Tag Archives: music video

“Goin’ Up The Country” (Canned Heat Cover)

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By Chris Moore:

Well, tonight I’m bringing you yet another piece of archival evidence to prove that I have no shame.  I am apparently not interested in impressing anyone, or if I am, then it’s impressing them with how willing I am to make a fool of myself… 🙂

But, seriously, I bring you this video tonight — another all-new cover by an all-new band to the sessions — in the hope that you’ll enjoy listening to it and remembering it as much as I have enjoyed learning to play it.

I actually heard it this weekend, as my friends and I watched the film Into the Wild.  This song came on during one of the scenes.  Instantly, I was reminded of my father’s tape collection again, as I had been for “Dead Skunk” and other cover songs that I’ve done.  One of his old tapes has this Canned Heat single, “Goin’ Up the Country,” on it.

Of course,  the first aspect that you’ll most likely notice is my falsetto delivery.  You may even think it sounds goofy.  Well, even though I wouldn’t classify the original vocal as goofy, it is certainly in a distinct voice.  If you don’t know the song, then you should most likely search YouTube or iTunes for it as a companion to my Laptop Session.  Or, just take my word that there is a good reason for the otherwise ridiculous vocals I have recorded here…

“Goin’ Up The Country” is how my night ends.  Allow me to share the rest of the evening, which was interesting and indeed, I hope, a kickstart to a relaxing, fun, and productive Thanksgiving week.  First of al, I stayed at school until six, entering grades and reading college essays.  By the time I got home and changed, Becky was napping, and Jim and Dana were in the kitchen getting ready for the first Fusco-Moore Pre-Turkey Day Celebration!  The best part of this story is that, as I went into the kitchen this morning to get my lunch, I found that Jim had stayed up late to prepare as much as he could.  Dishes were portioned out, sealed with cellophane, post-it noted with directions, and the counter was covered with an array of foods and utensils.  Now, the oven was working overtime, and the smells were tantalizing.

Before long, we ate dinner — which was amazing, by the way, and a definite home run for Jim.  We broke open the bottle of wine that Jim and Becky had bought for me a couple weeks ago in the Berkshires.  We watched the episode of The Office that we had DVR’ed from last week.

How much better could it get?

After dinner, we still had Two and a Half Men, Worst Week (which I regretfully missed in order to record my video), and Boston Legal (which was a wild and predictaby crazy Thanksgiving episode!).  Boston Legal was actually sobering for a number of reasons, such as the fact that it is drawing ever nearer to the final episode (don’t even get me started on how disappointing that is, being that it is my absolute favorite show on TV next to, perhaps, The Office), Denny was showing signs of progressing Alzheimers’, and Katie and Jerry were having a spat.  Jerry announced to her that he loved her… it’s about time!  He added that she need not feel awkward; he would find her friendship to be more than an adequate consolation prize.  I thought, particularly for a man with a social disorder, that Jerry handled the talk extraordinarily well.  Katie didn’t respond in any certain terms, but did mention that they are a couple, if not in a romantic way, and may be in need of couples therapy.

I have a bit of a crush on the Katie character, so I’m rooting for Jerry here so I can live vicariously through him, if only until the show ends in December!  🙂

And with that, the night was over.  A big thanks should be extended to Jim for cooking and to Dana and Becky for filling the house with great company.  Now, I’m off to sleep and school and then a night of hanging out, talking about music, and watching an Office mini-marathon with my sister, Jaime.  I can’t wait!

And I’m sure you can’t wait until the next acoustic rock cover song is posted here on the blog — but, have no fear, Jeff will be here tomorrow for Tuesday’s edition, and then Jim will bring you a fresh new Original Wednesday…

See you next session!

“Will It Grow” (Jakob Dylan Cover)

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For Jakob Dylan chords & lyrics, CLICK HERE!

By Chris Moore:

I hope you enjoy seeing me with hair tonight, because as of Wednesday evening, it’s gone!  That’s right — I’ve decided to shave it all off.  Well, maybe “decided” is a strong word.  One of my colleagues, one who offered a great deal of useful advice during my first year teaching, asked me if I would join an English department team for this year’s “St. Baldrick’s” event.  I couldn’t turn down an opportunity to join in with my fellow English teachers, and as you may know, it isn’t all that often that someone asks me to join a team!  So, off goes the hair in the name of raising money to fight children’s cancer.  I’m currently at the bottom of the list of fundraisers on my team (listed online as $0, although I have raised about $65 from staff and students at school that will be added tomorrow).

If you’re interested in supporting this excellent cause, just CLICK HERE!

