The Laptop Sessions: “Last Christmas” (Wham! Acoustic Christmas Cover Song)

Tuesday, December 2nd, 2008

By Jim Fusco:

Welcome to your Tuesday edition of the Laptop Sessions!  I love feeling productive, and even though I have a TON of work to do over the next few days (that is, AFTER a full day of work, in addition) I’ve been getting a lot done, so I’m in a good mood.  I hope to completely clear my “after-work” schedule after this week so I can focus on having some Christmas fun!

Tonight, I kick off my Christmas song selection for this year with “Last Christmas” by the band Wham!  No, I wasn’t excited there at the end of that sentence- the band’s name actually has an exclamation point in it!  (For the record, in that last sentence, I really DID want to use an exclaimation point! )

I heard this song on XM Radio a couple years ago and remembered this tune.  Of course, you’ll hear the terrible 80s sound that goes along with it, but I kinda like that sound…probably because it’s the sounds that were popular when I was very young.

Keeping with my success of the Beach Boys’ “I’m So Lonely” video, I think this video may become pretty popular.  Why?  Because the Laptop Sessions has three goals: to do songs in the RIGHT KEY, to put an end to bad YouTube videos forever, and to strip down songs to their core and turn them into acoustic performances.  In cases like this and “I’m So Lonely”, I took out the cheesy, dated production and performed the song in its purest form.  I think people that have previously written this song off will come to like it after my performance!

This is the first in a series of Christmas songs to come this year, mixed in with my normal acoustic covers.  I can’t believe we’re in the last month of our “session a day” project.  I sincerely hope that Chris can contact some sort of news outlet (or the Guinness book) to report on this amazing accomplishment.  I’m certain that it’s unprecedented!

Enjoy tonight’s video, as Christmas time is in full swing.  Again, I hope I can start enjoying it more in a few days, and I’m sure my post length will reflect that when things slow down and I have more time to myself.  Okay, off to bed now.  Stay tuned for a great Chris Moore original song tomorrow and I’ll see you back here on Friday!

The Laptop Sessions: “Do They Know It’s Christmas?” (Acoustic Rock Cover Song by MoU)

Monday, December 24th, 2007

By Jim Fusco:

Here again with another Laptop Session for Christmas! This song, originally made famous by the supergroup Band-Aid, has been a favorite of mine since I was little.

I got 4/5 of MoU together and we did this tune in Fusco-Moore Studios a couple days ago. We had a lot of fun with it- a bit too much fun, considering the subject matter of the song. Please note that we don’t take the subject of starvation in third-world countries lightly- we just had a lot of fun getting together and singing Christmas songs!

I hope you’ve enjoyed The Laptop Sessions’ tribute to Christmas over these past few weeks. I’m already looking forward to next year! I hope everyone gets what they’re hoping for this Christmas- and the Laptop Sessions will be back again in a couple days!

To hear MoU’s original music, visit http://moumusic.com. To hear my original music, visit http://fusco-moore.com.

The Laptop Sessions: “Elf’s Lament” (Acoustic Rock Cover Song by MoU)

Saturday, December 22nd, 2007

By Jim Fusco:

Hello everyone! Continuing with our last couple days of Christmas, we give you “Elf’s Lament”, a great song by Barenaked Ladies. We’ve always been happy with the way our live version came out, so I got the guys together to do a special acoustic version for the Laptop Sessions!

To learn more about our music, please visit http://moumusic.com and to watch ALL of the Laptop Sessions, visit http://laptopsessions.com!

I’ll be posting again tomorrow (or later today, depending on the timing), as we count down the hours ’till Christmas!

The Laptop Sessions: “The Man With All the Toys” (Acoustic Rock Cover Song by MoU)

Thursday, December 20th, 2007

By MoU:

Back again for another edition of the Laptop Sessions, this time a first: with a band! Here with me are Chris Moore, Mike Fusco, and Cliff Huizenga- all members of the band Masters of the Universe (or MoU, as we call it). You can check out all of our music on our website at http://moumusic.com!

This is a classic Beach Boys tune that I’ve known my whole 23 years, “The Man With All The Toys”. MoU did a great version in concert last year, so we wanted to reprise that with this live acoustic version in Fusco-Moore Studios.

Cliff normally plays bass, but decided to provide only vocals for these sessions. But, you’ll hear his great bass playing abilities (plus Mike’s full drumset and guitar work) on MoU’s normal studio and live efforts.

We had a lot of fun doing this session and I sincerely hope they’ll join me again for more sessions in the future!

The Laptop Sessions: “Same Old Lang Syne” (Acoustic Rock Cover Song by Jim Fusco)

Thursday, December 20th, 2007

By Jim Fusco:

Hello everyone. A somber Laptop Session today, as I pay tribute to Dan Fogelberg, who wrote one of the best songs of all time in “Same Old Lang Syne”. No matter what generation you’re from, I’m sure you can relate to this song. Meeting up with someone from your past that evokes such strong memories is one of those experiences that just seems like part of life.

Of course, Dan wrote many other great songs, but his passing makes the song even more poignant now.

The one funny thing is that I was planning on doing this video the day BEFORE he died anyway because it’s always been one of my favorite Christmas-time songs. Instead, I make it a tribute.

To all his fans- I’m sorry for your loss and I hope, as I do with all the Laptop Sessions, that I’ve done the song justice here.

~Jim

The Laptop Sessions: “Merry Christmas Baby” (Beach Boys Acoustic Rock Cover Song)

Tuesday, December 18th, 2007

Hi all! It’s shaping up to be a busy Christmas season, but I wanted to come on and post a Christmas tune in preparation for the annual Fusco-Moore party, to be held this Sunday. YOU’RE INVITED!

Here are the details:

Where: Masonic Hall (same as last year!)
50 North Main Street
Wallingford, CT 06492

When: Sunday, December 16th, 2007 @ 1:00 pm

Cover: $7.00 gets you a copy of last year’s Christmas Concert on 2 CDs or 1 DVD,
Plus a FREE ziti dinner prepared by Jim Fusco, head chef for the Fusco-Moore Experience!!

RSVP: (203) 314-3556 – Chris or
(203) 500-3879 – Jim

[in my best Conan O'Brien voice:]

Merry Christmas, babies!