And, just like that, I’m back with my second session of the night!
As a follow-up to my previous music video, this is “Please, Mrs. Henry,” also from Bob Dylan’s 1975 release The Basement Tapes. Generally, I am most impressed with complete, clean studio recordings of songs from my favorite bands, yet there are many instances of great music being created when an artist has stripped away at all the usual standards and practices of studio recording. A most recent — and admittedly weird — instance of this is the re-release of Beck’s early nineties indie rock release One Foot in the Grave. While this album really isn’t the kind of music I’ll be showing off to my friends, there is this really raw and unique sound to it. One of the benefits to these types of recordings is the quantity of music usually available — i.e. 24 Basement Tapes tracks and 32 tracks on the aforementioned Beck album. In the first 16 album tracks, songs like “Cyanide Breath Mint,” “Asshole” (later covered by Tom Petty for the She’s the One soundtrack!), and “Painted Eyelids” would never make it anywhere near the radio. I love the lyrics and sound to some of the bonus tracks, as well — “Favorite Nerve,” “Burning Boyfriend,” and, “Feather in Your Cap” to name a few.
Of course, with these types of recordings, there are always going to be throwaway tracks and songs that will make you want to say, “What was he thinking?!” But that’s to be expected…
Getting back to the Laptop Session at hand, “Please, Mrs. Henry” is one of the songs I initially disliked from this album. More specifically, I found it kind of plain. Now that I’ve gone back to it — specifically during my Bob Dylan mp3 marathon earlier this month — I have a newfound appreciation for the lyrics as well as the music. Where else can you get the perspective of a singer/narrator who is not only telling you he is drunk, but actuallly sounds drunk while he’s doing it? Dylan’s inflection aside, how else can you read lyrics like “I’ve been sniffin’ too many eggs…Drinkin’ too many kegs” or “I’m groanin’ in a hallway; pretty soon, I’ll be mad” or, who could forget, “Why don’t you look my way and pump me a few?”
Great stuff.
With that, I’ll leave you to watch my interpretation of one of the many songs on The Basement Tapes that have been capturing the attention of fans since it was recorded in 1968. Even before the album was officially released, these tracks became some of the most bootlegged songs in rock music history. (Think: Great White Wonder.) And now you have my version to add to the mix. It certainly doesn’t approach the level that Dylan’s on, but it was a lot of fun to try! (Check out the chords, linked at the top of this post, so you can play, too…)
See you next session!
Editor’s note: this post was originally published before December 2015; the exact original date is uncertain.
C
So this is the New Year,
And I don’t feel any different
The clanking of crystal
C F
Explosions off in the distance, off in the distance…
F – G
F – G
C
So this is the New Year,
And I have no resolutions
For self-assigned pennance
For problems with easy solutions
F
So everybody put your best shirt and dress on
G
Let’s make believe that we are wealthy for just this once
F
Lighting firecrackers off on the front lawn
G
As thirty dialogues bleed into one…
I wish the world was flat like the old days,
Then we could travel just by folding the map.
There’d be no airplanes or speed trains or freeways;
There’d be no distance that could hold us back…
F
G
There’d be no distance that could hold us back…
F
G
There’d be no distance that could hold us back…
F – G
F – G
C
So, this is the New Year…
So, this is the New Year…
So, this is the New Year…
So, this is the New Year…
** These chords and lyrics are interpretations and transcriptions, respectively, and are the sole property of the copyright holder(s). They are posted on this website free of charge for no profit for the purpose of study and commentary, as allowed for under the “fair use” provision of U.S. copyright law, and should only be used for such personal and/or academic work. **
Editor’s note: this post was originally published before December 2015; the exact original date is uncertain.
Em D Bm G
When something’s dark, lemme shed a little light on it
When something’s cold, lemme put a little fire on it
If something’s old, I wanna put a bit of shine on it
When something’s gone, I wanna fight to get it back again
Em D G
Yeah, yeah, yeah-yeah-yeah — fight to get it back again.
Em D
Yeah, yeah, yeah-yeah-yeah.
When something’s broke, I wanna put a bit of fixing on it
If something’s bored, I wanna put a little exciting on it
When something’s low, I wanna put a little high on it
When something’s lost, I wanna fight to get it back again
Yeah, yeah, yeah-yeah-yeah — fight to get it back again.
Yeah, yeah, yeah-yeah-yeah.
When signals cross, I wanna put a little straight on it
If there’s no love… I wanna try to love again.
C Eb Bm
I’ll say your prayers; I’ll take your side.
Bm A
I’ll find us a way to make light.
I’ll dig your grave; we’ll dance and sing.
What say, could be our last lifetime!
(Repeat INTRO)
Yeah, yeah, yeah-yeah-yeah — fight to get it back again.
Yeah, yeah, yeah-yeah-yeah — fight to get it back again.
Yeah, yeah, yeah-yeah-yeah.
Yeah, yeah. Fight to get it back again… (yeah’s & fadeout)
** These chords and lyrics are interpretations and transcriptions, respectively, and are the sole property of the copyright holder(s). They are posted on this website free of charge for no profit for the purpose of study and commentary, as allowed for under the “fair use” provision of U.S. copyright law, and should only be used for such personal and/or academic work. **
Editor’s note: this post was originally published before December 2015; the exact original date is uncertain.