So, you may be wondering: what does this have to do with the Laptop Sessions?  Well, the answer should be clear if you read the title of my song choice tonight.  I thought “Will It Grow” would be a fitting question to ask on the eve of my head being shaved.  Of course, Jakob Dylan isn’t referring to hair, but I was able to add a bit more emotion to my interpretation of this track all the same.

“Will It Grow” was released in 2008 on Dylan’s solo album Seeing Things.  Since Jeff recorded “Something Good This Way Comes” prior to its release, I never felt the need to record a track from the album.  To be honest, I wasn’t as impressed with this album as I could have been.  Of all people, I should be able to appreciate a set of good acoustic performances.  That being said, it’s difficult to listen to an all-acoustic album from the front man for the Wallflowers — they’re such an incredible rock band!

Now, almost two years removed, I came back to Seeing Things by chance and thought it was a shame that I had never covered one of the tracks.  Not surprisingly, I found a set of chords online riddled with errors and transcribed for a capo.  I love capos as much as the next guy — and probably more! — but if it’s not necessary, I can’t see a good reason to use the capo.  Thus, I posted the chords here at the Laptop Sessions for those interested in a more straightforward, accurate description of how to play the song.  I can certainly understand how the errors may have been made, as I found it a bit difficult to pick up all the chord changes over the intricate fingerpicking.  Eventually though, I think I came to a fairly solid version of what Dylan originally intended.  I hope so — Jakob Dylan is one of my all-time favorite songwriters, so I took it very seriously.

In other Laptop Sessions news, I recently went through all the music reviews I posted previous to “The Weekend Review” series and added a rating out of five stars.  Why did I take the time to do this?  Well, initially I felt that ratings were arbitrary and that I really wasn’t qualified to make those sorts of judgments on music.  After all, I wouldn’t want someone assigning a low rating to the music I poured my heart into.  Still, the more I’ve been thinking about it, the more I realize how important the rating is to the review as a whole.  After all, half the fun of reading reviews is agreeing or disagreeing with the author’s rating.  Thus, how can I deny my readers (however few of them there are ;- ) the opportunity to think I’m right on, far off, or somewhere in between?  It was fun going back to these albums; most reviews I wrote before the Weekend Review were based on albums I loved, so that didn’t hurt.  And it reminded me of how much I enjoy holding to a weekly writing schedule.  It may be difficult at the time to carve out an hour or so on a Sunday to write, but it gives me a good reason to skim through my CD rack on Friday or Saturday to choose an album to listen to throughout the weekend.

Other than shaving my head, this week should be pretty normal.  I still have to get used to TNA Impact! being on Mondays.  It’s a great way to kick off the week, a relaxing night with friends and comfort food and wonderfully mindless television entertainment, but I do miss being able to look forward to Thursday nights.

Finally, I thought the new Locksley album was supposed to be out tomorrow, but it wasn’t listed on the Newbury Comics newsletter today.  Luckily, the White Stripes are releasing their first live CD this week — more and more, I’ve been growing fond of Jack White’s work, particularly with his side projects.  So, I’ll give it a shot and let you know…

See you next session!

“Jorge Maravilha” (Chico Buarque cover) [Ep 7, Fall 2011]

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By Rodrigo Palhano:

This is a song from a notorious Brazilian writer/singer Chico Buarque.  Some say its lyrics are addressed to the former Brazilian dictator’s daughter (1974).

The catchy phrase says:

“You don´t like me, but your daughter does.”

Hope you enjoy it!

[Editor’s Note: Here’s a serious first-time for the Laptop Sessions: an acoustic cover song music video performed in a language other than English!  It was only a matter of time before the LS blog went bilingual.  For years now, we have featured videos from artists in countries outside America, taking advantage of one of the wonderful uniting properties of the internet.  Rodrigo has contributed to the Guest Sessions before, but there is even more energy in this song than his previous work.  It’s our pleasure to bring it to you, and even if you don’t know all the words (I know I don’t), I’m certain that you’ll enjoy the performance and that catchy chorus line.  I know I did.]

“Wild Honey” (U2 Cover)

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By Federico Borluzzi:

Cover of ”Wild Honey,” included in U2’s All That You Can’t Leave Behind album (2000). I played it with acoustic guitar in a lower key.

** EDITOR’S NOTE: **

It feels odd to refer to Federico as a guest performer, considering how many of his performances he’s shared with the Laptop Sessions blog.  He’s back again today with another excellent video.

As I discovered last time he covered U2, I enjoy the band’s music so much more when Federico is the one performing it!  🙂

Well, U2 fan or not, I hope that you’ll enjoy his cover song version of “Wild Honey.”

Stay tuned for more great new material coming soon to the blog!