Monday, December 07, 2009

Beetles (Beatles) - New Cure for Writer's Block

Okay I wrote a whiny post and an uninspired meme and then went on to You Tube for that little bit extra but basically . . . the meme was spineless and deserves more conscious thought than I have in me right now.

I remembered hearing this young guy on Triple J some time ago. I was actually really surprised. Not because the station's mandate is 'new music' and tends to be a much younger demographic but because they played this guy, and a Beatles tune? WTF?

I was mesmerised, simply blown away by what he does with . . not a bass, not a Gibson guitar, not a synthesis or DJ deck, not a piano . . just a little Ukulele. I've heard him many times and he is simply wonderful. The boy is a Hawaiian. Famous. And a stunning talent.

So while I wrestle with evening heat, click beetles landing in my glass and Christmas beetles getting stuck in my hair or bouncing off the walls (what you Americans call June Bugs) and a lack of heart to post, please listen beyond the first few strums to the delightful Jake Shimabukuro who tackles a beetle of a different kind.

This is wonderful (I may have posted him before I'm so impressed).


30 comments:

  1. Whoa. Wavelength. Same.

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  2. Impressed :)

    x Ribbon

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  3. Ain't he great? I've been listening to Jake for years now. He always brings the house down when he plays this particular tune, and I'll bet George smiles down on him every time he plays it.

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  4. Fabulous music Baino. It has now been added to my YouTube favourites.

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  5. wow!That's pretty cool!:)

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  6. I had writer's block for ages when I was totally lost to drugs. Had (and still have) an A1 idea for a novel ~ which is not the one I'm writing, it's more a kind of airport bestseller beach read type story ~ but hadn't a single ounce of passion to write it down...(!)

    Terrible, I know!

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  7. ps sorry I cannot comment on the man's magic ukelele as I'm at public library computer ~ thoughtfully sound-disabled. Grrrrrrrrrrrrrr.....

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  8. how can you listen to that and not have a good day...amazing...thanks for brightening my monday baino!

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  9. Amazing! Thanks for posting this!

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  10. love beatles and love that...Hey, it's a far cry from Tiny Bubbles, eh?

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  11. Yeah he's brilliant, isn't he?
    ...and 'Somewhere over the rainbow' by the Hawaiian bloke always brings a lump to my throat.

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  12. While that was utterly fantastic, it was not as good as an inspired Baino! :)

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  13. yup, the guy's incredible...

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  14. So you know George Harrison loved the Ukulele right? At the concert for George, Paul McCartney came out with a ukulele he went into Something. It's amazing. Here's a link (hopefully you can get to it) http://vids.myspace.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=vids.individual&VideoID=32016104
    And, ps, this guys rendition of While My Guitar is fantastic, thanks for sharing it.

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  15. OMG, Baino! Impressive. Whoa! Hope you had a good start to the week.

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  16. Spectacular! I'd love some of your heat right about now. And I am majorly impressed with your stunning collection of beetles.

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  17. We had a ukelele in our family once, for about an hour. We'd been to Adelaide on the train and chosen our own christmas gift that year, My brother chose the ukelele andon the train on the way home we were mucking around climbing all over the seats and he fell off the back of the seat onto his ukelele....(Oddly enough I don't remember what I'd chosen that year).

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  18. OH MY GOD ...that was SO fantastic ..
    nearly blew out my laptop speakers playing it so loud.

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  19. Anonymous9:57 pm

    This guy puts Tiny Tim to shame!

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  20. I'm with you, sweetly mesmerised Tsup*!*

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  21. I'll take Jake Shimabukuro any day and leave you to keep swatting the other bugs!

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  22. Well, am I ever glad I popped in to visit TODAY! That guy is phenomenal! A real treat to the ear!
    Have a great one!

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  23. Anonymous8:41 am

    Jake Shimabukaro - his name is bigger than his ukelele. Big talent too!!

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  24. wow factor..gd share of vid

    A smile from SJ =)

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  25. Yeah! I love watching talented musos do their thang.

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  26. Unreal, what talent.

    xoxoxo

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  27. Absolutely incredible. Well this will surely inspire you as you deal with Beetles, heat and what not. WOW. Seriously this guy not only nails the song, one of my faves, but his arrangement at the end is brilliant too. Thanks for posting and finding this. Loved it.

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  28. Glad you enjoyed it my darlings. I'm having a shitty time with internet at the moment. It's on and off so bear with me.

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  29. Baino, this is really “incroyable” (incredible) this guy is so talented. I never knew you could get such sounds from a ukulele. I am going to ask all my family to listen to this clip. Thanks for placing it on your blog.

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