Season 162: Desert Island Ukes

I thought I had uploaded this prior to leaving for Ohio This past week. Glad I checked. Part 2:

Part 3: I am finally on my Island I stole the Mermaid's ukulele. I ate her. Bad mistake. Never eat anything that smells like fish. Now I'm Sick and Hungry.

Every week, the Boston Globe's Sunday Magazine section sends a couple of people on a blind date. In today's paper, it's two ukulele players. "What She'd Want on a Desert Island: Books, company of a good friend, and a ukulele."



http://www.bostonglobe.com/magazine/2015/03/28/blind-date-plucking-heartstrings/s8cRAJYuRS7xJo28TL1r1K/story.html#

Starting to catch up with the backlog. It may be Tuesday before I get through everything.

Green Screen videos seems to be the theme of the week and the theme song is Message in a Bottle.

Now to comments

barefootgypsy "On My Desert Isle With My Banjolele" Nice one Lesley. Even though you weren't using your banjo uke, your accompaniment had the right "plinky" sound.

lelouden "Bali Hai'" I've never actually seen South Pacific but many of the songs are familiar. This was really nicely sung, Linda and the baritone sounded great.

bubbly193 "Ends Of The Earth" I went to the original and this was an interesting and different take on the song. Nice one.

greenie44 & decaturcomp "Coconut" Excellent collaboration, you two and good choice of song. Thornton rule was definitely needed here.

BirdsEyeViewOfMyUkulele "Beeline for the Treeline" This definitely qualifies as a songlet but the content definitely is appropriate to a desert island. You are on a more lyrical kick this week compared with the more usual Rockin' Lynda.

Jazzbanjorex "Thunder Island" Nice one Rex. A good lively song and entirely suitable for the season.

wigie "Octopus's Garden" I was wondering if this one would come up. This was really well done and the reverb adds just the right effect to your green screen video.

Myrnaukulele "Coconut Island" Excellent, Myrna. I like the contrast between your sunny outfit and the greenery inside with snow scene outside.

Rustyy "He Played His Ukulele As The Ship Went Down" Good choice, Rustyy. We know it as "The Wreck of the Nancy Lee" but it's a great fun song and of course, that's how you got stranded.

hendulele "Desert Blues" I just loved the justification for your choice of song. But it was a good one and the kazoo was a very nice touch at the end.

wee_ginga_yin "It's All Good Man" There's certainly a dodgy wireless link from that desert island with all the crackling. Makes it hard to get a song over but 'sall good man. I just loved the lyrics and the wgy delivery.

connor013 "Another Lonely Day" An excellent seasons debut. I hope we'll hear many more from you in the future.

xommen "Message in a Bottle" This is a super version, Wim. This is clearly becoming this season's standard.

AlanDP "This Ain't No Vacation" Good original song. Nice mix of serious and light hearted in the lyrics.

I took a bit of time out from commenting on videos to do one of my own.

SOTU 162 Return from Desert Island

Jim McGowan started Disabled Rowing on the Planet Earth! In 1980 He ran a demonstration project on the Susquehanna River, Harrisburg PA. In 1981 The first All Disabled Regatta was held on August 21 and 22. I won every event I was scheduled in. It's not what you are born with, It's what you do with what you've got!

<TCK> There's only one desert island disk for me. The Clash's Combat Rock was the first record (welp, the first cassette) I ever bought at age eleven or twelve and it's still my favorite album thirty or so years later. Just as I began to grow up, the Clash's music and lyrics opened my ears, my heart, and my eyes to injustice in the US and abroad, and served as my first connection to the ongoing international struggle for human rights. Today, I still draw strength and inspiration from the Clash's music to work---in whatever ways I can---toward a better local, national, and international community. On my favorite album, my favorite song was and still is "Straight to Hell". On an island all by my lonesome, it would be the perfect song for me to sing, as the lyrics remind me of connections between people all over the world. It's a pleasure to sing this one for y'all from Portland Island, USA.<TCK>



Great challenge this week, Geoff. So much great island music this week. Gracias, Seasonistas!

IamNoMan said:

Jim McGowan started Disabled Rowing on the Planet Earth! In 1980 He ran a demonstration project on the Susquehanna River, Harrisburg PA. In 1981 The first All Disabled Regatta was held on August 21 and 22. I won every event I was scheduled in. It's not what you are born with, It's what you do with what you've got!
http://youtu.be/n48CvzQ0t1s

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It's not just what you're born with
It's what you choose to bear
It's not how big your share is
But how much you can share
And it's not the fights you dreamed of
But those you really fought
It's not what you've been given
It's what you do with what you've got

Now what's the good of two strong legs
If you only run away?
And what use is the finest voice
If you've nothing good to say?
And what good is strength and muscle
If you only push and shove?
And what's the use of two good ears
If you can't hear those you love?

Dick Gaughan version of the song

Season 162 is now officially over.

Thank you to everyone who entered. I'll sort out the stats when I've listened to the rest of the entries but we've had at least one new member and at least two returners who've been missing for a while.

There has been a varied selection of interesting entries and several of you have used green screen to video yourselves against tropical backdrops. Message in a bottle was this season's "standard"

wee_ginga_yin said:

It's not just what you're born with
It's what you choose to bear
It's not how big your share is
But how much you can share
And it's not the fights you dreamed of
But those you really fought
It's not what you've been given
It's what you do with what you've got

Now what's the good of two strong legs
If you only run away?
And what use is the finest voice
If you've nothing good to say?
And what good is strength and muscle
If you only push and shove?
And what's the use of two good ears
If you can't hear those you love?

