Friday Links

More ukes at the movies:

“Sucker Punch” star Oscar Isaac is set to play the male lead in Walden Media’s drama “Still I Rise,” which will be released stateside by 20th Century Fox.

Inspired by America’s current education crisis, pic stars Maggie Gyllenhaal and Viola Davis as two frustrated mothers who team up to transform an inner-city public school.

Isaac will play Michael Raymond, a sexy, ukulele-playing teacher who helps inspire, challenge and romance Gyllenhaal’s character throughout the film.

And to prove ukers have always been sex-symbols in the movies here’s Gordon McRae Jack Smith pitching woo at Doris Day (thanks to Jenny for the video and Andi for the correction).

The world’s best ukulele blog, Ralph Shaw’s Ukulele Entertainer is becoming a book. You can preorder that and Ralph’s next CD on his website (I have done).

New releases from All Young Girls Are Machine Guns and Rocky and Balls.

Ukulele on Eurovision.

Neil Innes does a session for NPR.

Highly dubious but very entertaining: Eddie Vedder sings the Samsung ringtone.

It’s an unwritten rule that all ukulele-playing dolls must be creepy. This one is no exception but you have to admire the attention to detail on the ukuleles.

Someone has been harvesting keywords (the stuff people search for on the net) and setting up ‘Ukulele Hunt’ related sites (that have nothing to do with me). This one and this one are expected. This one is just depressing.

View Comments

10 Comments

  1. Craig Robertson May 20th, 2011 4:38 pm

    I think you need to start a “Ukulele Bandwagon” website. or maybe “Ironic Ukulele Covers” website.

  2. Ron Hale May 21st, 2011 4:49 am

    So, have you seen Jake’s Farmers Insurance
    jingle contest video, Al? Winner gets jam time with him.

  3. Woodshed May 21st, 2011 7:46 am

    Craig: I have more than enough websites already.

    Ron: I am a long way beyond bored of video contests at this stage.

  4. Andi B. Goode May 21st, 2011 8:40 am

    I don’t want to come off as a pedant, here, but that’s Jack Smith (apparently a radio crooner ‘Smilin’ Jack Smith’) playing ukulele in the video with Doris Day, not Gordon McRae (who sings the other songs at/with her). And he’s the fella who ‘loses’ Doris to Gordon, I’m afraid (but I love the song – it’s so corny and wonderful and has been a favourite of mine since childhood and I’ve been trying to figure out the chords to it for a while but am rubbish at that sort of thing ;]). I was still excited to see it on here, though! I suppose the uploader’s title is quite misleading…

  5. Rob NY May 21st, 2011 12:49 pm

    Welcome back Al. Everytime I hear “Please enjoy the music while your party is reached” I cringe. Dosen’t matter if I like the song or not.

  6. Jeff / Humble Uker May 21st, 2011 7:09 pm

    Those other blogs are quite lame. Must feel a bit like the UOGB / TUKUO thing. I have found at least three instances where my content for baritone ukulele was pilfered by someone trying to make a marketplace for themselves. For the most part the other sites were lame and had very little content. No one can come close to your expertise and your fan base is quite savvy.

  7. Ron Hale May 22nd, 2011 12:03 am

    Excuse me, HU? There actually are a few of us, believe it or not, who do not appreciate “lame” and “very little content” applied, albeit in a round about fashion, to Sarah Dale and her band mates.

    No doubt Al and his “quite savvy” fan base are nodding their heads at your snark and chucking at the tastes of us musically oh so very un-savvy types who cannot tell crap when it is served up to us on silver platters.

  8. Woodshed May 22nd, 2011 12:59 pm

    Andi: Thanks very much for the correction. I’ve changed it in the post.

    Rob: I hardly ever ring anyone so I’m lucky.

    Jeff: I’m not concerned about them. Mostly just amused.

    Ron: I don’t think he was having a go at anyone’s music.

  9. ukuleletim May 22nd, 2011 2:52 pm

    Haha, the Eddie Vedder thing was funny.

    Al, I much appreciate your efforts and I think it is crap that people are trying to take advantage. Lame.

  10. Woodshed May 25th, 2011 11:21 am

    ukuleletim: I’m tempted to use it as my ringtome. And thanks!

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