Well, almost a month ahead of schedule, today I received my 100th YouTube subscriber!
Even though this number pales in comparison to Chris’ subscriber count, I’m still very proud of it because I’d say about 95 of these subscribers decided to subscribe on their own. I mean, I didn’t invite them to subscribe- they saw my videos and liked them enough to choose to watch them as soon as they come out! What a testament to the power of the Laptop Sessions.
But, I won’t be so high-and-mighty anymore, as I really just wanted to reach 100 “natural” subscribers. Now, I’ll be doing a bit more work finding the people that love my videos…but don’t quite know it yet.
With that said, thank you to my Top 100 and, as promised, the 100th subscriber will be getting his $10 Fusco-Moore Store gift certificate…as soon as YouTube is done performing site maintenance.
Welcome to the Laptop Sessions acoustic cover songs music blog for Monday! I’m back with a video that’s not only one of my best performances (if I do say so myself) but one of my favorite tunes. This song, “If This Is It”, is an underrated song and Huey Lewis and the News are a very underrated band.
I think Huey Lewis loses points in many reviewers’ minds because he doesn’t write the songs he sings. But, there are members of his band (you know, the News!) that write the songs he sings. It’s kind of like a Frankie Valli and the Four Seasons thing. So, when you look at the band in that light, Huey Lewis is just a really cool guy and a good singer, too! I love the style of their songs- it’s kind of like my music, but back in the 80s. You can tell that the songwriters loved a bygone era of music (especially with the doo-wop style of “If This Is It”) but updated it for the times. Obviously, “If This Is It” wouldn’t have sounded right in 1956, but somehow the song gives off that vibe while still sounding fresh…for 1983, that is…
The whole “Sports” album is very entertaining to me. I know songs like “The Heart Of Rock & Roll” have actually been put on “Worst Song Ever” lists in the past, but I’ve always liked that tune! Plus, “Heart and Soul” is one of my absolute favorite songs of all time. And, you’ve even got the song that was stolen for the Ghostbusters theme song in “I Want a New Drug”! If you’re into music from that era, please give “Sports” from Huey Lewis and the News a shot. You’ll be glad you did!
“If This Is It” wasn’t the easiest song to learn- the chord changes and the special strumming pattern made it a tough one to get correct while singing. But, the singing wasn’t too easy, either. I recall messing up near the end of the song on a couple of occasions. Why? Because Huey Lewis had (and still does) an amazingly powerful voice. Of course, he wasn’t playing guitar at the same time during his performances!
I always thought this would be the perfect album closing song. It just has that “ending” feel to it, even though it’s not a slow song like most albums feature at the end. The sentiment here is that a person knows all of the telltale signs of a relationship ending are there and that person wants the truth. But, what makes this song great is the hesitation- yes, he may know it’s over, but he still doesn’t like that fact. He knows he should save himself from more heartache, but he wants her to be the person to break it off.
I hope you all enjoy tonight’s acoustic cover song, played on my nylon stringed acoustic guitar, as our week of brand-new bands to the Laptop Sessions continues! This Huey Lewis and the News song is one of my favorites and I knew it would be a great pick for another cover song music video here on the best music blog around: The Laptop Sessions!
Hello everyone and welcome to your Thursday fix of the Laptop Sessions music blog!
I’ve been sick with a cold these past couple of days- good thing I had a couple of cover song videos in reserve! I should be back to my healthy self again over the weekend, and I have a list of literally 40 different songs to record cover song music videos for the Sessions…hopefully not all in one day…
This tune is a great one from Paul McCartney’s late 90’s album, “Flaming Pie”. That album stands as one of my all-time favorites because it came out right when I was really getting into music seriously. My family listened to it constantly. I plan on doing most of the songs off this album eventually because of it. “Flaming Pie”, for me, will always be the “vacation” album. I remember the summer that this album came out. My family went on vacation- a road trip to one of the New England states. We listened to this album constantly while on the trip. It was so exciting to go into a music store and see this album being promoted. I remember listening to the album on headphones in one of these stores (remember those kiosks?). But the weird thing was- we were listening to it in the car! I guess I was just excited to see an album I liked getting some popularity for once.
Paul McCartney’s songs, dare I say, are much better when he’s in a bad mood. Unfortunately, his wife was suffering from cancer at the time he wrote and recorded “Flaming Pie”. The emotions Paul put into this album range from sweet (“Little Willow”) to edgy (“Really Love You”). I think “Flaming Pie” features some of the best songs he’s ever written. “Heaven On A Sunday” is one of my absolute favorites- it’s just got that perfect peaceful sound. And “The World Tonight” is just a great rock’n’roll song- the perfect single. Paul even makes mention of his old friend John Lennon. You remember John’s story of how the Beatles got their name, right? “A man on a flaming pie came down and told me to spell “Beetles” with an “a”.” Yeah, right. Anyway, it made for a great song (and album) many, many years later.
This tune is a great one on acoustic guitar and was one of the first songs I leaned to play on guitar. It’s fun to sing and has a great melody, but most of all, I love the message in the song. “He’s gotta do it for himself.” How many times have I tried to steer someone in the “right” direction, only to learn that the person needed to learn on his own. I love when people learn from others’ mistakes, but I also accept the fact that it doesn’t happen that often.
I hope you enjoy tonight’s Paul McCartney cover song. “Young Boy” is a great one for you to learn, too. Just start with C – Am – Em – F – G. There- you’ve got the verse and you’ve mastered five different chords! Stay tuned for many more Paul McCartney songs here on the Laptop Sessions acoustic cover songs music video blog!
Hello all, Jim here. Well, there are PLENTY of ways to keep up with the latest updates from Fusco-Moore Productions.
You can register for our podcast series, you can subscribe to the “Laptop Sessions” on YouTube, you can subscribe to the blog by e-mail or rss– plus many other ways.
But, here’s a neat way to keep up with my YouTube videos! Just paste this link into an RSS reader (for instance, your iGoogle, your Mac Mail program, Yahoo! mail and widgets, and others) and you’ll instantly be updated once a new video comes online.
It’s just one more way to keep in touch! Also, please register to comment on our Blog here, as we’d LOVE to see your comments and requests! Jeff and Chris will soon be starting their own versions of the “Laptop Sessions” with songs from Bob Dylan, Stone Temple Pilots, and the Wallflowers.
As for me, I know it’s been a couple days. I have a BIG post about my night on Friday that I can’t wait to write. Plus, I’ll be posting a NEW “Laptop Session” tomorrow, another one on Monday, and ANOTHER one on Tuesday!! That’s right, I have three ready to go, and Chris is helping me out on two of them!!
Just check the stats on YouTube and see all the nice comments people have left for me. A big shoutout to everyone over at Brian Wilson’s website and their message board for all of their encouragement!! Until tomorrow…
