“All Along the Watchtower” (A Bob Dylan Cover)

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By Chris Moore:

Now, this is truly a day of firsts for me. Three firsts, if I count them accurately. In order of occurrence: (1) I woke up on my own, on a Saturday, at a decent hour, and got right out of bed. Anyone who knows me on any personal level to any degree knows how amazing that truly is. (2) Then, I recorded my Saturday cover video in one take, including rehearsals. When it comes to these cover song sessions, I am probably more of a perfectionist than I should be. Thus, I repeatedly practice and record the music videos until I’m satisfied I could not do any better. Suffice it to say that usually takes anywhere between five and twenty-five takes. Today, one!! And, finally (3) I came upstairs from FMP Studios to find Jim, having just woken up, in an excellent mood. This is nothing against Jim — and I’m admittedly a bear (not one of those friendly, cuddly ones you might see at a show with a trainer, but one of those angry, blood thirsty ones that attack campers and hikers without provocation ala the John Candy movie The Great Outdoors) if you try to wake me from nodding off during a movie, etc. — but Jim’s just not a morning person. We sat and talked about the music blog, brainstormed some new ways to improve our views and content, and then laughed quite heartily about bathroom humor, the details of which I’ll spare you.

All told, really not a bad way to start a beautiful, sunny summer day!

But let’s get down to business. My acoustic cover song for today is Bob Dylan’s “All Along the Watchtower.” Ironically, you are probably more familiar with the Jimi Henrix’s cover version than you are of Dylan’s original music. And, even as a HUGE Dylan fan, I have to admit that Hendrix’s cover song is the definitive version. Even Dylan admitted as much — his live performances of the song still reflect Hendrix’s arrangement. That being said, Dylan’s original is heavily acoustic, so I felt that would be a better version for this acoustic guitar music video. So, I grabbed my acoustic guitar, dusted off my harmonica rack, and gave it my all. One take. Could it have been better, more polished? Yes, I suppose. But this is what the Laptop Sessions are all about — this is a snapshot in time, as though you sat down with me in my living room and I just played it for you, on a whim. I hope you enjoy it!

And, of course, don’t miss the unveiling of an all-new acoustic cover song from Jeff Copperthite — his next quality cover video will be posted here tomorrow…

See you next session!

**EDITOR’S NOTE: This video is no longer on YouTube, but please check out our other Bob Dylan cover songs here on the music video blog!

Laptop Sessions article: “Why do we listen to music?”

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By Jeff Copperthite:

Before I begin my article today, I want to give you an update on my New Year’s happenings.  Obviously, if you’re a visitor to this site, chances are you have followed us throughout our excursion and foray through 2008, as we covered a song per day.  The holiday season was a good one, but it surely made me a bit under the weather for some reason.  I may not have slept as well as I thought I did.  Because this week, I’ve been fighting off a cold and (again) a lost voice.

However, I had this article in mind for quite some time, so now is the time to bring it to you.

It is a question some have wondered about.  Well, some is basically Anthropologists, Sociologists, Theorists, Philosophers, and the like.

Why do we listen to music?

It’s not the same question as “Why do we make  music?”.  I think the two have some drastically different responses.

Furthermore, you can add in the question “What determines what people listen too?”, because that also has a series of drastically different responses.  I myself am not entirely sure why I grew up listening to rock, alternative, and video game music.  I know I enjoy them.

But that’s different.  I want to examine some of the reasons that I listen to music, and some events that I recall in my mind when I think of this.

One reason I believe is for motivation.  I have glowing memories of listening to a select few albums when I was in High School on the Cross Country team.  On the bus to meets, before the meets after stretching, while eating a peeled orange and drinking a grape powerade.  I always had the CD player running.  Sometimes players would have to tap me on the shoulder to get my attention to do the premeet preparation or the course walkthrough.  I listened especially to the 2nd disc of “The Wall” by Pink Floyd (fans of this album should already know the song that stuck out the most), but others were “Villains” by the Verve Pipe, “Pet Your Friends” by Dishwalla, “Master of Puppets” by Metallica (especially the track “Orion”), and “Foo Fighters” (self-titled initial release).  Those tended to psych me up for those 5k runs and made me ready to go.  I would also “listen” to the songs in my head as I ran the meet.  I’m sure people use music to psych up for sporting events, but I am sure the selection of the type of music will vary greatly.

