The ukulele has a mixed bag of friends, including mega-zillionaire Warren Buffett, at least three Beatles and elementary-school students in Nova Scotia. Despite many thousands of fans the world over, the small four-stringed instrument has been the butt of countless jokes and insults. But as a new documentary demonstrates, the uke has made a comeback.
The Mighty Uke: The Amazing Comeback of a Musical Underdog opens with shots of Hawaiian virtuoso Jake Shimabukuro ”” now 33 ”” in New York City wearing jeans, sneakers and a T-shirt, playing his ukulele with brilliance and brio. Director Tony Coleman describes Shimbukuro’s technique as “ukulele shock and awe. He’s an athletic performer, full of expression.” Shimbukuro’s mother handed him a ukulele when he was 4, and a little more than two decades later, his version of George Harrison’s “While My Guitar Gently Weeps” went viral on YouTube.
TSM Professor Rod Whitacre and his “jumping flea” can be found [url=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pVxMzJ7oQH4]here[/url].
U900 (a pair of Japanese Amigurumi – knitted animals) are very popular. See them here playing “Walk, Don’t Run.”