The Laptop Sessions Cover Songs & Original Music Video Blog

By Jim Fusco:

Wow, it’s really been two weeks since the last video?  Well, if you haven’t seen it, search at the top of the Laptop Sessions acoustic cover songs music video blog for “Elderberry Wine” and you’ll see what I’ve been up to lately!  It’s my second video back from a very long four-month absence.

Tonight, I bring you a video that shows you what the Laptop Sessions acoustic cover songs blog is all about.  It’s a song sung by someone with a raspy voice and it’s totally an electric, rockin’ song.  So, I took my non-raspy voice, sat down with my Martin acoustic guitar, and put a new twist on this tune!

It’s a song off of the Goo Goo Dolls newest album, “Something for the Rest of Us” from 2010.  Let me tell you, it’s a GREAT album.  I can’t stop listening to it.  Every song is single-worthy.  These guys have gotten so good at writing a catchy pop/rock song and it shows on this album.  Honestly, I think it’s my favorite from last year.  And there were a TON of albums I heard for the first time last year.

I’ve become quite the Goo Goo Dolls fan ever since I first heard some of their songs on WCJM Internet Radio shows.  My friend (and former Laptop Sessions contributor) Jeff Copperthite would pick a song for each radio show we did.  After a while, I noticed that I liked those songs, so I bought a couple of their older albums from the early 90′s.  Now, I have all of their albums and I love them all!  Well, I should say that I love all of their “rock” albums.  They actually started in the late 80s as a punk band!  I have one of those albums (“Jed”) and let me tell you- it ain’t great.  It’s hard to believe that just a couple of years later, they came out with my personal favorite, “Superstar Car Wash”.  That album is almost 20 years old now, but if you don’t have it (and like the Goo Goo Dolls), it’s really a neccesity.

Tonight’s song is “Say You’re Free”- it’s one of two Robby Takac songs that are on the new album.  In fact, that’s about the standard now, as it has been for the last three albums.  Back in the earlier days, Robby and Johhny would split the songs.  I really liked that format- it seemed like they were trying to outdo each other.  Of course, Johnny is the guy who wrote their most famous songs like “Iris”, so I suppose he’s considered the “better” songwriter.  But, as we’ve learned from SO many bands here on the music blog, popularity doesn’t necessarily mean greatness.  Now, I won’t sit here and say that I’m not a John Rzeznik fan- I absolutely am.  But, for some reason, I absolutely love Robby’s songs, too!  My favorite from him, other than the new stuff, is “Already There” from Superstar Car Wash- it’s a great tune with some really introspective lyrics.  That’s a bit surprising, considering his punk roots and his incredibly raspy voice.  Normally, I wouldn’t like that, but I don’t think he’s doing it on purpose.  For instance, you can just tell that John Mayer sings like that on purpose, so I can’t stand it.  Same with Dylan.  But, people like Dennis Wilson and Robby Takac just have raspy voices for one reason or another and can’t sing any other way.  That I can deal with.

I chose this song instead of the better tune, “Now I Hear” from the same album because I wanted to hear how this song would come out acoustically.  I love the results and I hope it shows how great of a song it is on its own.  And, I hope Robby somehow watches this someday- I want him to know that there are fans out there that love his songs and that want even more per album!  I hope you enjoy tonight’s Laptop Session and I’ll be back in a couple of weeks with another great new acoustic cover song music video!

By Jim Fusco:

Well, another night and another Beatles acoustic cover song here on the Laptop Sessions video series!

Tonight, I bring you a big hit in “Can’t Buy Me Love”, one of my more energetic Laptop Sessions. Of course, I’ve known this song for probably all of my 24 years, and am very excited about this video. I think I got in a pretty good groove. Plus, with a song this short (“watch it!“) it grabs the viewer’s interest and keeps it there without getting boring.

I’m unfortunately running low (“oh, another one- giddy up Keckster!”) on my last glut of videos, so I’ll be doing a new set very soon. But the good news is that I’ll be using my new setup, complete with USB microphone and brighter, higher quality video. But of course, you know that the Laptop Sessions always brings you something new and improved!

Stay tuned here to the video blog, as Chris has been a posting machine lately- with new music reviews and posts about every WCJM Free Internet Radio show and FMP Studios service. Plus, Jeff’s been cranking out solid Sessions and me? Well, you KNOW I’ve been going crazy with the updates and enhancements here on the music blog. Until tomorrow’s Chris Moore Session, take care and enjoy “Can’t Buy Me Love”!

“Just Breathe”
Pearl Jam

C                                                                G
Yes I understand that every life must end, aw huh…
As we sit alone, I know someday we must go, aw huh…
I’m a lucky man to count on both hands the ones I love…
Some folks just have one, others they got none, aw huh…

Am
Stay with me…
F
Let’s just breathe.

Practiced are my sins, never gonna let me win, aw huh…
Under everything, just another human being, aw huh…
Yeh, I don’t wanna hurt, there’s so much in this world to make me bleed.

Stay with me…
You’re all I see.

G                     Dm
Did I say that I need you?
G                     Dm
Did I say that I want you?
F                           Am
Oh, if I didn’t I’m a fool you see…
F                                             G
No one knows this more than me.
G
As I come clean.

