Tag Archives: song

“Hang On To Yourself” (David Bowie Cover)

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For David Bowie chords and lyrics, CLICK HERE!

By Chris Moore:

Hello and welcome to a brand-new week and a brand-new set of sessions here at the best acoustic cover song music video blog in the universe!  Monday is my day, and as usual, I dug through the new release news to see what I could find to play.  I found a couple of options, but this one stood out to me the most…

David Bowie’s “Hang On To Yourself” was originally released on the 1972 album The Rise and Fall of Ziggy Stardust and the Spiders from Mars.  Now, that’s an album title if I’ve ever heard one!  It doesn’t make a whole lot of sense to me, as I know admittedly little about David Bowie.  But from a quick online search, I learned some interesting facts.  For instance, D.A. Pennebaker (better known for his documentary on Bob Dylan Don’t Look Back) recorded a concert film and titled it the same as the aforementioned album.  Also, “Hang On To Yourself” was apparently originally released (as “Hang Onto Yourself”) by David Bowie’s band called “Arnold Corns.”  He got the idea for the band name from the Pink Floyd song “Arnold Layne.”

So, amidst all this David Bowie trivia, you may be wondering what any of this has to do with new music Tuesday…

Well, it appears that David Bowie is releasing an official version of a live concert titled Santa Monica ’72.  For years, this was only available as a bootleg.  Then, in the mid-90’s, a former management company released it without Bowie’s authorization.  So, this has become one of those records that circulates through the underground, perpetually spreading from one fan to the next.  As of tomorrow, the official release will be on the shelves.

“Hang On To Yourself” is the first song on this live Santa Monica ’72 album, and I can see why!  It’s a peppy, rocking number with rapid-fire lyrics and a very brief running time.  What better way to kick off a concert?  While I haven’t heard the live version from 1972, I can only imagine what it would sound like…

That’s pretty much it for me tonight.  I had a very enjoyable weekend on all fronts…

…which means that I have lots of work to catch up on this week!  I’ll be working on entering grades by Wednesday morning, speaking to a group of sophomores at a CCSU “college to career” seminar Wednesday evening, and starting to work on my BEST portfolio after about a week and a half on hold for other stuff.  I know, I lead an exciting life!  🙂

I hope you enjoy my video, and I hope to continue to post new “extras” in the near future — I already have inspiration for new “Deep Racks Reports,” music reviews (check out my one-sentence reviews posted yesterday!), and other articles.  I also have to get cracking on some site work I signed up for a couple weeks ago and haven’t gotten to (sorry webmaster!).

Don’t forget to hurry back tomorrow for an all-new Jim Fusco Tuesday.  It’s certain to be “we-should-name-a-day-of-the-week-for-it” good…

See you next session!

“Last Night” (Traveling Wilburys Cover)

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By Chris Moore:

I recorded this one “last night”!

Okay, too cheesy?

Seriously, this is a simple but fun one from the Traveling Wilburys. A little Tom Petty-esque lead and a special guest tribute to Roy Orbison…

“The One For Me” (Chris Moore original) – Original Wednesday

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By Chris Moore:

Welcome to September, a truly promising month for new music from the likes of Steven Page, Ben Folds, and Weezer!

Today, I’m taking a break from our regularly scheduled Original Wednesday program of previews from The 2010 Project to bring you a song I just wrote last week.

Specifically, a song I wrote on Monday of last week.

You may be wondering, why Monday?  Well, August 23rd — aside from being my friend and sometimes-collaborator Alberto Distefano’s birthday — marked the fifth anniversary of my first date with my girlfriend Nicole.  Because we broke up for three months in late 2008, we’ve decided to officially celebrate our anniversary on the day we got back together for the first time, January 2nd.  (I’m personally a fan of this date for all its implications of the new year, fresh beginnings, resolutions to be made, and all the promise this invokes.  And, although it’s only a week after Christmas, the original date was only a week before her birthday, so proximity to other occasions is not a factor.)

Thus, August 23rd has become the anniversary that we’ve promised to honor, but without monetary expense in the name of gifts.

We never said anything about not spending time to make something like, say, a song!

I spent the better part of my morning last Monday writing, playing, and perfecting “The One For Me.”  It is one of the — if not the — best love songs I’ve written, in my opinion.  And, for those that don’t know, my opinion is that my love songs are generally sub-par.  The version which you will hear in the video below is the first full performance I committed to tape last week.  I’ve been playing it numerous times each day since and it has progressed considerably from the form it is in on this session.

Why post an out-of-date version?

For one, I like the idea of showing off a fresh song, without having practiced it or worked on it.  What is Original Wednesday, after all, if it is not a place to celebrate the writing process?  In addition, I’m trying to imagine a spot for this song on The 2010 Project, so it may show up there.  If it does, you will hopefully be able to tell how much it has progressed since this video.  (And, it will have turned out that today is indeed another installment of the preview series.)

So, without further ado, I give you “The One For Me.”  I hope you enjoy it, and I hope you’ll tune back in for more exciting new material here at the Laptop Sessions as we move into the fall season.

See you next session!

“Beat It” (Michael Jackson Cover)

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By Federico Borluzzi:

Acoustic cover of Michael Jackson’s song “Beat It,” from the 1982 Thriller album.  I changed the guitar parts, creating an alternative version of this song which is okay for my acoustic version.

** EDITOR’S NOTE **

This is a moment I didn’t see coming…

Introducing the first Michael Jackson acoustic cover song to the Laptop Sessions, care of Guest Sessions regular Federico Borluzzi!  For tonight’s installment, he’s come up with quite an interesting arrangement for this early eighties hit.  On his YouTube page, Federico writes, “This cover is intended to be a tribute to Michael Jackson, the King of Pop, who’s gone too soon and whose death shocked me and the whole world. He left us a legacy of great songs, such as this one… I did an alternative, quiet and acoustic cover…”

I think you’ll agree as you listen that this is a fitting tribute, and it’s done in the Laptop Sessions tradition of stripping a fully produced (and sometimes over-produced) song down to its core elements.  From the opening moments of the video, Federico sets a mesmerizing fingerpicking pattern that will guide the whole song, and is indeed one of the highlights of his performance.

I hope you enjoy this video — I know I did, and I couldn’t be happier to present this week’s Guest Session.  Hurry back for new articles and announcements throughout the weekend!