The Laptop Sessions Cover Songs & Original Music Video Blog

By Chris Moore:

Hello and welcome to my first Laptop Sessions post of the new year!

Yes, 2009 will be even better than 2008.  I hope…

Seriously, though, I’m excited for all the improvements and updates that have already taken place, even in the brief five day period since New Year’s Day.  If you’re a regular visitor to this site, you should notice some of Jim’s handiwork on the front page of the site.  Go ahead, check again.  You’ll see the new scrolling pictures of our original albums (click and take a listen!!).  You’ll see the weekly calendar of sessions: Chris Moore Mondays, Jim Fusco Tuesdays, Original Wednesdays, Jeff Copperthite Thursdays, and Guest Sessions Fridays — learn ‘em, love ‘em!

And my personal favorite addition is our new Fusco-Moore original (well, technically, it’s just a Fusco original… :- ) loading bar with four squares.  There are some excellent features that we’ve built up over the past year, and I hope you’ll take the time to acquaint yourself with all the great material that’s available on the site.  Go ahead, explore…

For tonight’s session, I chose a pretty obscure one.  In fact, I haven’t even found a copy of the original version.  This is Big Star’s “Thirteen.”  I first heard this song when Elliott Smith’s acoustic version was released posthumously on New Moon.  This is an amazing song and Smith’s version, as far as I’m concerned, is the quintessential version.  The combination of his fingerpicking style and voice is a beautiful thing.

Just last night, I heard the Wilco cover of this song, recorded originally in 1997.  As Jeff Tweedy began to sing the lead, I instantly remembered the song.  Only, I didn’t know where I had heard it.  Thus, I rediscovered the beauty of the iPod.  I searched “Thirteen,” found my Elliott Smith version, and set out to learn the song myself.

It’s as simple as that.

That’s what we do around here.  So don’t go too far — hurry back for the very first Jim Fusco Tuesday of 2009 and I’ll see you again soon!

    A       Aaug        F#m        Aaug
Our life together is so precious together.
        A     E7        A   E7
We have grown,  we have grown
             A             Aaug   F#m
although our love is still special.
A7                           D
Let’s take a chance and fly away
    Dm      A
somewhere alone.

     A
It’s been too long since we took the time.
   Aaug                                 Bm      E
No-one’s to blame, I know time flies so quickly
Bm                 E
but when I see you darling
C#m          F#                  Bm
it’s like we both are falling in love again.
      E                     A    Aaug          A     Aaug
It’ll be just like starting over,     starting over.

Everyday we used to make it love.
Why can’t we be making love nice and easy?
It’s time to spread our wings and fly.
Don’t let another day go by my love,
it’ll be just like starting over, starting over.

G                      Am
Why don’t we take off alone,
D                     G
take a trip somewhere far, far away.
Em                       Am
We’ll be together on our own again
D                      G
like we used to in the early days,
E7
well, well darling.

It’s been too long since we took the time.
No-one’s to blame, I know time flies so quickly
But when I see you darling
It’s like we both are falling in love again.
It’ll be just like starting over,     starting over.

    A       Aaug        F#m        Aaug
Our life together is so precious together.
        A     E7        A   E7
We have grown,  we have grown
             A             Aaug   F#m
although our love is still special.
A7                           D
Let’s take a chance and fly away
    Dm
somewhere...

A    Aaug         A     Aaug
Starting over... (Repeat and fade)

Aaug

e -x-|---|---|---|---|
B ---|-x-|---|---|---|
G ---|-x-|---|---|---|
D ---|---|-x-|---|---|
A ---|---|---|---|---|
E ---|---|---|---|---|

By Jeff Copperthite:

Wow, we did it!  What started as a “you know, we should just do a video per day for 2008″ side comment from Chris has materialized into a 366 day marathon.  Naturally, Chris chose a leap year.  And for some reason, Jim & I have let him live through it all.

This is a momentous day and a momentous post.  Fitting that the year ends on an Original Wednesday post.  Today I bring you another brand new premiere song.  I know you’ve never heard it, because I finished writing it today.

