Tag Archives: song

“Ding Dong Ding Dong” (George Harrison Cover) : Jim Fusco’s 200th Video!

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By Jim Fusco:

And a Happy New Year to you- I’m Jim Fusco back for another year of the Laptop Sessions.  I’m also back with Number 200!  That’s right, tonight’s video is my 200th and it kicks off a brand new year of great acoustic cover song music videos here on the most popular music blog that isn’t corporately-owned…well, I can’t substantiate that claim… 🙂

Anyway, I figured I’d kick the New Year and new decade off right with a New Year’s song in “Ding Dong Ding Dong”, a hit single off of George Harrison’s Dark Horse album.  If you’ve heard the original version of this song, you probably wondered why George’s voice sounded so raw and raspy.  No, he wasn’t taking vocal cues from his pal (and future Traveling Wilburys member) Bob Dylan.  He was actually suffering from a terrible break-up when his wife ran off with his best friend, Eric Clapton.  It forced the two friends to not speak for a long time (yes, significant others can change people and break friends apart, that’s for sure), but eventually they reconciled…once she and Eric broke up, too!  That’s a fairytale friendship story if I ever heard one.

The title track from Dark Horse also features George’s gravelly vocals and it’s actually a nice tool he uses well on these somewhat bitter songs.  I mean, George was always one to write songs against the “establishment” (like “Taxman”, “Not Guilty”, and “Devil’s Radio”), but this time, it was a more personal fight.  One can only think that “ringing out the old and bringing in the new” has to be correlated to his estranged wife leaving the picture.

And, in the end, George ended up finding his real soulmate in Olivia Harrison, whom he was with until the end and continues to preserve George’s legacy to this day.  Now there’s a woman who really appreciated and “got” him.  So, it all worked out.  I guess sometimes a broken heart is just an opportunity to find something (or someone) better!

I’ve always considered this a Christmas song- remember my post from a few weeks ago about my father’s famed Christmas Compilation tapes?  Well, this song was on it.  And even though it’s loosely based on the New Year and it’s idea of “starting anew”, it’s really not a Christmas song at all.  But, you’ll still never find me listening to “Ding Dong Ding Dong” from January through October!

I’ve already recorded another video- I was on a bit of a roll tonight.  I could’ve done more, but work is really driving me into the ground lately.  My list is ever-growing.  I have a great forgotten 60’s song lined-up, but that video is a late-90’s Top 10 Billboard hit that is officially the song played most on the radio- it spent 18 weeks at Number One on the Billboard Airplay charts.  That’s the most for any song- ever!

And I can’t believe we haven’t covered it.  My only thought is that I’m the only one here that can sing the chorus, so I’m glad I finally got around to it.  Look for some new bands to come in the near future, as well- it’s going to be another productive year of great cover song music videos…if I can find the time and energy to keep up with it week after week.  Enjoy “Ding Dong Ding Dong” in LSHD (Laptop Sessions High Definition)!

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“The New Year” (Death Cab for Cutie Cover)

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For Death Cab for Cutie chords & lyrics, CLICK HERE!

By Chris Moore:

Hello and welcome to the first all-new Laptop Session of 2010!  It is my pleasure to kick off another great year here for the best cover song music video blog on the Internet today.  This past year has indeed been a year of changes, of many comings and goings for most of us here, and now we’re setting out to make this the best year yet. 

There’s a lot to live up to, given the past two years  and more of contributions.

Still, I think we’re up to it.

