Fat Tuesday! Just returned from my morning quest to secure a King Cake. Two bakeries sold-out, but the third time’s a charm. Also, this one actually has the little plastic baby inside, which I was warned at the register is a choking hazard. Bring it! If you’re going to observe tradition, you ought to be able to do it with authenticity!

It’s all doughnuts, alcohol, and orgies today, as tomorrow the streets will be strewn with bottles and bodies for the start of Lent.

In the meantime, indulge in a Classic Ross Amico Carnival/Mardis Gras playlist (which I’ll likely add to throughout the day).

Laissez les bons temps rouler!

“Mardi Gras” by Edward Joseph Collins

Erich Wolfgang Korngold, Prelude and Carnival from “Violanta”

Niccolò Paganini, “Variations on ‘Carnival of Venice’”

Sviatoslav Richter plays Robert Schumann, “Faschingsschwank aus Wien” (“Carnival Jest from Vienna”)

Nelson Freire plays Heitor Villa-Lobos, “Mômoprecóce” (“Carnival of the Brazilian Children”). Hold your nose through the BBC intro.

Luiz Bonfá, “Manhã de Carnaval” on a Yamaha Silent Guitar

Igor Stravinsky, “Petrouchka,” set during at a Shrovetide fair

Creole composer Edmond Dédé, “Méphisto masque” (with kazoo choir)

Charles Lucièn Lambert, “Bresiliana”

Hershy Kay, “Cakewalk,” after Louis Moreau Gottschalk

“Carnevale Veneziano: The Comic Faces of Giovanni Croce”