My 4 year old, the comedian.

So my son Huck has really been cracking me up lately. I know, all parents think that their children are cute, but honestly, I'm falling down lately at some of the things that have been coming out of him.

The latest gag goes like this:

So we're driving in the middle of this HELLISH traffic jam on the way back from Dulles Airport into Baltimore, and I mean this is a jam that could only happen in DC. My son, whenever he gets bored or idle or basically anytime, now has gotten into a habit of making noises to pass the time.

In the mix of horns, engines and music in the deep background, I begin to hear this building sound from the backseat:

"beatabeatabeatabeataBEATABEATABEATABAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAH."

(short pause)

"beatabeatabeatabeataBEATABEATABEATABAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAH."

I turn to my wife and say "We have a budding Foley artist in the backseat."

"BEATABEATABEATAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAH..."

"Hey!" I say, in an attempt to settle things down. "When you grow up, are you gonna go into show business?"

Without missing a beat, he says "No, I'm going into Kindergarten."

(short pause)

"BEATABEATABEATAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAH..."


In other news, I know you see that link to the right of this for The Funky 16 Corners by Larry Grogan, which, to my mind, is one of the greatest blogs out there, with its incredibly thorough and entertaining audio guide to super-obscure vintage funk and R&B. Honestly, the mixes that this guy puts together are truly spectacular and, as a true record geek, he has my complete respect and admiration.

His most recent mix, dedicated to James Brown, is not to be missed. With all the attention being laid out for the Godfather, Larry chooses to highlight what is quite possibly the most obscure part of his career, namely his instrumental recordings on the Hammond organ. That's right, this is about James Brown the musician, not the showman. And while nobody is gonna proclaim that JB was an organ virtuoso, this is a fascinating look into a side of James Brown that hardly anyone knew about.

Check it out here. You'll be glad you did.