What can you expect?  Well, for now, you can expect a Chris Moore Monday and a Jim Fusco Tuesday each week.  Although Thumpin’ Thursday is no longer regularly filled, you never know when Jeff will get the itch again…  As for Guest Sessions Friday, it is my sincere hope that recent regular Jeremy Hammond will continue to send me links.  In fact, he’d already sent me the link to his video for that Friday’s post, and I can tell you that it’s a song that I remember fondly.  I first heard it on one of my dad’s “hits of the seventies” cassette tapes.  (Remember those?  They were THE media before CDs…)  From what little I know of him through our email conversations, Jeremy seems like a really interesting guy with some great ideas for cover songs to record.  Finally, as for Saturday and Sunday, there will be one edition of “The Weekend Review” each week.  On top of all that, you have the “From the Music Blog Archives” feature to look forward to each and every time you visit the site; we’ve gotten to the point where there are so many posts available to draw from that many are ones that I read as though for the first time…

If you haven’t already, I hope you’ll check out my “50 Best Rock Albums of the Decade, 2000-2009” list and liner notes, posted over the past several days.  Now, my next project is to finish off my “Best of 2009” lists.

First, though, I need to take a breather!

Today was the first day back to school, and what a relaxing start it was, due mostly to the 90 minute delay we had.  I didn’t sleep in, but I did get a lot of grading done.  When I finish this post, I’ll be returning to that seemingly endless task until I’m off to a BK Lounge run with Mike and three hours of live TNA.  This feels in many ways like the biggest single show since my friends got me interested in professional wrestling a couple years ago, so I’m looking forward to it as a full three hours of relaxation before school gets back into full swing tomorrow.

Which brings me, at last, to the session of the night.  I’m bringing you my cover version of Death Cab for Cutie’s “The New Year,” which is the opening track to their strong Transatlanticism album.  I’ve already recorded one song from that release, “The Sound of Settling,” a while back, but I couldn’t think of any better song for the first post of the New Year, 2010. 

I hope you’ve had a relaxing and productive holiday, and that the promise of more Laptop Sessions and related posts gives you something to look forward to throughout 2010.

See you next session!

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“Back on the Train” (Phish Cover)

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By Jeremy Hammond:

My acoustic cover of “Back on the Train” by Phish, from the Farmhouse album. I intend to go back and overlay another track for the solos, but here’s the “single take” version with just rhythm and vocals.

** EDITOR’S NOTE: **

For Jeremy’s third Guest Session contribution, he has brought yet another new band to the Laptop Sessions cover song music video blog.  Somehow, Phish have slipped by these past couple years without ever being acknowledged by the Laptop Sessions crew.

No longer!

As per usual, this is a great video of an upbeat performance — Jeremy’s vocals are beautifully authentic to Trey Anastasio’s original lead.  And, of course, the chords sound quirky and, again, perfectly authentic to the Farmhouse track.  Farmhouse was their final record before they announced a hiatus, even if they have gone on to release new discs at a steady pace since then, including 2009’s most recent Phish album, Joy.

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“Mother” (Pink Floyd Cover) – Jeremy Hammond (Guest Session)

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Do YOU record acoustic cover songs?  Submit your YouTube link and a blog post about your performance, why you chose the song, etc. to the “Fridays: The Guest Sessions” link in the weekly calendar above!

By Jeremy Hammond:

This is my cover of “Mother” by Pink Floyd from the album The Wall. I first recorded the rhythm and vocals, then overlaid another track for the guitar solo.

I had two versions of this up previously. On the first, a commenter suggested I add the solo, so I did. But then watching that second one, and then going back and listening to the original for the first time in ages, I realized I had the timing wrong in two parts. So I redid it yet again. This, my third “Mother” effort for YouTube, is one I am finally happy with.


** EDITOR’S NOTE: **

Jeremy’s session technically breaks the golden rule of “one live take” established since the first Laptop Session over two years ago.  That being said, his version of “Mother” is an excellent performance, and as he explained above, the solo was overdubbed and handled nicely in the video with a fade in and out.  We simply couldn’t deny you the opportunity to hear and see this great version.

Now if only he could clone himself, that would make for quite the duo…

Laptop Sessions contributor Jeff Copperthite first recorded this song in August 2008, and it quickly became one of his most popular and highest rated performances.  Click HERE to watch his version.

Thanks again, Jeremy, for contributing to the Guest Sessions!

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