Tag Archives: new music

“No Rain” (Blind Melon Cover)

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By Jeff Copperthite:

That’s right…it’s that time of the 3 week rotation…Jeff presents Thumpin’ Thursday ™®©!!!!

And I shall now cover a song that will have Jim saying “Damnit you had to get this song stuck in my head for the next 3 months!”.

The band, although a short-lived one (but with some success), is Blind Melon, and their very popular song “No Rain” from their self-titled debut album.  It is very, very easy to have this song embedded in your humming repertoire for quite some time.  The chorus is addicting, simple, and very catchy – the perfect candidate for Thumpin’ Thursday.

I’ve continued to cover some of the old school alternative music from my teenage years.  I may have to start breaking out some of the real obscure alternative music I listened too growing up – not to mention the classic rock, folk rock, etc. songs I have lined up for the rest of the year.

That was an awesome Original Wednesday post that I am following.  If you haven’t seen it yet, do your eyes and ears a service and check it out.  I can’t wait to hear Chris and Jim’s upcoming albums.  They will both be on the same playlist for quite some time once both are recorded and released.

Tomorrow Jim will dish out the awesome with another acoustic cover.  And in case you thought we were counting, there are 48 videos to go in 2008.  We’re almost there!

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!

Your New Music Report! (May 2010)

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By Chris Moore:

Well, it seems that I won’t be able to post the set-list for tonight’s Pearl Jam concert in real-time after all, due to either issues with the site or my WordPress app or both.

Instead, let’s talk new music!

It’s been two weeks since the first third of the year flashed by, and it’s been quite a year for new music.  Perhaps my surprise and excitement is due to the fact that I didn’t have high hopes for this year.  After all, nearly all of my favorite bands have put out music very recently (i.e. the past two years).  And yet there have been more than enough new releases to pick from these past four months.

Some artists, like Ringo Starr and Jakob Dylan, continue to put out music that lives in the shadow of their greater efforts of the past.  Others, like the Barenaked Ladies and Spoon, have somehow managed to create some of the best music of their lengthy careers.  Still others, such as She & Him and Broken Bells, are creating music and casting the shadows that future efforts will need to live up to.

This year has certainly had its hits and its misses, and it got off to an eclectic but ho-hum start, but I have already been hooked by five outstanding records.  Now, only one of these has received my five-star stamp of approval (All in Good Time), but the other four are a full four stars without question (Broken Bells, Volume Two, Heaven is Whenever, & Sea of Cowards).

The latter four albums represent an interesting range of sounds and influences.  Broken Bells have found a compelling sound by blending the rock basics with some more experimental, synthesized sounds.  She & Him give you the eery feeling that you’ve stepped into the past without actually sounding dated.  The Hold Steady have put together the best all-out rock and roll album of the year, to be sure.  And the Dead Weather present an out of control frenzy of rock, this time around with more single-worthy songs and considerably better continuity as an album.

In the midst of the outstanding and the forgettable are some interesting records.  Take American VI: Ain’t No Grave, Johnny Cash’s final posthumous release of new material.  It certainly doesn’t stand up to IV or even V, but it is such a beautiful that includes a perfect closing track for his long and storied career.  Steven Page’s first solo effort incited extreme reactions from most fans and critics, divisions in both categories respectively hating it for being so unlike his other music and loving it for… well, the same reason, I suppose.  As for me, I’ve very much enjoyed A Singer Must Die, although I rarely listen to it in the car and I’m very anxious to hear his first solo album proper, which should arrive later this year.  (And, to be fair, I downgraded it from four to three and a half stars in deference to what a full four stars should really represent.)

If you haven’t been listening to the first albums of the new decade, then you’ve been missing some real gems.  And, if you’ve missed my reviews along the way, I’ve compiled them below for your reference.  I’ve even translated my “Yes, No, or Maybe So” reviews to the standard five star system for your ease.   I’ve been listening constantly to the four listed as “coming soon” — between rounds of BnL, She & Him, and the Wallflowers, that is — and I’ll have those reviews posted throughout the next two weeks.

New Albums, 2010:

Y Not (Ringo Starr) – 2.5 stars

Transference (Spoon) – 3.5 stars

Realism (Magnetic Fields) – 2.5 stars

Heligoland (Massive Attack) – 2 stars

A Singer Must Die (Steven Page with the Art of Time Ensemble) – 3.5 stars

American VI: Ain’t No Grave (Johnny Cash) – 3 stars

Broken Bells (Broken Bells) – 4 stars

All in Good Time (Barenaked Ladies) – 5 stars

Volume Two (She & Him) – 4 stars

Women & Country (Jakob Dylan) – 2.5 stars

Forgiveness Rock Record (Broken Social Scene) – coming soon!

