The Laptop Sessions: “Lost!” (Coldplay Acoustic Cover)

Tuesday, August 12th, 2008

By Jeff Copperthite:

Good evening, and welcome o your Tuesday edition of The Laptop Sessions. It’s Jeff today bringing you another great acoustic cover video. We’re continuing to roll along with session-a-day in the middle of August.

It feels weird to bring you an acoustic cover video that isn’t from Pink Floyd, after nearly two weeks of the Pink Floyd Hat Trick. I hope you enjoyed those, but I also hope you’re ready for another familiar band here at the Sessions.

The band today is Coldplay, and I am covering my first song from the album “Viva La Vida”. The song is “Lost!”, which isn’t really an acoustic song. It has a rock beat with an organ playing the main chords. There is a guitar solo (what song isn’t complete without one) and there are a couple of electric guitar riffs in the recording. I love this song because of its infectious chorus (”Oh and I’m just waiting ’till the shine wears off”) and its straightforward chord progression. It is cool to here this song with the acoustic treatment, because neither recording that I have heard of this song (the piano and album versions) has an acoustic guitar.

You’ll notice the unusual background - I recorded this song in our hotel room in Vermont. So if you’re in the VT area listening to this, it could’ve been recorded down the street from you. On that note, the acoustics are not that great, and I didn’t want to play louder than usual because I didn’t want to attract too much attention from the neighbors.

Well, i’ll see you again on Friday, and I know you’ll come back to hear another original song for Original Wednesday, here on laptopsessions.com - the best acoustic cover video blog on the internet!!!

The Laptop Sessions: “Violet Hill” (A Coldplay Acoustic Rock Cover Song)

Sunday, July 6th, 2008

By Chris Moore:

Hello and welcome to yet another all-new acoustic cover song! Tonight is a special treat for those of you who love to listen to new music. This is “Violet Hill,” a track off of Coldplay’s brand new album Viva La Vida. This album was just released in 2008, and this is the first song from the new album to be featured here on the music blog. As an added treat, this is my very first Coldplay cover — I’ve always avoided this band, not so much because there aren’t any songs that I would like to cover, but because Chris Martin’s vocal range is typically much higher than this particular Chris is comfortable with…

Which leads me to my take on Coldplay’s catalog. I first listened to A Rush of Blood to the Head when one of my co-workers at Staples highly recommended it to me. At the time, I was listening to the Beach Boys’ underrated and (in my opinion) under-appreciated album Carl & the Passions - ‘So Tough.‘ Perhaps it was because I had been listening to one of my favorite albums of all time, but when I began listening to the Coldplay album instead, I must admit I felt let down. This is the band that Rolling Stone magazine and many others have repeatedly termed one of the biggest and best rock bands of all time. Martin was recently referred to as a “Rock God” on the cover of RS. Don’t get me wrong; there were excellent songs, like the hit “Clocks” (that Jeff Copperthite has already covered - click here to listen!) and the title track, among others. However, the album seemed to suffer from an inability to really pick it up and move. So much seems to drag and float, Martin’s vocals only exacerbating the protracted sensation that the repetition of sections and sounds creates.

Years and listens later, my disapproval of Rush of Blood has certainly softened. I would even say I’ve grown to appreciate the album, though I’m still unable to really get into it. Their subsequent release, X&Y, was a different story altogether. Although I can understand why it was criticized for sounding too similar from song to song, I immediately grew fond of X&Y, and it is as a direct result of liking this album that I decided to give this year’s Viva La Vida a chance.

And I’m so glad that I did!

From start to finish, I can’t say enough about this new music from Coldplay. The album is a concept album and the best I can say is that it’s simply done well. The concept isn’t forced; it feels like a complete thought is being expressed. The fade-in and fade-out are the same synthesized section, giving the album a sense of being cyclical, which is interesting given that the main focus is life and death. I wondered if Chris Martin has been influenced by the true innovators of the concept album, the Moody Blues. For songwriters, there’s alot to be learned from albums like To Our Children’s Children’s Children’s, which have yet to be topped, and I doubt that they ever will.

As Sharkboy from TNA wrestling would say, “And that’s the fishin’ line!” (A play on Stone Cold Steve Austin’s “bottom line” catch phrase.) That’s it for me until next time, but don’t miss another quality session from Fusco-Moore Productions’ own Jeff Copperthite tomorrow…

See you next session!

The Laptop Sessions: “The Scientist” (Coldplay Acoustic Rock Cover Song)

Thursday, June 19th, 2008

By Jeff Copperthite:

Good evening to everybody, and yes it’s that time - Thumpin’ Thursday! It’s the day that comes every 3 weeks where I, Jeff Copperthite, bring you another Laptop Sessions. True, I end up giving you a session every 3 days, but hey, only Thursday can be Thumpin’ Thursday.

Ok, that’s a cheesy enough introduction.

Today I bring you another song by Coldplay called “The Scientist”. This is an easy song to play, and it is also a great song to hear. I have really enjoyed bringing you previous Coldplay cover songs, and I am sure they will be a band I keep covering in the future. The song is from their album “A Rush of Blood To The Head”, which is my favorite album so far. However, I will be picking up “Viva la Vida or Death and All His Friends” tomorrow from iTunes. I’ve been slow to convert to buying albums electronically because i’m afraid of losing that “You just spent $10 somewhere” that I get when I go to the FYE or Best Buy.

