Monthly Archives: September 2008

“New Kid On The Block” (Barenaked Ladies Cover)

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By Jim Fusco:

Hey HEY!  Welcome to your, as Jeff put it, Fantastic Friday edition of the Laptop Sessions here with me, Jim Fusco!  Glad to be here today, but I’ve been incredibly sick the past few days.  I have the worst head cold…  I’ve already lost two nights’ sleep to it.  I was actually saving this video because we Mike did a BNL song recently, but I put this one first because I’m not sure how well I’ll be by Monday when we’ll be doing “New Bands Week” here.  I have a new band video already recorded and ready to go, so I bought myself until Thursday when I have to record another video.  I can only assume I’ll be better by then!  Actually, I have literally sixteen or seventeen songs ready to record.  I’ve been practicing like mad over the past month and these videos, once recorded, will provide me with almost two full months worth of videos.  In that pool of songs, there’s also TEN new bands!  So, I’m working hard every day to bring fresh viewers to the music video blog and to keep all the regular viewers excited.

Today, I bring you a song that I really love called “New Kid On The Block”.  What perfect timing, too, as the “classic” early 90s band “New Kids on the Block” is in the middle of their “anticipated” reunion.  They have a new album out and everything.  This song is literally about being a member of the band.  Steven Page of Barenaked Ladies wrote this song for their first album, “Gordon”.  What a great satire.  At the time (1992), the New Kids were both “new” and “kids”…well, not really, as you’ll hear in the lyrics of the song.  But, they were popular, nonetheless, and Page must’ve thought it would be funny to write a song from the point of view of one of the band members.

Some of my favorite all-time BNL lines are in this song, including “Well we may not write the songs we sing, but look at Elvis, he sold his soul and you crowned him King.”  The New Kids are pretty much everything I hate in a band, and BNL is truly everything I love in a band.  That’s why this song is just about perfect in my eyes.

One of the other parts of the song I love is at the end with the inclusion of a few New Kids on the Block songs.  I don’t know how I did it, but I managed to incorporate those parts into my solo acoustic cover version here, and all on the first try!

Enjoy today’s video and stay tuned for New Bands Week here on the Laptop Sessions acoustic cover and original songs music video blog starting on Sunday, Sunday, Sunday!



“I’ve Gotta Get A Message To You” (Bee Gees Cover)

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By Jim Fusco:

Welcome to your Tuesday edition of The Laptop Sessions on the best video blog on the planet- that’s right- the planet!  And the views don’t lie- we’re growing every single day and we’re showing no signs of stopping.

Tonight, I bring you a song from yet another new band to our list of cover songs, the Bee Gees, one of the most popular bands of all time.  Of course, this song is from the period before the disco stuff.  My parents used to love to see the Bee Gees in concert- I wish I got to see them before one passed away.

This sin’t even my favorite song from them.  I guess I’d have to go with “Nights on Broadway”, but that’s quite a bit more difficult to do acoustically than this one.

“I’ve Gotta Get A Message To You” is actually a morbid song.  It’s about a man being sentenced to death and on his way to be executed, he pleads to get one more message to his loved one.  There’s even a mention of the famed “Green Mile”.  Growing up, I had no idea that’s what the song was about, but you learn quite a bit when you learn how to play a song.

Enjoy tonight’s video and I’ll be back on Friday for another great acoustic cover song music video.  Stay tuned tomorrow for Chris Moore’s next Original Wednesday entry and then back to Jeff for another great song on his infamous “Thumpin’ Thursday”!

Jim Fusco Reaches 100,000 YouTube Views!

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That’s right, folks!

Jim Fusco has reached a tenth of a million collective views on his YouTube videos!

Jim’s popular “Laptop Sessions” videos are a mix of cover songs and original music that he releases every three days.  The other days are split between friends Chris Moore and Jeff Copperthite, and brother, Mike Fusco.

He has 115 Laptop Sessions videos so far and a few “How To” videos, as well.

At this pace, Jim is on par to reach 175,000 views by the end of 2008, shattering previous predictions made earlier on in the year.  We hope that you’ll stay tuned to the Laptop Sessions to keep track of Jim’s progress, as we’ll be announcing all of the milestones that we’re sure to reach here on the best music video blog online!

“I’m Just Waiting” (Original Wednesday Jim Fusco acoustic song)

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By Jim Fusco:

Welcome to another “Original Wendesday” edition of The Laptop Sessions!  I hope this once-a-week treatment is becoming a favorite of yours, because we truly believe our original tunes can stand alongside the other major-label bands’ songs we play on the music video blog.

If you want to hear any of our original music, make sure to visit the websites of Jim Fusco (me), Chris Moore, Jeff Copperthite, and our band (with Mike Fusco) Masters of the Universe.

Today, I bring you a “classic” Jim Fusco tune from the epic album, “My Other Half”.  This album is a unique concept where it takes you on a journey from the beginning to the end of a relationship.  How did I get my inspiration?  Well, I lived through it and wrote a song each step of the way.  I didn’t do it on purpose- it just happened.  Strong emotions always make me want to write.

I’ve never had trouble coming up with tunes for my songs.  I’ve always had them floating around, waiting to be written out.  The trouble I have sometimes is coming up with something substantial enough to write about.  That’s why you’ll notice many of my songs are about some sort of big event or emotional period in my young life.

During the days of the “My Other Half” album, relationships were so new to me- I wanted to write about every facet of them.  That’s probably why I ended up with over 25 tracks…

Nowadays, things (as far as relationships go, at least) have definitely settled down.  I’m happy, but comfortable, too.  So, you’ll notice that the songs off of my upcoming album (who knows when that will come out…) are mostly about when something or someone bothered me in some way.  I think you can learn a lot about me, my life, and my emotions by listening to my albums in order.

This song was written in one night with another song that I’ll be bringing to you next Original Wednesday in three weeks.  I was in a very bad mood back in January of my senior year in high school.  I knew my first ever relationship was going to end, but it hadn’t yet.  I didn’t want it to because ANYTHING was better than being alone at that point.  But, I didn’t know when things were going to happen.

Isn’t it funny to have those moments when you know something is going to happen, you can’t stop it, but you’re not sure when it’s all going to come to pass?  Well, that’s how I felt then, and it ended up in a simple, yet heartfelt song.

I think some may think this is a kind of “suicide-song”.  It isn’t and was never meant to be.  “The end” that I speak of is the end of the relationship, not my life.  And for that matter, if I ever felt that way, I wouldn’t end my life- I would continue living just to get back at all the people that made me so miserable in the first place! 🙂

Okay, enough of the explanation: get to watching this video!  I hope you enjoy it.  I’ll be on the “cover song” track on Saturday with another great tune from Paul McCartney.  Stay tuned to the best music blog on Earth!