For Big Star chords, CLICK HERE!

By Chris Moore:

Hello and welcome to my first Laptop Sessions post of the new year!

Yes, 2009 will be even better than 2008.  I hope…

Seriously, though, I’m excited for all the improvements and updates that have already taken place, even in the brief five day period since New Year’s Day.  If you’re a regular visitor to this site, you should notice some of Jim’s handiwork on the front page of the site.  Go ahead, check again.  You’ll see the new scrolling pictures of our original albums (click and take a listen!!).  You’ll see the weekly calendar of sessions: Chris Moore Mondays, Jim Fusco Tuesdays, Original Wednesdays, Jeff Copperthite Thursdays, and Guest Sessions Fridays — learn ’em, love ’em!

And my personal favorite addition is our new Fusco-Moore original (well, technically, it’s just a Fusco original… :- ) loading bar with four squares.  There are some excellent features that we’ve built up over the past year, and I hope you’ll take the time to acquaint yourself with all the great material that’s available on the site.  Go ahead, explore…

For tonight’s session, I chose a pretty obscure one.  In fact, I haven’t even found a copy of the original version.  This is Big Star’s “Thirteen.”  I first heard this song when Elliott Smith’s acoustic version was released posthumously on New Moon.  This is an amazing song and Smith’s version, as far as I’m concerned, is the quintessential version.  The combination of his fingerpicking style and voice is a beautiful thing.

Just last night, I heard the Wilco cover of this song, recorded originally in 1997.  As Jeff Tweedy began to sing the lead, I instantly remembered the song.  Only, I didn’t know where I had heard it.  Thus, I rediscovered the beauty of the iPod.  I searched “Thirteen,” found my Elliott Smith version, and set out to learn the song myself.

It’s as simple as that.

That’s what we do around here.  So don’t go too far — hurry back for the very first Jim Fusco Tuesday of 2009 and I’ll see you again soon!