Tag Archives: alternative music

“American Girls” (Counting Crows Cover)

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By Chris Moore:

Happy Labor Day to one and all!  I’ve always thought that it was interesting that there is very little “labor” accomplished on Labor day, but I suppose it’s more an appreciation and celebration of all the labor that is done on the other 364 days of the year.  Regardless, I’m not complaining that I don’t have to work on this beautiful, sunny day — what a magnificent first day of September it is, at least here in good ole Connecticut, USA!

And September 1st is not only Labor Day, but it’s also the birthday of my girlfriend, Nicole.  So, to help her celebrate it, I figured there’s no better way than choosing and recording a song for my music video today that she would love.  This is actually a song that I just played her for the first time a couple of days ago, and she immediately loved it.  “American Girls” is the second track on the Counting Crows’ Hard Candy album.  It’s notable for being one of two songs from this album to make the greatest hits.  Although it was a very mild hit, I think it’s a great song.  And I can’t believe that it took me years to figure out that Sheryl Crow contributes the background vocals!  I picked up this album used from FYE a couple weeks ago and figured that out as I read the liner notes.  It was definitely a “Duh” moment…

The album is one of those that starts extremely strong — the first four tracks are simply amazing.  “Hard Candy” starts off the album and the first couple lines are among my favorite that Duritz has ever written.  Then comes “American Girls.”  The third track, “Good Time,” is not anything special, I suppose, but I really like it.  And I love “Richard Manuel is Dead.”  Those first four tracks are a tour de force.  Then, the next few tracks slow it down, which is not necessarily a bad thing, but it never really picks back up to the quality of those first four tracks.  So, while I like the album, I can’t really fall in love with it.  It’s one of those albums that, by track eight, you’re fighting the temptation to skip back to track one.

But, if you buy this album, don’t flip back to the first track without hearing the last track, “Holiday in Spain”!  It’s one of my favorite songs from the Counting Crows.  It starts off with just piano and Duritz’s vocals, and gradually builds up to a triumphant final verse and chorus.  For those of you who don’t know me, I just love it when a song begins with no drums or minimal drums, then really kicks into high gear!  For instance, that’s probably why “Pretty (Ugly Before)” is my favorite Elliott Smith song on From a Basement on the Hill.

Well, that’s enough music commentary for one day.  I’m off to have some lunch, celebrate Nicole’s birthday, celebrate Jim’s groundbreaking new purchase (I’m sure he’ll tell you all about it in his next post!), and try to get some work done amidst all the excitement…

See you next session!



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“For My Lady” (Moody Blues Cover)

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By Chris Moore:

Hello and welcome to yet another edition in the session-a-day project at the best acoustic cover song music blog on the web! Yes, that’s right, we don’t post a cover once a week or a music video every once in a while like most other sites — no, we have committed ourselves to posting one cover song a day in 2008. (And, if it goes much longer then that, we’ll probably end up committing ourselves. Not to another “session-a-day” project, just “committing.” And not to a relationship. I mean like to an institution for the mentally unstable!)

That’s how hard we work around these parts…

But, let’s get down to acoustic cover song business. Today, I bring you my second track from one of my favorite bands, the Moody Blues. “For My Lady” holds a special place in my heart for a couple reasons. First, it is on their Seventh Sojourn album, which is one of their first seven concept albums — one of my favorite collections of all time. But second, and more personal, is the fact that this is the very first song that Jim, Mike, Becky, and I learned and performed live together as a band. It was the first of many and happened long before Cliff came into the picture. By the time Masters of the Universe came together we had long forgotten how to play this song (and, by we, I mean me and probably Becky too, and maybe even Mike, but not Jim!) and it was only played once at Jim’s parents’ anniversary party.

And now it is officially added to the list of acoustic cover songs available here at the Laptop Sessions. I hope you enjoy it, and I hope you’ll check out more great cover song music videos by Jeff…

See you next session…



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“Some Flowers Bloom Dead” (Wallflowers Cover)

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 By Jeff Copperthite:

Welcome to your Monday Night Football….er, edition of The Laptop Sessions!  It’s the man, myth, and legend Jeff Copperthite tonight with your latest acoustic cover video for the series.  I hope this song is familiar to you, because it is a good one.

The song is another one from The Wallflowers called “Some Flowers Bloom Dead” from their album “(Breach)”.  I think the album as a whole is one of the most underrated of their albums.  It has some really awesome tunes on it and I know that my friend Rory would belt out the tracklisting in order.  I’d put down $40 that he could do it.  I hope to do another song from this album called “Murder 101” because I think the tune is that good.

You may notice I enjoy covering this band a lot.  It has something to do with the fact I haven’t had to filter many (if any) negative comments about ANY of their covers here or on Youtube.  Maybe my singing style is similar to Jakob Dylan, or you can tell that I’m a huge fan when you watch me play their tunes.  Regardless, I love bringing you more videos of their songs.  However, I had to include a little text after my title in the video.  I must admit that I was getting a little tired in this recording session.  I’m have to sit down and record some videos this week so this doesn’t happen in the future.  My guitar playing isn’t as clean as usual, but I was trying my hardest to not ruin another take.  I don’t think I’m a perfectionist, but when it comes to recording these videos, sometimes I just have to relax and just play the song.

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 origianal 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!

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“Lost!” (Coldplay Cover)

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By Jeff Copperthite:

Good evening, and welcome to your Tuesday edition of The Laptop Sessions. It’s Jeff today bringing you another great acoustic cover video. We’re continuing to roll along with session-a-day in the middle of August.

It feels weird to bring you an acoustic cover video that isn’t from Pink Floyd, after nearly two weeks of the Pink Floyd Hat Trick. I hope you enjoyed those, but I also hope you’re ready for another familiar band here at the Sessions.

The band today is Coldplay, and I am covering my first song from the album “Viva La Vida”. The song is “Lost!”, which isn’t really an acoustic song. It has a rock beat with an organ playing the main chords. There is a guitar solo (what song isn’t complete without one) and there are a couple of electric guitar riffs in the recording. I love this song because of its infectious chorus (“Oh and I’m just waiting ’till the shine wears off”) and its straightforward chord progression. It is cool to here this song with the acoustic treatment, because neither recording that I have heard of this song (the piano and album versions) has an acoustic guitar.

You’ll notice the unusual background – I recorded this song in our hotel room in Vermont. So if you’re in the VT area listening to this, it could’ve been recorded down the street from you. On that note, the acoustics are not that great, and I didn’t want to play louder than usual because I didn’t want to attract too much attention from the neighbors.

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 origianal 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!

More Laptop Sessions covers