MP3

As great as Mahna Mahna is, I’ve never been able to forgive it for resulting in the worst record of all time: Vanilla No Way, No Way (but watching that on YouTube led me to remembering that Shapoo were bloody fantastic – so good truly can come from evil).

Still it’s a whole sack full of fun and great for lacing together lots of random songs. In my version, I played a bit of a solo that died a la the Muppet version and from there threw in any bit of music that took my fancy. I was just having fun with the track, so it’s jam packed full of mistakes.

A million cool points to anyone who can name all the tunes I quote.

Requested by Joe

This week’s selection of uke videos includes Tinyfolk, Led Kaapana and Toy Horses.

In other news, I got a mention in the Guardian. I don’t know what discussion forum he’s talking about and he seems to have missed the link to the chord chart in BIG RED LETTERS. It’s not like them to get something wrong – “HMS Hampshire did not sink after hitting a land mine. They are rarely found at sea.” Read the rest of this entry »

Plenty of interesting and unusal ukuleles this week. And whenever the phrase ‘interesting and unusal ukuleles’ crops up, the word ‘Swagerty‘ isn’t going to be far behind. According to the description this Swagerty Sum Fun is a one of a kind made by and bought from Swagerty himself. That has to make it a serious collector’s item.

This Akulele was apparently made by Bolivian charango luthiers and it certainly looks like it. The uke back, sides and neck are all made out of one piece of wood like a charango (or at least those that aren’t made of armadillo shells).

Kala have added to their ‘arch tops with unusual sound holes’ range with slotted sound hole design.

The electric Mahalo Les Pauls and Telecasters have arrived on eBay UK (I should probably call them electro-acoustic to be exact). You can find them, and their acoustic brethren, here.

My favourite ukulele photo of the week is astonishingly unusual in that it features a girl playing the ukulele whilst wearing a top.

Is there such a thing as a vintage fridge magnet?

The Bushman World Ukulele Video Contest 2008 is now open for entries. First prize is $1,000 on account to spend on Bushman ukuleles.

I was idly browsing the Duke of Uke’s long list of celeb clients. Amongst the ukenoscenti was the unexpected name of John Barnes. I hope he ukes better than he raps.

Sex! Drugs! and Ukuleles! have a competition to win a Pono ukulele.

J-Hob has been doing sterling work on Uker Tabs this week with Joy Division’s She’s Lost Control and The White Stripes’ Offend In Every Way.

New song from Craig Robertson: download it on Ukulelia.

Rod Thomas’s Same Old Lines is available on iTunes.

Joanna Lumley attends a ukulele funeral.

Mad Tea Party find that people used to ask, “‘What is that little thing you’re playing?’ These days, the majority of comments are like, ‘Oh, I’ve started playing ukulele!'”

Ukulele techno sucks according to Amanda Palmer. Alison Goldfrapp ukulele sucks according to eveyone (click the left most peacock eye).

Night of 100 Ukes: Thursday 16th October at Otto’s Shrunken Head NYC. Featuring Hot Time Harv, Sweet Soubrette and the Shipwrecks and, I assume, 98 others.

Uke tabs from Singapore and Malaysia.

Uke club in glamorous Hull.

This machine mildly annoys fascists.

You can listen to a clip of Cut and Run on Amazon

Former indie rockers, Electrelane are another one of those bands you wouldn’t have expected to come out with a ukulele track. But Cut and Run cropped up on their final album No Shouts, No Calls.

It’s a straight forward song with the same chord progression throughout. The only slight issue is that the F chord is played at the fifth fret (with the open C chord shape). If you’re not comfortable playing that far up the neck and not happy with the big jump, you can substitute it for the usual open F chord shape.

Requested by Vivian

MP3

This one is a definite finger twister. It’s the way I’ve found that’s easiest to play it, but there are plenty of possibilities so feel free to change it if another way suits you better.version 1, version 2

More guitar riffs for ukulele.

You might notice the lack of an mp3 for this one. That’s because it’s way beyond my abilities. You really need to use a pick to play this right and I’m hopeless with those rhino’s toenails. You’ll just have to watch James Hill do it here (Thunderstruck starts around 1:00). He plays the riff in D-tuning and exactly the same way as it’s played on guitar (so it’s a fifth higher than the original).

More guitar riffs for ukulele.

Arrrrrgh. Some serious interweb connection problems for me at the moment. I’ve got a few posts lined up, but if you’re expecting a message from me, you may have to wait a while.

Anyhoo, this week’s videos include Amanda Palmer covering another Radiohead song on the uke. I would have included the Jack and Meg of the ukulele Versi-o-rama doing thieir version of Tonight You Belong to Me were it not for Dailymotion issues – the singing and ukeing might not be the best around, but the video more than makes up for it. Read the rest of this entry »

There’s a Dallas C banjo ukulele previously owned by George Formby on eBay UK. Asking price: £10,000.

“I’m thinning out my ukulele collection,” is a bit of an eBay mantra at the moment. Very good news for us window shoppers. This seller has some gems for sale including a Gibson Sytle 3 and a Jonah Kumalae 3K.

Pono are going all out with the frills and filigree for the PKC-500 ‘flagship model’. At $1,120, it ain’t cheap. But, according to MGM, it’s, “styled and built just like a Koolau model 500 which cost $7,785.00.” (Koolau make Ponos, so they should know how it’s done).

The Wellington International Ukulele Orchestra are providing the music for, Kiwi merchants, Whitcoulls’ latest set of ads. You can watch two of them here and here. (Thanks to Mike for pointing it out).

Ukepedia: set a Wikipedia article to ukulele backing. Get involved here.

The Japanese ukulele magazine, Rolling Coconuts is bringing out a CD, Ukulele Now, with tasteful, understated artwork and tracks by Bosko and Honey, The Sweet Hollywaiians, IWAO and Ohta San. I’m also fairly sure the third track is Ayano Tsuji, if anyone can confirm that.

The forthcoming Beatles ukulele chord book I mentioned a few weeks ago has now forthcome. whilst a new film sets the record straight about George Formby’s towering influence over John Lennon. Although he was no good at cleaning windows.

Warren Buffett will play ukulele as the economy burns

Vote for Uni and Her Ukelele in the SF Readers Poll (via KDUS.

Make money on YouTube playing your ukulele. Word to the wise, I can tell you from experience the Amazon affiliate program sucks gigantic monkey balls.

How to order a pizza.

It All Started with Carbon Monoxide has an mp3 from The Pierces.

Looks like the ukulele is proper fashionable. Even the models are pouting at them and taking them for a good, old fashioned jump through the desert.