By Jim Fusco:

This post will be a shorter one, as Ace Ventura 2 is on in the background.  Any time Jim Carrey’s on screen, my attention is pulled towards the television.  Today was a fun day, as the original seven cast members of WCJM Radio got together to do our first Moore Hits in the Morning show that was actually in the morning!  The 10th Anniversary Show went off without a hitch, except for the producing mistakes I made.  Those will be edited out LONG before you hear it online!  I’ll be working on the show soon and I hope everyone will go online and listen to it!

Tonight, I bring you a great song off of Brian Wilson’s new album “That Lucky Old Sun”.  I love this album and it proves how great this guy still is.  His singing voice just seems to get better and better.  It has such a full sound now that it didn’t have back in the late 80s.

This song I chose not for its lyrics, which are a bit on the unexpected side, but for its incredible tune.  I just love when the music kicks in after the first vocals-only part.  The chords are great and Brian’s voice is even better.  The lyrics provided by Van Dyke Parks are still very witty.  That man says things in song a way no one else ever has before.  It’s funny to me that probably my favorite song on the album was written by the classic duo of Wilson/Parks and not the new duo of Wilson/Bennett.

This is a short song, but I think it captures the essence of Brian’s efforts to speak out against pollution, etc.  When you think of California, you think of sunshine, beautiful views, and wildlife.  Brian sang about the other two things throughout the rest of the album, so this song covers the last topic and brings the album full-circle.

Enjoy this song tonight as I go off for a LONG winter’s nap and finish off my big weekend!

I love when these milestones are so close together, as Jeff posted yesterday about his latest YouTube count.  I thought I would follow suit with a similar, albeit shorter, list describing my Top 5 highest viewed Laptop Sessions videos.  I do have a couple of my “How To” videos topping my overall list- the Top 5 Laptop Sessions cover songs videos are as follows:

“I’m So Lonely” (The Beach Boys) – 5968 views

This is exactly what the Laptop Sessions is all about: taking a song that everyone wrote off previously and turning it into an acoustic song.  This way, you get to hear the actual song and, in this case, not the cheesy mid-80s production.

“Do You Want To Know A Secret” (The Beatles) – 4541 views

Can’t explain this one.  I don’t even truly love this song- it’s just one that was a nice song that I thought would translate well on my nylon string guitar.  But, this is one of my oldest videos, so I can only hope that it’s a trend- the longer my videos are online, the faster they’ll get more views!

“Wouldn’t It Be Nice” (The Beach Boys) – 4075 views

You know why this song is in the top three?  Because I can hit the notes.  I don’t mean to sound pretentious, but honestly, that’s what separates my video from every other so-called “cover” on YouTube.  But, then again, that’s what we all try to accomplish on a daily basis here!

“You May Be Right” (Billy Joel) – 3948 views

I can’t believe this one.  I honestly did it because I love the song, but didn’t think it would end up in my top 5!  I think it’s because I turned an electric song acoustic…and that I have a ton of energy in this one.

“Let It Ride” (Bachman Turner Overdrive) – 3968 views

This one’s the most surprising of them all.  The other videos were added six months or more ago.  This one?  Three months.  I think this video’s popularity follows the same logic of “You May Be Right”, as I took an electric song, used an acoustic, and let it ride!

Of course, I look forward to the next milestone, as it’ll be a big one: 150,000!  Congrats to Jeff and we’re both looking forward to Chris’ next YouTube view round number!

By Jeff Copperthite:

As it reads in the subject header, I have reached another Youtube milestone.  That’s right, 60,000 views!  Most of which have come during Session-a-day.

I always enjoy seeing the highest place value increase by 1, and I know that in due time I will enjoy having to read 6 digit view counts.  Although I have come to the realization I will not achieve my 100K view goal by the end of the year, I know that over the past few months my views per day continues to increase.  I think that 70k views by years end is achievable, but i’m going to raise the bar and hope for 75k.

