Starting off today with two Beefheart uke covers. I would have included more but those seem to be the only two.

This week’s most striking video comes from Taimane Gardner who busts out some fire dancers, Venetian masks and her phaser for what she modestly describes as a “masterpiece in the making”. I haven’t decided if I like it or not but I admire the ambition.

Also this week Mr B tackles a new genre, Even Artichokes Have Hearts (who despite their tender years are the sort of old pros who aren’t going to let a bit of face-licking stop the show), Guy Forseyth, Rachel Pearl and plenty more.

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Good to see some non-English speaking ukulele blogs cropping up. YOUkulele is and Italian language blog. And, Uke Hunt buddy, George Stone has started a Spanish ukulele blog which includes an interview with a handsome man. I don’t speak any German or know who the photos are but I enjoyed this video anyway.

If you’ve left your Christmas duties late, grab yourself some downloadable ukulele gift tags; make a papercraft ukulele and learn some 3 chord Christmas songs. Plus ukestuff has a good rundown of Christmas songbooks.

Jake Shimabukuro has a new job: selling car insurance. Oh yes.

100 years of Hawaiian music (thanks to @HermanVDC).

As much as it would undermine my hard-man image, I definitely want this coin purse.

I don’t condone theft but I can understand stealing a ukulele. But to steal ukuleles headed for tsunami victims?

I’ve seen some spellings in my time but this one takes the biskit (thanks to Karl).

If you The Mad Tea Party’s track on the podcast, they’re entering into the Christmas spirit and giving away another new one this year Effin Christmastime

With Christmas being just around the corner, I thought I’d drop the fancy picking and go with a simple thumb ‘n strum arrangement here. Everything is either picked with the thumb or a downstrum with the thumb. To make up for it, there are a few jazzy things going on with the chords. But it isn’t Christmas without jazz chords.

Links

Buy it on Amazon
Christmas Ukulele tabs ebooks

UPDATE: Chris did an excellent version based on this tab:

Download Uke Hunt Podcast #3
Subscribe with iTunes

Bossa has made her much anticipated return just in time for a Christmas podcast. And she’s put together an excellent selection of Christmas and non-Christmas tracks. As always, there’s plenty of swearing so those with sensitive ears should tread carefully. If you want to listen until the first swearword, you can safely enjoy the first six seconds.

You can find a full list of the podcasts here.

The full line-up is:

1. Mad Tea Party – Oh Shit It’s Christmastime

You can buy this track on their Bandcamp.

2. Cosmo – Strike! Occupy! Resist!

3. Ukulele Orchestra of Great Britain – Wenceslas/Canticle

You can buy the UOGB’s Christmas album from their website (and read my thoughts on it here).

4. Manitoba Hal – Dig Me A Grave

From his album Huckster available on Bandcamp

5. Karv Samosa – Lie to Anja

6. Keston Cobblers’ Club – A Sussex Carol

Available free on Bandcamp.

7. Helen Arney – Never Built A Snowman

From her album It’s Going to be an Awkward Christmas, Darling.

8. Ballard C Boyd – A Christmas Lullaby

9. Craig Robertson – Xmas

10. Pussy Jazz – Accidently

11. The Autumn Lo – Angels We Have Heard On High

Buy their album on Amazon, iTunes or Bandcamp.

12. The Bobby McGees – Sub Santalales

Sophie Madeleine’s much anticipated second album The Rhythm You Started is out now and packed with fantastic songs. You can listen and buy on Bandcamp (if you’re cherry-picking the essential tracks are 1, 2, 3 and 5). Which leads nicely into this years most requested song.

Suggested Strumming

You could use old faithful:

d – d u – u d –

And throw in a bit of:

d – d – – u d u

Do either of those once for each chord except:

– Am – D at the end of the choruses (twice for each).
– Just one down strum in the ‘Five gold’ and ‘Fa la la’ bits.
– The intro and outro. She moves down the whole G chord shape one fret (0121) and slides it up into G.

Buy The Christmas Song Song on Bandcamp.

Requested by Jessie, Mindy and Kate.

David’s Lyre is putting up one video a day for advent and they’re all available for free on Bandcamp. Two of those featured today – one cover and one original – in what’s quite a melancholy and jazzy selection.

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I’ve been cooing over the 4-figure vintage ukes this week:

* 1920s Martin 5K
* Style 3 Taropatch
* 1920s Martin 3K
* Gibson Uke 3

Lest you think using ukuleles in ads is a recent development: Ansco and Miller.

Ukulele kitsch: The battle for tackiest ukulele Christmas ornament is as heated as ever with wooing Santa taking the prize. The seller of this uke-heavy shirt was obviously unsure of it attracting attention on its own merits.

Photos of ukes from the 2010 Ukulele Guild of Hawaii Exhibition with this one being the nuttiest.

I think I recognise this banner (Thanks to Tim).

Jim Beloff finds his bliss.

I don’t want anyone to get the impression I might respect women for their intelligence, energy and individuality, but I’m slightly flabbergasted that beauty contests are still going on. This is wrong in so many ways (comments are disabled but you can still express yourself via the medium of thumbs).

Molly Lewis interviewed on MusicLA (looks like her MySpace wish has already come true).

An interesting way to think about chord progressions from guitarkadia.

MP3s: Daytrotter session from Neutral Uke Hotel, Sophie Madeleine on Beatles Complete on Ukulele.

In Soviet Russia my fleas have dog.

Photos: Kochel guitars, Ukulele Ike, Groomsmen.

One of the many, many, many things I love about Christmas is that you can unselfconsciously use as many jazzy chords as you like. So I take every chance I get in this arrangement to use the devil’s interval and bust out my favourite turnaround chord of all time: the +5. There’s the G+5 (0332 and 0576) for most of the turnarounds and a C7+5 (3443) to introduce the key change in the “…” section.

This arrangement uses mostly strums. Generally, wherever all strings are notated you’re strumming and otherwise you’re picking.

A quick round up of the past two years’ worth of Christmas tabs and chords:

12 Days of Christmas (Chords)
All I Want for Christmas Is You – Mariah Carey (Chords and Tab)
Christmas for Cowboys – John Denver/Ballard C Boyd (Chords)
Cold Outside – Julia Nunes & Wade Johnson (Chords)
Fairytale of New York – The Pogues (Chords)
Give the Jew Girl Toys – Sarah Silverman (Chords)
German Christmas Carols (Tab)
It’s Cliched to be Cynical At Christmas – Half Man Half Biscuit (Chords)
Jingle Bells (Tabs)
Let It Snow (Chords)
Mele Kalikimaka (Tabs)
Merry Christmas (I Don’t Want To Fight) – The Ramones (Chords)
Merry Christmas Mr Lawrence (Tab)
Merry Xmas Everybody – Slade (Chords)
No Christmas – Zee Avi (Chords)
O Christmas Tree (Single Note Version) (Tab)
Present Face – Garfunkel and Oates (Chords)
Rockin’ Around the Christmas Tree (Chords)
Rudolph the Red Nosed Raindeer (Tabs)
Santa Baby (Chords)
Silent Night (Harmonics Version)(Tab)
Silent Night (Single Note Version) (Tab)
Sleigh Ride – U900 / The Ventures (Tab)
White Christmas (Chords)
White Christmas (Tab)
Winter Wonderland (Chords)
Year End Letter – Garfunkel and Oates (Chords)
You’re a Mean One Mr Grinch

And don’t forget my Christmas ukulele tab ebook:

How to Play Christmas Ukulele