Another reason is relaxation.  However, this is where a lot of people differ in what is considered relaxing.  Personally, I don’t find a lot of my playlist to be terribly “relaxing”.  I mean, putting on “Firestarter” just wouldn’t make me destress.  If you’re like me, you need something a bit more slow-tempo, perhaps acoustic or – dare I say it – classical.  Well, the classical station is reserved for those particlarly stressful days, like when students are overly sarcastic or not interested in making themselves smarter or being proud of their acheivements (i’ll save that for another article).  Destressing is something we all have to do.  What’s funny is the music that I listen to to relax me, may make some very stressed.  And vice versa.  That’s the really weird thing.

A good reason that people listen to music is tied to the previous two reasons.  Music can be a mood changer.  As pointed out by a friend of mine, sad people may listen to specific songs that contain sympathizing lyrics.  It is a coping mechanism that people use to help them through a tough time.  In a way, the previous paragraphs are mood changers as well.  If I wanted to feel psyched up and motivated, I had music to listen too.  When I had my first (and only) break from my then-future wife, I had specific music that I used as sympathizing music.   It does in a way make me wonder if the reason people listen to specific music, is to fit the mood that they are most comfortable with.  Perhaps there are people out there who are “content” on feeling angry, so they listen to angry sounding music.  It’s an interesting hypothesis.

Whatever your reason, I’m sure you can understand that you listen to music for perhaps drastically different reasons.  But one thing we all have in common – we listen to it.  It’s a wonderful piece of art.  We get to enjoy it throughout our lives, and in many different settings.  I hope this makes you think about why you enjoy it, and then I hope knowing that brings you greater appreciation for it.

I will see you next week!  Have a great weekend!

Jukebox the Ghost’s “Everything Under the Sun” (2010) – YES, NO, MAYBE SO?

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Jukebox the Ghost’s Everything Under the Sun (2010) – MAYBE SO

Everything Under The Sun (Jukebox the Ghost, 2010)

Everything Under The Sun (Jukebox the Ghost, 2010)

(September 7, 2010)

Review:

The follow-up to their outstanding debut (Let Live and Let Ghosts), Everything Under the Sun is a catchy, quirky, and dynamic set of piano rock tracks that strongly establish Jukebox the Ghost as a band able to not only write great songs but also assemble clever, meaningful studio albums.

Top Two Tracks:

“Empire” & “The Popular Thing”

“Wish You Were Here” (Pink Floyd Cover)

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By Jeff Copperthite:

Welcome to your Saturday edition of The Laptop Sessions!  I promised a hat trick of Pink Floyd Acoustic Cover videos, and today I deliver the third in my mini-series.  This song is by request of our own Jim Fusco, but as I mentioned before this was in my potential song list for a while.  Maybe by the end of our session-a-day project I will get to the 4th and 5th songs I was considering.

Today’s song is “Wish You Were Here” from the album of the same name.  This is among the simpler songs to play, and the soft acoustic guitar riff that is constant in the song comes out nicely in this video.  I did freestyle the lyric timing a bit here and there, but it works quite well in my opinion.

I hope you enjoy my last video before I go on vacation #2 of the summer.  I will be doing my next two or more videos from our hotel room this upcoming week.

Oh, and as far as the homerun derby mentioned Wednesday…let’s just say my new sponsor is Hoover vacuums…because I sucked.

Stay tuned tomorrow to your Super Sunday edition where Jim will break out his latest and greatest acoustic cover song.  See you then!

Editor’s Note: Unfortunately, Jeff’s acoustic cover song music videos are no longer on YouTube, but we decided to keep his cover song blog posts up.  We figured these music blog entries would be good for posterity’s sake and because Jeff always gave such insightful posts each Session.  We hope to see Jeff’s impressive catalog of acoustic rock songs here on the Laptop Sessions cover songs and original music blog again in the future.  But, for now, please make sure to check-out hundreds of other acoustic cover songs from all of your favorite bands here on the Laptop Sessions music blog!