As a treat, I thought i’d share with you the current top 5 videos that I have posted, and some commentary on what the Youtube community thinks of them.  For your convenience, i’ve even included links to their pages on the blog.  All view counts are current as of November 24, 2008 3:39 p.m.

1) A Horse With No Name (America) (7,074 views)

I receive lots of views from various “how to play” pages, and there are many covers of this song on the website.  Most commentary about this song approves of the style, and the “ease” that the song comes out of me.  I knew that I was going to get a lot of views simply on the popularity of the song, but I did not expect it to skyrocket to 1st and beat the next closest video by so many views.  I fully expect this video to be among the first to achieve the 5 digit mark from this site.

2) Fake Plastic Trees (Radiohead) (3,297 views)

I was pleased how I played this song, but not in how it was sung.  It was partially due to a cold I had at the time.  I could’ve sang it better, but it also suffered from being recorded in the kitchen, which provided some reverb that makes it sound worse.  I have long since stopped recording in that location.  The Youtube community finds my cover “ok”, but overall people tend to look negatively on Radiohead covers overall.  They have such staunch, dedicated fans who accept nothing except the real band.

3) Something Good This Way Comes (Jakob Dylan) (2,710 views)

I was very pleased with this video, and so is the Youtube community.  I had the advantage of posting this video the day of the release of Jakob Dylan’s solo album “Seeing Things”, and the initial view spike shows this.  Youtube likes this video, and all the comments I received on it have been positive.  This is among my favorites.

4) Big Empty (Stone Temple Pilots) (2,171 views)

This was the first video I recorded for 2008, and the first to be recorded on my new digital camera (and every video since has been recorded on this camera – it gets a lot of use!).  I don’t think this was among my best since I was still a little “camera shy” at the time.  I’ve gotten a lot better as the year has gone on, but it’s good to look back at how I have progressed through the year.  I’m glad that the community likes this cover, but i’ve gotten both ends of the comment spectrum from Youtube users.  Overall it’s liked, though.

5) “Best of My Love” (The Eagles) (1,817 views)

This is among my favorite videos, because it is a favorite song of mine.  It was one of those videos that I recorded, then pumped my fist because I thought I played it perfectly.  Similar to previous videos, I get a lot of hits from “how to play” videos and other covers on the site.  Comments have been approving mostly, and viewers have enjoyed it quite a bit.

I look forward to the next milestone, and to share another top 5.  Will it be different, or the same?

By Jim Fusco:

Oh yes, another Jim Fusco night, another acoustic cover song music video, and yet ANOTHER “new” band to the Laptop Sessions cover songs series!  I’m not even going out of my way to find these new bands to do- they just come to me.

If you haven’t gotten a chance to check out the new Cover Songs website yet, do yourself a favor and go see it!  It took me many hours to complete, but now it’s fully navigable and even has a really cool Flash logo.  I’m really proud of it, especially considering how many revisions it went through so I could make it perfect.  Hopefully Chris can help me finish making pages for the site in the next couple of days.

I’m so excited about Christmas time right now.  Today, Chris, Becky, and I went to breakfast at Bickford’s (which they both sorely needed after the thrashing they received in Trivial Pursuit last night), then went to the Eric Carle children’s book museum (which was a really nice place), and got to meet famous author Patricia MacLachlin (“Sarah, Plain and Tall”).  She even signed books for us!  After that, we went up to an amazing place: the Yankee Candle headquarters in South Deerfield, MA.  That place is HUGE and really gets you in the Christmas spirit.  Too bad the prices were so high, though.  For instance, I wanted to get this great Christmas village piece of a 50s diner…but it cost $110!  I don’t think I’m quite there yet, financially.

