Tag Archives: independent music

“Hold You Soon” (New Music by Indie Music Songwriter Chris Moore!)

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By Chris Moore:

Well, it’s that time again… for another Original Wednesday Laptop Session! For today’s installment, I decided to break out a slower song that’s never been released before. I wrote it this summer when my girlfriend and two best friends were out of the country (her in England and them in Italy). They were off on adventures in other countries, and I was still at home, going through everyday life as usual.

Except I was alone most of the time.

For the most part, it was relaxing, as I had just finished my student teaching. But, it was also lonely, and I thought about them often, especially Nicole. Thus, this song kind of came to me as I was practicing another song. It really expresses the feeling of figuring something out about a relationship, but being too distant to share it. Yet.

On a side note, I just found out that Jim, Jeff, and I will be playing two live shows in the coming weeks, so be sure to check http://LaptopSessions for all the details! (Just search “Live Events”)

I hope you enjoy this video and please comment or rate it!



Ranking every Beach Boys song/album: The Beach Boys Today! (by Songwriter Jim Fusco)

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By Jim Fusco:

THE BEACH BOYS TODAY!

Dance, Dance, Dance – 8
Kiss Me, Baby – 9.5
Please Let Me Wonder – 9 (I actually like the arrangement on the “Live at the Roxy” CD better- which really doesn’t fit with my stance on live versions…)
She Knows Me Too Well – 8 (What an ending! Probably one of the best endings ever)
When I Grow Up – 7 (This song is great, don’t get me wrong, but when I first learned it, I always found it to be a bit boring. But, the subject matter is amazing.)
Help Me, Ronda – 6 (I love this song, but sadly, not this version.)
Do You Wanna Dance? – 7 (Great Denny vocal here and I consider this the “standard” version of the song)
Good to My Baby – 7.5 (I love the style of this song, the great guitar riff, and the a capella vocals in the beginning)
*Dance, Dance, Dance (alternate) – 6 (Why do the unreleased alternate takes always sound so tinny?)
Don’t Hurt My Little Sister – 5 (Funny story about this song- my friends and I talk in the tune of this song! I know it sounds weird, and that’s because it is. We’ll say any line with seven syllables to the tune of this song, for instance, “Did you go buy the hot dogs?” Sing it- it fits!)
I’m So Young – 6 (This has some interesting sounds to it. Even though I like Dennis’ part at the end, it’s a bit out of his range)
*Graduation Day – 5 (Great harmonies, just not exactly “engaging”)
In the Back of My Mind – 6.5 (This is a great song with a personal message from Brian Wilson shroud in the vocals of Dennis Wilson. He really nails this and the tune is so unique that I have to give it a good rating)
*I’m So Young (alternate) – 5
Bull Session with the “Big Daddy” – 1

** This is clearly one of the Boys’ best albums of all-time. The production quality, although mixed in mono (which I’m not a fan of, growing up in the surround-sound age), is great. I do miss the Boys playing their own instruments, as they did on the Christmas album’s first side, but the song quality is so good here, that I can look far past it.

I think, without using composite song scores, but ranking albums as “albums”, that this would probably end up in the Top 5 for me. With it would be “Holland”, “Sunflower”, “Pet Sounds”, and the fifth spot is up for grabs. Of course, everyone knows by now my affinity for the ’85 album, but I do value my life, here! 🙂

As a bit of genealogy to my Beach Boys past, we actually started with Pet Sounds (after the Greatest Hits, of course), which we got in 1992. I was 8. Talk about starting with some heavy stuff! But, we hear it over and over and over and over again. My father couldn’t get enough. We listened to “God Only Knows” about three times a day for a year- I’m not exaggerating. It was like Brian Wilson listening to “Be My Baby”. We then moved on (because many of the Beach Boys albums weren’t so easy to find) to the Box Set that just came out in 1992. Now, you have an 8 year old kid listening to Smile!! But, I do think that listening to, and really getting into, such deep and complex music at the age of 8 helped me to grow into a musician and songwriter at an early age. And, thus, is the reason why Brian Wilson will always be my musical idol.

Well, enough about me- this album’s great, and it’s only gonna get better for me, as I’m such a fan of the other band members’ compositions that I can’t wait for the “Sunflower” days! **

“If You Never Got Sick” (The Wallflowers Cover)

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By Jeff Copperthite

Chris, Jim, and I are part of an internet radio station called WCJM.com Free Internet Radio, and one of the shows that we did (but currently can’t find) was called the “Get Well Mike” show, because at the time Jim’s brother Mike was sick and we wanted to lift his spirits (this is before the “Ronco automatic face lifter” came into existence) (Note: the preceding joke would only be fully understood by 6 people on this planet – 2 of them write on this blog as well).

Well, the first song on the show was this one, and thus my introduction to this song.

It is a personal favorite of mine, and has helped make the Wallflowers one of my favorite bands. I figured because of this that this song would be the perfect introduction for me into FMP’s “Laptop Sessions” as well.

I think I do the song justice. I had the lyrics on the laptop just in case, but I didn’t need ’em.

This also marks my introduction into video making and on to youtube as well, so if you like it (or hate it), let me know!

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!

“Where the Streets Have No Name” (U2 Cover)

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By Jeff Copperthite:

I would like to wish all of you a Happy Mother’s Day out there, and I would like to thank you for taking time out of your day to visit www.guitarbucketlist.com. I am proud to introduce another specialty week, and it is “Album Starter Week”. All this week (except Wednesday of course) we will be playing songs that are album openers. A good album knows how to draw a listener in, so you know bands always want the first song to be a real good one.

We will kick off album starter week with another song by U2. One of their most famous albums is “The Joshua Tree” and the song “Where the Streets Have No Name” is the perfect opener. It has a long fade-in with a nifty lead guitar by Edge. It does exactly what it is supposed to do.

I really enjoyed playing this session and I really feel this is a great solid cover. Again, I comment about Bono’s vocal range and how I have to strain my voice a bit to hit some of the notes Bono can hit regularly. Still, it is a “live” cover and I think with all things considered, I sing my heart out on this one.

I chose to close the song with the chords rather than the lead guitar because I thought that it sounded “empty” without the bass backing that the album version has. It works quite well though so I have no complaints.

I also did this song in one take, and it is the 4th Laptop Session in a row that I have completed in a single take.

Well anyway, Happy Mother’s Day to everyone out there. Make sure you check back EVERY DAY to see the songs we have selected for Album Starter Week. Jim will bring you his first song tomorrow, so make sure you visit https://guitarbucketlist.com/ to 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 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!