Tag Archives: ukulele

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Hawaiian Traditional Pop, Reggae and Rap – He Said – She Said

I know it is interesting Mr P - But what does it mean ? ? ?

He Says:

Yes, it’s Hawaii time ! As you may have gathered I am a bit of a fan, having , in the mid 90s, spent more than is entirely sensible or sane on several trips to these lovely tropical islands. Today, children, we are going to concentrate on the music of this blessed ( and cursed a bit too) land. My thesis is that Hawaiians have played a bigger role in the development of our music than most people realise. Several elements that we regard as traditional American things acutally developed way out in the Pacific in the days when Hawaii was still an ( sort of ) independent state. Not least guitar based music, slide guitar, “Slack key” tuning and, by extension, electric guitars ( the first electrics were slide guitars).

So onwards we go , plunging forth like an experienced surfer into the (musical) waves ( doest that work as a metaphor ? I’m not sure it does…)

She Says:

I really do not know very much about Hawaiian Music but I had a lot of fun discovering things I wanted to share with everyone.  The variety of things going on in Hawaii was really surprising, and it I think the mix of US and Pacific and Asian influences with traditional influences also make this a very interesting place to visit on our travels.  It is going be a lot of fun ! ! ! Continue reading →

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Ukulele madness…

Stung by Shoey’s recent comment (ouch), here’s a post I’ve been meaning to write for a day or two. The Ukulele Orchestra of Great Britain started as a joke twenty years ago. It proved such a good joke, they’ve never stopped since their first appearance. They delight in taking the most unlikely of source material, and bending and twisting it to create a new musical lifeform. Their rendition of ‘Pinball Wizard’ as a sea shanty is a wonderous thing! And they do a great version of the theme to ‘The good, the bad and the ugly’. I went to see them recently and – with disbelief suspended – really enjoyed the evening of musical satire. Whilst they are highly proficient musicians, I recommend them more for novelty than being worthy of a serious following – though they clearly have a big fanclub, and the gig was a sell out. Anyhow, here they are filmed backstage at the gig I went to (not by me!), doing another unlikely cover – Wheatus’ ‘Teenage dirtbag‘.