Seasons of the Ukulele

A weekly song challenge for ukulele players - all welcome. Find out more here

Season 682 - Second Track! Hidden Track!

Mezcalero

Glad to see such an active week already Joo! Hoping to catch up on some listening tonight! In the meantime, here's song by Steve Young off of his first album by the same name as this song, which appears as track #2. It's called Rock Salt and Nails. It was recently popularized by Tyler Childers. Also on that same album Steve Young wrote 7 Bridges Road, which was popularized by the Eagles.

CanadaJim

AS you said Joo, it's probably not my best, but I love playing it. When somebody says, "Play me a song on the uke," this is probably the one I'll play.

TCK

Second track off of Tyler Childers Purgatory. Not sure how I feel about “Indians” being used because I am an unashamed part of “woke” culture, but for some reason “I’d run across a river just to hold you tonight” makes this one of the most beautiful love songs I know. As does the verse with the F-word in it, so do not play this one around the kids.

Barbablanca

The human cost of the war in Ukraine (as in any war) is tragic. Here, in this anti-war song, I imagined a couple facing the reality that the husband must now return to the trenches on Monday and this weekend may be their last together.

I was re-reading Wilfred Owen's war poems this last month and I am sure that had some bearing on my song. I also have another song based on this conflict which I hope to post sometime that has even more Owen-esque echoes..

I believe it fits the "TWO" theme because it's about a couple and a weekend.

UkeFoote

Thanks for hosting, Joo! I love the idea of sharing an old video. Here’s one that I put up for Season 353 that I mistakenly made “private”. Thus, just 20 views in six years lol. I guess it was kind of “hidden”, so its inclusion here is even a bit justified.

Here's “Guns of Brixton” by the Clash. Steve Phillips played the soprano ukulele and sang. Brian overdubbed synth tracks of bass and organ, and sang a secondary vocal. Video clips from a BBC documentary about Brixton, and from “The Harder They Come”. This was entirely post-produced from Brian's "sickbed" as he was recovering from hip replacement surgery.

YorkSteve

Well, I have no recollection at all of doing that one which Brian just posted, but here I am again.

"The Sophtware Slump" by Grandaddy is a weird and wonderful album, dreamy music, set some time in the future, and I never get tired of hearing it. A few years ago I spent a few months playing every track at the Saturday night online open mic. Here's the second one.

DelGriff

Thanks for hosting, Joo! 🙂

Keane’s debut album, Hope And Fears, is one of my all-time favourites, and was recorded in Rye - a town approximately 10 miles around the coast from where I live. The CD was a permanent resident in my car CD player for many months after I bought it, and I still listen to it regularly 20 years on.

This is the second track from that album. I’m playing baritone uke and added various synth parts - bass, pads, piano, organ and drums. The vocal was tough - loud and high (for me) - I don’t think I could have managed another take after this one!

Bend And Break - cover of a Keane song (SOTU 682)

Edit (the next day) - I came back and listened to this with fresh ears this morning, and realised that the vocal just isn’t good enough, so I’ve taken down the vid.😳 Plan: to re-record it a little lower when I’m back from work this evening and re-post it then. Watch this space!

DelGriff

And here’s possibly my best original song - from 4 years ago…

Circles - by Del Griffiths

DelGriff

johnpoole

Hope your recovery is full and speedy, matey! 🙂

joo

It' s another new day here for me in Tasmania. A Friday morning for me.

I hope you are enjoying the theme and songs so far. I think every entry is great.

I am not gonna tell you what you should watch, but just a few thoughts…..:-)

Firstly, please show each other that posted songs are heard by watching and commenting.

Secondly, I am happy to see Alan jumping into the theme and posted 2 awesome entries so far. I am looking forward for more songs from you, Alan. You know i am a fan.

Third thing - Wendy was missing several days last week but she did post one song, a twofer for 681 and this Season. Queensland has been and is going through severe flooding caused by a tropical cyclone and Wendy told me that was the reason she had been absent. The flooding was expected to hit her home too, so let's hope the damage is not to bad.

