Welcome to your Sunday, Sunday, Sunday! edition of the Laptop Sessions with me, Jim Fusco.
I promised a new Beach Boys video today, and even though it took me until 10:30 to do it, it’s finally here. Actually, this is one of the rare Sessions that was recorded the same day I’m posting it.
I’ve been practicing this song for weeks now, as I needed to make sure it was perfect before I did a video. “The Night Was So Young” is my favorite track off the Beach Boys “Love You” album and shows the great songwriting skills of Brian Wilson coupled with the singing of Carl Wilson.
I love the minimalist approach to the recorded version of this song- it’s great in contrast to the terribly-dated synth-sounds of most of the tracks. This song also doesn’t have that cheesiness factor that some of the others have. Although, this song does tell of Brian Wilson’s lonely trip to the sink to pour some milk at 3 am…
I hope you like this toned-down Session. We’re still chugging-along at one-a-day here in 2008. I’d like to wish a Happy Birthday to my brother, Mike, who’s 22 today. Hope you had a great one!!
I’ve been listening to the Counting Crows’ new album Saturday Nights and Sunday Mornings all week now (up until MoU’s new album, Homestead’s Revenge, came out! — You can buy the high quality mp3s or the CD version. Here’s the web address: http://jimfusco.com/albums.html ).
I’ve really enjoyed listening to the Counting Crows, and it reminded me of my favorite songs of theirs from years past. Thus, I decided to record “A Long December.” Although it’s a piano-based song, I think it translates well to acoustic. If I was smart, though, I would have waited until the end of the year to record it…
This song was one of their biggest hits, but that’s not why I love it. I love the lyrics and the tune, and it’s one of those songs that will forever be etched in my memory, synonymous with my youth. I remember my seventh grade science teacher, Mr. Olayos, playing the radio during a quiz, and this song was on. This song really triggers a lot of happy — and, of course — not so happy memories from my past.
I hope you enjoy today’s Laptop Session and decide to comment or rate it!
And don’t forget to check back at https://guitarbucketlist.com tomorrow for an all-new Counting Crows cover from Jeff!
Welcome to the Laptop Sessions acoustic cover songs music blog for Monday! I’m back with a video that’s not only one of my best performances (if I do say so myself) but one of my favorite tunes. This song, “If This Is It”, is an underrated song and Huey Lewis and the News are a very underrated band.
I think Huey Lewis loses points in many reviewers’ minds because he doesn’t write the songs he sings. But, there are members of his band (you know, the News!) that write the songs he sings. It’s kind of like a Frankie Valli and the Four Seasons thing. So, when you look at the band in that light, Huey Lewis is just a really cool guy and a good singer, too! I love the style of their songs- it’s kind of like my music, but back in the 80s. You can tell that the songwriters loved a bygone era of music (especially with the doo-wop style of “If This Is It”) but updated it for the times. Obviously, “If This Is It” wouldn’t have sounded right in 1956, but somehow the song gives off that vibe while still sounding fresh…for 1983, that is…
The whole “Sports” album is very entertaining to me. I know songs like “The Heart Of Rock & Roll” have actually been put on “Worst Song Ever” lists in the past, but I’ve always liked that tune! Plus, “Heart and Soul” is one of my absolute favorite songs of all time. And, you’ve even got the song that was stolen for the Ghostbusters theme song in “I Want a New Drug”! If you’re into music from that era, please give “Sports” from Huey Lewis and the News a shot. You’ll be glad you did!
“If This Is It” wasn’t the easiest song to learn- the chord changes and the special strumming pattern made it a tough one to get correct while singing. But, the singing wasn’t too easy, either. I recall messing up near the end of the song on a couple of occasions. Why? Because Huey Lewis had (and still does) an amazingly powerful voice. Of course, he wasn’t playing guitar at the same time during his performances!
I always thought this would be the perfect album closing song. It just has that “ending” feel to it, even though it’s not a slow song like most albums feature at the end. The sentiment here is that a person knows all of the telltale signs of a relationship ending are there and that person wants the truth. But, what makes this song great is the hesitation- yes, he may know it’s over, but he still doesn’t like that fact. He knows he should save himself from more heartache, but he wants her to be the person to break it off.
I hope you all enjoy tonight’s acoustic cover song, played on my nylon stringed acoustic guitar, as our week of brand-new bands to the Laptop Sessions continues! This Huey Lewis and the News song is one of my favorites and I knew it would be a great pick for another cover song music video here on the best music blog around: The Laptop Sessions!
Hello all, and welcome to another edition of the Laptop Sessions acoustic cover songs music video blog! It’s me, Jim Fusco, back here again with another cover song video.
This one is from one of my favorite albums ever- “Cloud 9” by George Harrison. I think I’ve mentioned it before, but something about the albums from this late-80s period is just so great to me. It’s probably because I grew up listening to them and it’s nice to think of a time I was alive AND people like George Harrison were still really popular. Plus, I think listening to rock music at such an early age (I was three years old when “Cloud Nine” came out) like this really sticks with you. There have been some songs that I heard back in the late 80s and I haven’t really listened to since. When I finally hear them again, somehow I know all the words! It’s really incredible to think that those lyrics stuck with me over all those years and that I learned them when I was so young. I guess that’s why they try to teach a second language to kids that are under ten years old- it really does stay with you! Of course, instead of a foreign language, I learned a ton of rock music lyrics. 🙂
For my iTunes, I have a song rating system I devised. Basically, it’s a way of sorting through all of my music and categorizing the ones I truly love. It also helps me weed-out all the songs I don’t like but have in my music library just to complete an album. Anyway, my 5-star songs are my favorite songs of all time- these are the classics like “God Only Knows” by the Beach Boys and “You Just May Be the One” by the Monkees that I just can’t live without. The next category down, 4-stars, is for songs that, when they come on, I say to myself, “Oh man, I love this song.” This category is reserved for songs that make my eyes widen and my ears perk up as soon as the first chords kick in. “This Is Love” by George Harrison is one of those songs. As soon as the song starts, you’re hooked in- the great chord progression and the wonderful late-80s guitar sound get me every time. I can only hope that my acoustic cover song version I’ve done here for the music video blog does the song justice.
This song, “This Is Love”, is a classic. It’s got that unmistakable George Harrison sound. If you don’t know it, get ready to have a new favorite song, because this song has a great melody and, of course, great chords and style- George all the way! Of course, there will be many more George Harrison songs done here for the music blog in the future. I recently got into listening to all of his solo albums and was blown-away…no pun to another George Harrison song… In the meantime, I hope you enjoy today’s video and will come back for more great cover songs from The Laptop Sessions music blog!