Now that may be evident in today’s video.  I went through a few takes for this not because I messed up, but I couldn’t agree w/ myself on how the song should go.  The end result is a well-flowing song and if you listen intently it has a New Years’ message.

Speaking of which, I wanted to wish all of you a safe and happy New Year, and I hope that it brings you happines, wealth, and a whole bunch of entertainment from us here at laptopsessions.com.  As Chris mentioned in his previous post, there will be a lot more than acoustic cover videos going on at this site next year.

Tomorrow I will ring in the New Year with a reflection article and promotional video.  This way my Youtube subscribers will have to read the whole thing on the website, but they’ll know that something is on there.

One of my goals for 2009 is to get more of our Youtube crowd to visit our site regularly.  The sooner they realize the content is being added here rather than on Youtube, the better off they will be with our goings on!

I hope you stay safe, and I hope your new year finds you well and with those you love.  Cheers, and stay tuned for more from laptopsessions.com in 2009!

This is your chance to have your music seen and heard by thousands of Laptop Sessions viewers!  Every day, hundreds of people come to LaptopSessions.com to view the video post of the day, as well as the hundreds of archived music videos.

Now, we want YOU to record a Laptop Session!

This is a very simple process, and there are only two criteria:  One, that you can play guitar, and two, that you can sing.  Pretty easy, right?

Here’s how to submit:

It’s a simple, 2-step process…

First, record a cover song music video (choose any cover!) and post it on YouTube.com.

Second, send an email to admin@laptopsessions.com with:

- the link to your YouTube cover video
- a written description of your video (info about the song, why you recorded it, etc.)
- your contact info

Jim, Chris, and Jeff will choose one video each week, to be posted on Friday.  So, don’t wait — submit your Laptop Session today!!

** Please, no more than two (2) submissions per week. **

We’re looking forward to including new faces and interpretations.  Really, we hope you’ll take part in this great project and that you’ll fill up our 52 Friday slots of the year!

By Chris Moore:

And the award for most spirited contribution to a Laptop Session goes to…

Jim Fusco!

Yes, that’s right, for my FINAL video of 2008, I called in the big guns (plural) — not only Jim, but also Dana.  The video that resulted is a one take, gather ’round the ol’ laptop spontaneously kind of video.  At its core, this is what the Laptop Sessions are all about — recording a performance as if you were just sitting around the house with us.  Break out a guitar, tune it, and start strumming.  That’s what we do here.  And that’s what we’ll continue to do in 2009!

For tonight, I chose “Feliz Navidad” in honor of the quickly approaching new year.  Jose Feliciano recorded this song in 1970 and when it was released on CD in 2001 it quickly became one of the most played and recorded Christmas songs, according to ASCAP.  Now, it has been added to the massive “session-a-day” catalog at the Laptop Sessions music blog, soon to be 366 music videos strong from this year alone!

Tonight was a lot of fun.  Not only did I get to go to my English department Christmas party, but I also got there on time and without getting lost, thanks to the GPS that Jim and Mike got me for Christmas!  I’ve been saying for years that I don’t really need one, that it wouldn’t get used, and epecially with the iPhone, that a GPS seems unnecessary.  Well, not so.  This was extremely easy to use and it was more fun than it should have been to drive to Hamden and back.  Anyone who knows me will understand how great this is, as it combines my dorkiness with technology AND my dorkiness for loving to drive places!

