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“Wishful Thinking” (Wilco Cover)

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For Wilco chords, CLICK HERE!

By Chris Moore:

Welcome back for another installment of “Chris Moore Monday” here at the Laptop Sessions.  I’m excited to bring you another installment in my little Wilco project.  I decided a couple months ago that I would like to record one song from each of their albums — since there are six, I figured that would be a reasonable goal.

I’ve already recorded from their first album (“Box of Letters” from A.M.), third album (“How to Fight Loneliness” from Summerteeth), fourth album (“I Am Trying To Break Your Heart” from Yankee Hotel Foxtrot), and now I’m happy to present “Wishful Thinking,” a track from their fifth album, A Ghost is Born.

This album took me a little time to get into, but once I did, I really grew to love the songs.  There aren’t really any songs on the album that stand out as single-worthy; in fact, I don’t believe they even released a single.  But, as you become more and more familiar with the songs, you begin to pick up on the subtle nuances in both the instrumentation and the vocals.  Considering the album’s twelve tracks, I thought this one would work best as a solo acoustic number.  In addition, I think the vocals are a particularly good match for my range and style, so I’m always excited when that happens…

Although I chose this song, my instant favorite track on the album was “Company In My Back.”  I didn’t even know what that meant at first, but I loved the song, so I had to do some research so I could fully understand what I was singing along to!  I may yet record that track (coincidentally the song that follows “Wishful Thinking”) for a future “Members Only” video or a surprise non-Monday video.  After all, with so many great bands and songs that we haven’t covered, I don’t feel like I can spend too much time on any one artist, even if they’re one of my favorites…

So, I’ll hold myself back from recording my final two Wilco songs of this little “project” at least for a while.  I did finally buy the second Wilco studio album today with a Best Buy gift card from Christmas.  That was exciting, if a bit sad, since that’s the final gap in my Wilco collection.  But, it’s a double album, so it’s a sizeable gap and I’m sure I’ll enjoy it.  I’ve only had time to listen to the first disc, and I was distracted for part of it, so I think I’ll put it on as I get ready for bed.

I should share that the second CD I bought with the gift card today is Warren Zevon’s 1991 album Mr. Bad Example.  Apparently, this is the “Encore: Back in Print Imprint” version.  If I recall properly, this album was such a flop when it came out that it went out of print until recently.  I couldn’t be more excited, as my second favorite Zevon album of all time is The Envoy, his eighties album that was so poorly received that his record label dropped him.  And I love that one!  What a shame.

On a personal note, outside of my DVD player temporarily going haywire last night, I had a really relaxing weekend.  For those of you who don’t teach and/or have work that you bring home, that’s also code for “I didn’t really get much work done.”  Oh, well.  The week will begin soon enough, and as good ole T.S. Eliot wrote, “There will be time.  There will be time.”  I hope so, because I’m going into midterms with a slightly larger pile of work than I hoped for and my BEST portfolio on the horizon…

Oh, and I almost forgot.  If you haven’t already, you should check out my review of Meade Skelton’s new single “My Loudoun County Home,” which I posted yesterday.  Jim and I are quite excited to have our music reviews section expanding, so go ahead and read them all!  Or, if you don’t have time for that, then just get yourself back here tomorrow night for another awesome “Jim Fusco Tuesday.”

See you next session!

WCJM Free Internet Radio Station: “The Best Original Christmas Song” – 2003

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By WCJM Free Internet Radio:

It wouldn’t be WCJM free Internet radio without a Christmas show. The first show with Alberto Distefano was a Christmas show, and since then, the growing cast had done two other Christmas Morning Shows until the “Best Original Christmas Song” Show in late 2003.

The cast of Chris, Jim, Mike, Alberto, Matt, Jeff, and Becky (the same cast from the Complaining Show) came together on December 23, 2003 to do an exciting Christmas show. Dave couldn’t be at the show- he was spending Christmas in Florida! However, he did have input towards the show and approved of the content after he came back.

Jim wanted to do a show that was different from all the other Christmas shows. After all, pretty much every decent Christmas song ever made was played on the previous three shows! So, there needed to be a theme that would still keep the show interesting. So, Jim decided to make a contest. What is the best original Christmas song ever written and recorded? Why did he specify original? Well, taking classics like “White Christmas” and “Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer” are in another class by themselves, so to even the playing field, the list was narrowed down to just “rock’n’roll” Christmas songs.

Twenty songs were chosen out of a possible hundred or so, making the final candidates list. Just like the Song for the New Millennium voting, each cast member (plus Stuffy) ranked each song from 1-20. The averages were then taken for each song’s ranking and the songs were placed in order- the lowest (closest to #1) average would become the Best Original Christmas Song!