On Sunday I will be bringing you another band that I have covered before, then it’ll be my turn for Original Wednesday. After that, I just may be ready to bring another new band to the sessions.

Also, I’m very close to another grand landmark - 20K views! Stay tuned…

Chord for Covers: Coldplay’s “Clocks” (Chords / Tabs)

Monday, April 21st, 2008

CLOCKS

By Coldplay

Chords Used:

Abm	4 6 6 4 4 4

Eb	6 6 8 8 8 6

Bbm	6 8 8 6 6 6

F#maj7	2 4 3 3 2 2

C#	4 4 6 6 6 4

Eb	Bbm	Abm

Eb	Bbm	Abm

Eb                  Bbm

Lights go out and I can't be saved

Ab

Tides that I tried to swim against

Eb                     Bbm

Have brought me down upon my knees

Ab

Oh I beg, I beg and please, singing

Eb                Bbm

Come out of the things unsaid

Ab

Shoot an apple off my head

Eb            Bbm

And a trouble that can't be named

Ab

A tiger's waiting to be tamed, singing

Eb	Bbm	 Ab

Yooooouuuuu arrrreeee

Eb	Bbm	 Ab

Yooooouuuuu arrrreeee

Eb	Bbm	Ab

Eb	Bbm	Ab

Eb               Bbm

Confusion that never stops

Ab

Closing walls and ticking clocks

Eb                     Bbm

Gonna come back and take you home

Ab

I could not stop, that you now know

Eb          Bbm

Singing come out upon my seas

Ab

Curse missed opportunities

Eb            Bbm

Am I a part of the cure

Ab

Or am I part of the disease, singing

Eb	Bbm	 Ab

Yooooouuuuu arrrreeee

Eb	Bbm	 Ab

Yooooouuuuu arrrreeee

Eb	Bbm	 Ab

Yooooouuuuu arrrreeee

Eb	Bbm	 Ab

Yooooouuuuu arrrreeee

Eb	Bbm	Ab

Eb	Bbm	Ab

Eb	Bbm	 Ab

Yooooouuuuu arrrreeee

Eb	Bbm	 Ab

Yooooouuuuu arrrreeee

F#                    C#

And nothing else compares

F#                    C#

And nothing else compares

F#                    C#

And nothing else compares

F#                    C#

And nothing else compares

Eb	Bbm	Ab

Eb	Bbm	Ab

Eb	Bbm	 Ab

Yooooouuuuu arrrreeee

Eb	Bbm	 Ab

Yooooouuuuu arrrreeee

Eb     Bbm

Ab

Home, home, where I wanted to go

Eb     Bbm                      Ab

Home, home, where I wanted to go

Eb     Bbm                      Ab

Home, home, where I wanted to go

Eb     Bbm                      Ab

Home, home, where I wanted to go

The Laptop Sessions: “Clocks” (Coldplay Acoustic Rock Cover Song)

Sunday, April 20th, 2008

By Jeff Copperthite:
Good afternoon to you! It’s Jeff today bringing you today’s Laptop Session. It is our 2nd installment from Coldplay, and this one comes off of their album “Rush of Blood to the Head”.

It is also quite a popular one - “Clocks”. This song has an addictive backing to it with a driving piano riff. I managed to transcribe part of it to guitar.

I had done this version earlier this past week, but again wanted to redo it with my new guitar strings. They did give me some problems during the recording, as keeping them in tune proved somewhat frustrating.

Please continue to keep with us here at laptopsessions.com, as great things are happening! Our next live performance is May 16 at George’s II restaurant and all the details are on our main website http://www.fusco-moore.com

Check back tomorrow for another great session from Jim!

The Laptop Sessions: “Spies” (Coldplay Acoustic Rock Cover Song)

Thursday, March 27th, 2008

By Jeff Copperthite:

Welcome once again to Thumpin’ Thursday. It’s Jeff today bringing you the next video in our ongoing series.

I’ve got a real cool tune coming your way today. It’s another new band here on laptopsessions.com, and the band is Coldplay. While Coldplay is among one of the more critiqued bands out there, it is hard to deny that they come out with great sounding songs. I’m always impressed by the guitar work on the two albums I own from them. The song I have chosen to play is “Spies” from their album Parachutes.

The song itself is not in standard tuning, and I at first tried to figure this song out. However I picked it up quickly once I learned the alternate tuning that is used in the song. It has a cool feel along with a unique sound.

As far as my performance, the bridge was the hardest part in this take, but despite mis-fingering two chords in the bridge, the rest of it is quite solid and brings out the spirit of the song.

It also translates well to acoustic, since the recorded version is also heavily based on acoustic.

Also, remember that I will be playing w/ Masters of the Universe this coming Wednesday @ the Southern CT University talent show. If you are in the area and want to hear a great free show and some great talent, please join us! More information can be found on http://www.fusco-moore.com

Check back tomorrow for Jim’s latest video!