Do YOU record acoustic cover songs? Submit your YouTube link and a blog post about your performance, why you chose the song, etc. to the “Fridays: The Guest Sessions” link in the weekly calendar above!
By Jeremy Hammond:
This is my cover of “Mother” by Pink Floyd from the album The Wall. I first recorded the rhythm and vocals, then overlaid another track for the guitar solo.
I had two versions of this up previously. On the first, a commenter suggested I add the solo, so I did. But then watching that second one, and then going back and listening to the original for the first time in ages, I realized I had the timing wrong in two parts. So I redid it yet again. This, my third “Mother” effort for YouTube, is one I am finally happy with.
** EDITOR’S NOTE: **
Jeremy’s session technically breaks the golden rule of “one live take” established since the first Laptop Session over two years ago. That being said, his version of “Mother” is an excellent performance, and as he explained above, the solo was overdubbed and handled nicely in the video with a fade in and out. We simply couldn’t deny you the opportunity to hear and see this great version.
Now if only he could clone himself, that would make for quite the duo…
Laptop Sessions contributor Jeff Copperthite first recorded this song in August 2008, and it quickly became one of his most popular and highest rated performances. Click HERE to watch his version.
Thanks again, Jeremy, for contributing to the Guest Sessions!
Welcome to the first-ever Laptop Sessions acoustic cover song music video in high definition, which I’ve dubbed, “LSHD”. I’m so excited to be on the cutting-edge of technology and hope that more YouTube viewers will see my cover song music videos because of the enhanced new look.
But, what a project doing this for the first time… Even on my fast Mac Pro, it still took almost an hour just to render this video, and then the audio and video sync kept going off. So, it was a project that took WAY more time than anticipated. I think I have a pretty good system going now, so I hope the future music videos will be a bit easier to produce.
Tonight, I enlisted the help of my colleague Noreen’s 1967 Gibson 12-string acoustic guitar. It’s pretty sweet, as you see in the video, but also sounds pretty great, as well. It’s really easy to play and has a very powerful sound. As soon as I picked it up a couple weeks ago, “Holiday” from the Bee Gees just popped into my head. Something about that 12-string sound that just reminded me of this song. So, I knew I had to have it for this video, and I knew I wanted something special for my first one in HD.
Actually, this is also my first music video from my new house, which I share with my new wife. Yes, the awesome studio is long gone now, but I’ve got a pretty good setup here in one of our spare bedrooms. Someday I’ll rebuild the studio, but I don’t think it’ll be in the house. We’ll see.
“Holiday” is one of those songs I’ve known for all my 25 years. My father put it on his famous Christmas compilation cassette tape set and we heard it every year. It took me quite a long time to realize that this wasn’t necessarily a Christmas song, though I do hear it on the oldies stations during this time of year. I thought it would be a nice way to usher in the “season”. Actually, there are a lot of songs that aren’t really Christmas songs, but I’ll always consider them to be: “Another Morning” from the Moody Blues (off of Days of Future Passed, which is about “a child’s world”, which my father thought reminded him of Christmas), “Eyes of a Child” by the Moody Blues (off of To Our Children’s Children’s Children, which my father took to mean like the birth of a child, like Jesus), “Christmas” by the Who (which is only loosely based on the holiday of Christmas), and “My Sweet Lord” by George Harrison (which is a song praising God, but says nothing about the holiday). Again, they’ll always be Christmas songs to me.
I’m glad I got to know this song- it’s a good tune. The early Bee Gees were really good and I enjoy many of their early hits. They’re a band that really re-invented themselves in the seventies. It’s almost like two completely different bands. Plus, you know I love a group of brothers that write their own songs and sing in harmony, so it’s a perfect fit!
I never really understood the words to this song, but now I know why- it’s because I still had the kid’s understanding of the lyrics that I thought I “learned” when I was little. I mean, I learned the words maybe 20 years ago, but my vocabulary then was not what it is now. So, the line, “put the soft pillow on my head” always came out as “but there’s something upon my head”. No wonder it never made any sense to me.
Anyway, I hope you enjoy my first LSHD video and hope you’ll come back next week for another (and a REAL) Christmas classic! Welcome to the new era of the Laptop Sessions.
Here at the best music video blog ever created (The Laptop Sessions, that is), we pride ourselves on coming up with fresh, new ideas to keep you interested and to get more and more folks to visit our blog. We just introduced “The Weekend Review” to the site, and now I bring you our latest creation: From the Archives!
You see, a video I recorded a year ago is just as good (and relevant) as a video I recorded yesterday. But, in Google’s eyes, these old posts are just that: old! So, they drop off of Google and are never to be seen again. Thankfully, YouTube tends to be kind to old “seasoned” videos, so we still get hits on those.
Anyway, there are a few WordPress plugins that will actually change the timestamp on your old posts, literally making them new again. But, years from now, I want to look back and see what I was doing on December 24th of 2007, so I don’t think that’s the best option.
So, I found another plugin that just inserts one of our old blog posts onto the homepage (right at the bottom) dynamically every time you load the homepage. So, every new visit to the homepage is a different experience! Try it out and see what I mean.
I hope this will bring our old posts back into light again, at least until I can find an even better SEO’d solution…
Those of you who regularly check the Laptop Sessions homepage for fresh material may have noticed that I have been writing a music review once a week, posting it on either Saturday or Sunday. Since we shifted away from the “session-a-day” format, these two days have generally been a dry spot for new material on the website.
And why shouldn’t there be something new to look forward to as you’re kicking back on the weekend and wishing you had something new to read or watch?
Starting now, the Laptop Sessions will be posting a music review once every week on either Saturday or Sunday. This segment, titled “The Weekend Review,” will focus on new albums that have just been released, classic albums that transcend time, “deep racks reports” on albums that have been underrated and/or forgotten about, and live acoustic and rock music in the tri-state area.
Cover Songs & Original Music Videos By Laptop Sessions Songwriters
The Laptop Sessions music video blog is a great combination of acoustic cover songs and original music. This website features cover songs from many of rock music's greatest bands, including the Beatles, the Beach Boys, and Bob Dylan. The blog is updated every day with another acoustic cover video, how-to video, or article about music. We only play the best cover songs from the best rock bands of all time.
Here at the Laptop Sessions, we don't just sit down and do a bunch of cover songs- we make them our own. Yes, each cover will sound like the original, but it will also have a new, fresh sound to it. One of our specialties is taking a song from say the eighties and stripping-away the production. Then, we're left with just the song- simple (and most times, much better). We then record an acoustic version of that song and put it on this music video blog for all music fans to watch.
But, Laptop Sessions Music Blog is much more than just videos. There are informative blog posts, including the chords and lyrics to your favorite songs, recording tips, and much more. Plus, you can buy Jim Fusco's original songs right here on the music blog!
Right from the start, the Laptop Sessions Acoustic Cover Songs & Music Video Blog set out to be different. We wanted to give the best music blog for the world to enjoy. We wanted to put an end to bad YouTube cover videos forever. We wanted to bring great rock music back to the forefront with our great cover songs and original music. And, we guarantee we'll keep it this way- free videos that are updated constantly for your musical enjoyment. If you're looking for the best cover songs, the most exciting new music, and the most informative music articles, look no further than right here: home of the world-famous Laptop Sessions.