But, we had a great time and it was a perfect way to kick off my favorite time of the year.  I just hope Chris and Becky had a good time, too.  This week truly rules- there is simply no better week during the year.  Why?  Because you have EVERYTHING to look forward to!  Christmas is great, but after that, it’s all over.  Thanksgiving week offers plenty of fun and excitement.  Here’s what I’m looking forward to:

1. Monday: Normal working day, but when I get home, I’m cooking a pre-Thanksgiving dinner for Chris, Becky, Dana, and myself.  Everyone always goes their separate ways on holidays, so I thought this would be my way of celebrating together.  Yes, I have to cook, but at least everyone will be there!  Not to mention my favorite shows are on: Boston Legal and Two and a Half Men.
2. Tuesday: This day isn’t anything great, as it’s just a normal workday and I still have to go in on Wednesday.  But, Becky has the day off on Wednesday, so she’ll be able to stay later, at least.  Maybe we’ll go shopping!
3. Wednesday: Excitement grows, as I go to work (possibly breakfast with Becky before?) and get ramped-up to leave.  This night, we’ll be staying up late and having some fun!
4. Thursday: Of course, Thanksgiving.  I’m going to Becky’s family’s house first, then we’re both going to my parents’ house to eat.  I love this holiday- it’s really so laid-back.  I’ll watch some football (how about those Jets?), watch a movie, eat, sleep, and get ready for a Thanksgiving night TNA iMPACT!
5. Friday: After going to bed early on Thursday (yeah, right), Chris and I will get up MASSIVELY early to go shopping on Black Friday.  Not because we need to- it’s just an excuse to leave the house at 4:30!  We’re meeting Alberto Distefano for our now three-year tradition.  I’ll shop and hopefully get good deals, then we’ll all go to McDonald’s for some delicious egg McMuffins.  After that, I’ll go to my parent’s house, where my father and I will put up lights outside until it’s lunchtime.  Then, I’ll eat more fast food with him, followed by a trip to my house, where I’ll start putting up Christmas decorations and listening to the Christmas WCJM radio shows.  This amazing and long day will end with my yearly tradition of watching “Christmas Vacation”- one of the best movies ever.
6. Saturday: Doesn’t stop there!  I’ll probably do more shopping, but we’re hoping to get the gang back together to do another radio show.  I hope it works out, as it’s our last chance to do the 10th Anniversary show.  We’ll see.
7. Sunday: Well, they don’t call it the “day of rest” for nothing!

Wow, that’s a week.  I’m so excited- I don’t know how I’m going to get to sleep tonight.

Now, FINALLY (after over 700 words), I’m onto tonight’s cover song music video:

The Steve Miller band is famous for many hit singles.  “Jungle Love” is no exception, and I’m proud to bring it to the music video blog.  When I first learned how to play it, I said to myself, “Man, that is really high-pitched.”  Then I learned that song was even HIGHER pitched than I originally thought (a half-step up on a first-fret capo), so I had to adjust.

The result?  One of my most vocal-chord-shredding, but most exciting videos ever.  It only took me a couple takes to get through this one and I can’t believe I kept my wits about me to remember that whistling part at the end.  I had to borrow Chris’ acoustic guitar for this one (not like he noticed anyway- he was passed out asleep in his street clothes on top of his bed) because I wanted it to be a little more “punchy” than my normal nylon-stringed videos.  I love how easy the riff to this song is (basically an E to E-suspended 4th and D to D-suspended 4th on first fret capo), as I’ve always loved it.  It’s funny how things work out like that.  I swear that most songs I play that sound easy are the hardest and vice versa.  This one always sounded so good- I couldn’t believe that it was so simple.

Well, I’ve written 1000 words for this Laptop Session post.  I think that might be a first!  So, sit back and enjoy the video for the 10th time now, because I’m sure it took about nine video plays to get through the reading of this post!  Hey, that’s not a bad way to increase views- write longer posts and set the video to “loop”!  I’ll be reaching my next YouTube video view milestone soon, so stay tuned!  Enjoy the start of your week and I’ll be back again on Original Wednesday!