Category Archives: Announcements

The Weekend Review – A Weekday Report

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By Chris Moore:

Hi everyone.  I wanted to write a brief note to reassure everyone that my decreased volume of posts the past couple weeks is no cause for alarm.  Far from it — I want nothing more than to chip into the mounting number of posts that I have researched, rehearsed, planned out, and in some cases, started.

The school year ends a week from today, which means that I am officially in the grip of the craziest time of year for a teacher.  Grading is mounting almost as high as tensions among students trying to get their grades up and/or keep them as high as they are in the face of beautiful weather and a desire for summer to begin.  Come on, you remember those days…

So, I’m doing my best, but I simply refuse to rush through posts, particularly the Weekend Review articles.  As soon as school’s out (for the sum-mer, as Alice Cooper might sing), I’ll catch up with some non-weekend installments of the Weekend Review.  I know, I know… it flies in the face of all that is good and right!

But, rest assured, much more new and interesting material is on its way this summer.  For some, it’s a time to step back.  For me, I can’t think of anything I would rather do than immerse myself in the writing of songs, reviews, and more.  So, before I go, let me offer up some things to look forward to.

First, I’ll let you in on the upcoming Weekend Reviews.  In no particular order, I’ll be tackling Bob Dylan’s legendary Bringing It All Back Home, the much lesser-known 2002 Phantom Planet disc The Guest, and Jack Johnson’s most recent release, To The Sea.  The jury’s still out on if that one deserves the full Weekend Review treatment, or a more compact serving of “Yes, No, or Maybe So.”

Speaking of which, I will also be posting a one-sentence review for tomorrow.  It’s not much, but it’s a little morsel to hold you over until I get back into full swing.

For now, though, I’m going back to watching the Jack Johnson En Concert DVD — which is excellent, by the way, and makes me like the songs from 2008’s Sleep Through the Static even more than I like them individually and much, much more than I like them as an album — while washing dishes.  After dishes, it’s grading of some projects and then off to bed for me before my 5am wakeup call to the Star Trek: Voyager theme song.  Yes, that’s right.  You didn’t misread that.  Seriously, though, I highly recommend it.  I wake up much more peacefully and happily ever since I sprung for the ringtone.

Such a dork…

Okay, that’s all for now, but tune in tomorrow, perhaps as you’re waiting for your copy of the new Tom Petty & the Heartbreakers album, Mojo, to rip to your iTunes, and please be patient with me until school’s out next Monday night.

Take care until then!

Look forward to a jam-packed week!

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By Chris Moore:

This is a brief note to address a couple of issues.  First of all, I let time slip away from me this beautiful Sunday afternoon and evening, so your regularly scheduled Weekend Review will now become the Temporarily Monday Review.  In its place for now, I’m posting a “Yes, No, or Maybe So” review that I had originally planned to post later this week.

To further make up for the switch, I can promise you a full week here at the Laptop Sessions.  This will be our first week in a while where there is a new post each day.  This includes the Weekend Review, another one-sentence review, an Original Wednesday post, an article, a Guest Session, and next weekend’s usual festivities.

So, don’t blink, ’cause you’ll miss all the new material here at the blog.

See you soon!

But a delay? Make it a delay and a preview…

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By Chris Moore:

Well, I let the day get away from me, so it looks like I’ll be presenting a Weekend Review double-header next week.  At long last, I’ll write my review of the Barenaked Ladies’ All In Good Time, as well as a second album to be determined at a later date.  I didn’t want to rush this one, and I think you’ll see why when you read my review next weekend.

As a side note, I achieved my spring break goal this afternoon.  As of today, I’ve finished writing all the songs for the album I’m looking forward to recording this summer.  I spent the week recording acoustic demos of the songs as I finished them, except for the four tracks that I recorded more complete demos of.  As of right now, the album is titled simply The 2010 Project in my iTunes, but that will obviously change eventually.  This feels like the right timing, as this year marks a full four years since my last release, the Love Out of Fashion EP.  This time around, I’m working with drum loops, and I’m in the process of researching guitar pedals and USB microphones to make my recordings sound as good as they possibly can, even though my entire studio is operated off a laptop.

I’ve already previewed the four full production demos through my Twitter account — http://twitter.com/chrismooremusic — even though they are extremely rough sketches of what the final products will be.  The acoustic demos are more for my use than anything, helping me figure out sequencing and other aspects of the songs and the album as a whole.  Starting soon, I plan to record Original Wednesday Laptop Sessions a bit more regularly, previewing the songs as I’m working on the album.

As a final preview, here’s the tentative track listing.  I say tentative, but I feel pretty good about it, especially after listening to the demo album several times through.

1 ) “No Lights, No Sound”

2 ) “I Would Prefer Not To”

3 ) “Socrates’ Gulps”

4 ) “No More”

5 ) “Work Time, Get in Line”

6 ) “Goodbye, So Long”

7 ) “Threshold”

8 ) “The Best Reason I Wake Up”

9 ) “Piles of Love Letters”

10) “One”

11) “Vows and Changes”

12) “I, Professional Hoop Jumper”

13) “The Old Home Departure Song”

That’s just a taste for now; I hope you’ll tune in for more in the coming months, especially during the summer months.  Don’t forget to tune in tomorrow for an all-new post (I promise! 🙂 ) and then again next week for a Weekend Review double header on Saturday and Sunday.

Announcing an all-new Saturday series at the Laptop Sessions!

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By Chris Moore:

As of today, the Laptop Sessions acoustic cover song music video blog is happy to introduce yet another weekly series to the blog, for your reading pleasure.  Let’s start with a quick recap of what regular visitors have come to expect:

Mon: Chris Moore Mondays, including a new cover song music video and accompanying post.

Wed: Original Wednesdays — intermittently featuring videos of original songs by FMP artists.

Thurs: Jim Fusco Thursdays, including a new cover song music video and accompanying post.

Fri: The Guest Sessions, including a new cover song music video and accompanying post.

Sun: The Weekend Review, including a full-length review of an album, stretching from classic to current.

Now, we’re pleased to add the following entry:

Sat: Playlists on Parade, including a featured playlist arranged by an FMP artist and liner notes to accompany the track listing.

So, be sure to check in every Saturday for the featured playlist of the week.  We’d love to see you post your comments, suggestions for additions to the track listings, or even your own related playlists.  The inaugural entry in the series will be unveiled within the hour, so hurry back!