Okay, picture this- a website with nothing but great songs that feature…the kazoo! Now picture the name of the site: KazooTube! It’s perfect- I’ll go trademark it.
Tonight, I bring you yet another song with a kazoo solo (featuring the hand of one Chris Moore). This tune is none other than Del Shannon’s classic hit, “Runaway”. Even if you’ve been living under a rock for the past 50 years and don’t know this song, you may yet have heard of it. Remember the Tom Petty classic song “Runnin’ Down A Dream”? Well, a line in that song is, “Me and Del were singin’ Little Runaway, I was drivin’.” I guess Del and Petty were friends during the last few years of Shannon’s life.
I was just reading about Del Shannon- what a sad story! His biggest hit song was “Runaway” and that went all the way to Number One in 1961. It was his first single! Then, he had a few more years of mediocrity before falling off the charts completely. After that, he produced, etc. Then, in 1990, after a long battle with alcoholism and prescription drugs, he shot himself. I couldn’t believe it when I saw it! I mean, I knew he died relatively young (age 55), but I thought it was from an illness.
So, this video turns into a tribute of sorts. Even though he died 18 years ago, I just found out about it now, so it feels like a loss.
I don’t know what made me think of doing this song- I haven’t heard it in ages. But, it’s really a great one for me to do. It’s from an artist we haven’t done yet, it’s a great song, it allowed me to play a fairly dead-on solo, it’s got a great beat, and it’s got that oh-so catchy falsetto part that I love so dear. Any chance I get to sing in that register without being embarassed is a chance I want to take!
I hope you enjoy tonight’s video as I pinch-hit for an under-the-weather Jeff. I’ll be back tomorrow night, and then you won’t see me until next Thursday, as Jeff makes up for lost time. Tomorrow night, I think I’ll be back on the Christmas song train, as I’ll be recording another video when I get home from work. I hope to have Chris help me out on the song and his level of consciousness tomorrow night will determine whether you’ll be watching a solo performance or a duet. Until then, have a great Friday and see you in the evening for another great Laptop Sessions acoustic cover song music video!
Welcome to your Tuesday edition of the Laptop Sessions! I love feeling productive, and even though I have a TON of work to do over the next few days (that is, AFTER a full day of work, in addition) I’ve been getting a lot done, so I’m in a good mood. I hope to completely clear my “after-work” schedule after this week so I can focus on having some Christmas fun!
Tonight, I kick off my Christmas song selection for this year with “Last Christmas” by the band Wham! No, I wasn’t excited there at the end of that sentence- the band’s name actually has an exclamation point in it! (For the record, in that last sentence, I really DID want to use an exclaimation point! 🙂 )
I heard this song on XM Radio a couple years ago and remembered this tune. Of course, you’ll hear the terrible 80s sound that goes along with it, but I kinda like that sound…probably because it’s the sounds that were popular when I was very young.
Keeping with my success of the Beach Boys’ “I’m So Lonely” video, I think this video may become pretty popular. Why? Because the Laptop Sessions has three goals: to do songs in the RIGHT KEY, to put an end to bad YouTube videos forever, and to strip down songs to their core and turn them into acoustic performances. In cases like this and “I’m So Lonely”, I took out the cheesy, dated production and performed the song in its purest form. I think people that have previously written this song off will come to like it after my performance!
This is the first in a series of Christmas songs to come this year, mixed in with my normal acoustic covers. I can’t believe we’re in the last month of our “session a day” project. I sincerely hope that Chris can contact some sort of news outlet (or the Guinness book) to report on this amazing accomplishment. I’m certain that it’s unprecedented!
Enjoy tonight’s video, as Christmas time is in full swing. Again, I hope I can start enjoying it more in a few days, and I’m sure my post length will reflect that when things slow down and I have more time to myself. Okay, off to bed now. Stay tuned for a great Chris Moore original song tomorrow and I’ll see you back here on Friday!
This post will be a shorter one, as Ace Ventura 2 is on in the background. Any time Jim Carrey’s on screen, my attention is pulled towards the television. Today was a fun day, as the original seven cast members of WCJM Radio got together to do our first Moore Hits in the Morning show that was actually in the morning! The 10th Anniversary Show went off without a hitch, except for the producing mistakes I made. Those will be edited out LONG before you hear it online! I’ll be working on the show soon and I hope everyone will go online and listen to it!
Tonight, I bring you a great song off of Brian Wilson’s new album “That Lucky Old Sun”. I love this album and it proves how great this guy still is. His singing voice just seems to get better and better. It has such a full sound now that it didn’t have back in the late 80s.
This song I chose not for its lyrics, which are a bit on the unexpected side, but for its incredible tune. I just love when the music kicks in after the first vocals-only part. The chords are great and Brian’s voice is even better. The lyrics provided by Van Dyke Parks are still very witty. That man says things in song a way no one else ever has before. It’s funny to me that probably my favorite song on the album was written by the classic duo of Wilson/Parks and not the new duo of Wilson/Bennett.
This is a short song, but I think it captures the essence of Brian’s efforts to speak out against pollution, etc. When you think of California, you think of sunshine, beautiful views, and wildlife. Brian sang about the other two things throughout the rest of the album, so this song covers the last topic and brings the album full-circle.
