Season of the 'Ukulele (SOTU) 629 - Season of the Cuckoo'lele

[hands_on_lanzon]

The pattern of entries shows a bit of a reverse bell curve with Friday being the only day with less than 10 entries. It can be inferred that Seasonistas have more free time to submit on weekends and are super cool, popular, and busy on Fridays... obviously because of the ukulele.

• Please keep in mind that these dates reflect Pacific Standard Time (PST), so the data does not take into account time submitted and various time zones
  • ie... don't scroll up and see who submitted songs on Friday and group them as uncool, unpopular, and super NOT busy... (one of them was me).

Figure 1. Entries by date and user

 

[hands_on_lanzon]

Thanks to all who joined this seasons, whether singing, recording, listening, commenting, liking here or on YT. I appreciate all of you!!!

But I don't have enough postcards, paint, or time, soooooo the postcards go to...

• Our lone brave new Seasonista this week. WELCOME!!
  • @acharman
• For signing up to host future Seasons, THANK YOU! Looking forward to your seasons and I hope you first time hosts really enjoy it!
  • @dr_mitch
  • @LimousinLil
  • @Ms Bean
  • @UkeCan1
  • @ChaosLibrarian
• And finally, my picks. I tried to pick winners who I haven't chosen in my prior seasons... buuuut...
  • @mountain goat was undeniable this week. If you didn't catch his entries this week. He bared parts of his soul in his 5 originals (poems & songs) and 1 cover, in the descriptions of those entries, and in his thoughtful comments on SO MANY entries. If i had to pick one winner this week, it'd be Jon. Who the f** else you know got has the word "UKULELE" tattooed on their knuckles, not afraid to tell the world the s** he's been thru, aaaaand has published rekkids available for download?! No one. That's who. At this point, in my mind, no one deserves a "Uke of Ages" image more than this man. It may really have been (or still be) a rock in the stormy seas to hang on to for some breath and a break from the waves.
• Lucky for me, I don't have to just pick one winner! In no particular order
  • @Canada Jim steady bringing the picking and wonderful tunes. Jim's warm presence and songs are as constant and consistent as his picking. His song choices bring humor, love, and wisdom. I can seriously listen to him play all day!
  • @wee_ginga_yin Rob always has a way to make songs his own, providing laughs, insight, and sheer inspiration.
  • @ukudancer Arvin is such an advocate for being a good Seasonista! Encouraging others to comment, keeping us honest, and being real. As far as music goes... few others put forth the amount of effort he puts in to learn and produce a song straight up music video and also reach out to other Seasonistas to collaborate. One of my life philosophies is constant growth and Arvin embodies and encourages that!
  • @TBB Victoria's entry blew me away... opposite of Arvin's in production, but just as poignant. Just thinking about it makes me sigh. Not only that, but you might see a pattern in my picks, if you go thru all the entries and scroll down to the comments section. Look for a little moth on a headstock. You'll see it often.
  • @One Man And His Uke You'll see John down there too, with thoughtful and kind comments. Why else did I choose John? NOYFB.
  • @Ms Bean is last on purpose. Sabine is not just a great Seasonista, usually rounding out the pack with some beautiful uke play a the end of the Season, but also a great UU Forum member. I went back thru the Playlist throughout the season and I see a few users commenting so so often! One of the is Sabine. Not only that, but I like to try and welcome new UU Forum members and who else do I see posting there, welcoming new uke'aholics. That's right... it's Sabine! It's a little thing, but it means a lot to make new members feel welcome and it does take time out of your day.** Her comments are as kind, gentle, and thoughtful as her uke playing!

(**You know what else takes time outa your day? Long ass wraps like this. I apologize for being so wordy!!)

I would like to add, there are many more of you who comment plenty and support the rest of us with all your hearts as well.
You know who you are and I see you!!

That's all I got. I'll reach out to those listed above, if i haven't already, to get details for the cards.

CHEERS!

(one final nudge to reach out to those who might be in need of your support or to reach out if you, yourself are in need of support. Love you guys!!)

 

[joo]

I am laughing out loud with joy....You are one Crazy Nerdy Seasonista to make that chart and list!!!!
Thanks so much for everything you do, Chris!!!
Argh! Looking at the list of names makes me feel like we have made history by achieving something pretty special!
Congrats to the postcard owners!!!

 

[hands_on_lanzon]

I am laughing out loud with joy....You are one Crazy Nerdy Seasonista to make that chart and list!!!!

