Welcome to Monday’s Laptop Session, and I’m back with another Pearl Jam song, this time going back to their 2nd album “Vs.”
This song also earns the title “Longest Song Title ever”, as I couldn’t even fit it into the Title field on YouTube (however, here it’s fine).
The song is “Elderly Woman Behind the Counter in a Small Town”, and is a song that Scott & I have played for a long time. Usually, we’ll swap instruments and he’ll play the bass to it while I do my half-ass guitar part (well, compared to him. He is the guitarist in the band after all).
This song is very sweet and easy to listen too. I hope you enjoy it.
Stay tuned for Jim’s new session tomorrow, and see what Chris brings out of the woodwork for Original Wednesday.
Oh, and I’m ever so close to the 3,000 view mark! Thank you everybody for making the Laptop Sessions such a success.
Please visit https://guitarbucketlist.com/ for a new session per day in 2008. Also, remember my new EP “Greenlight” will debut on February 24th.
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!
Because it’s Thumpin’ Thursday™! (Jim needs to learn how to insert special characters in the editor by the way)
And I always keep the solid beat songs in reserve for this day. Make you want to tap your feet if I can.
Well, I decided today to break out a really cool (and relatively recent) Bob Dylan song called “Things Have Changed”. The song itself is from a Soundtrack from the movie Wonder Boys. Originally, I thought it was released on a different album (Love & Theft, if you were wondering), but alas it was not to be.
I heard this song thanks to the Bob Dylan master Chris Moore. He also helped figure out that the song I had stuck in my head a few days back was this song. So if it weren’t for him, i’d have something else up here today.
I love the beat of this song, but as with all Dylan songs, he sometimes fits a lot of words into the same measure, or a few words. It can be tough to stay on top of that, and in this video you’ll notice me forgetting to change the chord for a beat. It happens to the best of us I guess.
And I managed to sing similarly to Dylan as well. The video works very nicely.
As with all Thumpin’ Thursday™ entries, I know you’ll enjoy this one. I’ll see you in 3 days for my next video!
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!
Hello and welcome to an all-new acoustic cover song by an all-new artist to the Laptop Sessions music blog…
This is Bryan Adams’ “I Ain’t Losin’ the Fight” from his 2008 album 11. The story behind the title of this most recent album is that it is his eleventh studio album. Apparently, fans have started proposing other hidden meanings of the number 11 for this record, but he has been clear in interviews that he never intended any deeper meanings. I tend to believe him, as the album is as straightforward as can be. It is a predominantly white cover, the booklet illustrated with pictures of Adams against white backdrops. The eleven songs are a fairly straightforward set of new rock music tracks that you would expect from Adams. But this is not to say that it is simply a mediocre, plain album. I have really enjoyed listening to these songs and I certainly plan to record more acoustic cover songs based on his work this year. I’ve really fallen in love with tracks like “Oxygen” and “Mysterious Ways” in addition to this track I’ve recorded for tonight, “I Ain’t Losin’ the Fight” — they’re such simple songs lyrically, but they are catchy and I love the sound he gets out of the mix of the instruments.
I think it’s worth noting that Bryan Adams was included in a top ten list last week of artists who should stop recording new albums. To be honest, I tended to agree with the other artists who were listed, with the possible exception of the Who (Endless Wire — I mean the album and not the attached rock symphony opera whatever — really wasn’t as bad as some music reviews made it out to be; I thought it had some solid, enjoyable tracks).
The inclusion of Bryan Adams in this list is not so surprising, as he is an easy target for those who like to write about “important” songwriters and bands. He also gets looked down upon for being a Canadian rocker, I think, which is patently unfair. I’ve always wondered how you can dismiss a new music artist based on his country of origin — just look at how many incredible albums the Barenaked Ladies, also Canadian natives, have released. Regardless, I thought it was also unfair that this top ten list dismissed Adams’ previous hits — “Summer of ’69” and “(Everything I Do) I Do It For You” — wholesale. If you ask me, this was a chance for the writer of the top ten list to make a pun, writing that if Bryan Adams really did hold to his promise of “everything I do I do it for you,” then he would stop releasing records.