Four - Has everyone met Dan (bonesoup)? I was glad to see him again these past weeks, after several years! He was briefly or intermittently on the Seasons way back in 2015, 2016, 2017? Here is a loud and proper WELCOME BACK, Dan (bonesoup)!!!

Five - Jon (and in a different way, myself) has some struggles with anxiety and depression, but he has been so incredibly resilient through all the time I know him, standing up again after every stumble. I think some of us might have noticed that he has created a new channel showcasing children songs, old-time folk and tin pan alley songs. And from that channel he has posted 4 wonderful songs here! Who else makes a come back like him? He has always shown support to everyone on the Seasons, please let's show him that we appreciate him too!

Six - Kevin and Brian (Fergus), 2 Seasonistas of top musicianship. Both of them have been consistently watching and commenting on as many Seasons entry as they can. I feel I need to mention this because I want to give them a shout-out. I know that many of us wanna be able to watch and comment on the entries posted, but perhaps we just can't find the time and maybe the right head space. That is totally fine. I am just grateful that this community still exists and that we are still posting our songs! EDIT: I forgot to mention York Steve and Jim Yates too! They are always there with their encouraging comments! Thanks so much, gentlemen!

Seven - Dave (TCK) mentioned his 4-legged boy Max, 7 years old and dying from kidney failure. Heartbreaking to hear. you know how tough this is for him and his wife Melissa. Say some prayers for Max, for Dave (and Mel), if you believe in prayers. Send some love to them. We love you Dave. And we love Max.

Eight - thanks Del and Rick, Steve and Wendy for starting this platform here. (i am guessing you guys are the admin 'cause I see the spanner icon beside your profile?). Thanks to Del for patiently scheduling the Seasons. You are the timetable master!

Lastly, if you are reading this and this is your first time here, and if you have any questions, feel free to send me a private message if you rather not write publicly. Otherwise, just post any queries here. The folks here are nice, good people.

OK. at this point of typing this I wanna say I think Berni has something that I should listen to. I shall do that soon.

All videos are in the playlist.

Later!

TCK

Second track off Frank Turner’s Be More Kind, one of my favorite records.

TCK

This is funny. We bought a Jetta Sportwagen right around the time our phones also became audio devices, and I loaded the five disk changer up with CD’s…that we never once changed. One of them was Social Distortion, Live At The Roxy. I really do not know what the others were. Shortly after, I put 1200 cds in our attic, carted my three 400 disc changers down to Goodwill (I saved for them for so long) and replaced it all with a single Ipod Classic. The only CD’s we ever interacted with were those in the car, and that was rare.

That is why this theme appeals to me. I have interacted with music on record, tape, cd, and now digitally…and I miss tracks. We do not have that anymore. Makes for some head scratching when our host asks for them.

Years ago, this song fit a season and I asked Melissa to play it with me. Come to find she knows every word and every snarl…my flabber was gasted. Turns out that she listened to that old CD every time she had a tough day at work. Never would have guessed.

That Sportwagen was expensive back then, and we got it loaded because it was the first time we could afford that. It had a panoramic sun roof that eventually became an in car water feature. We limped it through drought years leaking…but three years ago we got hammered with rain. Melissa went out to the car and came back inside to tell me there was six inches of water on the floor and it was dead. Totalled. We went that day and bought her a new car that she loves…but as they towed the Sportwagen away, she looked at me and said “crap- I could not get the cd’s out!”

“No worries, we still have the songs.” I replied.

“But the CD…that is an important CD.”

Always makes me smile to do a song off of it because she can also do every second of banter from it as well. Anyway, a song.

DelGriff

joo

What a lovely post - thank you Joo! 🙂

And just to point out that @Edwin was also an important part of the team that got us up and running here again. 👍🏼

joo

DelGriff

Thanks Del! And thanks Edwin! :--)

joo

Everyone's song is in the playlist now.

I have not commented from Berni's onwards.

I am looking forward to doing that over coffee tomorrow.

