An article slamming the uke, calling ukuleles "the lamest of all time"

Ukulele Jim · Mar 31, 2011

http://www.wbez.org/blog/jim-derogatis/2011-03-31/attention-indie-rock-no-ukes-84433

Wow. I don't think I've ever seen such hate for the ukulele before. Does it really call for this much ire?

greenway · Mar 31, 2011

Lol. I'm quite amused by the fact that every single comment is telling the writer that he's an elitist douche.
Well, not literally. But that sums it up quite nicely.

pulelehua · Mar 31, 2011

If you read the responses, they're pretty much anti-article. The best response:

Tiger wrote:
Sounds like somebody needs more fiber in their diet.

Thu Mar 31 2011, 1:19 PM

I've been teaching Indie rock history to my students this year (it's actually part of their curriculum for Music Technology!), and if we can breathe an easy sigh of relief about anything, it's that Indie rock tends to do what it wants. Not that Indie rock is a term which means very much at all. But that's another story...

My fibre intake is just fine.

ukulelecowboy · Mar 31, 2011

Thanks for that link, Jim. There's no way I would have run into that one.

The article is baseless and the comments are hilarious.

"Sounds like somebody needs more fiber in their diet" LOL

That stupid tirade made my day...

Mike

LoMa · Mar 31, 2011

Perhaps he feels threatened by ukuleles...

PoisonDart · Mar 31, 2011

He's got the worlds most annoying radio show. A pop music critic who loves the sound of his own voice, but has never produced anything artistic himself.

God I hate when Sound Opinions comes on.

GX9901 · Mar 31, 2011

I don't think it's big deal. I'm sure there are plenty more ukulele haters out there. Not everyone is going to like the same things. My brother tells me my ukulele is annoying whenever I play it in his presence. I just keep playing it.

Ukulele Jim · Mar 31, 2011

I would encourage everyone here not to jump on the "this guy's a douche" bandwagon. While the overall tone of his article is rather snarky, he does actually ask "should I give this a chance?" in summary. I think what he may be trying to say is "I find this instrument annoying, is it just me?" to open a dialog. Granted, he didn't say it in the nicest way he could have, and I think he's trying to be funny about it, but still... I'd like to think this community is a bit more civil and mature than to immediately start bashing him because of his weight, sexual performance, or other vitriol that has nothing to do with the point he is trying to make. He hurt some feelings, obviously, but how about we respond to what he said with an attitude of rising above rather than one of petty personal jabs.

Just a suggestion.

ukulelecowboy · Mar 31, 2011

Well spoken. I'd be willing to see where he goes with all this.

janeray1940 · Mar 31, 2011

I'm pretty clueless about this century's pop music in general, and I'm definitely no fan of Hey Soul Sister, but my reaction is - whatever, it's his job to be a critic.

But I'll admit to being a bit annoyed by his comment: "But, damn, what’s up with that tiny twanger? Get a grown-up guitar, Merrill!" That's the biggest problem I have with this guy's opinions - that even when he can recognize that a player is a "real" musician, he can't accept that the ukulele is a "real" instrument.

Ukulele Jim · Mar 31, 2011

Janeray, I agree that he is rather insulting in the tone of his article. My point is that it does us a disservice to respond in kind, whereas it reflects better on the ukulele and the people who play it by playing it cool. I think everyone with a contrary opinion to his should reply to his article with our thoughts about why we think he's wrong and why he should give the ukulele a chance with the goal of actually presenting a counter argument. The minute it becomes name-calling is when it deteriorates to noise and nobody listens. And it looks bad on all of us.

Ukulele Jim · Mar 31, 2011

Having said that, I think he's missing the point of the ukulele and it's nice to see such support of the instrument among his readers.

ceviche · Mar 31, 2011

He has no soul.

itsme · Mar 31, 2011

The comments were better than the article, IMO. I especially like this one:

Michael Epstein wrote:

I'm a member of Neutral Uke Hotel and I enjoyed your tongue-in-cheek article. We have a running joke within the band that we're tired of this guitar gimmick trend that's been happening forever now. When are people going to get over guitars?!?!? In all seriousness, if I never heard another band with electric guitar in it, I would not be sad.

I also thought the article was a bit tongue-in-cheek.

seeso · Mar 31, 2011

DeRogatis is a drummer. He also teaches at my alma mater. He's been in a bunch of bands over the years. I generally like the show he has with Greg Kot, "Sound Opinions." Kot's the rock critic for the tribune, and DeRogatis is the rock critic for the Sun Times, so it's kind of like what Siskel and Ebert did back in the day.

I agree with Kot more often than DeRogatis, so this blog entry doesn't surprise me. He's just crusty, per usual.

Ukulele Jim · Mar 31, 2011

I think the Siskel & Ebert comparison is a good one. Ebert hates 3-D movies, DeRogatis hates the ukulele. So be it. (And for the record, I agree with Ebert.)

haolejohn · Mar 31, 2011

Ukulele Jim said:
I would encourage everyone here not to jump on the "this guy's a douche" bandwagon. While the overall tone of his article is rather snarky, he does actually ask "should I give this a chance?" in summary. I think what he may be trying to say is "I find this instrument annoying, is it just me?" to open a dialog. Granted, he didn't say it in the nicest way he could have, and I think he's trying to be funny about it, but still... I'd like to think this community is a bit more civil and mature than to immediately start bashing him because of his weight, sexual performance, or other vitriol that has nothing to do with the point he is trying to make. He hurt some feelings, obviously, but how about we respond to what he said with an attitude of rising above rather than one of petty personal jabs.

Just a suggestion.

Jim you are correct. He does ask should I give the uke a chance but he also answers it: Is it time to learn to stop worrying and love the uke? Sorry, but one visit to the Ukulele Review Web site is enough to make even the kazoo seem cool in comparison.

I'mnot going to call him a douche b/c he is entitled to his opinion. But I think he is one of those people trying to be cool by going against the current trend but is actually failing.

haole · Mar 31, 2011

I've heard him on the radio before, and this article is pretty much in line with his usual schtick: trying to be a contrarian whenever possible. :B

fabioponta · Mar 31, 2011

The same thing happens with eletric guitars here in Brazil on the 60`s decade. The Bossa Nova players was afraid with the Mutantes (first brasilian rock band) guitar sounds.

OldePhart · Mar 31, 2011

That's the beautiful thing about the internet - any old idiot can create a website and spout any sort of gurgling nonsense they want.

To paraphrase an old saw...

Those who can't do, teach.
Those who can't teach, become critics.
Those who can't even be taken seriously as critics, blog.
Those who can't do any of the above follow those blogs.

John

An article slamming the uke, calling ukuleles "the lamest of all time"

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