“Things Have Changed” (Bob Dylan Cover)

By Jeff Copperthite:

I love doing covers this day of the week.  Why?

Because it’s Thumpin’ Thursday™! (Jim needs to learn how to insert special characters in the editor by the way)

And I always keep the solid beat songs in reserve for this day.  Make you want to tap your feet if I can.

Well, I decided today to break out a really cool (and relatively recent) Bob Dylan song called “Things Have Changed”.  The song itself is from a Soundtrack from the movie Wonder Boys.  Originally, I thought it was released on a different album (Love & Theft, if you were wondering), but alas it was not to be.

I heard this song thanks to the Bob Dylan master Chris Moore.  He also helped figure out that the song I had stuck in my head a few days back was this song.  So if it weren’t for him, i’d have something else up here today.

I love the beat of this song, but as with all Dylan songs, he sometimes fits a lot of words into the same measure, or a few words.  It can be tough to stay on top of that, and in this video you’ll notice me forgetting to change the chord for a beat.  It happens to the best of us I guess.

And I managed to sing similarly to Dylan as well.  The video works very nicely.

As with all Thumpin’ Thursday™ entries, I know you’ll enjoy this one.  I’ll see you in 3 days for my next video!

Editor’s Note: Unfortunately, Jeff’s acoustic cover song music videos are no longer on YouTube, but we decided to keep his cover song blog posts up.  We figured these music blog entries would be good for posterity’s sake and because Jeff always gave such insightful posts each Session.  We hope to see Jeff’s impressive catalog of acoustic rock songs here on the Laptop Sessions cover songs and origianal music blog again in the future.  But, for now, please make sure to check-out hundreds of other acoustic cover songs from all of your favorite bands here on the Laptop Sessions music blog!

“Mourning Train” (The Wallflowers Cover)

By Jeff Copperthite:

I’m back after a short hiatus!  Welcome to your special Friday edition of The Laptop Sessions.

Tonight’s song is the first Wallflowers cover in a long time.  I have selected another song from their 2nd album “Breach”, and I plan on closing out my 2008 run w/ the Sessions with another song from this album (I did mention it in an earlier post which song it is going to be)

As you know by now, I am a huge Wallflowers fan.  I enjoy all their albums and they are so easy to listen to at any time of the day.  My wife enjoys this band as well.  This cover is still a first for me though.  Up until now, i’ve covered their upbeat songs, and this is the first that is among their slower, gentler tunes.  It allows me to really sit back and play a nice, neat song with the cool writing of Jakob Dylan.

And yes, that is Bob Dylan’s son (in case you didn’t know).

We need not go into further detail, but know that we are committed to bringing you the best cover songs!  Jim, Chris, and I will continue our dedication not just through this year, but into the next.  We can’t wait to announce to you when you can look forward to more cover songs from the three of us!

Editor’s Note: Unfortunately, Jeff’s acoustic cover song music videos are no longer on YouTube, but we decided to keep his cover song blog posts up.  We figured these music blog entries would be good for posterity’s sake and because Jeff always gave such insightful posts each Session.  We hope to see Jeff’s impressive catalog of acoustic rock songs here on the Laptop Sessions cover songs and origianal music blog again in the future.  But, for now, please make sure to check-out hundreds of other acoustic cover songs from all of your favorite bands here on the Laptop Sessions music blog!

“Glide” (Stone Temple Pilots Cover)

By Jeff Copperthite:

Yes!  It’s me again two nights in a row!  I have the privilege of bringing you another previously covered band (yeah I know, it seems like it’s new to cover a band we’ve already covered, but hey).  And not only that, another cover of a song you may not have heard before (just like yesterday).  I hope you enjoyed “Mourning Train”, because it’s just another impressive hit that I am happy to bring to you.

Well today here’s another song I have always liked from another favorite band Stone Temple Pilots.  Despite their rocky past and continually shaky future, they remain a favorite band of mine.  I enjoy their catalog from the beginning to end.  However, their later material has always shone much more to me.  This is because they geared more towards a “bluesy” and guitar-driven sound, rather than the reliance on power chords of the typical 90’s alternative bands.  This made them stand out much more to me.

Tonight’s song is “Glide” from their album “No. 4”. Glide is a very unique song in that the chords are all based on the same root for all the verses.  Despite the countless inversions and add 9s in the guitar part.  Like a song I have covered earlier in the year (“Spies” by Coldplay), it’s a unique guitar part but I am happy I pulled it off (mostly) on video.

I really tried my best to relax and belt this song out.  Combine the guitar part commentary mentioned above with a huge jump in notes and the use of falsetto, and you see I picked a doozy to cover.  I decided to be a bit more forgiving of myself in the mistake department, so you may spot a couple of misfingerings here and there.  To me it does not detract from the flow or the overall feel of the song in any way.

I recorded this song in the same session as the previous cover, and I had also attempted to record another song for a future session, but after this song I was just plum out of energy.  That’s ok – you’ll still see that cover on Tuesday!

Be sure to come back for our regularly scheduled Jim Fusco acoustic cover, and then Chris Moore will make your Monday a bit less manic.  For me, i’m just gonna “glide” on upstairs to beat my wife in a game of Gin Rummy!

Until then…

Editor’s Note: Unfortunately, Jeff’s acoustic cover song music videos are no longer on YouTube, but we decided to keep his cover song blog posts up.  We figured these music blog entries would be good for posterity’s sake and because Jeff always gave such insightful posts each Session.  We hope to see Jeff’s impressive catalog of acoustic rock songs here on the Laptop Sessions cover songs and original music blog again in the future.  But, for now, please make sure to check-out hundreds of other acoustic cover songs from all of your favorite bands here on the Laptop Sessions music blog!

“Words” (Acoustic Original Song by Songwriter Chris Moore)

By Chris Moore:

Welcome to my all-new edition of Original Wednesday here at the Laptop Sessions. This week, I have chosen “Words,” a song I’ve recorded twice over the years — once for my album Looking For You (I recorded the title track for my last Original Wednesday video blog) and again on the Chris, Jim, & Becky debut album Live in the Studio. After recording a new cover song music video every three days, it’s always a lot of fun to turn to my own catalog of songs and revisit songs I haven’t played in years or ones I play all the time on my own. That’s the concept behind the Original Wednesday tradition — allow the members of Fusco-Moore Productions to showcase our pride and joy, our own music.

“Words” inspired the early sketches for a script and some unscripted scenes filmed while Jim and I were on vacation in Massachusetts. The basic premise of the movie was two characters on a journey who disagree on the essential question, what is a more important/effective form of communication — music and sound or words and written forms? For those who know me, it won’t come as a surprise that my character (the Eli mentioned in this song) believes in the power of words to express that which we as humans are simply unable to communicate to each other. Jim’s character (named Brian, if my memory serves me well…) believed less in the ability of mere words to convey the complex emotions we have. Nothing ever or probably ever will come of it, but it was great fun to revisit the song and the concepts.

I’ve written very little about Eli as a character — really only these lyrics — but I’ve always liked him. I hope you do too! As a songwriter, I always wished I could have written more into the song or additional songs, but I think this says enough on its own.

Well, I hope you enjoy this one. If it doesn’t whet your appetite, then don’t forget to rush back tomorrow for Jeff’s all-new Laptop Session as session-a-day rolls on for all 366 days of the year 2008…

See you next session!