Category Archives: Original Songs

Original songs from songwriter Jim Fusco!

“Good Night Now” (Original Music from Indie Music Songwriter Chris Moore)

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By Chris Moore:

Hello and welcome to this week’s edition of “Original Wednesday,” our absolute favorite day of the week here at the music blog that brings you a new music video EACH and EVERY day! Original Wednesday is our favorite day because it gives us an opportunity to show off our own songwriting. The whole reason why we do these acoustic cover songs in the first place is to hopefully interest people who like to listen to new music to come and listen to our original music. Jim, Jeff, and I have been producing music for Fusco-Moore Productions for almost a decade now, and we couldn’t be more thrilled when Wednesday rolls around and we can record our own original music!

That being said, I dug into my catalog this week for an original song that I haven’t recorded yet. Over the past several months, I have recorded every original song that I have contributed to my band’s past two releases (the self-titled Masters of the Universe in 2006 and Homestead’s Revenge in 2008). I figured that these are the songs of mine that have seen the most circulation. Well, now that I have finished those, I am beginning to look back at my solo releases. Some of the MoU songs were previously recorded on solo releases, so those are out. However, my 2006 EP, Love Out of Fashion, is a work unto itself — none of the tracks on that album have been recorded or released in any other form.

For tonight’s session, I chose “Good Night Now,” the second track on the album. I hope you’ll take the time to listen to the studio version as well (CLICK HERE to listen!) because it has some of the most experimental guitar effects I had used up to that point. I wrote this song about two female co-workers who I felt very strongly about; these were relationships I established in high school and which lasted up until they left the Staples (where I worked at the time) several years later. I think that the realization that people you think you know in one environment (work, for instance) are really quite different elsewhere is a common one, and it hit me hard when I finally realized. Thus, this song…

So, without further ado, I bring you the free music video for tonight. Don’t miss a brand-new music blog entry from Jeff tomorrow — same Laptop-time, same Laptop-channel…

See you next session!



“No Lights, No Sound” (New Music – Original Song by Indie Songwriter Chris Moore)

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By Chris Moore:

Tonight is the beginning of a side project that will take me as late as next summer to complete…  a new album!  You may be asking yourself, okay, so you’re going to record another new album.  It’s about freakin’ time.  And you may also be wondering what that has to do with the Laptop Sessions.

Well, I’m going to tell you!

Having been thinking so much recently and having been so inspired by a number of factors — not the least of which are hearing some leaked tracks from Jim’s forthcoming release and some awesome new albums this year by songwriters like Brian Wilson and bands like R.E.M. — I have been working on and arranging tracks for a new album, ironing out arrangements, finishing lyrics, etc.  Now, I bring my motivational and promotional project to the Laptop Sessions…

Every three weeks (or so, once we hit the new year), I will release a demo of another track from the new album.  Not only will I release the tracks, but I’ll do so in order!  Thus, tonight, I bring you what will be track one of my next album.  Now, in the spirit of the Laptop Sessions, I bring this song — “No Lights, No Sound” — to you as a recording of only my third complete performance of the song ever.  In other words, I rolled out of bed, finished writing the lyrics and the entire middle section, and recorded this demo.  This is hot off the presses.  This is the song in about as early a form as you’ll see here on this music blog.

And, that being said, I hope to get an amazing, yet fairly affordable producer to make it the perfect opening track!  (Anybody know a good producer, by any chance? ;- )  I’m thinking either Rick Rubin or Jim Fusco.  I figure I’ll send out for a bid in a couple of months and see what’s in my budget.  (Actually, no offense to Rubin, but I’d take JIm any day.  Even though he does NOT wear a fashionably immense and flowing beard…)

As you listen to the demo, you might notice that it’s a bit slow at first for an opening track.  I’ve since worked out a better version of the tempo I’d like to use, and I hope to have it build up right after the chorus and incorporate drums, bass, etc. before getting to a solo and eventually ending with a repeat of the first verse with only an acoustic and lead vocal.  But, we’ll see what the finished version holds.

In closing, this really puts the pressure on me to finalize my track listing and finish writing these songs.  I plan to record them as soon after writing them as possible, which will make it all the more interesting to look back and compare them to the final versions some day!  (And I don’t doubt that some won’t make the final cut, or that I’ll change the order as I go, but I’ll try my best to decide an order soon and stick to it.)

I truly hope you enjoy this side project for me here on the best acoustic cover song and original music blog in the universe!!  Don’t forget to come back tomorrow and Friday for a double dose of one Jeffrey Copperthite…

See you next session!

“Don’t Give Up” (Jim Fusco Original Acoustic Rock Song)

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By Jim Fusco:

Welcome everyone to a very special edition of the Laptop Sessions with me, Jim Fusco!  Today, I bring you a brand-new song off of my forthcoming album, “Those Around Us”!  The album is being released this Friday, January 13th and today’s acoustic music video is your first taste of the album.  The album will be available on CD for purchase on my website at http://jimfusco.com, so make sure to go over and check it out.  As with all of my albums, you can hear the entire disc online for free before you buy!  The album will also be available for download on iTunes in the coming weeks- I’ll be sure to post links when the album gets on iTunes.