Keep the songs coming! :--)

Joko

I'll bite on the old recording bonus sub. This is from back in 2011, pre-Seasons, and I posted on my FB walll a request: "Give me a song that you'd never expect a ukulele cover of. KIss Off by Violent Femmes. I can't play an Em to this day without thinking of this vid.

DelGriff

DelGriff Thanks for hosting, Joo! 🙂

Keane’s debut album, Hope And Fears, is one of my all-time favourites, and was recorded in Rye - a town approximately 10 miles around the coast from where I live. The CD was a permanent resident in my car CD player for many months after I bought it, and I still listen to it regularly 20 years on.

As you may have seen from a few posts back, I wasn’t happy with the vocal on my Keane cover yesterday, so here is the same song re-recorded this evening in a key I actually had a chance of singing reasonably well!

I’m playing baritone uke and added various synth parts - bass, pads, piano, organ and drums.

Bend And Break - cover of a Keane song (SOTU 682) - take 2

AlanDP

This works two ways. Titled "I'm Only Second," it's the second track from the eponymous album by The Rose Garden. I think it's the only album they made. They had one minor hit from it, "Next Plane To London," which I covered in a previous season a long time ago. I know about this album only because I found it in a used record store back in the 80s and bought it out of curiosity. Also, I forgot to turn my camera off when I finished and accidentally recorded about 10 minutes of me working out the backing vocals. So I edited it down to about 4 minutes and it is also below, if anyone wants to see some "behind the scenes" footage of me figuring out what I wanted to do.

joo

THANKS SO MUCH FOR THESE LATEST VIDEOS!

I have added everything to the playlist now.

And no, I have not commented to the latest few yet. I will get to them.

Will be back soon!

TCK

Joo- beautiful post, thanks for thinking of Max. He is such a good boy, and we are so very sad he won’t be with us much longer. He will be dog number four that only exists in videos…boy do we cherish all those times they were in the background and I told you to go get your ukes.

Willian was a great dog, and when he passed it was tough. Pretty sure he was Mel’s soulmate and he hid his pain from her so well. He would greet her like he was 2 years old, and then go tremble for hours when she was not looking. I, until last week, always thought Melissa resented me for “calling it” on him, but I cannot stand to see them in any pain. Anyway- that was not the case. She has told me that I am the one to call them because she believes I will make the right choice when it is time to go.

When William died, I said no more dogs. I was never ever gonna have another one. Melissa (who did not have dogs as a kid) found a pup online….dammit. Ok, maybe we could have that one. I applied to adopt her. She was a blue nosed pitbull x lab puppy, and they are tough to have if you own your own home. 3 days after I applied to meet her, Mel asked if I had heard back and I said “nope.” She told me to try harder, so I sent an email asking if they had anyone else asking to see her that owned their own home, payed additional pit bull insurance already, and had experience with these dogs. They responded immediately.

The “Rescue” she was at has a hoarder situation. The husband had made himself a man cubby in the garage, the carpets had all been torn up, there was no furniture, just dogs. I walked in and all of them immediately barked at me and then pissed on the owners bed. Trying to pet the puppy…scared and shy, that I was interested in, and one of the other dogs went after me. The dog I was there to see, at 8 weeks old, went after him. Yep…little lady, we are getting out of here.

That puppy was Annabelle. She did not let me pet her, but I knew I had to get her outta that scene.

Her name comes from a Gillian Welch song (they are all named for songs), and we just got home from seeing her and David Rawlings tonight. They did not play her song…probably best. At the time it was the saddest song I knew. That said, she has taught me I will always have dogs, and they will always leave to soon.

She is gonna miss her brother, but at ten and having gone through two brothers, arthritic, she is just going to have to settle in to her own old age. She is without a doubt the best dog I have ever had and watching her get old, and now possibly being lonely is hard, but I guess that is what we sign up for. Glad Melissa talked me into her, sad both her brothers passed early. Anyway, track number 2, Gillian Welch, Revival.

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