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“Overwhelming Question” (Chris Moore original; Lyrics adapted from T.S. Eliot) – Original Wednesday

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By Chris Moore:

It may have only been two days since I posted my last session, but it’s been far too long since I’ve recorded a video for Original Wednesday!

I’m here to break that streak!

This is a song I began writing a long time ago to play with a couple colleagues from work.  I was inspired by my friend Larry’s “My Mistress’ Eyes,” a bluesy take on the Shakespearean sonnet.  My friend Dan had shared an excellent acoustic number of his own, an original called “Wasting Time.”  Thus, I set to work on translating T.S. Eliot’s “The Love Song of J. Alfred Prufrock,” one of my favorite poems, to music.

The result is “Overwhelming Question.”

Of course, in what has become typical fashion for me, I wrote the first two verses, the chorus, and the middle, stopping short of finishing off the song with a third verse.  Then, I left the song stranded until I began playing regularly again.  This weekend, we pulled out all three of these songs and tried to scrape the rust off our performances.  It was a lot of fun, but I was a bit embarrassed that I had never just finished this one off.  So, Sunday morning I finally wrote the verse, effectively completing “Overwhelming Question.”

I clearly remember recording my first demo of this song with the birds chirping behind me for all three minutes of my video.  However, I don’t remember exactly when I wrote it.  I went back and watched the demo, but the date information is missing.

Wow!  I just remembered to check my Word file with the lyrics and chords, and the “Created” date is listed as July 25, 2008.  It’s quickly approaching two years old!  While I’m surprised that it’s that old, the date does make a lot of sense.  The last time I played regularly with these friends was the summer of 2008.

So, with that, I leave you to this week’s Original Wednesday music video.  I hope to post many more this summer as I work on some new music, and perhaps Mike will share some new material as well as he records his first long play album this summer!  (Don’t forget to check out his all new iPhone-ready site at MikeFusco.com.)

See you next session!

“Moment” by Chris Moore – Chords, Tabs, & How to Play

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“Moment”
Chris Moore

F
They say you’re coming around to this cold New England town.
Well, that don’t mean much to them, but that sure means a lot to me.
G
You’ve seen many parts of the world, reporting on the Vietnamese.
All I want to see today is you in your red and green Christmas fleece.

G
Strange things have happened to me on these snowy Christmas eves…

They say you’re coming around, but they don’t say anything else.
Don’t leave me here in the dark; please lead me out in the cold.
Let me know that you’re coming for sure. (I’d wait forever for her.)
By now, you know that you’re the type of a girl who rocks the world
of a guy in a rural town.

Strange things are happening to me on this snowy Christmas eve…

E                                       D
You don’t need a blanket, and you don’t need a bed.
E                                                                     G
If all you’ve got’s my shoulder, baby, you can rest your head.

G                                        C
Remember last Christmas, building the tree,
G                                       C7
Lying under the branches, just you and me?
We were talking about Jesus, defining the Holy Ghost,
Wondering where our senses of humor went when we needed them most.

You don’t need a blanket, and you don’t need a bed.
If all you’ve got’s my shoulder, baby, you can rest your head.

I attended a Thursday mass in the center of town.
Looking out for your big, bright cathedral eyes.
I was always the one who tries, and you were the one.
And I in my sport coat, and you in your dress — we knew it was best…

INSTRUMENTAL (over G – C – G – C7)

G
Hay was all they had in the manger,

E
Hay was all that Mary had.
But that didn’t matter none to Mary ’cause

C
Mary had Joseph to share each and every

Cmin
Moment…

“You Will Thank Me” (Chris Moore) – Original Wednesday

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By Chris Moore:

Where once it was “a session-a-day,” it’s become more like “a session-a-month” for me.

I’m back today with another installment in my 2010 Project acoustic music video series.  Today’s selection is one of the most recently written songs, “You Will Thank Me.”  It’s an escapist song, one written from the point of view of someone who’s getting out of town, leaving it all behind.  I sing “I’m sellin’ out, son,” but I think it’s less of a cop-out or giving up than it is of literally selling out — cashing in and walking away from a table that’s lost any possibility for good fortune.

I love singing and playing this one — it’s probably one of the simplest I wrote for this album — although I did have some trouble playing it, so I recruited Nicole to come sit on the couch and act as audience so that I felt some pressure, like there was something on the line in this performance.

Speaking of performance, I’ve been feeling the itch to play live recently.  I’ll go on record here saying that I would be very disappointed if I didn’t play at least one show before December 31 comes and goes.  I’ve been playing acoustic and electric, and even practicing bass, so that I’ll be ready to fit in wherever and however the gig calls for.

Have a happy “Hump Day” and hurry back for more soon.  (Really: who ever thought of that nickname for Wednesday??)

See you next session!

“I Would Prefer Not To” (Chris Moore original)

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By Chris Moore:

Hello and welcome to another edition of Original Wednesday here at the Laptop Sessions!

Tonight, I’m happy to present the second installment of my summer preview series of my forthcoming album The 2010 Project.  I began recording demos a few months ago, as I mentioned in a previous post, and now I’ve officially hacked out a track listing.  There will be thirteen tracks, all of which are fully composed now and have been recorded in demo form — a few of the demos are more fully produced, but minimally.

Now, I’m at the phase where I’m putting together the tools I need to record.  With the help of a friend, I’ve recently picked up a set of seriously great headphones, which will be a necessary component of the mixing process.  He also helped me pick out a USB microphone that I’ve been experimenting with this week.  There is a line in and external mic plug that I may use if I’d like to refine the sound quality as I begin to record the tracks in a couple weeks.  Finally, I had to replace my guitar pedal, which I had to throw away a few months ago when I pulled it out of storage and found the batteries had leaked.  I tried to clean it out, but it was too far gone.  So, I just got the latest Zoom pedal, which I can’t wait to try out!

Which brings me to the track I’m unveiling today.  Previously, this has only been played for two people: my girlfriend and one of my dearest friends of all time.  Both encouraged me that the new music I’ve been writing is among my best, so I’m hoping to make them proud by the time I’ve finished recording this new album.

And it’s about time — this marks four years since Love Out of Fashion!

“I Would Prefer Not To” will be the second track on the album, following “No Lights, No Sound.”  Those of you English majors out there will pick up on the allusion to the Herman Melville short story “Bartleby, the Scrivener: A Story of Wall Street.”  The verses are as simple as they come, only two chords: D and A.  When I record the studio version, I hope to flesh out the riff I have in my mind and make that more catchy.  The chorus is more interesting and, as in my favorite songs by artists like Bob Dylan, Mike Fusco, and others, the lyrics change slightly each time around.  The song deals with the conflicts that arise from not wanting to disappoint others, but also needing to follow your impulses and passions.  It’s a very personal song, critical at times — though it’s meant to be more confident than scathing — and I think there is a universal quality to it, regardless of its personal nature.

Without further ado, I give you my acoustic performance of “I Would Prefer Not To.”  I hope you like it, and that you’ll continue to check back for more Original Wednesdays in the near future.

See you next session!