We’re looking for more Guest Sessions submissions! So, sit down, pull up your acoustic guitar and camera, post the video on YouTube, and CLICK HERE!
It’s finally Friday and it’s time to add yet another guest to this, the Guest Sessions project, hosted at the best cover song and new music video blog on the web — the Laptop Sessions!
For tonight’s video, we are happy to bring you only the second Green Day cover that’s been released on the blog. Tonight’s guest comes to you from Bournemouth, UK. Isn’t that the beauty of the Internet? Mike White, our “Guest” performer, can record a video in the UK and I can post it on this music video blog while sitting in bed in Connecticut, United States. We’ve become so used to this web that it’s not all that amazing to most of us, particularly the younger generation (myself included). I take it for granted sometimes, but every so often I step back and consider how amazing this really is…
Tonight’s selection is “Church on Sunday,” the third track on Green Day’s Warning: album. Warning: was released in 2000 and rose to both gold status and number 4 on the Billboard charts. Even still, this was the least impressive showing the band had ever had, since their debut album Dookie. What makes material from Warning: ideal for the Laptop Sessions, though, is the fact that this album incorporates acoustic elements more than any previous Green Day release.
The band went on to release their new album, 21st Century Breakdown, in May 2009. Supposedly, it has been strongly influenced by the work of Bob Dylan, Bruce Springsteen, and the Beatles, and is “more power pop than punk.” Interesting… (I hope…)
So, without further ado, Mike White’s energetic performance speaks for itself!
Editor’s note: this post was originally published before December 2015; the exact original date is uncertain.
Acoustic cover of “Sunday Morning” played outside on a porch filmed in HD. Follow Dave’s musical career (he’s hit #1 on MTV.com): http://www.davepatten.typepad.com/
** EDITOR’S NOTE: **
For the second Guest Session in a row, we’re happy to introduce a new performer to the blog: Dave Patten.
His song today is a cover of “Sunday Morning” from Maroon 5’s 2002 debut release Songs About Jane. This is a band that has yet to be seen on the blog, so it’s always good to include new selections like this.
Dave’s video may be a bit more meticulously filmed than our average session, but it is a live acoustic performance, and so it meets the core Laptop Sessions format requirements. We hope that this production only serves to add to your enjoyment of his take on this hit song.
Editor’s note: this post was originally published before December 2015; the exact original date is uncertain.
I hope you enjoy seeing me with hair tonight, because as of Wednesday evening, it’s gone! That’s right — I’ve decided to shave it all off. Well, maybe “decided” is a strong word. One of my colleagues, one who offered a great deal of useful advice during my first year teaching, asked me if I would join an English department team for this year’s “St. Baldrick’s” event. I couldn’t turn down an opportunity to join in with my fellow English teachers, and as you may know, it isn’t all that often that someone asks me to join a team! So, off goes the hair in the name of raising money to fight children’s cancer. I’m currently at the bottom of the list of fundraisers on my team (listed online as $0, although I have raised about $65 from staff and students at school that will be added tomorrow).
If you’re interested in supporting this excellent cause, just CLICK HERE!
So, you may be wondering: what does this have to do with the Laptop Sessions? Well, the answer should be clear if you read the title of my song choice tonight. I thought “Will It Grow” would be a fitting question to ask on the eve of my head being shaved. Of course, Jakob Dylan isn’t referring to hair, but I was able to add a bit more emotion to my interpretation of this track all the same.
“Will It Grow” was released in 2008 on Dylan’s solo album Seeing Things. Since Jeff recorded “Something Good This Way Comes” prior to its release, I never felt the need to record a track from the album. To be honest, I wasn’t as impressed with this album as I could have been. Of all people, I should be able to appreciate a set of good acoustic performances. That being said, it’s difficult to listen to an all-acoustic album from the front man for the Wallflowers — they’re such an incredible rock band!
Now, almost two years removed, I came back to Seeing Things by chance and thought it was a shame that I had never covered one of the tracks. Not surprisingly, I found a set of chords online riddled with errors and transcribed for a capo. I love capos as much as the next guy — and probably more! — but if it’s not necessary, I can’t see a good reason to use the capo. Thus, I posted the chords here at the Laptop Sessions for those interested in a more straightforward, accurate description of how to play the song. I can certainly understand how the errors may have been made, as I found it a bit difficult to pick up all the chord changes over the intricate fingerpicking. Eventually though, I think I came to a fairly solid version of what Dylan originally intended. I hope so — Jakob Dylan is one of my all-time favorite songwriters, so I took it very seriously.
In other Laptop Sessions news, I recently went through all the music reviews I posted previous to “The Weekend Review” series and added a rating out of five stars. Why did I take the time to do this? Well, initially I felt that ratings were arbitrary and that I really wasn’t qualified to make those sorts of judgments on music. After all, I wouldn’t want someone assigning a low rating to the music I poured my heart into. Still, the more I’ve been thinking about it, the more I realize how important the rating is to the review as a whole. After all, half the fun of reading reviews is agreeing or disagreeing with the author’s rating. Thus, how can I deny my readers (however few of them there are ;- ) the opportunity to think I’m right on, far off, or somewhere in between? It was fun going back to these albums; most reviews I wrote before the Weekend Review were based on albums I loved, so that didn’t hurt. And it reminded me of how much I enjoy holding to a weekly writing schedule. It may be difficult at the time to carve out an hour or so on a Sunday to write, but it gives me a good reason to skim through my CD rack on Friday or Saturday to choose an album to listen to throughout the weekend.
Other than shaving my head, this week should be pretty normal. I still have to get used to TNA Impact! being on Mondays. It’s a great way to kick off the week, a relaxing night with friends and comfort food and wonderfully mindless television entertainment, but I do miss being able to look forward to Thursday nights.
Finally, I thought the new Locksley album was supposed to be out tomorrow, but it wasn’t listed on the Newbury Comics newsletter today. Luckily, the White Stripes are releasing their first live CD this week — more and more, I’ve been growing fond of Jack White’s work, particularly with his side projects. So, I’ll give it a shot and let you know…
See you next session!
Editor’s note: this post was originally published before December 2015; the exact original date is uncertain.
** This is the very first “Guest Session” here at the Laptop Sessions acoustic music blog. The concept of this regular Friday post is that, each Friday, the Laptop Session will be recorded and written entirely by a guest performer.
For our first choice, we bring you a video from Andrew E., a YouTube regular. Tonight, he brings us a new band to the blog. This is Green Day’s “Wake Me Up When September Ends,” from their American Idiot album.
Enjoy, and browse more of the Laptop Sessions archive! **
By Andrew E.
I Love Green Day. I’ve been listening to them since 03. More importantly, playing guitar has been a big part of my life. I got my first guitar from my grandpa when I was 5. Since then, I’ve been consistently trying to improve my playing.
It’s more than a hobby, its a part of me.
Editor’s note: this post was originally published before December 2015; the exact original date is uncertain.