Ridiculous.
I can appreciate a good pun, but 11 is one of the most fun rock albums of the year. Groundbreaking? No. Predictable? Okay, I suppose. But it’s just a solid rock album and can’t we be happy with that?
And now, without further ado, I’ll come down off my soap box and give my musical nod to Bryan Adams’ latest work. I hope you enjoy it and maybe you’ll even want to hear the real studio version after watching my acoustic cover song music video. Don’t forget to come back tomorrow for an all-new session from Jeff…
And welcome one, welcome all to my Laptop Session for this very special Original Wednesday here at your source for the best acoustic cover and original song music videos available on the internet today! (That’s a mouthful…)
You may be wondering, why is this day so special?
Well, for one, this is the birthday of Laptop Sessions series creator Jim Fusco. On behalf of the other contributors and the loyal viewers of this blog, I’d like to wish him a very happy 25th birthday! Only a quarter century in, and he’s accumulated quite a back catalog of music, writing, and side projects. If you haven’t already, you should head on over to jimfusco.com.
Take it from me: the best gift you can get Jim this year is to spend a measely $10 on his brand new album Halfway There. Go ahead, check out the album in streaming audio at his official website, or use the search function at the top of this page to listen to Laptop Sessions of many of the Halfway There tracks, read a full review (another one from Jeff coming soon…), and see the beautiful, custom artwork he used for the cover.
Okay, that’s enough plugging for one post.
Tonight’s session is based on a song that I never recorded for an album. “Keep On Going” is an early track, as you will most likely be able to tell! Although the words are straightforward and the chord progression is simple, I’ve always liked this little tune. I originally wrote this song as a direct statement to my best friend (Jim, if you haven’t made the connection yet), assuring him after a rough week that things really will turn out all right, even though people — particularly high school aged people — can be cruel. I hope he’s seen that to be true, as he’s moved on to college, made many lifelong friends, and become engaged to Becky Daly. For all you former Pine Loft faithfuls: yes, this is indeed the same Becky Daly of Chris, Jim, and Becky fame!
I still sing “Keep On Going” when I feel stressed out or begin to think something — a relationship, a professional endeavor, etc. — won’t work out. I hope you like it.
As a final note, stepping back into the present, I just started listening to the new Bob Dylan album, Together Through Life. In case you’re questioning my devotion, there’s only one reason why I didn’t start listening yesterday: I pre-ordered the album on Amazon.com and didn’t spring for any more than Free Super Saver Shipping. So, I’m cheap. What do you want??? 🙂
Did I mention I’m loving the album? As I type, it’s blaring through my room and probably throughout the condo complex. I may even get a letter in the mail from the condo association condemning me for noise pollution or disturbing the peace or some other such nonsense, but it will be worth it! I spent the day at school today wearing the Best Buy exclusive Together Through Life t-shirt that Mike so graciously passed along to me from his purchase of the album (thanks again, Fusc!!). I made certain to wear a white button down shirt today and a narrow tie, so as to have the Dylan t-shirt show through. Thanks to at least one inquisitive student in each class I taught, I got to talk about the new album at least once every 82 minutes today!
I’ll save my commentary on Together Through Life for the review that will most certainly come, but allow me to share a couple comments. First, this is not what I was expecting after Love & Theft and Modern Times. Then again, that’s pretty much what Dylan himself suggested, so I’m not really surprised. My favorite line thus far is the chorus to track three: “Hell is my wife’s home town.” As if there’s any question as to whether Dylan’s dry sense of humor is still intact, just listen for his chuckling — yes, his chuckling — in the outro of that song. Finally, although it’s a slow album to start, just wait for “Jolene” and “Shake Shake Mama” to really get your foot tapping.
And, with that taste of this new Dylan album, I’ll emphatically suggest you need to buy both Halfway There and Together Through Life and be on my merry way.