Anyway, the party was extremely relaxing and fun (I am grateful for an amazing department of people to work with), and when I got home, I went out for some late night Burger King and Jim and I kicked back to watch some YouTube Videos.  First, he showed me the little kid screaming as he opened his Nintendo 64.  “NINTENDO SIXTY-FOOOOOUUUUUURRRRR!!.”  So funny.  (YouTube search: kid opening nintendo 64)

Then, I showed him a video I just came across today.  It’s Jeff Tweedy, front man for Wilco, playing an acoustic show and talking to the crowd in between songs.  About midway into the video, he explains “the game” to the crowd.  Essentially, the game is to name a band — Three Dog Night, for instance — and then to consider the bowel movement that might have inspired the band name.  There are so many good ones!  Just think — Green Day, the Rolling Stones, String Cheese Incident, etc…  The list goes on.  (YouTube search: Jeff Tweedy banter and the game)

When we were done and Dana had arrived, we were all fighting unconsciousness.  At least I was.  And I think Jim a bit too.  So, Jim suggested I record my video before we went our separate ways (tangent:  anyone remember that American Dad episode with screaming “Debbie and I went our separate WAAAYS!).  Even I didn’t need more than a quick glance at the chord sheet for this song before I joined them in the other room to record what is probably one of the most fun sessions I’ve done.  It won’t win any awards, but I hope you enjoy the energy and the simplicity of the message.

Truly, I wish you a happy new year and the best of happiness, health, and success in 2009.  Thank you for all your support, for watching our videos, and I hope you’ll continue to come back next year.  With any luck, our numbers will continue to grow!

2008 was a great year for music; there were lots of great albums.  There were also disappointments, but those were weighed out by the good songs and albums that were released.  Personally, it was a year of up and downs for me.  Musically, I found one of my new favorite bands, Wilco.  In other aspects, I’m certainly hopeful that 2009 will be a better year — that I will catch up with my grading and do well on my BEST portfolio, that I will record my album with Jim (hint, hint, nudge, nudge ), and that I will deal with some personal issues that need to be dealt with, oh, I don’t know… months ago!

But for now, I will comfort myself with the knowledge that Jeff’s video will be here tomorrow — our VERY LAST SESSION OF 2008!!  Don’t miss it!

See you next year!!

By Jim Fusco:

My LAST post of the year is the my last entry into our “Session a day” project.  I can’t believe it’s over, but I also can’t believe that it took this long to get where we are!  I mean, yes, we’ve gotten some success, but it certainly hasn’t been overnight.  We’re talking over a year now!  But, I do see many great signs of progress every day here on the best music video blog ever created.  Tell your friends- tell your enemies- tell everyone!

Tonight, I bring you a classic tune off of the album that Peter Griffin asked, “You what was huge?  ‘Frampton Comes Alive.’  Honestly, was there even one person you knew who didn’t have that record?”  It’s so true.  I went out and got a copy on CD a few years back.  I’m not a huge fan of long, drawn out, jam sessions, so the concert was of limited enjoyment to me.  But, I did get a few great songs off of this album, especially because the famous versions are from that concert.  I first bought a copy of a Frampton Greatest Hits, but it had the studio version of “Show Me the Way”.  The version everyone knows is the live version!  And then, I had always heard the studio version of “Baby I Love Your Way” on the radio.  Guess what?  The live version graced that disc.  I was pissed.  That actually happened to me once before with a Neil Diamond greatest hits album.  I so desperately wanted the studio version of a certain song and the collection only had the live cut.  This was back in the days before iTunes and commercially available mp3s, so no help there.

I really enjoy “Baby I Love Your Way”.  It’s a simple song- no odd stops or middle eights or guitar solos- but it gets the sentiment across well and has a nice, recognizable tune.  I had fun playing this one.  I’m always concerned that I look angry while I’m playing these songs.  That is, angry or just very hurt.  I have to catch myself on things like that.  For this video, I had to do about ten takes (only one other full one) to get it right.  I kept putting the wrong emphasis on words or I would look in the camera and notice I had this scowl on my face.  Ah, the Laptop Sessions…

THANK YOU to all who have supported us in our efforts to bring you a cover song a day for the entire year of 2008!  We’ll be donig a video a week (each) next year, but to make up for the slower schedule, we’ll be writing articles, posting music reviews, and adding the chords to your favorite songs so you can play along!  Have a GREAT New Year.  My next scheduled post won’t be until Tuesday, January 6th, but I don’t think I can be away for that long, so I’ll be on here, redesigning the homepage for the site for the new year and new schedule.  Until then!