Gene Joke

Last Friday was King Me's birthday. Happy Birthday, King Me. Anyone who knows King Me knows what a "Gene Joke" is. It's a joke that's hyper-twisted in either a philosophical or sexual-scatological sense. Part of it is definitely the delivery, smooth and casual, as if the next words out of your mouth couldn't possibly be as weird or offensive as they are going to be. But with a smirk that knows how funny it is. Wuggie Norple tells a good Gene Joke:

So I said to my cat the other day,
"Be here now."
And my cat said,
"What are you kidding?"

Here's one of King Me's signature songs, and one of his great moments on stage. In classic Here Are The Facts You Requested style, this is a version of Pretty Part reworked as a soulful, smokey-club jam, Will You Dance With Me? This performance comes near the end of a late, weeknight show in Baltimore, circa 1993.