Tag Archives: acoustic song

“Lahaina Aloha” (The Beach Boys Cover)

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By Jim Fusco:

Hello everyone!!  I’m back from obscurity to bring you another obscure Beach Boys song!

I’ve been on my honeymoon for the past two weeks.  You’ll notice a certain new accessory on my left hand in the video- I actually notice the difference when playing.  To sum up the trip and the wedding- everything went great.  Great weather, had a good time at the reception, wasn’t nervous at all, heard good music, went great places, hotels were nice, and just got to live the Hawaiian experience for two weeks!

Back to reality now, but there’s a lot to look forward to- a new house on the way and a new life as a married man.  It’s both exciting and tiring and I think I need a couple more days to decompress after my vacation!  You see, my wife (weird to say that) is the type that needs to see and do anything and everything while on a trip.  So, there really wasn’t much relaxation.  I need another vacation! 🙂

Anyway, Hawaii is an amazing place- from the weather to the people (who are very jolly, as the Beach Boys have said) to the scenery.  One of our favorite places was Lahaina, which is a nice town along the coast that boasts many art galleries and the second largest banyan tree in the world!  So, of course, this Beach Boys song was stuck in my head the entire time.  Becky and I walked around the town that day and even though it was only in the mid 80s, that “near the equator” sun made it feel like it was 100 or more.  But, the day was nice and I will remember Lahaina fondly.

I hope to have some time in the near future to post some photos, etc.- things I’ve been wanting to do, but haven’t gotten a chance to.  I hope you all followed me on Twitter (http://twitter.com/jimfusco), as I chronicled all the great (and hilarious) things we saw and did on the honeymoon.

I know Jeff is a fan of tonight’s song, as I played it on one of our BSYNHO shows we did for our significant others.  I hope my acoustic cover version does it justice.  “Lahaina Aloha” comes from an album that didn’t sell well and is officially the last ever Beach Boys album, as I truly don’t think there will ever be another.  “Summer in Paradise” isn’t all bad- just half.  I actually really enjoy the other half of the album- Bruce’s “One Summer Night”, with great vocals from Al, and Mike’s “Strange Things Happen”, which is one of Becky’s favorites, as well.

But, “Lahaina Aloha” is the perfect song for the acoustic cover song music blog tonight, as the islands of Hawaii are still very fresh in my mind.

Just as a last funny note- while on the ship, we saw The Second City, which is a comedy troupe not unlike the cast of “Whose Line is it Anyway?”.  They were very good and did a hilarious skit where they pointed out that the word “aloha” in Hawaiian can mean either, “Hello”, “Goodbye”, or even “I love you”!  So, they would sing songs that fit with that.  For instance, they did the Doors hit: “Aloha, aloha won’t you tell your name…”  And, they ended the skit with the best one- the Beatles “Hello, Goodbye”, or in Hawaiian: “Aloha, aloha!  I don’t know why you say Aloha, I say Aloha.”

Anyway, with that, I bid you the same- ALOHA!  It’s great to be back to the best blog ever created!

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“Halfway There” (Jim Fusco Original Song)

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By Jim Fusco:

Yes, that’s right- a world premiere tonight here on the Laptop Sessions music video blog!

My first solo album in four years — “Halfway There” — was in the works.  I can’t believe it’s been that long.  And, with the production value and songwriting skills, you’ll realize that I’ve grown in many ways over that time.  I’ve seen a band come and (essentially) go in that time.  I’ve produced and written songs for two albums while in that band.  “Homestead’s Revenge” is truly a great album and I can only hope that “Halfway There” can top it.

I hope to create some sort of buzz for the new album.  I spent so long making it and I’m so proud of it that I wanted to wait until the Laptop Sessions got popular to release it.  Maybe now, my collegues here on the site will realize why I’ve been pushing them so hard to find better avenues for popularity here on the music video blog…

This song, “Halfway There”, is obviously the title track, but it doesn’t appear until track 10 on the 11 track album.  It’s funny- my last album was 13 tracks and this new album is longer with two fewer songs!  The songs on this album are well-thought-out and complete.  The songs on this album take their time and don’t sound too rushed.  The songs on this album are the songs I always knew I could make, but never really had the time or the resources to complete.  You can see why I’m so proud of it!

Of course, this album has a theme.  When you see the album cover, which is awesome, by the way, you’ll get more of the theme’s meaning.  I’m having a great painter named Ben Quesnel paint the cover.  In exchange, I’ll be making him a website for all of his artististic work.  It’s a great trade-off and I know we’ll both be very happy in the end.

Tonight’s song really sums-up the whole concept of feeling “Halfway There”, hence it’s place towards the end of the album.  I give examples of what I’m trying to say throughout the album and finally give it a nice summary towards the end.

The tune came to me while driving back home after our usual trip to my parents’ house on Thursday nights for TNA iMPACT! on Spike TV.  I knew the title of the album long before I wrote this song.  Thinking of the album and its title, I started to sing to myself in the car: “Halfway there…halfway there…halfway there…I’ll always be halfway there…”  I proceeded to drive home much faster than usual and fleshed-out the song a bit more.