Dick Gaughan version of the song

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Sy Kahn Wrote this song. It is one of my favorites. I like Aragon Mills A lot too.

Slowly catching up with comments

Joo "Noodling#1 Cloud Song" That was a very gentle and soothing noodle, Joo. I liked the water FX and the laid back vocals that went with it.

CeeJay "Hi Tiddly Hi Ti Island" This just perfectly right for you CJ. Noticed this was George Formby, not one I'm familiar with but so typical of him. Your playing style is just perfect for this.

Jazzbanjorex "Castaway" Good to do an original for your last one. This is a good song well sung.

Rustyy "Castaway Blues" nice one, Rustyy and very appropriate.

"Tiki Torches at Twilight" Good song, though it sounds like the desert island is not uninhabited after all

TCK "Build Me Up" in spite of your long explanation, I'm still not clear how this fits to the season's theme. Definitely, Thornton rule applies. For all that it's a good song well sung.

TheSillyDave "At The Bottom Of The Sea" Delightfully silly, Dave. A different take on the theme - though with a similar setting to Octopus's Garden

Finally caught up with the last few entries.

Harry122 "Civilization" Delightful, Randy. And very nicely done. Just two chords but very effective.

xommen "Ocean" Simple but effective. Nice picking, Wim.

southside mike "Tropical Noodles" That's quite some noodle. Good song and great playing.

wigie "Puff The Gilligan's Island" As I said at the beginning, I don't think Gilligan's Island was ever shown over here but even so, the tune you used was familiar as one of my early folk influences was PP&M. Anyway, I liked it.

peewee "Shipwrecked" Interesting lyrics and excellent performance.

UkeCan1 - and 'Choir' "Three Little Birds - take 2" Well, I definitely have to give your "choir" full marks for enthusiasm. I loved the call and response bit and you got better, more together as you went on.

redpaul101 "I'll See You In My Dreams" Glad you were able to make it to the Island, Paul. This was a much more mellow Paul than the one I'm used to and very good it was too.

IamNoMan "An Island In The Sea" Nice one, Tommy. I liked both the song and the tale of Oisin and Tir Na Nogg. Nice juxtaposition of the two.

"Desert Island Noodle" I like this noodle - it's clearly Tommy the storyteller to the fore here.

"Harbo and Samuelson" Well that was quite a story. Excellent song, Tommy.

TheOnlyUkeThatMatters "Straight to Hell" Last but not least, Ralf. That was really good. The hypnotic strum really complemented the vocals. Excellent.

Tootler "The Island" The less said about that effort, the better. :troll:

I've finally reached the last video for season 162. Sorry it took so long. We have 72 entries, not the largest number but some really interesting songs and I like the way so many of you have entered into the spirit of the theme, wearing tropical style clothing, using green screen to video yourselves against a tropical background. It's made for a fun season.

I now have to decide who the winners are and unlike some seasons there are no real standout entries. They were all good so I might have to resort to the hat or some similar random technique.

Thank you all who entered and please check I have put your entry in the playlist and if it's not there, please let me know.

Geoff

Geoff,
I don't see mine on there...I think it made it on the forum...

Tootler said:

Slowly catching up with comments
TCK "Build Me Up" in spite of your long explanation, I'm still not clear how this fits to the season's theme. Definitely, Thornton rule applies. For all that it's a good song well sung.

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Hahaha- As I read the theme, we were supposed to come up with a song that mirrored what we would THINK about on a desert island if we were stranded (which for me would not be Gilligan- maybe Mary Ann though).
"The songs you choose are in one way or another related to your predicament - being stranded on a desert island - and to the practical and emotional problems you have to overcome to survive"
Anyway- I chose that route rather than literal island. Missed the boat as it were.

TCK said:

Hahaha- As I read the theme, we were supposed to come up with a song that mirrored what we would THINK about on a desert island if we were stranded (which for me would not be Gilligan- maybe Mary Ann though).
"The songs you choose are in one way or another related to your predicament - being stranded on a desert island - and to the practical and emotional problems you have to overcome to survive"
Anyway- I chose that route rather than literal island. Missed the boat as it were.

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Fair comment, Dave. I'd probably got a bit seduced by the more literal interpretations. I've not excluded anyone and all entries are in the playlist and will be included in the draw if I decide to go that way.

Anyway, I still enjoyed your song.

cua94 said:

Geoff,
I don't see mine on there...I think it made it on the forum...

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Thanks, Liz. It's now added.

I knew all that mate, and I thank you for watching. Just wanted to be clarify.
Thanks for a fun set of ideas here my friend.

Tootler said:

Fair comment, Dave. I'd probably got a bit seduced by the more literal interpretations. I've not excluded anyone and all entries are in the playlist and will be included in the draw if I decide to go that way.

Anyway, I still enjoyed your song.

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Tootler - I don't see Coconut Island on the Playlist.
You've done a great job with a really fun theme. I love Island music.

myrnaukelele said:

Tootler - I don't see Coconut Island on the Playlist.
You've done a great job with a really fun theme. I love Island music.

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Now added. Thanks for letting me know.

Thanks for the compliment too.