Hello and welcome to another week of all-new high quality Laptop Sessions acoustic cover song music video blog material! (Now, that’s a mouthful!) We’ve got an exciting week lined up for you regular visitors: one classic Laptop Session post each for Monday and Tuesday, another Phish Friday with Guest Sessions contributor Jeremy Hammond, the final edition of “Yes, No, or Maybe So: One-Sentence Reviews of 2009 Albums” (finally!), and of course, another edition of “The Weekend Review” on Sunday. And you never know what impromptu posts will surface to cover Wednesday and Thursday. For instance, I’ve got more than a dozen “Yes, No, or Maybe So” ‘s on the way soon, not to mention my “Top Five Rock Artists of the Decade” series that’s stagnated; it’s all a matter of timing.
April break is coming…
For tonight, let me begin by explaining my song choice. You may be wondering, “Pink? The woman? Really?” Well, as you can see with even a quick glance at the freeze frame below, I’ve recently undergone a serious haircut. As part of the NHHS English dept. team, I participated in the St. Baldrick’s fundraiser to fight children’s cancer last Wednesday. I’m not going to lie: it was a bit scary. For one thing, I’ve never had my hair this short. For another, I’ve had issues with my scalp being dry and itchy for years, so I didn’t know what it would look like once the hair came off. Thankfully, all went well. After the event, my team went out to Harry’s Sports Bar & Grill, which a few of us thought was fantastic — I mean, come on, that’s a Dr. Keck-sized pun (watch it!) waiting to happen.
We must have looked like a band of skinheads, based on the looks we elicited from the weekday crowd…
Back to the music. Weeks ago, I knew that this would be coming up. I realized that it coincided with the season premiere of the AMC original show Breaking Bad that Dana got me hooked on last year. I took the time to look up the music that has been used on the show over its first two seasons, and I found several songs that I liked. The wildest one, I thought, was Pink’s “Trouble.” If I could pull off an acoustic cover of that song, now that would be fun. I learned it that day, and I forgot about it until earlier this weekend. I can’t tell you how weird it was to take a Pink song seriously, but I have a newfound respect for at least this song. It’s a pretty straightforward number, and it was fascinating to me just how easily I translated it to a solo acoustic performance.
I hope you enjoy the product!
In other Laptop Sessions news, I finally went back to my “Yes, No, or Maybe So: One-Sentence Reviews of 2009 Albums” post. I hadn’t updated it since September 2009, so I figured it was about time I finished it off. My main reason for neglecting it for so long was that I realized mid-way through last year that it would make more sense to publish each review as its own post. I’ve been doing that since 2010 kicked off, and it’s been so much more fun than the old system. I not only added the new 2009 albums I listened to since the previous update, but I also went back through the existing entries and adapted them to the slightly new rating system I’m using now. Essentially, each “Yes, No, or Maybe So” review has five components: the rating, the release date, the one sentence review, the top two tracks, and an image of the album cover. I didn’t go back through and add cover images for all 30 or so albums, but I did match them to my new rating system. Under this easy system, an album can receive one of five scores: Yes, Maybe So, Maybe, Maybe Not, or No. This is in line with the classic five star rating system that I use for the Weekend Review. Over the past several months, I’ve been reconsidering my older reviews. The more I listen and write reviews, the more I want the perfect “Yes” to be an elusive rating, a true five star record. Before I added the “Maybe” as an option, I found that there were simply too many “Maybe So” entries that didn’t quite deserve that score, but weren’t in the “Maybe Not” range either.
Long story long, it seems that there is a learning curve to be expected with all things.
Outside of the head shaving and blog posting, life has been good recently. Busy, to be sure, but good. I’m still deep in the middle of a Star Trek: Voyager viewing marathon with Nicole, and I couldn’t be happier to indulge my dorkier tendencies. I’ve also been busy musically in a couple different ventures. The first is my next album, titled simply The 2010 Project for now, that I’m only just now taking seriously. After almost four years since Love Out of Fashion, I decided it was about time I took some ownership of my next project. So, I’ve polished and restrung my acoustic and electric guitars, borrowed my sister’s bass guitar, and taught myself how to use loops in GarageBand. There are only two missing pieces that I am in the process of researching: first, a guitar pedal to replace my Zoom pedal (lost to battery acid damage…) and second, a good USB microphone to record vocals, harmonica, etc. I’ve had such an itch to record recently that I’ve been playing around with demo versions of some of the fully written songs.
I’m excited that they don’t sound nearly as cheesy as my previous attempt at synthesized drums on Looking For You‘s “Shut Up, Bob”!
Outside of the recording, I’m still deciding which songs will make the cut, what concept/theme I think should drive the record, and I’m still writing verses, middles, and lyrics to finish off several songs that have been incomplete for days, months, or even years.
My other project involves the band I’ve jammed with on and off since I first started teaching. This go-round, there are five of us — a lead guitarist, me on rhythm (electric!), a keyboardist/harmonica player, a bass player, and a drummer. They’re all terrific musicians, so I definitely feel like I need to be on my toes constantly. Specifically, we’ve been practicing to play two songs for the Teacher Talent Show this Thursday: a parody of Bob Marley’s “Jammin’” (based on the challenges of using the Xerox copier at school) and a parody of “Knockin’ on Heaven’s Door.” I haven’t really rocked out since MoU’s last show, so being up on stage Friday to rehearse was great. We’re playing in the school’s beautiful theatre, and my bandmates have furnished us with some powerfully loud amps. We jammed on each song for about fifteen minutes straight last Friday, and I played “Knockin’ on Heaven’s Door” until I thought my left hand was going to fall up and all the muscles in my arm would snap. Any guitarist who’s played rock music knows that this discomfort is all code for having a great time!
So, at long last, I’ll leave you to my cover song music video for the week. As for me, I’m off to the BK Lounge to kick off TNA night part two (after last night’s very entertaining PPV).
See you next session!
Editor’s note: this post was originally published before December 2015; the exact original date is uncertain.