Actually, I made a YouTube video of how I developed this song- here it is below.  Then, you can watch tonight’s Laptop Session Original Wednesday version and get a better feel for the finished product.

Of course, the REAL finished product has literally ten of my vocals on the chorus- it sounds so cool!  Again, I finally have the techniques and everything down to make productions like this possible…and sound good, too!  But, for now, I hope you’ll enjoy the first newly-released track off of my upcoming album, “Halfway There” on acoustic guitar for tonight’s Original Wednesday music video.

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“Signed, Sealed, Delivered, I’m Yours” (Stevie Wonder Cover)

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By Jim Fusco:

Here I am, baby, with another edition of Jim Fusco Tuesdays here on the best video blog you’ve ever seen!  How do I know that?  Well, I’ll give you a few minutes to look around, then come back…

…

…

Back?  Yeah- I thought so.  We have the greatest selection of acoustic cover songs you’ll find ANYWHERE on the internet.  Where else can you find a Wilco song juxtaposed next to a Stevie Wonder song…done by two pasty white guys in Connecticut?  Well, I’ll tell you where- right here on the Laptop Sessions acoustic cover songs music video blog.

Onto tonight’s video:

For my Tuesday night edition, I bring you a special Inauguration song in honor of our new President, Barack Obama.  Yes, I’ve been a supporter of the man from the start of the race, but that’s not why I did this song.  As per the quite harsh comments I recieved on one of my original songs, I don’t think I’ll be bringing politics into the conversation anytime soon (join me next week for my exposé on religion…kidding!).  But, I think we should all come together as a nation right now under our inspirational new leader and try to fix what ails this economy and the world in general.

In honor of Motown’s 50th Anniversay (thank you, full page ad in Rolling Stone…), I’ll be doing this on Jim Fusco Tuesdays here on the music video blog.  I hope Chris and Jeff will help me sing some great Motown numbers, as well, as we’re also very rapidly approaching Black History Month in February.

If you remember Obama’s speeches during the primaries and election, then you’ve heard this song before.  Every time Obama won something, Stevie Wonder’s “Signed, Sealed, Delivered, I’m Yours” would play loudly to a group of screaming Obama fans.  “Signed, Sealed, Delivered…” was Barack Obama’s theme song of sorts.  It was always a great motivator that said, “Here I am- you’ve chosen me and I want to be here.”

I hope you got to see the Inauguration today.  My brother Mike was saying that he actually felt bad for former President Bush when the crowd started singing “Na, na, na, na… Na, na, na, na… Hey, hey hey… Goodbye…” as his helicopter exited Washington D.C.  He’s served his time.  He had a lot of bad luck and said some things he really should’ve thought about a bit more before saying and his legacy is…well, we’ll leave History up to that one…

So, I’m happy to honor our new President tonight with this classic Stevie Wonder song.  If you love Barack Obama, or you still need to warm up to him as President, I hope you’ll realize that we’re all in this together and that Obama is here, signed, sealed, delivered and ready to work as President of the United States.  This is a very hopeful day for America and I think that’s something this country sorely needed.  Goodnight!

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“Blue World” (Moody Blues cover)

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By Jim Fusco:

Welcome, welcome to another version of Jim Fusco Tuesdays here on the best music video blog ever created: the Laptop Sessions!

My special guest is coming, I promise, but we’ll have to wait at least another week.  But, it’ll be a great performance and I’m really looking forward to it.

So, I had to do an impromptu video tonight.  I have been practicing this song for many months now, but I always had other Moody Blues songs cued-up so I never got to it.  But, I had to do this video tonight up in my room because it’s just simply too cold in the studio now and I don’t wanna wait for the heat to kick in.

So, the video doesn’t look that great, but the sound is there, and that’s the most important thing, isn’t it? 🙂

Tonight, I bring you a great song by the Moody Blues from their album “The Present”.  This might be considered the last great Moody Blues album, because they were still popular, relevant, and had all four members contributing in a significant way.  I, of course, love the “Strange Times” album, but I definitely feel like I’m the only person in Connecticut (other than people I know personally) that knows of that album.

“Blue World” is a well-done song and has a classic Justin Hayward sound to it.  I love the chorus and I even love that over-the-top Pat Moraz keyboard/synth work.

The only problem with this song is the introspective lyrics that Hayward is so accustomed to writing.  He’s like the Mike Love of the band.  I mean, in this song, Hayward mentions his songs “The Voice” and “Fly Me High”.  He’s done this in other songs, as well.  But the thing is that “The Voice” was from the PREVIOUS album!  It’s not like he had a lot of time to reflect on the message of that song…

Well, I hope you enjoy tonight’s entry into the Laptop Sessions’ catalog.  Chris and I are going to have a battle to the death to find out who’s stuck with Original Wednesday tomorrow, but I may guilt him into it, seeing that I’ll be away on business for the first time!  I may be back in time and I’ll have stories to tell.  I’ve never been to New York City alone before, so tomorrow should be interesting!  Have a great one and I’ll be back sooner than you think!

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