Here's a riddle for you: What do Disney's "Pinocchio," the Battle of Guam and Tupac Shakur have in common?
If you answered, "They're all nouns," well, technically, you're right, but besides that, all three were announced last month among the 25 newest entrants into the Library of Congress' National Recording Registry.
The registry originally was formed under the National Recording Preservation Act of 2000 "to maintain and preserve sound recordings ... that are culturally, historically or aesthetically significant."
Here is why the aforementioned selectees made the grade:
* War correspondent Alvin Josephy's recording was added for the immediacy of his coverage from the first moments of fighting to the aftermath of the battle to retake Guam in 1944.
* Cliff Edwards' song "When You Wish Upon a Star" from the soundtrack to "Pinocchio" was included because his "natural tenor and clear falsetto, along with the beauty of the composition ... continues to touch listeners."
* Shakur's "Dear Mama" was praised for displaying "further evidence of hip-hop as a musically sophisticated and varied genre, which can artfully encompass a wide variety of themes and musical influences."
Kind of makes you wonder which sounds we're hearing today will be considered worthy of national protection in the years to come.
Will The Black Eyed Peas' "My Humps" and Ke$ha's "Dinosaur" eventually join Etta James' "At Last" and Martin Luther King Jr.'s "I Have a Dream" speech in the registry? Gag. I sure hope not.
(A full list of the registry is available at www.loc.org/rr/record/nrpb/registry.)
* Internet music catch of the week: Space Capone's "Volume I: Transformation" and "Volume II: Arrival, Arousal."
Capone (aka Aaron Winters) delivers funk arrangements that display an obvious reverence for the genre in every thumping beat, tasty horn lick and falsetto vocal acrobatic trick. While he's clearly inspired by the funk giants of yesteryear, Winters' work airs on the side of authentic, heartfelt homage rather than tongue-in-cheek caricature.
If George Clinton and P-Funk let you down at Riverbend, consider his show tonight at Rhythm & Brews alongside SkyHi as a personal apology from the universe to you. Downbeat is at 10 p.m. Cover is $7.