I wonder everyday as I look upon your face, aw huh…
Everything you gave and nothing you would take, aw huh…

Nothing you would take…
Everything you gave.

Did I say that I need you?
Oh, did I say that I want you?
Oh, if I didn’t now I’m a fool you see…
No one knows this more than me.
As I come clean.

(Fingerpicking over verse chords)

Am
Nothing you would take…
F
Everything you gave.
Hold me till I die…
Meet you on the other side.

** These chords and lyrics are interpretations and transcriptions, respectively, and are the sole property of the copyright holder(s). They are posted on this website free of charge for no profit for the purpose of study and commentary, as allowed for under the “fair use” provision of U.S. copyright law, and should only be used for such personal and/or academic work. **

By Jeff Copperthite:

When the idea came across to do The Laptop Sessions as a free video series, Jim started it all off by watching a video of Let It Be that was covered highly incorrectly, and Jim recorded himself playing it correctly. He wanted to put a good name to music covers on Youtube – especially covers of one of his favorite bands The Beatles. Also, in spirit of “The Bathroom Sessions”, which was a free music video series by two members of Barenaked Ladies, I helped coin the term “Laptop Sessions”, since Jim was using the camera on his laptop to record the video.

After the positive response to sessions that Jim put out, Chris and I decided to help Jim with the “Session a day” project starting in 2008. Initially, Jim enlisted Chris to put up one video between each of them, so that the site had a new music video each day. I had tried ten sessions in late 2007, but I had stopped doing them due to the low quality web camera I owned. In general, I was still new to the realm of video as well.

After nearly 60 new video sessions recorded for The Laptop Sessions this year, I have recording videos down to a science. Here is a typical rundown of what it takes for me to make each session.

1) Practice the song

This is the obvious one. As a songwriter, I know the more comfortable I am with the song, the better the video will come out. I grew up hearing a lot of music in the 90’s, so I tend to be most comfortable when I decide to do a song by bands such as Pearl Jam, Stone Temple Pilots, and Radiohead. However we do try to diversify our recordings across the years, and I know I cannot limit myself to alternative music bands. Therefore, some songs require up to a week of practice. Others I can learn and play comfortably in an hour or two. I will usually begin practicing the song regularly up to two-three days before I record it.

2) Set up the video recording station

Lately I have four common locations for my videos. The biggest problem I have is that I do not have a tripod for my camera (yet – I do plan to buy one). Therefore, I have to rest my camera on a makeshift stand. I also have to make sure there is enough light. Even during the day, I have to have at least one lamp on so the video doesn’t come out dark. After that, I position the camera, set the zoom, tune the guitar, and do a practice run of the song on the acoustic. Music tends to be easy for me – it’s singing and remembering lyrics that is the most difficult. For this reason, I have to put a small sheet of “notes” that remind me what verse or line to sing next. Sometimes, I have to include the entire lyric sheet, but that is rare. “Round Here” comes to mind as a song I just needed that entire lyric sheet by the camera for.

3) Record the video

When I am satisfied that I can record the song, I psych up for the performance. Lately, I have been able to record the song in about three or four takes. I don’t worry about what happens before or after the performance, since I can edit that out in the next step. As you have seen on our site, recording acoustic guitar video covers is real easy some days, other days you want to throw your guitar against the wall because something minor keeps messing takes up. “Jane” comes to mind with this (despite it being a piano cover). I had played it on the first take and was very happy to have satisfactorily made it through the song. That is, until I discovered the battery had died in the middle of the recording. I charged the battery, and then it took me another 20 or so takes to get it again. Other times, the performance comes so naturally you wonder why you practiced the song so much beforehand.

4) Edit the Video

This is probably the easiest step, despite it taking up to 30 minutes. I transfer the video to my laptop (as you can tell, I don’t own a laptop with a built-in camera, so technically I should be doing “The Powershot Sessions”). Once the video is transferred, I split the clip to the parts I want (usually this involves trimming out the beginning and end of the clip), then add on two title screens and a credit roll. Then, depending on the length of the performance, I render the video, which can take up to 12 minutes for long songs.

5) Write the description, and upload the video.

While the video renders, I write the Youtube description and tags. Usually I will comment on the song I chose, why I chose it, the album it is from, and any comments on the performance itself. I will also usually throw in some current news and other tidbits of info. My descriptions tend to be at least 100 words long. I can usually get both descriptions on the blog and Youtube before the video finishes rendering. Then I upload the video, copy the embedding information onto the blog, and publish!

What keeps me fresh for the sessions is when I try to listen to new music that I may like to cover. I found on Chris and Jim to introduce me to bands and songs I’d otherwise not know, but some people I know also help me out in that department. It is also fun to use this as a springboard to get people to hear our independent music. That is why we do “Original Wednesday”, and slowly we are building up some excitement from our subscribers when that day rolls around. At least we know everyone watching will be listening to something they’ve never heard before.

I hope you enjoyed getting some insight on the process on my end. As always, if you have questions please email admin@fusco-moore.com, and direct your questions to me, Jeff Copperthite. Have a great evening!