By Chris Moore:
For anyone who wonders how we prepare for a session here at guitarbucketlist.com, here’s your ticket to go behind the scenes…again! 🙂
BEHIND THE SCENES II (Acoustic Rock Video Blog)
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Tag Archives: laptopsessions
“Young Boy” (Paul McCartney Cover)
By Jim Fusco:
Hello everyone and welcome to your Thursday fix of the Laptop Sessions music blog!
I’ve been sick with a cold these past couple of days- good thing I had a couple of cover song videos in reserve! I should be back to my healthy self again over the weekend, and I have a list of literally 40 different songs to record cover song music videos for the Sessions…hopefully not all in one day…
This tune is a great one from Paul McCartney’s late 90’s album, “Flaming Pie”. That album stands as one of my all-time favorites because it came out right when I was really getting into music seriously. My family listened to it constantly. I plan on doing most of the songs off this album eventually because of it. “Flaming Pie”, for me, will always be the “vacation” album. I remember the summer that this album came out. My family went on vacation- a road trip to one of the New England states. We listened to this album constantly while on the trip. It was so exciting to go into a music store and see this album being promoted. I remember listening to the album on headphones in one of these stores (remember those kiosks?). But the weird thing was- we were listening to it in the car! I guess I was just excited to see an album I liked getting some popularity for once.
Paul McCartney’s songs, dare I say, are much better when he’s in a bad mood. Unfortunately, his wife was suffering from cancer at the time he wrote and recorded “Flaming Pie”. The emotions Paul put into this album range from sweet (“Little Willow”) to edgy (“Really Love You”). I think “Flaming Pie” features some of the best songs he’s ever written. “Heaven On A Sunday” is one of my absolute favorites- it’s just got that perfect peaceful sound. And “The World Tonight” is just a great rock’n’roll song- the perfect single. Paul even makes mention of his old friend John Lennon. You remember John’s story of how the Beatles got their name, right? “A man on a flaming pie came down and told me to spell “Beetles” with an “a”.” Yeah, right. Anyway, it made for a great song (and album) many, many years later.
This tune is a great one on acoustic guitar and was one of the first songs I leaned to play on guitar. It’s fun to sing and has a great melody, but most of all, I love the message in the song. “He’s gotta do it for himself.” How many times have I tried to steer someone in the “right” direction, only to learn that the person needed to learn on his own. I love when people learn from others’ mistakes, but I also accept the fact that it doesn’t happen that often.
I hope you enjoy tonight’s Paul McCartney cover song. “Young Boy” is a great one for you to learn, too. Just start with C – Am – Em – F – G. There- you’ve got the verse and you’ve mastered five different chords! Stay tuned for many more Paul McCartney songs here on the Laptop Sessions acoustic cover songs music video blog!
“Brian Wilson” (Barenaked Ladies cover)
By Jim Fusco:
Welcome to your Friday edition of The Laptop Sessions acoustic cover songs music video blog! After two strong Sessions from Chris and Jeff, I’m glad I can follow up with a song that I’ve been playing for a long time now, Barenaked Ladies’ “Brian Wilson”.
This song is very important to me, as it was the song that initially got me into BNL because a friend played it for me thinking I would like the Brian Wilson references. Of course, I did. But, I loved the song, too.
I now own all of BNL’s albums, have met them and got them to sign their latest (and greatest) album, and they are now my second favorite band of all time behind the Beach Boys at a permanent #1 spot.
I love the way Masters of the Universe did this song- I had the privilege of singing lead on their version. We did five part harmonies on the chorus. There’s a live version of it here on YouTube: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u0rBfLk70vU
So, you have a song by my second favorite band ABOUT my favorite ever songwriter! Doesn’t get much better than that.
So, here’s my solo acoustic version- I could play this one with my eyes closed, so the performance is very smooth and comfortable, if I do say so myself! 😉
Let me tell you why I love Barenaked Ladies (the band, of course), the Beach Boys, the Moody Blues, the Byrds, and bands like that so much more than I like the Wallflowers, Ben Folds, and Dylan. I love all of their music, but I gravitate towards the first set of bands. You see, I love bands where every band member gets a chance to contribute. Many bands only have one front man and the rest are just background guys. Take “Matchbox Twenty” for example. Rob Thomas is the lead. Now, someone name another band member. That’s right- Thomas IS the band! Sure, there are other guys that play his music, but he’s the guy who writes the songs and sings them, too. If you take a band like the Beach Boys, you might think the same thing: “Oh yeah, it’s just Brian Wilson and a bunch of other guys.” Sure, that was kind of true before 1967. But after that, Brian faded into the background and the other band members (his brothers, his cousin, and a friend) had to take over. They all began writing songs. The best example was the album “Sunflower”. Every member had a hand in writing and singing on that album- it’s one of my favorites as a result. That way, you get such a great variety.
Enjoy “Brian Wilson” by Barenaked Ladies. It’s such a great song. And even though I couldn’t get the Jim Creegan bass solo in there, I still think this live acoustic version does the song justice. Stay tuned for more great acoustic cover songs from the Laptop Sessions music blog!
“Looking To You” (Indie Music – by songwriter Jim Fusco)
By Jim Fusco:
Thanks again to Jeff for coming up with “Original Wednesday”, as I think it’s a great way to work some of our own material in here!
Today, I’m doing one of my songs from an album I made back in late 2003 called “That’s All…”. I couldn’t stop listening to this song (yes, I listen to my own music quite a bit- I think I should be making music I actually like listening to!) so I decided to make it my first non-Christmas original here on the Laptop Sessions.
I like the way the verse isn’t very “standard”. I don’t exactly know what prompted my creation of it, but it’s always stuck out as both unique and meaningful.
Problem is that I don’t really remember the meaning, either! Actually, I can take a pretty educated guess: Basically, the song says, “I gave you everything. You could’ve had anything. But when I ask for a little something in return, you tell me I’m greedy and hold it against me.”
I must’ve felt this way, as most people do in a relationship at one time or another. I think it made for great song material!
Well, as they say, a Laptop Session a day keeps the doctor away! They don’t? Well, anyway, here’s your daily dose of great music from Jim, Chris, and Jeff!