By Chris Moore:
My first official laptop session of the new year! I’ve been listening to 1970’s George Harrison this week–Thirty Three and a Third and George Harrison–but I was reminded today of this track off of his 2001 posthumous release Brainwashed. It’s such a simple song, but it was easy to learn and fun to play, so here it is!
Okay, it’s time for me to contribute to “Original Wednesday.” And for my first selection…
This is one of my original Christmas songs. I know it’s a bit sad for a Christmas song, but it was a clear and simple portrait of how I felt at the time that I wrote it. And it still takes me back. (I suppose the question is, why would I want to?…)
Hey there! Well, it’s Original Wednesday, and Original-ly this post should have been Jeff! But he was nice enough to call me and offer the spot to get back on blogging. So, out from the bullpen I come, (hopefully more effectively than the Mets bullpen!) with this original acoustic laptop session for you to enjoy. I remember everything about writing this song- I remember being embarassed by the oddity of the tune. But, as some of you may know, songs come to me. So I don’t really have control of the style or genre or tune…and most of the time the words! It hits me like a sack of bricks. So what you get are raw and honest tunes, with simple lines that end up being my favorite.
This song has a spanish-feel to it, and the middle where chords ring out is very Dennis Wilson sounding. Some of my favorite lines are “She’s easy to love, and you can bet she’s so good lookin’…but in this case there’s more than meets the eye…” All of these words were auto-biographical, and you can hear it in the lyrics, like you’re a fly on the wall for these interactions- “And sometimes when I look in your eyes, I see confusion”… “When she sits across from me”…”Sometimes when I sleep, your eyes- they look so deep,..and in them I can see nothing but love”.
It was about the stress of romance and the meaning of dreams (where this song was written) and how during the day, facades can be put on, but at night, your conscience isnt always there to protect you from talking in your sleep. One of my favorite lyrics, in its simplicity, is “And somehow I know that I’ll never stop loving you”. The last verse, after a pause- was a joke in music form… when people think it ends, I hop in saying I wasn’t through speaking (hope i got you on it!) I remember playing it for Jim when it was recorded, saying “Wanna hear this stupid, weird song I just did?” and when he finished listening to it, he kept the headphones on and said, “Are you kidding me? Are you kidding me?…that’s the best song you’ve ever written” =)
oh jim, this is for you… you’ll be the only one that gets it.
3 = ooO
By Jeff Copperthite:
Welcome to your Tuesday edition of The Laptop Sessions. I bring you a familiar band for me tonight, and this also goes out by request from one of my best Youtube commenters – he knows who he is :).
Billy Joel is an individual that I have covered in the past, and tonight I bring a song from his album “Turnstiles” in 1976. The song is “Say Goodbye To Hollywood”, which is known for its cool violin solo and light percussion. I also notice that Billy Joel sounds a lot different in his first albums than in his later ones. His voice tends to lower in pitch as you progress through his discography. No matter – I was on key tonight and glad I could nail this one. I think you’ll like this video a lot.
Sorry to be a little terse tonight, but I have a lot of things to get to. I’ll keep it short so you can get back to watching the election results roll in, and enjoy tonight’s video.
Come back tomorrow for Jim’s next original song – I can’t wait to hear and see it!
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 original 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!