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“Heavy Metal Drummer” (Wilco Cover)

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For Wilco chords & lyrics, CLICK HERE!

By Chris Moore:

Hello and welcome to another week of all-new material here at the Laptop Sessions blog, your source for excellent acoustic cover song music videos!

Well, it’s that and then some this week, as the next seven days are jam-packed with posts.

Let’s just say we’re partying like it’s 2008!

Here’s the low-down:  After my Chris Moore Monday post tonight, I’ll be back tomorrow with a full-length article.  Then, you can look forward to three videos in a row: an Original Wednesday post, Thursday’s regularly scheduled programming, and Friday’s Guest Session.  And the weekend isn’t a time of rest, as you can look forward to the second installment in the Saturday “Playlists on Parade” series and Sunday’s “Weekend Review.”

For my video tonight, I’ve gone back to one of my favorites: Wilco.  I heard this Yankee Hotel Foxtrot deep track on a colleague’s iPod over the weekend before band practice, and I took a moment to figure it out.  It’s a straightforward progression, which makes it a lot of fun to play and sing along to.  So, it was a no-brainer when I thought about my session for the week.  I’ve made it my business to cover a wide range of Wilco material.  Thus far, I’ve translated songs from their 1995 debut A.M., the following year’s Being There, Summerteeth (albeit a members-only video), Yankee Hotel Foxtrot, and last year’s Wilco (the album).  I’ve also pulled from both collaborations with Billy Bragg, 1998’s Mermaid Avenue and 2000’s Mermaid Avenue Vol. II.  This leaves A Ghost is Born and Sky Blue Sky.

However, instead of filling in the gaps, I had to go with a fun track from one of my favorite albums of all time.  “Heavy Metal Drummer” starts with a beat machine, and builds up to an all-out rock song.  What I like about it is how well it evokes a sense of fond memories for one’s past, particularly with reference to music.  Now, my nostalgia is not for heavy metal bands and Kiss cover songs, but I will never forget the enjoyable outings my friends and I made to concerts, starting with my first Bob Dylan concert back in high school and on from there — Brian Wilson, Barenaked Ladies, and so many more…

…including an amazing two and a half hour performance by Wilco last summer!

So, it is with great pleasure that I bring you “Heavy Metal Drummer,” hoping to stir some of your own fond memories of the past.  It is, after all, inevitable that the years pass and our lives change.  Still, there will always be songs and experiences that we harken back to for years and years to come.  Which are yours?

See you next session!

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“Heavy Metal Drummer” by Wilco – Chords, Lyrics, & How to Play

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To see how it’s played in the cover song music video, CLICK HERE!

“Heavy Metal Drummer”
Wilco

D                                 D7
I sincerely miss those heavy metal bands
C                                    A
I used to go see on the landing in the summer.
She fell in love with the drummer, she fell in love with the drummer,
She fell in love…

Shiny, shiny pants, bleached blonde hair
A double kick drum by the river in the summer
She fell in love with the drummer, another then another
She fell in love…

G             A                      D                D7
I miss the innocence I’ve known,
G                              A                    D                D7       C       A
Playing Kiss covers, beautiful and stoned.

Unlock my body and move myself to dance
Into warm liquid, flowing, blowing glass.
Classical music, blasting, masks the ringing
In my ears.

Oh, I sincerely miss those heavy metal bands
I used to go see on the landing in the summer
She fell in love with the drummer, she fell in love with another,
She fell in love…

I miss the innocence I’ve known,
Playing Kiss covers, beautiful and stoned.

I miss the innocence I’ve known,
Playing Kiss covers, beautiful and stoned.
Playing Kiss covers, beautiful and stoned.
Playing Kiss covers, beautiful and stoned.

** These chords and lyrics are interpretations and transcriptions, respectively, and are the sole property of the copyright holder(s).  They are posted on this website free of charge for no profit for the purpose of study and commentary, as allowed for under the “fair use” provision of U.S. copyright law, and should only be used for such personal and/or academic work. **

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“Palisades Park” (Freddy Cannon Cover)

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Welcome to another all-new Jim Fusco Thursday and another video in our series of Beach Boys cover songs here on the Laptop Sessions acoustic cover songs music video blog!  Well, that’s a technicality because the Beach Boys just covered this song on their 1976 album, “15 Big Ones”.  It’s actually from Freddy “Boom Boom” Cannon!

I believe this will be my last “weekly” cover song music video, as I’m going to switch to a bi-weekly schedule like I mentioned before.  This will allow me to be more creative with my videos and will also give me a chance to promote the videos I already made.  I mean, this is video #212 already!  And I’ve noticed that my views per day are pretty stagnant, even though I have more and more each week.  That means my older videos aren’t getting views anymore, and that’s just a shame!  I will make a point to post every Thursday night, however, with some interesting pieces on music, guitars, and rock’n’roll, so you’ll still get your weekly “Jim Fusco Fix”!

