Video: "Hey-O" - Rebecca Frezza & Big Truck with Roscoe Orman

One of my favorite tracks off of Rebecca Frezza & Big Truck's new EP Rockin', Rollin' and Ridin' is "Hey-O," which features Roscoe Orman, AKA Gordon from Sesame Street. I suppose this would've been more appropriate last week when everybody was doing the whole 40th anniversary Sesame Street thing, but, oh, well, it's still cool watching Orman and Frezza trading lines from the song with enthusiasm (except for the part where, you know, it's supposed to be super-quiet). Rebecca Frezza & Big Truck with Roscoe Orman - "Hey-O" [YouTube]

Video: "I Count To Ten" (Live) - David Tobocman

I have a long day ahead of me, so I'm just going to repeat this mantra from one of my favorite David Tobocman tracks all day long. David Tobocman - "I Count To Ten" (Live at McCabe's) [YouTube] You'll have to wait a little while longer for album #2 from Tobocman, but Jewish faithful might be interested in his latest song, the fun "Hanukkah All Over the World," which you can listen to here. It's a catchy tune, but I think I'll stick to counting to ten today...

Video: "Ice Pack" - Recess Monkey

I don't know who had the more dangerous job here in the latest video from Recess Monkey -- Drew and Daron, for doing all those falls without the apparent aid of stunt doubles, or Jack, for rockin' the most ridiculous hair/stache combination since late '70s SuperSonics basketball. (Sorry, guys, that probably hurt.) Oh, and as I theorized just this weekend, this new slew of videos will be part of a new DVD due out this December. Most excellent. Recess Monkey - "Ice Pack" [YouTube]

DVD Review: Trying Funny Stuff - The Jimmies

TryingFunnyStuff.jpgAs a reviewer, I tend to dislike absolute statements because you never know what you'll hear or read or see afterwards that will cause you to regret your previous absolute. So with that in mind, let me say this with no "possibly"s or "maybe"s to get in the way: Nobody makes better kids music videos than the Jimmies. Nobody. Don't get me wrong, They Might Be Giants draw a lot of talent to their videos, Recess Monkey does a lot with a little, and folks like Gustafer Yellowgold and Readeez crank out a lot of great music via their primarily video-based format. And various artists might crank out an excellent video or two. But when it comes to creating those 3-minute videos we used to watch MTV for, the Jimmies consistently are the cream of the crop. It's no surprise, therefore, that the chief draw of Trying Funny Stuff, the new DVD from the New York band The Jimmies are the six videos on the set. "Do The Elephant," "Spanimals," "Cool To Be Uncool," "Bedhead," and "Taddy" are here (all available on their YouTube channel or here), along with the new-to-you video for "What's That Sound?," which is every bit as eye-popping as the other three (love the cloud dress). The production values Jimmies mastermind Ashley Albert and director Michael Slavens bring to the videos are pretty stunning -- they impress (and the songs they back up are pretty decent, too). They try lots of stuff, some funny and some just cool. The "behind-the-scenes" documentary starts out goofy, and I thought it was going to be one of those throwaway EPK documentaries, but maybe about five minutes in, you realize, hey, this is interesting, and not in a "interesting-for-the-parents, deathly-dull-for-the-kids" sort of way, but Slavens and Albert actually walk through how they created the effects for the videos and talk to kids rather than the adults. (Oh, and they run through a good dozen chicken-related puns in the span of about a minute, but they're not perfect.) The rest of the package is gravy. The karaoke setting for the videos, is cool, though I don't expect it'll get much use. And the concert video is fun, with the band rocking out in a New York auditorium, complete with guest banjo artists, gratuitous egg shaker solo, and Soaper the Scaredybot (you just have to see it). If you've seen the band in concert, then you know what to expect from the concert. They play songs both from Make Your Own Someday and the upcoming (at some point) Everyday's a Holiday. The DVD also comes packaged with a CD of the concert -- in other words, there's a lot of video and audio to enjoy. Kids ages 4 through 8 will most enjoy the DVD, which features nearly 90 minutes of video (besides the karaoke). You can buy the DVD here or at Barnes & Noble. To watch the Jimmies is to become a fan of the Jimmies. And sometimes you want to watch videos with your kids on something larger than a 3-inch YouTube screen. For those reasons alone, Trying Funny Stuff is worth your time. Definitely recommended.

Video / Listen to This: "Family Garden" - Billy Kelly

I've heard a few jokey/meta titles for Billy Kelly's followup to Thank You For Joining The Happy Club. (Not on the list: People Really Really Really Like Milk.) But I hadn't yet heard actual new songs, until Jeff from Out With The Kids posted some live video from a Halloween show from Kelly in Philadelphia. They're rough (and solo), but they seemed pretty fully developed to me. So enjoy, folks, "Family Garden," which seems as almost as straightforward a song as Kelly's yet written. Billy Kelly - "Family Garden" (Live) [YouTube] Oh, and what the hey... one more with Halloween in mind, sort of.

Video: "Heigh Ho" - Los Lobos

I'm almost ready to end the listening party for Los Lobos' album of Disney covers called (appropriately enough) Los Lobos Goes Disney, but here's a new video for the utterly awesome leadoff track, "Heigh Ho." It's like one of those YouTube mashups except it's officially sanctioned and makes perfect sense, though watching the dwarves march with Los Lobos' voices coming out of their mouths is a little odd... Los Lobos - "Heigh Ho" [YouTube]