“Live Let Live” (Brian Wilson Cover)

By Jim Fusco:

This post will be a shorter one, as Ace Ventura 2 is on in the background.  Any time Jim Carrey’s on screen, my attention is pulled towards the television.  Today was a fun day, as the original seven cast members of WCJM Radio got together to do our first Moore Hits in the Morning show that was actually in the morning!  The 10th Anniversary Show went off without a hitch, except for the producing mistakes I made.  Those will be edited out LONG before you hear it online!  I’ll be working on the show soon and I hope everyone will go online and listen to it!

Tonight, I bring you a great song off of Brian Wilson’s new album “That Lucky Old Sun”.  I love this album and it proves how great this guy still is.  His singing voice just seems to get better and better.  It has such a full sound now that it didn’t have back in the late 80s.

This song I chose not for its lyrics, which are a bit on the unexpected side, but for its incredible tune.  I just love when the music kicks in after the first vocals-only part.  The chords are great and Brian’s voice is even better.  The lyrics provided by Van Dyke Parks are still very witty.  That man says things in song a way no one else ever has before.  It’s funny to me that probably my favorite song on the album was written by the classic duo of Wilson/Parks and not the new duo of Wilson/Bennett.

This is a short song, but I think it captures the essence of Brian’s efforts to speak out against pollution, etc.  When you think of California, you think of sunshine, beautiful views, and wildlife.  Brian sang about the other two things throughout the rest of the album, so this song covers the last topic and brings the album full-circle.

Enjoy this song tonight as I go off for a LONG winter’s nap and finish off my big weekend!

“I’m Into Something Good” (Herman’s Hermits Cover)

By Jim Fusco:

Welcome to your Sunday, Sunday, Sunday edition of The Laptop Sessions here on the best (explitive) music video blog on planet earth.  Don’t believe me?  This is my 120th Laptop Session, Chris debuts his 100th music video cover song tomorrow, and I’m sure Jeff is knocking on that door very soon…  All this adds up to over 300 music videos all done to perfection with love and care for the music that made us who we are.  I suggest, if this is your first time here, clicking on the band categories in the left sidebar and clicking on your favorite band.  I’m sure you’ll find at least one great acoustic cover music video in there!

On to tonight’s video.  Well, after a long day at the Big E fair in West Springfield, MA, I had to come home to do my video.  Regulars to the video blog know that I usually have quite a backlog of videos handy, but with my recent cold, that stash was depleted.  I’m still not at 100%, but I can fake it, as I did tonight.

I didn’t realize that Brian Wilson did a cover of this song on his new album, “That Lucky Old Sun”.  I guess it was on the Best Buy exclusive disc.  I ended up buying the CD/DVD version, so I’m without the bonus tracks, but luckily Chris has them, as he bought the standard edition (some fan HE is! j/k) at Best Buy.

I saw Herman’s Hermits, or at least some derivitive of them, at the North Haven, CT Fair a couple years ago.  They were really good.  At least they had Peter Noone.  I learned the Creed from the Office was actually a real member of Herman’s Hermits back in the 60s, and he plays a character of himself on the show.  Needless to say, I don’t think Creed was at the North Haven Fair show.

This is an easy song to play, but it’s a lot of fun.  It’s definitely one that you should learn if you’re just starting on guitar and also have a tenor voice.  I’m sure Brian doesn’t sing it in this original key, but who knows- no one expected an album like TLOS during this stage of his career.

Stay tuned, folks.  I, of course, extended New Bands Week by a day, but sadly, Chris will be ending that streak tomorrow.  It’s okay- he’s been planning his big 100th Post Bash for a long time.  And if his camera is still functional after seeing his chest hair, he’ll be back for Thursday’s video, as well.  Until then!