Friday Afternoon Diversion

We can still remember with vivid clarity our parents sitting us down for the two major "talks" (sex and drugs) of adolescence. In our family, both talks were equally jarring and minimally helpful. Now imagine having to sit down and talk about drugs and/or sex with Bill Cosby.

The Cos has long been a fan of jazz and at times dabbled in singing and scatting; his comedic talent and mugging for kids also masked for years his grumpy, bitter true self. Cosby's forays into singing have ranged from the genius (the classic "Hikky-Burr" with Quincy Jones comes to mind) to spoken word recordings about the dangers of drugs that made us question Cosby's own sobriety when we heard some tracks on this Myspace page. When Cosby's musical instincts were on, however, they were on. Check out this recording of "Funky North Philadelphia" with the Watts 103rd Street Rhythm Band that's had us grooving for the past week.