The Laptop Sessions: “Living Well is the Best Revenge” (R.E.M. Acoustic Rock Cover Song)

By Chris Moore:

Hello and welcome to an all-new weekend edition of the Laptop Sessions acoustic cover song video blog! We’ve been doing a lot of work on the site recently, in terms of adding new features and new material to the Laptop Sessions site as well as promoting it so that we will bring in new fans to this great venture. For instance, by this weekend, we will be adding category descriptions for each of the artists we have covered — these will provide interesting background information on their songwriting, information on both original and cover songs that the artists have produced, and share some information about what material has been used for the Laptop Sessions thus far.

And now, without further ado, on to the Laptop Session of the day! I am pleased to bring you the album starter from this year’s R.E.M. release, Accelerate, “Living Well is the Best Revenge.” When the album first came out, I was interested in it, but I had my doubts. I do own both volumes of R.E.M.’s greatest hits, but I really only love about half of the tracks — I would have personally preferred a one disc greatest hits, but that’s just me. Suffice it to say that I wasn’t sure how I would feel about an entire album, especially when their last few albums have received mediocre music reviews. Still, I was interested, so I took a shot…

And I’m so glad that I did! The album is one of my favorites from this year. The music is upbeat and rocking, the vocals are strong and the lyrics interesting, and there is really only one song on the album that I’m not crazy about. The packaging of the deluxe edition (which, yes, I bought — I’m a sucker for attractive CD packaging…) is impressive. There is a booklet tied together loosely with string and a subtitle on the front cover that reads “This will fall apart.” And I don’t doubt that it would if I pulled on the pages too hard…

This song, “Living Well is the Best Revenge” is a great album starter. The verse is really only one chord, so I hope I’ve done it justice. Without the fullness of the other instruments, it just doesn’t sound the same, but you need to watch one other YouTube video after mine — the official R.E.M. music video for the song. They recorded it while driving in a car — the drummer, who is driving, is literally using the steering wheel for the percussion in the song. It’s a great idea that I wish my band MoU had thought of before, as we have been known to rehearse for gigs in the back of our bassist’s van!

That’s all from me for now; make sure to check back tomorrow for an all-new, amazing video blog entry from Jeff…

See you next session!

Download a FREE mp3 of this song at the Fusco-Moore Store by
Clicking HERE! It’s on “The Laptop Sessions, Vol. 8″:

free mp3s



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This is one in a series of acoustic cover songs, original music, and free mp3 downloads here on the Fusco-Moore Productions Blog.

This entry was posted on Friday, June 27th, 2008 at 11:36 am and is filed under R.E.M. Songs. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.

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The Laptop Sessions is a video blog that showcases acoustic cover songs from the best rock bands of all time. Our cover songs are added constantly and we always put a unique spin on every song we play. Songwriters Jim Fusco, Chris Moore, and Jeff Copperthite all contribute to this music video series on a daily basis with the goal of putting an end to bad YouTube videos forever!

The blog has search capabilities, so you'll be able to find your favorite cover song instantly. Or, you can search by band by using our category pages and our sitemap. We're constantly adding new bands to the Laptop Sessions Music Video Series, and we're accepting requests all the time. The blog also features music articles about how to write a song, how to record a song, and product reviews. We also write great blog posts about our general lives and interesting commentaries about the music business in general.

The Fusco-Moore Productions Blog doesn't just feature cover songs: we also do original songs every week with our exclusive "Original Wednesday" video series. Here, you'll hear brand-new original songs by great songwriters. If you like the cover songs we're doing here on the blog, you'll LOVE the original tunes we play! These songs show you the multiple talents of everyone involved in the Laptop Sessions. You'll hear a great original song every single week- who knows, you may just end up finding a new favorite musician!

So, if you're looking for new music, original songs, classic tunes, cover songs, or any acoustic music, you've come to the right place. The Fusco-Moore Productions Blog is home to the world-famous Laptop Sessions music video series and pledges to bring you the best in rock music every single day. Remember to check back often, as new cover songs, original videos, and great music articles are being added constantly for your entertainment.