I might be one of the (low key) nerdiest, but I feel like I'm just middle of the pack crazy. I will not name names.

Thanks so much for everything you do, Chris!!!

It's really my pleasure!

Argh! Looking at the list of names makes me feel like we have made history by achieving something pretty special!

I think it's really a special place. One would be hard pressed to find a group of 44 people who sang/played, recorded, and shared 100 songs last week... then multiply (some fraction of) that by SIX HUNDRED AND THIRTY WEEKS!!! That's over 12 years running. INSANE and AWESOME! So much praise to those who have been here for years or perhaps a decade+ or perhaps from the beginning and to all those who have come and gone to keep the Seasons going.

 

[DelGriff]

Wow! I’ve no idea how to follow that next time I host, Chris! You are bloody brilliant! Brilliant choices for winner and shout-outs too! Congrats all round!

And a special mention of my own for Jon @mountain goat if I may? When I first picked up a uke and dived straight into the Seasons, his support and encouragement and friendship was priceless. And it’s great to see him getting his life back together after all he’s been through. So… thank you so very much, Jon Duncan - you are a star, my friend!

And thank you again, Chris - for this Season and for all the positivity you bring to this special little corner of the internet. You are also a star!

 

[joo]

I might be one of the (low key) nerdiest, but I feel like I'm just middle of the pack crazy. I will not name names.

I know who.........but I won't say .......

Thank you again for your time, and your nerdiness!!!

 

[hands_on_lanzon]

Wow! I’ve no idea how to follow that next time I host, Chris! You are bloody brilliant! Brilliant choices for winner and shout-outs too! Congrats all round!

And a special mention of my own for Jon @mountain goat if I may? When I first picked up a uke and dived straight into the Seasons, his support and encouragement and friendship was priceless. And it’s great to see him getting his life back together after all he’s been through. So… thank you so very much, Jon Duncan - you are a star, my friend!

And thank you again, Chris - for this Season and for all the positivity you bring to this special little corner of the internet. You are also a star!

I appreciate it, Del!

Last minute twist here, inspired by your post. I wanna give a special shoutout to @flyingroc this week and add him to the list of postcard recipients! I know it's not easy being a new uke'aholic, putting yourself out there, and finding your voice amongst what, some might say, is a tight knit, impenetrable group of scary Seasonistas .... The Seasons has helped me immensely in that journey and I can already see Roy coming into his own. Dude has no fear, bringing Nirvana's Lithium and Johnny Cash/Trent Reznor's Hurt... some heavy jams!.. but he did it in his own sweet, and calm way... but still with power and emotion. His performances stuck in my head this week as well. And I can tell he's swept away with this amazing little instrument, as he's already got himself a beautiful Kamaka.

Andrew's the newest Seasonista on the SOTU block, but he's obviously taken a few laps around the music block. Roy deserves a warm welcome and round of applause for first picking up a uke and diving straight into the Seasons. I'd love to be the Jon to Roy's Del (did I say that right?!).

You're a star, Roy!!

 

[One Man And His Uke]

Agree, Roy’s vids have been awesome .

And thanks so much Chris for this week. It’s been really great to see how people have got on board and embraced your theme. An important and timely reminder to look out for our brothers and sisters whether close family or spread across the globe. And thanks for the prize too Chris. Tbh, if it hadn’t been for Edwin’s song, mine would never have even existed so cheers @jtsteam

 

[TBB]

Thank you so much for a really special season, Chris. I loved listening to all the amazing music on the playlist and I’m cock-a-hoop to be receiving one of your awesome postcards

 

[ukudancer]

Can I just point out the huge amount of musical ground we covered this week? We went from the 1800s with Beethoven to a 2024 Grammy winner. Absolutely wild.

I'm also 100% sure I missed a few of your songs because there was just so much to get through.

 

[mountain goat]

gee, thank you so much Chris, and for your lovely words to me and all of us.
it really was a beautiful week of music and sharing between us all in so many ways
and thank you too for being such a sensitive, encouraging and attentive host, brother.
thank you also Del, very much for what you wrote mate.
it feels good to be playing again and able to join in more regularly.
much love to all. xo

 

[hands_on_lanzon]

Been having a blast painting a wide variety of ukes! Today got a little busy, so these should hit the post tomorrow.



@mountain goat , I sent ya a DM.

 

[flyingroc]

I appreciate it, Del!

