One of my favourite ukulele tunesters, Nicholas Abersold has released his album Porridge free on Bandcamp. It’s packed with top songs so grab it while there are still free downloads available.
Matt Kresling has made a travelogue about his trip to Madagascar with his ukulele and you can watch part one of The Madagascar Journals on YouTube. You may remember Matt from ukulele hits like The Beast That Swallows Its Young and Seventeen. And he makes excellent documentaries too. I loved this first part which includes him trying to get to the bottom of the mysterious death of King Moshoeshoe II of Lesotho.
Lorraine Bow – off of the Ukulele for Dummies videos and LearnToUke – has released a book Ukulele Basics aimed at young folks.
Garfunkel and Oates have their own show on Comedy Central tonight (Friday).
Schoenhut used to make ukuleles in the 20s. And now they’re back in the game with a suspiciously familiar looking ukulele. UKISOCIETY has done a comparison of the fake Flea and the real thing.
On the subject of inferior knock-offs, UOGB rip-offs The UK Ukulele Orchestra are making their UK debut at the Edinburgh Fringe.
If you’re a fan of the real thing, there’s only a week left to fund the The Ukes Down Under documentary.
Also kickstarting is Joy Ike.
Tricity Vogue writes about ukuleles and women for The F Word.
Someone on Tumblr asked my advice on singing with a ukulele. I have enough trouble talking but my followers kicked in with some sage singing advice.
Most popular ukulele videos May 2012 – I switched this up so it’s the highest rated rather than the most watched. To take out the trolls.
Pictures: Creatures, I don’t know what this says but I get the message.
Jeff Lynne & George Harrison play ukuleles (via Ukulele Brasil).
UPDATE: Thanks to Peter Bulls for this translation of the comic:
“Here it is, I finally got what I lacked to be a true comic artist like Sfar, Boulet and the others… The unavoidable, indispensable ukulele!
At the start, you get the impression that your fingers are enormous, the frets are that small.
In fact, it’s a bit like playing guitar with boxing gloves.
(and after a while, it kills the fingers)
But what’s amazing is that, from the very first chord, you’re teleported to Hawaii. First class.
Then, you’re inclined to push on to Nirvana’s repertoire, like a teen that sits down with his first guitar… Hawaii can’t touch that.
*smash!*
(anyway, for The Mamas & The Papas, ukulele is fine as well)”
Pity the poor German audiences and critics, Al.
They just don’t know when they’re dealing with
an inferior act they’re supposed to despise.
If only they knew. Hey, you should straighten them out. Those who contribute the arse-kissing comments to UOGB videos should join in.
Now, I no longer play ukulele so I don’t care about internal ukulele world matters. Standing outside the ukulele bubble affords one a much clearer view of what’s inside than any one trapped inside possibly can have.
So I look at this not as one arguing the merits of one cover band over another. As I said in an earler comment this is silly.
But, when I see a comment on a TUKUO video
using the word “sewage” it’s time to chime in
on this nonsense. And it is juvenile nonsense.
Those who haven’t imbibed the ukulele old-boys-network kool-aid would have a difficult time
reconciling the feelings they experience from a TUKUO concert (read their comments and compare them with those of uke ninnies) with the childish vitriol they might read about the act.
If they do read any of it, which is doubtful. Which just goes to show how impotent and irrelevant internal ukulele world opinion is outside of the Ukulele Bubbleworld.
No matter how much it seems to matter to ukers, no one else cares. Got that? NO ONE ELSE CARES.
Speaking just as a consumer of entertainment, I quite like the TUKUO female singers. The notion that they take a back seat to the UOGB pair is
absurd.
Sarah Dale has one of the best voices in the ukulele world and is one of the best singers in the ukulele world. Rates pretty highly outside the uke world, as well. The important world.
To deny this is to declare oneself an oaf. Plenty have. The band itself is quite entertaining on its own merits. If you don’t like it, fine. A goodly number do.
And they don’t care who doesn’t.