By Chris Moore:

In the spirit of the blog, I’ll be posting on several topics tonight.  First, let’s get down to business and talk about my choice for an acoustic cover song session.  “Ingrid Bergman” is my second selection from the Wilco and Billy Bragg album Mermaid Avenue.  This album has one of my favorite back-stories; essentially (as I described for my “Walt Whitman’s Niece” post), Wilco frontman Jeff Tweedy and British folksinger Billy Bragg were given access and rights to boxes full of Woody Guthrie lyrics.  They recorded this album by writing music to fifteen of Guthrie’s songs, and it is an excellent recording.  Unfortunately, the second volume is not nearly as fresh and exciting as the first…

That being said, I had such a good time and a good response for my first Mermaid Avenue track that I decided to record this one also.  “Ingrid Bergman” is a song that I have oftentimes gotten easily stuck in my head and I find it peaceful to sing along to in my head.  It was actually more difficult to figure out the strumming pattern than I thought it would be.  Other than that, it was a pretty straightforward performance that I hope you’ll enjoy listening to!

In other news, it was a bad day to be a Mets fan…  After yesterday’s AMAZING outing by Johan Santana, I thought that there might be enough energy and momentum built up to translate into an important win of this, the last game played at Shea Stadium.  I’d like to jump on the bandwagon and blame the bullpen, but the great point has been made that, really, it takes both defense AND offense to make a winning team.  Not to mention the reasonable argument that Santana is essentially the sole reason why the Mets were in the race for so long to begin with.  Well, I suppose I can’t really complain.  I haven’t been a Mets fan for all that long, and this is really the first year that I watched or paid close attention to each game (thank you iPhone!!).  Let’s hope that management and the team in general has learned some important lessons for next year…

And last, but certainly not least, I will second Jim’s reflections on friendship.  I think that, all too often, with family, friends, lovers — we get so busy with our day to day lives and we lose perspective.  I know that I have been guilty of that.  And I’ve also been guilty of not taking a firm stand for those that I care about.  Life is a crazy, crazy process, and every time I think that I’m getting ahead of the curve and finding happiness, I get set back a step.  Ever felt that way?  Ever felt trapped by a paradox, or a no-win situation?  For those that don’t know me, I’m generally a pretty positive person — sometimes positive in the face of all logical proof to the contrary.

Contradictions, controversy, and general confusion are some of the best reasons we write.  I know that they’re my motivations.  And let’s just say I have a lot to write!  (More about that on my upcoming Original Wednesday…)

Thanks for stopping by for your daily dose of Laptop Sessions acoustic cover song excitement; don’t forget to hurry back tomorrow for an all-new cover by Jeff.

See you next session!