Court Yard Hounds (Court Yard Hounds) – coming soon!

Heaven is Whenever (The Hold Steady) – 4 stars

Sea of Cowards (The Dead Weather) – 4 stars

High Violet (The National) – 3.5 stars

“The Way It Is” (Bruce Hornsby Cover)

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By Chris Moore:

Welcome to your Sunday installment of the Laptop Sessions! Coming on the heels of Number Ones week, I decided to play one of my father’s favorite songs from Bruce Hornsby & the Range, “The Way It Is.” Only after I recorded it did I realize that it, in fact, was a #1 single on the Billboard Hot 100 for one week in 1986! So, it appears that I’m subconsciously having a hard time leaving the #1 songs behind…

I remember making mock-radio shows on my stereo when I was in middle school, even before I owned a CD player. I used to make shows for my father to listen to while he was working in the garage, so I wanted to find music that he would enjoy. I spent countless hours with a blank cassette tape in the stereo and switching stations constantly, waiting intently to hear a disc jockey announce that “The Way It Is” would be on next. I finally got a version recorded for my show, but I got to the record button a bit slowly, so a good chunk of the intro was cut off.

I did buy him the Bruce Hornsby greatest hits CD years later, when I finally caught up with technology.

I really love this song for a couple reasons. I love how it’s powered by piano, but sacrifices none of the soloing and backbeat that I value in rock music. I also love how the chorus is built around the G – Fmaj7 – C riff (which I duplicated in only a rudimentary fashion). The song was also a lot of fun to sing!

I should mention that everything that could have possibly interrupted my recording did, in fact, interrupt my recording today. My first take was lost for the incredibly raucous chirping of the birds downstairs. (Yes, that’s right–I wasn’t even on the same floor with them). My second take was lost due to stubbornness, as I refused to close my door and the birds continued to chirp. A later take was lost to the vibrating of my cell phone.

The funniest by far, and certainly the most ironic was when my cell phone alarm went off loudly during a good take — it was the alarm I had set to remind me to record a Laptop Session today!

My most perfect take was lost when I forgot the second to last line of the final verse. But, this one will have to do!

Thanks for watching; I hope you’ll leave a comment for me if you liked the song or have any requests for future songs.

See you next session!



CD Review: Tegan and Sara’s “So Jealous”

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RATING:  3 / 5 stars

By Chris Moore:

So Jealous brings to mind the definition of a three star album.

If one star indicates one’s ability to record an album and five stars suggests one’s talent for producing superior, impressive music, then three stars is a rating for a good album. In this case, Tegan and Sara have found a unique sound for themselves and embraced it. It is a good album that I have enjoyed—I am arguably biased in their favor, as my first two listenings took place on a two and a half mile stretch of I-91 during a major traffic jam; they saved me from utter boredom and frustration.

Yes, it is a good album. Does it demonstrate the musical genius of Brian Wilson? Does it compete for poetic excellence with the Wallflowers? Does it draw you in entirely, body and soul, as Jack Johnson’s new album can? The answer to these questions is an honest “no.”

This being said, I have learned that one cannot expect miracles out of every album ever made.

Tegan and Sara’s greatest strength lies in their ability to combine acoustic and electric elements. The first track demonstrates their very catchy sound as it builds from an acoustic song to an all-out electrified jam. And they sound good together. The combination of their voices is a blend that is pleasing to the ear.

For the most part, the songs are successful—memorable, even. This is not an album with one or two good songs and the remainder a void of throwaways. After all, how can one resist their cries for the subject of one song to “take me anywhere”? Or ignore their quiet, though authoritative pleas for another not to “get so uptight,” then to “Go away!”?

They have chosen to incorporate basic harmonies, which is a good choice for their vocal blend. Even their slower songs have a backbeat that drives them simply—as is the case with their vocals—yet effectively.

The most significant factor in my mediocre rating of this album lies in their one notable flaw—repetition. On several tracks, they tend to take the same chorus, albeit a well-written, catchy chorus, and repeat it too many times. Ending some songs earlier or expanding the lyrics would have significantly improved the flow of the album.

I truly believe that they have it in them to write better songs. Actually, I should say they have it in them to better the songs they have already written. “You Wouldn’t Like Me,” “I Bet It Stung,” “I Won’t Be Left,” “Walking With A Ghost,” and “Fix You Up” are strong tracks and very good songs. They are performed in a heartfelt manner by two talented young songwriters who are perhaps a couple of the world’s last, best hopes for successful women artists in the music industry. They write their own songs, play their own instruments, are entirely clothed in all their pictures, and criticisms aside, have produced a thoroughly enjoyable album.

7/2005