-certified physician and provider. Be vigilant! Get tested frequently! Wear a mask! Maintain social distance! Stay home if you are sick! Watch for shortness of breath, dizziness, chest pain and other serious symptoms.”