Ukuleles: Automatic Happiness!

It turns out you can translate a big band sound down into a ukulele pretty well!

"Tuxedo Junction - Solo Ukulele" (Watch on YouTube)

Lana del Rey earworms me all the time, and I had to admit, I was curious how "Young and Beautiful" translates to ukulele. This Russian teenager totally imbues her performance and presentation with all the ardor and deep-seated longing that makes the song so compelling in the first place. Keep watching.

"Young and Beautiful (Lana Del Rey ukulele cover)" (Watch on YouTube)

(Okay, if you really want a nice and kind of upbeat version, check out 14-year-old [!!?!] Laica Cassidy. Her chords are G - A - Bm - D, according to the comments. Sandy Tran has a video tutorial if you're into that too.)

Not only is it beautifully shot, but these guys look like a lot of fun.

tomscott posted this back in August, and frankly, coming back to it, I'm still delighted. A banjolele plus 50 Cent's "In Da Club" is a pretty genius combination. It's very Boardwalk Empire. Foul language and bleeps ahead!

You can see more about Ewan Wardrop and his George Formby impersonations here.

Want a song about NaNoWriMo to get you through your daily wordcount (or just your day)? Leon Wingstein has you covered.

Still, who needs to watch Some Like It Hot again? Me, for certain.

(There's not a whole lot of actual ukulele playing in this clip, but... oh well? Happy weekend, folks!)

I love watching Jake Shimabukuro. The dude's a genius, and he's clearly having so much fun. I'm always impressed by how he reminds me how much sound our little ukes can make. Here he is covering Adele's "Rolling in the Deep" (I confess I am a sucker for that song), and for one guy with a tiny instrument, he sure is creating a big, big noise.

I say "sort of" for this Daily Ukulele because I'm not entirely certain of what my availability is going to be at any given point over the next few weeks. If anyone feels the urge or desire to post something here when it looks like I might not, please (as always!) feel free to do so. <3

From twenty | one | pilots (or however we should render their name): "A couple of days ago we shot this video before, during and after our show at House of Blues in Cleveland, OH. Here’s a cover of Elvis Presley’s “Can’t Help Falling in Love” on ukulele."

Some days Daily Ukulele happens because I have an earworm and want to see if someone's made a ukulele cover; some days it happens because I have no idea what a particular artist would sound like on a uke, and I'm curious. No one seems to have recorded "I Like Dirt" that I can find, but the licks from "Scar Tissue" and "Californication" translate pretty well, all told.

( Two videos, one with vocals, one instrumental )

For "Californication," the performer says in comments: "Chords were Am, and F for verse. They were C, G, D, and Am for the chorus."