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“I Am Trying To Break Your Heart” (Wilco Acoustic Rock Cover Song) – The Laptop Sessions
Tuesday, November 18th, 2008
By Chris Moore:
It’s no secret that I’ve been going through a Wilco phase recently. And, by phase, I mean that I wasn’t really familiar with the band until a couple months ago. I had read about the band a bit in music magazines, and I had read quotes by band frontman Jeff Tweedy, which I generally found interesting. So, I finally found a copy of their critically acclaimed Yankee Hotel Foxtrot album and decided to give it a spin.
And instantly loved it.
Ever since, I’ve been listening to alot of other music, but I’ve gone back to Wilco every time. In the past two months, I’ve gone on an odyssey to discover as much about them as possible. This has involved reading Wikipedia posts, skimming music magazines, and browsing through numerous CD store racks and used album bins. In the process, I’ve found affordable copies of Yankee Hotel Foxtrot‘s predecessor, Summerteeth (which is the origin of the song I just added to the members-only section, which you should definitely check out soon!), and their first album, A.M.
Now, it’s not that Wilco is my new favorite band of all-time, by any means. But there is a certain excitement that accompanies fresh territory, striking out into a land that is unusual and can present unexpected ideas, sounds, etc. For instance, I learned all about Uncle Tupelo — a band I had heard OF but had never actually HEARD — because Uncle Tupelo, minus one member, became the first incarnation of Wilco.
But, I guess that’s a story for another time.
Suffice it to say that Uncle Tupelo is credited with founding the “alt-country” genre that I didn’t even know existed until recently. As Tweedy progressed, he became more and more experimental with his music, particularly after the first couple Wilco albums. He seems like an interesting musical figure to me, as he embodies that rock songwriter ideal; he has made some great music, and from many reports, he can be a bit of a jerk. For instance, members of Wilco have been essentially summarily dismissed to make way for new musicians with new sounds to bring to the process. While this may not make for pleasant interpersonal relationships, it has certainly made for some interesting musical variations and evolution in the band.
When I think of this song and this album, Yankee Hotel Foxtrot, in particular, I am reminded, to a degree, of some of the classic albums that have initially been criticized or even rejected by record company executives. In this case, the hype surrounding the making of the album seems to have only aided and increased its eventual popularity. Essentially, as Wilco recorded this album, but the powers-that-be needed to make some cuts at the label, so they released the band. There are several conflicting stories, but the end result is that Wilco got to keep the recordings and rights to the then-new material, going on to another division of Warner Bros. to officially produce and release the album. This caused a bit of a stir in the record industry at the time — particularly the public perception of the label’s treatment of this fairly longstanding act — and even though I wasn’t nearly as interested in music industry news as I am now, I remember something about this at the time.
The track I chose for tonight is the opening song, “I Am Trying to Break Your Heart.” For better or worse, my version does not do justice to the studio version, which you should definitely listen to; for that matter, you should definitely listen to the album! But, when I discovered that Jeff Tweedy does an acoustic version of this song in his acoustic sets, I couldn’t resist. It’s a great song that sets the tone remarkably well for the album to follow.
I hope you enjoy my version and that you hurry back in the next couple days for Jeff and Jim.
See you next session!
![[del.icio.us]](http://images.del.icio.us/static/img/delicious.small.gif)
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“San Francisco (Be Sure To Wear Flowers In Your Hair)” (Scott McKenzie Acoustic Rock Cover Song) – The Laptop Sessions
Tuesday, November 18th, 2008
By Jim Fusco:
And the winner, yet again, is Jim Fusco!!! (AHHH, Jiiiiimmmm Fuscooooo, AHHHH, undefeated champion of the world, AHHHH)
What am I the winner of? Well, the song with the LONGEST title ever on the Laptop Sessions acoustic cover songs music video blog!
“San Francisco (Be Sure To Wear Flowers In Your Hair)” is a great tune that symbolized the Summer of Love in 1967. The song was written by Scott McKenzie’s friend John Phillips of the Mamas and the Papas. McKenzie was slated to form the band with Phillips earlier, but then decided to be a solo artist. Well, McKenzie is the true definition of a “One Hit Wonder”, as this song reached the Top 10 and that was his only big hit.
Chris said to me, “I konw the song, but I’ve never even heard of Scott McKenzie!” Well, he doesn’t realize it, but he has.
The classic Number 1 hit for the Beach Boys in 1987, “Kokomo”, was actually written by the following: Mike Love, Terry Melcher, John Phillips, and…Scott McKenzie! I don’t know what hand he actually had in it, but it’s funny to learn of the connection. That song became a hit a solid 20 years after he hit it big with his only well-known song…and it was a song he didn’t even write! I’m sure McKenzie is still seeing royalties from “Kokomo”.
I came up with a big project that I call “The Cover Songs Initiative” today that outlines the progress I’d like to see this site make, along with the steps to get there. I’ll be rolling it out tomorrow night, so I’m excited to see some great progress! See you on Thursday night!
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An All-New Cover Song Music Video added to the Members-Only Section!
Tuesday, November 18th, 2008
By Chris Moore:
Hey there y’all! So, I’m aware that this isn’t my night and all, but I have some good news…
One more video has arrived!
Yes, it’s true. In addition to Jim’s regularly scheduled cover song music video, you can check out an all-new video in the members-only section. If you’re not a member, you need to sign up! If not, you’ll miss my recording of Wilco’s “How to Fight Loneliness.” I didn’t feel right releasing this as a normal Laptop Session, as I already had recorded a Wilco song for my Tuesday 11/18/2008 video. So, I figured there was no better way to handle it than to add it as a free video in the members-only section.
So, don’t wait around, get on over to the members-only section and kick back to my cover version of this great track off Wilco’s Summerteeth album. I should also give a shout-out to Jim for helping me figure out the A6 and Bbdim chords I needed to learn in order to play this song. It’s a fairly simple song, but I really enjoyed learning it. I’ve been playing it a lot recently, so I figured I just had to share it.
Enough said. Go to the members section! Press play! Enjoy, courtesy of the best acoustic cover song music blog in the universe…
See you for tomorrow’s session!
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Choose Cover Songs from over 100 Bands: Welcome to the Laptop Sessions music video blog! Here, you'll find cover songs, original music, & music reviews updated every weekday! We hope you enjoy the acoustic covers, free mp3s, chords, tabs, and music reviews here on the site! |