Last minute twist here, inspired by your post. I wanna give a special shoutout to @flyingroc this week and add him to the list of postcard recipients! I know it's not easy being a new uke'aholic, putting yourself out there, and finding your voice amongst what, some might say, is a tight knit, impenetrable group of scary Seasonistas .... The Seasons has helped me immensely in that journey and I can already see Roy coming into his own. Dude has no fear, bringing Nirvana's Lithium and Johnny Cash/Trent Reznor's Hurt... some heavy jams!.. but he did it in his own sweet, and calm way... but still with power and emotion. His performances stuck in my head this week as well. And I can tell he's swept away with this amazing little instrument, as he's already got himself a beautiful Kamaka.

Andrew's the newest Seasonista on the SOTU block, but he's obviously taken a few laps around the music block. Roy deserves a warm welcome and round of applause for first picking up a uke and diving straight into the Seasons. I'd love to be the Jon to Roy's Del (did I say that right?!).

You're a star, Roy!!

Aw shucks, lol

 

[UkeCan1]

Starting to wrap things up... this will be over a few posts, so bear with me and imagine a long drumroll as you scroll quickly or study slowly. I should really be working, but instead I've decided to use my brainpower for the greater good.

• 44 Seasonistas submitted songs this week + a few guest Seasonistas who had videos submitted on their behalf (welcome back @Friesse, my secret vocalist slash favorite person in the entire world who's too shy and would rather remain nameless and faceless, all of Wendy's birds friends and open mic friends, and Jon's fam doing some gardening in a home video)
• For those of you still matching UUUsernames to real names to virtual faces, I've created the list below to help you feel a bit more at home* here in the Seasons. (*Season 630 plug )
• 99 Entries show up on the list I created below (table 1)
  • Somehow the YT Playlist shows 100 videos, but two unlisted and there's one IG entry counted in the list below (I don't have the brainpower to reconcile it)
  • Wendy's Open Mic entries included four songs each, so we definitely broke into 3 digits!