Before tonight’s video, I have two things to mention:

First, for my brother Mike’s birthday, I made him a long overdue iPhone website!  That means it’s specifically formatted for the iPhone (but will work on any mobile phone, too).  It’s SOOOO cool- you’d never know it was a website- it looks like an iPhone App!  Plus, if you bookmark http://mikefusco.com on your iPhone to your Home screen, you’ll see a cool logo button of Mike and the website will open up in “full screen” mode, so it’ll look like an authentic iPhone app!  You can watch Mike’s YouTube videos, listen to his music, and stay updated with him on his live Twitter feed!  CLICK HERE TO VIEW MIKE’S SITE!

The second thing is that in two weeks, you’ll be hearing a much nicer sound in my acoustic cover song music videos.  I won’t give anything away just yet, but trust me, it’ll put my videos into the Major Leagues.

Okay, onto “Palisades Park” by Freddy “Boom Boom” Cannon.  I love the personas they gave 50’s and early 60’s stars.  Everyone had to be bigger than life.  They had to be icons of their days.  And songs like “Palisades Park”, though not very complex or difficult, will always be remembered as the roots of rock’n’roll, and therefore classics.

“Palisades Park”, written after an amusement park in New Jersey, was actually not an “A” side.  For those of you born in the 80’s and later, an “A” side was the side of a vinyl record that was officially released as a single.  Yes, before iTunes, you could buy individual songs!  🙂  Well, actually, the flip-side of the record had another song on it, known as (big surprise) the “B” side.  Usually, these were throw-away songs, especially early-on.  There were a few double-sided hit singles, namely “Come Together” and “Something” from the Beatles, so it was possible to have two hits on one vinyl single.

Anyway, “Palisades Park” wasn’t meant to be the hit, but apparently a DJ played the “B” side of the record by accident and the song caught on in a big way- all the way up to Number 3 on the Billboard Hot 100 charts!  And, in 1962, there was some pretty fierce competition.

I actually knew this song more intimately because of the Beach Boys cover version on their 1976 album, “15 Big Ones”, where they played covers of early rock’n’roll songs, mixed with originals that sounded similarly.  The Beach Boys version isn’t great, but I still like Carl Wilson’s lead vocals- you’ll probably hear some phrases sung like Carl here because that’s the way I’m used to singing the song.  I knew Freddy Cannon’s version first, but listened to the Beach Boys version many, many more times.

Well, that’s all for me tonight- so happy it’s Spring now and I’m looking forward to some great times in the next few months.  I’m a little sad about going to a 26 episodes a year schedule, but I’ve already got a dozen songs lined up and ready to record, so don’t think I’m losing my inspiration!  In fact, my new “sound” is meant to boost my inspiration and get me to write and record again.  So, I hope you have a great weekend and enjoy “Palisades Park” by Freddy Cannon (and covered by me, Jim Fusco!).

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“Lightnin’ Strikes” (Lou Christie cover)

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By Jim Fusco:

Boy, this doesn’t feel like a Thursday.  Having tomorrow off (plus Monday, as well) is AWESOME and it feels like a weekend night!  I’ve had a chance to relax and get some stuff done tonight, so I’m looking forward to a long weekend with some great weather here in Connecticut.

Let’s get right to tonight’s acoustic cover song music video!

I was reacquainted with “Lightnin’ Strikes” by Lou Christie last month when I heard it on my favorite Thursday radio show, “Rockin’ With Wayne” on WHUS UCONN Radio.  Of course, I knew it from years passed listening to the local oldies station, too.  Turns out this song was a Number One hit for Lou Christie in the mid-sixties and I can see why.  It’s catchy and features Lou’s great falsetto.  Of course, I wasn’t the only one who always thought it was Frankie Valli, but let me tell you- there’s a big difference.  Lou Christie was actually a songwriter!  He wrote “Lightnin’ Strikes” and that’s pretty cool, in my book.  Plus, I’m excited to add Lou Christie as yet another new artist to the vast array here on the Laptop Sessions acoustic cover songs music video blog!

One thing I never noticed was the lyrics in this song.  Go ahead- name some other lyrics besides, “Lightning is striking again.”  Well, when you listen to the words, this song is incredibly chauvinistic!  Basically, he’s saying: I found you and you’re the best.  I’m going to marry you someday.  But, until I do, I’m gonna be with a whole bunch of other people- basically anyone that asks.  And, that’s gotta be okay because you, “know the nature of a man”.  Wow, not sure I agree with that one!  Talk about subject matter that really wouldn’t fly 45 years later.  And, on top of it, I think he co-wrote the song with…get this…a woman!  Heh, I knew it- he’s Italian! 🙂

I love singing these songs with the high parts.  This one is fun because you can really belt it out.  So much so, in fact, that I woke Becky up while recording this video.  Oops.  I can’t really take a lot of the blame, though, as there are very few moments I have to record other than when she’s already asleep.  If I record while she’s just going to bed, she can’t fall asleep.  And then I can’t get the take right because I’m always so nervous that I’m keeping her awake.  This is one of the reasons why I can’t wait to get our basement finished.

Until next Thursday night, I hope you have a great Easter weekend and opening week of baseball!

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