The show also finally gave Matt and Jeff a chance to vote on the songs, as they were left out of the voting for the Song for the New Millennium Show. Scheduling conflicts almost prevented this show from happening. Each member of the WCJM cast began going his own way, so finding a time everyone could meet for over two hours in a row would be a difficult task. But, Jim was persistent and with the help of the rest of the cast, everyone made it. However, Alberto had to work and didn’t arrive until halfway through the show- hey, at least he got to hear which song won!

The show also featured every cast member in their elements. Alberto and John Daley worked out a segment before the show, making it seem that Alberto was actually there for the time he missed! Also, since Dave’s voted were calculated into the voting, his valuable input made his presence felt. Chris was a superb host for this show- on top of the schedule at every turn. Jim came up with his best comedy segments to date, and Matt and Jeff lived up to their high standards of comedy, as well. Stuffy D. Bear was back with even more to say on this show, completing a well-rounded comedy lineup.

However, the biggest surprise on the show was the long (watch it!) segment with Dr. K. His segment on this show completely overshadows (Another one! Giddy up Keckster!) his appearance on the Complaining Show and makes this show a true Moore Hits in the Morning Classic. The excitement throughout the show makes you always wanting more, whether it’s comedy you love, which song will be #1, or both! I guess this show accomplished what it set out to do: to have another WCJM Christmas get-together and to have a great, exciting WCJM Morning Show!

So sit back, relax, and get in the Christmas spirit with this comedy radio show. See if you can guess which song is Number 1!

WCJM Free Internet Radio Station: “The Christmas Vacation Show” – 2006

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By WCJM Free Internet Radio:

Three years is a long time. In three years, spanning 1999-2001, WCJM did 15 Moore Hits in the Morning Shows. That’s five a year. After the Best Original Christmas Song Show in late 2003, WCJM took a three-year unplanned hiatus.

The WCJM free Internet radio cast was growing up. Jeff had gotten married, Jim, Chris, Alberto, and Dave were all finishing college. Mike and Matt were halfway through college already. But, Christmastime is a season that brings everyone back home. So, three years after their last show, the ENTIRE WCJM cast went back to do another.

Actually, it had been since 2001 when the only WCJM show with all seven cast members took place. So, this was actually five years in the making. The Christmas Vacation Show, as it came to be called, would showcase some great new Christmas music alongside some forgotten old classics.

Not only was the entire cast of Chris, Jim, Mike, Alberto, Dave, Matt, and Jeff present, but everyone contributed. There were just as many skits as songs, and the laughs kept on comin’! Matt’s new Best Buy related standup, Jeff’s usual cast of characters, Jim’s mound of material, Dr. K’s epic “Gnome for the Holidays”, and even a skit by Chris all made this show very memorable.

A lot of fun was made about how “old” the cast was getting, but if it’s bringing old friends together, age really doesn’t matter. Everyone had a great time on the show and you can tell just by hearing it that everyone really loves each other’s company.

So, add another comedy radio show to the list of Christmastime must-listens. This one, though, will make you realize how important spending time with your best friends means. Even if you can only get together every three years.

“Mama Said” (Metallica Cover)

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By Jeff:

Yep, welcome to Thumpin’ Thursday, which is a day where many firsts happen.  This week it’s a first from a band you wouldn’t think makes music that would be fitting for an acoustic cover.

Well, even they have to record an acoustic one here and there.

However, I refuse to stoop to their commercially successful song “Nothing Else Matters” partly because I don’t think it’s as good of an acoustic song as the one today, but also because I’m really focusing on covering the tunes that I enjoy the most.

So with that said, here’s a 12 year old song called “Mama Said” from their 1996 album “Load”.  This album was received to mixed reviews for multiple reasons.  Firstly, the music tended to lean more towards the alternative movement that was still exploding in the mid-90s.  Secondly, the album was a style change from the traditional “everything in E-minor” key that was common in their previous albums.  Thirdly, they all cut their hair and posed in some weird outfits for the album photo shoot.  While the third one doesn’t have anything to do with the music, the die hard fans enjoyed watching them sway their hair around stage as they pumped out their music.

This song is one of James Hetfield’s recurring themes when he write lyrics – his mother.  While I can’t recall every one of their songs that deals with this, it is quite numerous.  The tune is a bit of a sad one if you pay attention to the lyrics.

I also continue to focus on getting the sound to work out on the condenser mic on my camera.  I just don’t have the time to invest on anything better for recording the videos.  I’ll have to work with what I have.  Currently i’m focusing on aiming the sound hole from the guitar at the microphone to amplify the quality of the guitar.  However, in this video it does seem to be a bit much.  If you have suggestions, i’ll be happy to entertain them (short of buying new equipment).

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!