Much like the rest of his repertoire, Ethan Lipton's "Whitney Houston" is a song entirely at peace with its own novelty factor.

Whereas many contemporary artists neurotically aim for some kind of lasting impact on their listeners, Lipton is content to simply entertain, specifically in a live context. He looks and sounds like a man who has just stumbled into the room from the early 20th century, and usually performs with an "orchestra" that amounts to little more than his own ukulele, or in the case of this live recording, a couple guests on saxophone and lead guitar.

His voice is clean and gentlemanly, and he pulls off ridiculous non sequiturs and absurdly miserable lyrical details with a straight face and a level of commitment that seems almost supernatural. Most of Lipton's songs portray himself as a peculiar character who falls in love with toothless one-eyed women from Renaissance Faires, compliments his lover for the appearance of her thighs in "the fatty position," and plans vacations to Mars. "Whitney Houston," however, casts its namesake pop star as a corrupting influence on "that sweet, sweet Bobby Brown," crediting her with his decline from "singing like an angel" to "picking up junk all over town."

It's a very funny song, but even better than that, it's a catchy little ditty that plays well to repetition in spite of its throwaway nature.

Bouncy, boastful, and brimming with energy, the Rappers Delight Club are like a pint sized suburban Wu-Tang Clan comprised of elementary school kids from Silver Spring, Maryland. Led by David Goldberg, an enthusiastic high school teacher and daycare volunteer, the kids trade off verses like seasoned rap pros, translating the swagger of hip-hop into grade school terms ("I sold more cookies than your whole Girl Scout troupe!") or simply dropping silly one-liners such as, "I rap so well, they call me Rapzilla!"

Though some of the children are better with annunciation than others, they all have surprisingly fluid and stylistically distinct lyrical flows. It's a thoroughly adorable song, but more than anything, it sounds like it was incredibly fun to make. Every kid on the track sounds confident and engaged, especially the girls, all of whom spit their rhymes with nonchalance and sass. If only everyone was lucky enough to have such an imaginative teacher at this age!

At first, "Pancake America" seems odd and vaguely nonsensical, but with a bit of closer attention, a semi-coherent narrative does emerge.

A lovesick fellow goes on a mescaline trip, travels to America on a plane with some very eager passengers, struggles with insomnia and takes more drugs. That last part doesn't go so well for him, so he freaks out a bit, decides that he wants to go back to his ex and to make some pancakes. They aren't just any pancakes, mind you: these are flapjacks made of love.

It's an undeniably offbeat song, but Denmark's Tiger Tunes pull it off with grace and élan, seamlessly switching between upbeat Europop verses and ecstatic modern rock choruses and delivering its goofiest lyrics with a charming mix of sincerity and humor.