Tag Archives: acoustic cover

“I’m So Lonely” (A Beach Boys Cover)

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Okay, so now for a REALLY obscure one!

This song is from the Beach Boys self-titled 1985 album. It’s called “I’m So Lonely” and was Brian Wilson’s only solo lead on the album.  Why would I pick such an obscure song? Well, for one thing, my roomate dared me to figure it out on my own, and this is also the way I’ve been feeling lately (bust out the violins).  But can you blame me?  I mean, living away from home is tough.  Factor that in with just starting to work full-time for the first time.  Plus, add in running a condo for the first time.  When all of those things combine, you find that you don’t have a lot of time for yourself.  But that’s where music comes in.  Singing, playing and recording these cover song music videos for the Laptop Sessions music blog is a great way to keep the passion of music in my life without taking up too much time.  Honestly, I don’t have that much time to take up anymore!

Most people don’t like the Beach Boys’ 1985 self-titled album.  But, I don’t understand why.  To me, this album has just about everything.  It’s not without its flaws, but I’d love to hear a redone version of this album with real instruments.  I think people would have a much different take on the album.  But, it was 1985 and the Beach Boys were using cutting-edge technology to record their songs.  They wanted to do all of their new songs digitally, so they went over to England.  There, they found one of the only studios in the world with the equipment to pull off such a task.  Maybe the Boys wanted to sound “hip” and not like they were a bunch of guys in their 40s.  The result was one of the first albums released on compact disc- a revolution, but not well-received.

For one, the fans definitely noticed the change in style (except for “California’s Calling”, featuring real drums by Ringo Starr- the only person worthy enough to take Dennis Wilson’s place on a Beach Boys record).  But, I like the style.  Sure, I was born in 1984, but honestly, I love the style of these songs- especially Carl’s contributions.  “Maybe I Don’t Know” is one of my all-time favorite songs.  It features great lead vocals and an amazing mid-80s guitar solo.  I’ll agree- it’s hard to believe it’s from a Beach Boys song.

With “I’m So Lonely”, the Beach Boys got Brian Wilson to contribute a song.  You know, I think Brian sounds pretty good on the recording.  He sounds passionate (unlike his lackluster performance in “Crack At Your Love”).  The song is simple, but it’s great to hear Brian’s falsetto once again.  If you haven’t listened to this album for a while, I strongly suggest you give it another chance.

This video is EXACTLY what the Laptop Sessions are all about.  These acoustic cover song videos are meant to take songs and strip-down their production (in this case, the synthesizers of the mid-80s).  I want to make videos where people say, “Wow, I never liked the studio version of that song, but since you just made it an acoustic version, it’s actually a really good tune!”  I think I do the song justice and I hope you enjoy!


Late Night Video Blog – A Songwriter at Work!

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By Jeff Copperthite:

So what the heck is the newest member doing up at 2:18 a.m. on a blog that just started?

No, i’m sober.

Yes, i’m nuts.

No seriously i’m really trying it out to make sure i’m able to post. If you’re reading this, then another mission accomplished.

I’ve been working in my not-so-aethestically pleasing studio on another track for Greenlight. I have a terrific audio picture of what I am doing for this song, and I got to mess around with guitars and a bit of vocals lastnight. My wife came down with me and snapped some photos of me at work. I’m posting the vocal picture on this entry because – well, it goes to show when we at FMP record our singing, we aren’t a bunch of stiffs in front of that microphone.

Singing and loving it

I’m not looking at a furnace and water heater – i’m envisioning the five fans bobbing their head in time with the bluesy beat.

Told you I was nuts.

And you can tell from the background – I can’t wait to get to that putting up corkboard ceiling and a nice non-load-bearing wall in front of said appliances.

But seriously I look forward to recording most of the guitars and vocals for this song soon, and I have another 3 songs to start recording. I am so excited that music is coming naturally to me again.

Also, Jim, Chris, and myself are already plotting “Jamnation 2: the search for more listeners.”

Ok fine, we’ll probably just stick with “Jamnation 2”. Why can’t album sequels work like movie sequels.

Hopefully soon I can procure a webcam and contribute to the laptop sessions. There are lots of cover songs that can use the FMP touch, and I want to do my “part” (come on musicians – laugh!)

Until then…

“Jamnation 1” Video Blog Clip

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A few weeks ago, Chris, Jeff, and I combined for the launch of the new Fusco-Moore.com. We were so excited and planned for weeks to do “Jamnation”, an EP of songs played live in our studio, then overdubbed live (again!) to make a total of six “musicians”.

We were very pleased with the way it turned out and had a TON of fun doing it- no arguments or anything. Of course, Jeff always brings that kind of fun to the table, so that’s one of the reasons we wanted him in Fusco-Moore Productions. Below is a short video documenting some of the work we did that day. Now, we’re all looking forward to Jamnation 2!

“Here, There, and Everywhere” (Beatles Cover)

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Welcome to a new era in online music videos: The Laptop Sessions acoustic cover songs music video blog!

Modeled after Ed Robertson’s (of Barenaked Ladies) incredible “Bathroom Sessions,” YouTube acoustic music video series, we will be recording songs on video using the built-in camera on our Macbook laptops. So, wherever the laptop goes, we’ll record a new cover song video!

Tonight, I start the series off with a song from the Beatles, “Here, There, and Everywhere,” a great tune by Paul McCartney (and John Lennon, for copyright’s sake). I recorded it at 2 am in my living room. This is a great song from the “Revolver” album- it shows Paul’s softer side. I remember reading a story about this song. The Beatles wanted to do some nice harmonies for the background vocals. So, George Martin (their producer) helped them out and came up with the nice background vocal part you hear on the original record. Well, the Beatles loved it and that’s what you hear on the final record. When asked about the harmony part, though, George Martin pointed out that there really was nothing to it- he basically just played a chord and gave a note to each member. They call that a “block” harmony. Simply put, each member just sings the next note (up or down, depending on the tune) in sequence. There isn’t any cross-harmonies or anything complex. If the melody goes up, your note goes up. It’s the easiest way of doing harmony. But, for “Here, There, and Everywhere”, it was exactly what the Beatles wanted.

I’m not sure why I chose this as my first video. I think it’s one of those songs that I always loved and when I saw how to play it, I really just wanted to give it a try. In the process, I thought I would record a live acoustic version of it. This song was played at my parents’ wedding and it’s always had some importance to our family. I know the recording quality isn’t great, but when I recorded this, they had an option of recording live right onto YouTube’s video servers. So, I had little control of the video quality or (especially) the sound. You can hear the whirl of my Macbook laptop’s fans in the background and the color (and the video angle) leaves much to be desired. But, every great project must start somewhere and I’m glad it could be with such a great song in “Here, There, and Everywhere”.

These videos are meant to show our passion for music and our love to play constantly, so look for updates every couple of days. That’s right: days!!

Enjoy and we hope to see you back here on the music video blog often. We’ll be featuring many acoustic cover songs and original music for your enjoyment. Please remember to subscribe to the music blog so you can be the first to know when a new video is uploaded!  And make sure to check out all of our Beatles cover songs– I’m sure there will be many!