Video: "Itsy Bitsy Spider" (Live) - The Boogers

There is nothing complicated about this live rendition of "Itsy Bitsy Spider" from the Chicago-area band The Boogers. Unless you count the 360-degree horizontal spin of the camera near the end. Could make you throw up if you watch this on IMAX, I suppose. Ralph Covert describes this song as being about "existentialism" -- Crusty B (Paul, the lead singer and guitarist) prefers the phrase "de-termination and perserverance." Which I guess means the same thing, no? The Boogers - "Itsy Bity Spider" (Live) - [YouTube]

Video: "This Too Shall Pass" - OK Go

What do you do if your last viral video was an incredibly simple (if well-thought-out) dance routine on treadmills. You go all super-complex. Rube-Goldberg-like, even. The internet exploded today because of this, and for darn good reason. (More behind-the-scenes stuff here.) This isn't a kids song (there's a low-grade curse word I completely missed until reading the lyrics), but I think kids are gonna go nuts for this. I kinda did, too, in my own little way. (I also love the way they comment on "Here We Go Again.") OK Go - "This Too Shall Pass" [YouTube]

Video: "Tap Dancer" - Molly Ledford (Lunch Money)

molly-cookie-head.jpgOh, sure, you can go check out Molly Ledford: Songs, the new song blog from Lunch Money songwriter extraordinaire Molly Ledford. 'Cuz, yeah, there are lots of cool songs there. But my favorite unreleased track from Molly thus far isn't even on the blog. It's called "Tap Dancer" -- you can watch and listen to it below. Molly notes that it won't be on the upcoming Lunch Money disk Original Friend but that "it will be on something eventually." I really dig the bluesy turn the bridge takes. And I think more kids songs should use the word "Arabesque." I should use the word "Arabesque." Molly Ledford (Lunch Money) - "Tap Dancer"

Tapdancer from Jay Barry on Vimeo.

Concert Recap: Randy Kaplan (Phoenix, Nov. 2009)

Randy_picking.jpgWhen I was putting together my recap of Doug Snyder's performance here in Phoenix a week or so ago, I realized that I'd totally skipped providing a recap of Randy Kaplan's show here back in November -- heck, I hadn't even uploaded the videos from the show. So there's little I can say about the show three months after the fact other than: 1) Kaplan's a really good live act, and 2) he played some new songs. That's right, Kaplan's got a new album coming out this spring, but even last fall he treated the Phoenix crowd to some new songs, including the one below, which, appropriately enough for the desert, featured cacti. Randy Kaplan - "I Like Cacti" (Live) [YouTube]