By Jim Fusco:
For public eyes tonight, I bring you the classic song “Private Eyes” from Hall and Oates! I can’t believe this is the first Hall and Oates song here on the blog. I think it’s a vocal range issue (I’m thinking of doing another band who stretches their vocal chords for a future Session), so I’m happy to be the one to bring this band officially onto the music blog.
My father bought a CD entitled “12 Great Artists, 12 Great Songs” a long time ago from BMG Music Service. He listened to it a lot in the car and it had a bunch of big hits (including “Aimee” by the Pure Prairie League, which is now on the Cover Song List for me). My brother Mike and I would always love singing to this CD, especially to Hall & Oates’ song, “Private Eyes”. Something about it- I just love the vocals, the tune, and those crazy keyboard chords Darryl Hall plays. I was able to replicate the all-important F chord with a G bass into the song to give it the proper sound. See if you can spot it! It’s the chord that makes you know it’s a Darryl Hall song.
Which brings me to my next point: what is the purpose of Oates? He’s like the Garfunkel of the band. He doesn’t appear to play any instruments or even write any songs. He’s basically a backup singer that rode Hall’s coattails for the past 30 years. Someone, please correct me if I’m wrong- I wanna like Oates, but I’m not really finding any reason to!
Back to my brother Mike, I ran my first 5k race with him this year (I stuck with it for three weeks, which breaks a record previously held back at the condo of one day…). He helped me out and ran with me, took me to the gym, etc. It was good to hang out with him more often. I finished the race in about 36 minutes, which isn’t too bad. But, don’t look at the standings- a bit more than a baker’s dozen finished the race ahead of me…
Also, as I’m sure you’ve been noticing, the promotion of my original music has been amped-up recently. I’m submitting my music to radio stations, reviewers, and record labels now. I’m getting “Halfway There” on iTunes, and I’m getting my songs some internet radio airtime. It’s costing a bit of money, but it’s been long enough, don’t you think? The store is back up and running, as you saw yesterday here on the music blog. That was a big step for me, as it was one of those things where I worked so hard, just to see it break. Then, I got so disgusted (and confused by the problem) that I didn’t want to fix it. I’m glad it’s back up and running, but please drop me a line if you see anything malfunctioning.
Personally, I’ve been trying out this new Sleep Cycle program for the iPhone. It’s pretty cool, as it monitors you sleep movements and detects the best time (within a half-hour window) to wake you up. I think I’m getting low grades, though, as sleep has been a bit hard to come by lately. I hope to start a more normal cycle tomorrow night.
Just a quick note on TNA Wrestling last night- what an interesting show. Not sure what the Sting angle is yet, but it can’t be a straight heel turn, as he always has an explanation. He wouldn’t just come out and beat down Hulk Hogan and Abyss without some previous vendetta. So, we’ll see. I just hope they can keep up the excitement on a weekly basis to compete with the WWE.
Finally, I’ll say that I really hope tonight’s video gets a bunch of views, because it took me about 15 takes to get it right. It’s a TOUGH song to play and sing- a lot of chord changes and a very high range without much falsetto. And when I would finally get a take right, it would be listless because I was trying so hard to play it correctly. So, I’d try it again with more energy and then the cycle would start over. Finally, I got a take I liked.
Oh, and that’s the t-shirt they gave out at the “WPLR Sham-Rock’N'Roll” 5k race, in case you were wondering about the leprechaun on it. Not usually my style…
I hope you enjoy tonight’s Laptop Session acoustic cover song music video and hope you’ll stop back next Tuesday evening for another Laptop Session in HD! Until then, I hope you have a relaxing week.
Related posts:
- “Elderberry Wine” by Elton John (Acoustic Rock Cover Song) – The Laptop Sessions
- “Not Myself” (John Mayer Acoustic Rock Cover Song) – The Laptop Sessions
- “3×5″ (John Mayer Acoustic Rock Cover Song) – The Laptop Sessions
- “(Just Like) Starting Over” (John Lennon Acoustic Rock Cover Song) – The Laptop Sessions
- “Dream Lover” (Bobby Darin Acoustic Cover Song) – The Laptop Sessions
This is one in a series of acoustic cover songs, original music, and free mp3 downloads here on the Laptop Sessions Music Video Blog.