“Those Around Us” is a collection of my latest songs- I’m extremely happy with the way it came out.  I utilized some new instruments and techniques that really took my sound to next level. I even got the album professionally mastered!  So, now when you put the CD into your player, it’ll be the same volume as the rest of the CDs you purchase.  Plus, the sound is crystal clear with plenty of bass.  It’s how I’ve always imagined my albums would sound if I had the technology and means to do it.  Realizing this goal was a big accomplishment for me.

Like I mentioned, I used some new instruments on this album, including a lap steel guitar and a 12-string electric guitar.  With the 12-string, I was able to get the Byrds/Beatles sound I love so much.  It also opened up a new way of playing for me.  The 12-string forces you to play riffs and finger-pick instead of just strumming chords.  To me, this new technique makes each song sound more interesting with a lot more “hooks” that get stuck in your head!   The other big musical addition to the album is the Wurlitzer 200A electric piano (sampled) I integrated into most songs.  This classic sound filled-out my mixes without having to add an extra rhythm guitar.  Again, it makes the songs all sound unique- you don’t hear the same instruments in every single song.  And that’s why I’m so happy with the variety of instruments and techniques I now have at my fingertips.  Of course, my new home studio (completed last February) is the perfect place to craft music.  It’s comfortable and has everything I need…organized just the way I like it!

I’m trying my hardest to make “Those Around Us” my most successful album.  But, that requires the help of my friends, family, and fans online.  I need help getting the word out about the album.  So, please send a link to your friends and share today’s Laptop Sessions acoustic video on Twitter and Facebook.  Speaking of those, did you know you can follow me on Twitter @jimfuscomusic?  You can also like my Facebook page.  I really hope “Those Around Us” will be heard by a ton of people.  That’s one of the reasons why I record my music- to share it with as many people as I can.  But, it’s a tough job for one person (with a full-time job, a house, a wife, etc.) to do.  So, please get in contact with me if you’re willing to help!

“Don’t Give Up”, tonight’s music video, is an original song I wrote a little while back.  It was instantly one of my favorite ones to play and sing.  I feel as if I’ve had this song in me for quite a while now.  But, “Don’t Give Up” has a more mature sound to it, plus it’s sung in a slightly different (more confident) style.  Now that I feel so confident with my instrumentation and vocals, I feel I can expand my songwriting more and take on more challenging subjects and vocal parts.  You know, I never thought much about people who sing with “soul”, but honestly, that takes a lot of guts.  It’s so much more comfortable to sing songs in your normal range.  On songs like “Don’t Give Up”, I had to sing with a lot of passion to get my message across.  I hope it worked!

And I hope you’ll check out “Those Around Us”- I’m sure you’ll love the album upon first listen and agree that it’s by far my best effort yet.  Check back here on Friday for the announcement of my eighth solo album!

“Piles of Love Letters” (Chris Moore Original Acoustic Song)

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By Chris Moore:

Hi there.  This is Chris, bringing you my “Original Wednesday” contribution for this week.  And I’m really trying here, but you’re going to have to cut me a break on the post length.  But I have a reason for the brevity of tonight’s post, I swear!

Whether you think it’s a valid reason, well, that might be another issue altogether…

Anyway, this original song, “Piles of Love Letters,” is potentially slotted for track four of my soon-to-be-recorded album, a debut offering me and a producer officially overseeing things, namely Jim Fusco.  In fact, Jim just made a HUGE contribution to the album tonight by suggesting what I have decided is an excellent idea for an album title.  He thinks the title should be based on the line in this song that states, “At least it’s tried and true.”

I can see this — the new album as Tried and True.  Or Untried and True.  Or Tried and Untrue.  Great idea, Jim!  Now, all I have to do is think a bit about the album and decide which version fits the most strongly with the dominant themes, etc.

Unfortunately, while I was recording this, I missed a performance by the Foo Fighters on the Grammy Nominations Concert Show.  I initially scoffed at the idea of a nominations show, but the concert idea was pretty cool.  Taylor Swift is a modern pop country singer, and yet I must say that her voice is amazing and she is beautiful and seems very sweet.  I wonder, of course, how she is as a normal person, away from the cameras.  (I don’t know if she can quite top my love for Katie Lloyd on Boston Legal (see previous post), but still…

Well, one thing led to another and before I know it, Jim and I are locked in a contest for who can stop watching television and return to working first.  You see, the Victoria’s Secret show came on in HD.  To look away would be to deny both one’s heterosexuality and love of HD television, so you can see why this was an unproductive stretch for us…  Nevertheless, after being told neither the true identity of Victoria nor what her secret is, I returned to my work.

Now, all distractions have dispersed and I am in bed listening to the Uncle Tupelo track “Outdone,” a demo from 1989 that is on their 89/93: An Anthology disc.  This is a fitting end to the day, as it’s been a wild musical ride — the past few days, in fact.  I have heard everything from Brian Wilson to Leonard Cohen to lots of Ringo Starr to What About Today? recently.  On the way home from work, I popped in Wilco’s AM before giving Paul McCartney’s (The Fireman’s) Electrical Arguments another set of rotations.  That led me to this essentials disc — I’ll definitely be recording one from them in the future, though possibly not until the new year.

And with that, I’m off to sleep.  Thanks for checking in for your daily dose of acoustic rock music, today in original form!  Come back tomorrow for a surprise visit and video from our very own Jim Fusco!!

See you next session!