Enjoy this song tonight as I go off for a LONG winter’s nap and finish off my big weekend!
Oh yes, another Jim Fusco night, another acoustic cover song music video, and yet ANOTHER “new” band to the Laptop Sessions cover songs series! I’m not even going out of my way to find these new bands to do- they just come to me.
If you haven’t gotten a chance to check out the new Cover Songs website yet, do yourself a favor and go see it! It took me many hours to complete, but now it’s fully navigable and even has a really cool Flash logo. I’m really proud of it, especially considering how many revisions it went through so I could make it perfect. Hopefully Chris can help me finish making pages for the site in the next couple of days.
I’m so excited about Christmas time right now. Today, Chris, Becky, and I went to breakfast at Bickford’s (which they both sorely needed after the thrashing they received in Trivial Pursuit last night), then went to the Eric Carle children’s book museum (which was a really nice place), and got to meet famous author Patricia MacLachlin (“Sarah, Plain and Tall”). She even signed books for us! After that, we went up to an amazing place: the Yankee Candle headquarters in South Deerfield, MA. That place is HUGE and really gets you in the Christmas spirit. Too bad the prices were so high, though. For instance, I wanted to get this great Christmas village piece of a 50s diner…but it cost $110! I don’t think I’m quite there yet, financially.
But, we had a great time and it was a perfect way to kick off my favorite time of the year. I just hope Chris and Becky had a good time, too. This week truly rules- there is simply no better week during the year. Why? Because you have EVERYTHING to look forward to! Christmas is great, but after that, it’s all over. Thanksgiving week offers plenty of fun and excitement. Here’s what I’m looking forward to:
Monday: Normal working day, but when I get home, I’m cooking a pre-Thanksgiving dinner for Chris, Becky, Dana, and myself. Everyone always goes their separate ways on holidays, so I thought this would be my way of celebrating together. Yes, I have to cook, but at least everyone will be there! Not to mention my favorite shows are on: Boston Legal and Two and a Half Men.
Tuesday: This day isn’t anything great, as it’s just a normal workday and I still have to go in on Wednesday. But, Becky has the day off on Wednesday, so she’ll be able to stay later, at least. Maybe we’ll go shopping!
Wednesday: Excitement grows, as I go to work (possibly breakfast with Becky before?) and get ramped-up to leave. This night, we’ll be staying up late and having some fun!
Thursday: Of course, Thanksgiving. I’m going to Becky’s family’s house first, then we’re both going to my parents’ house to eat. I love this holiday- it’s really so laid-back. I’ll watch some football (how about those Jets?), watch a movie, eat, sleep, and get ready for a Thanksgiving night TNA iMPACT!
Friday: After going to bed early on Thursday (yeah, right), Chris and I will get up MASSIVELY early to go shopping on Black Friday. Not because we need to- it’s just an excuse to leave the house at 4:30! We’re meeting Alberto Distefano for our now three-year tradition. I’ll shop and hopefully get good deals, then we’ll all go to McDonald’s for some delicious egg McMuffins. After that, I’ll go to my parent’s house, where my father and I will put up lights outside until it’s lunchtime. Then, I’ll eat more fast food with him, followed by a trip to my house, where I’ll start putting up Christmas decorations and listening to the Christmas WCJM radio shows. This amazing and long day will end with my yearly tradition of watching “Christmas Vacation”- one of the best movies ever.
Saturday: Doesn’t stop there! I’ll probably do more shopping, but we’re hoping to get the gang back together to do another radio show. I hope it works out, as it’s our last chance to do the 10th Anniversary show. We’ll see.
Sunday: Well, they don’t call it the “day of rest” for nothing!
Wow, that’s a week. I’m so excited- I don’t know how I’m going to get to sleep tonight.
Now, FINALLY (after over 700 words), I’m onto tonight’s cover song music video:
The Steve Miller band is famous for many hit singles. “Jungle Love” is no exception, and I’m proud to bring it to the music video blog. When I first learned how to play it, I said to myself, “Man, that is really high-pitched.” Then I learned that song was even HIGHER pitched than I originally thought (a half-step up on a first-fret capo), so I had to adjust.
The result? One of my most vocal-chord-shredding, but most exciting videos ever. It only took me a couple takes to get through this one and I can’t believe I kept my wits about me to remember that whistling part at the end. I had to borrow Chris’ acoustic guitar for this one (not like he noticed anyway- he was passed out asleep in his street clothes on top of his bed) because I wanted it to be a little more “punchy” than my normal nylon-stringed videos. I love how easy the riff to this song is (basically an E to E-suspended 4th and D to D-suspended 4th on first fret capo), as I’ve always loved it. It’s funny how things work out like that. I swear that most songs I play that sound easy are the hardest and vice versa. This one always sounded so good- I couldn’t believe that it was so simple.
Well, I’ve written 1000 words for this Laptop Session post. I think that might be a first! So, sit back and enjoy the video for the 10th time now, because I’m sure it took about nine video plays to get through the reading of this post! Hey, that’s not a bad way to increase views- write longer posts and set the video to “loop”! I’ll be reaching my next YouTube video view milestone soon, so stay tuned! Enjoy the start of your week and I’ll be back again on Original Wednesday!