Table 1. Entry Info

Count	UU Name	Name	Song	Artist	Date
1​	hands_on_lanzon	Chris	HELP!	The Beatles	3/2​
2​	UkeCan1	Wendy	Leap Day The Bruce's Philosophers Drinking Song Crazy Little Thing Called Love Games People Play	Original Monty Python Queen Joe South	3/3​
3​	Charley B	Charley	Reefer Madness	Hawkulele	3/3​
4​	Canada Jim	Jim	Crazy	Pat Donohue, parody of Willie Nelson	3/3​
5​	Joo	Joo	Touch Me Someplace I Can Feel	John Callahan	3/3​
6​	Renaissance-Man	RM	Hurt	Johnny Cash	3/3​
7​	LimousinLil	Val	Walk on By	Dionne Warwick	3/3​
8​	wee_ginga_yin	Rob	A hell of a Duet	Charles Bukowski	3/3​
9​	mythinformed	Mark	Crazy	Patsy Cline	3/3​
10​	dr_mitch	Paul	I don't like Mondays	Boomtown Rats	3/3​
11​	AlanDP	Alan	Twisted	Wardell Gray and Annie Ross	3/3​
12​	mikelz777	Mikel/Scott?	I Built a Friend	Alec Benjamin	3/3​
13​	mountain goat	Jon	riches and wonders	Original	3/3​
14​	Flatbaroque	John	Paint it Black	The Rolling Stones	3/3​
15​	flyingroc	Roy	Lithium	Nirvana	3/3​
16​	mountain goat	Jon	the yellow leaf	original	3/3​
17​	UkeFoote	Brian	It's No Good Trying	Syd Barrett	3/3​
18​	mythinformed	Mark	Still Got the Blues	Gary Moore	3/3​
19​	LimousinLil	Val	Loving You Has Made Me Bananas	Guy Marks	3/4​
20​	wee_ginga_yin	Rob	My s**'s Fucked Up	Warren Zevon	3/4​
21​	Ms Bean	Sabine	La mamotte	Van Beethoven	3/4​
22​	TheOnlyUkeThatMatters	Ralf	O' Sanity	Yoko Ono	3/4​
23​	UkeCan1	Wendy	Neurodiversity (Matchmaker parody)	Original	3/4​
24​	hands_on_lanzon	Chris	I'll Stand By You	The Pretenders	3/4​
25​	good_uke_boy	GUB	Fire and Rain	James Taylor	3/4​
26​	Canada Jim	Jim	Crazy Lazy From Londonderry	Michael Smith	3/4​
27​	jtsteam	Edwin	Final Straw	Original	3/4​
28​	Canada Jim	Jim	The Dutchman	Michael Smith	3/4​
29​	Renaissance-Man	RM	Beautiful	Christina Aguilera	3/4​
30​	mountain goat	Jon	song for john berryman	Original	3/4​
31​	wee_ginga_yin	Rob	What they want	Charles Bukowski	3/4​
32​	wee_ginga_yin	Rob	What they want	Charles Bukowski	3/5​
33​	Flatbaroque	John	Mad World	Gary Jules version	3/5​
34​	hands_on_lanzon	Chris	Crazy for Uke (Parody)	Original	3/5​
35​	pabrizzer	Brian	my old friend the blues	Steve Earle	3/5​
36​	LimousinLil	Val	Vincent	Don McLean	3/5​
37​	One Man And His Uke	John	Like The Regent Benefiting From The Madness Of King George	Original	3/5​
38​	Joo	Joo	all my trials	Nick Drake	3/5​
39​	jtsteam	Edwin	Sit Down	James	3/5​
40​	jtsteam	Edwin	Overthinkers Anonymous	Original	3/5​
41​	Canada Jim	Jim	Bidin' My Time	Gene MacLellan	3/5​
42​	acharman	Andrew	Colorblind	Counting Crows	3/5​
43​	mythinformed	Mark	Downtown	Petula Clark	3/5​
44​	wee_ginga_yin	Rob	Love Will Tear Us Apart Again	Joy Division	3/5​
45​	hands_on_lanzon	Chris	Society	Eddie Vedder	3/6​
46​	LimousinLil	Val	ACUTE SCHIZOPHRENIA PARANOIA BLUES	The Kinks	3/6​
47​	redpaul1	Paul	Wish You Were Here	Pink Floyd	3/6​
48​	UkeCan1	Wendy	Brain Damage/Eclipse	Pink Floyd	3/6​
49​	ukukeguy	Robert	Thoughts of Mary Jane	Nick and Gabrielle Drake	3/6​
50​	mythinformed	Mark	The Long and Winding Road	The Beatles	3/6​
51​	jtsteam	Edwin	Better Reasons	Original	3/6​
52​	Threebird	Threebird	Mr. Bobb	Manu Chao	3/6​
53​	dr_mitch	Paul	Wild Man Blues	Jelly Roll Morton, Louis Armstrong, Eddie Davis	3/6​
54​	mountain goat	Jon	lean-to	Original	3/6​
55​	acharman	Andrew	The Quiet Room	Alice Cooper	3/6​
56​	wee_ginga_yin	Rob	House on the Hill	Kevin Coyne	3/7​
57​	Barbalanca	Berni	Lost Hours	Original	3/7​
58​	One Man And His Uke	John	NOYFB	Original	3/7​
59​	joo	Joo	on Monday	Original	3/7​
60​	Joko	Joko	Crazy Mama	J.J. Cale	3/7​
61​	TheOnlyUkeThatMatters	Ralf	On Melancholy Hill	Gorillaz	3/7​
62​	Oldscruggsfan	OSF	You May Be Right	Billy Joel	3/7​
63​	CeeJay	CJ	Happy Days and Lonely Nights	Sellers and Milligan	3/7​
64​	mountain goat	Jon	poem for worn out lovers	Original	3/7​
65​	DelGriff	Del	I Wanna Be Sedated	Ramones	3/7​
66​	AlanDP	Alan	Crazy People	Boswell Sisters	3/7​
67​	CeeJay	CJ	Folsom Prison Blues	Johnny Cash	3/8​
68​	joo	Joo	I can't sleep	Original	3/8​
69​	YorkSteve	Steve	Madness	Prince Buster	3/8​
70​	Oldscruggsfan	OSF	The Merry Go Round Broke Down	Cliff Friend	3/8​
71​	mountain goat	Jon	Isaiah 45:23	Mountain Goats	3/8​
72​	hands_on_lanzon	Chris	One More Light	Linkin Park	3/8​
73​	joo	Joo	the voices in our heads	Original	3/8​
74​	Mezcalero	Kev	Starry Starry Night	Don McLean	3/8​
75​	TBB	Victoria	Le Cygne	Saint-Saëns	3/8​
76​	UkeCan1	Wendy	Brain Damage/Eclipse We're Not Gonna Take It Home, Country Roads Fool on the Hill Leap Day	Pink Floyd John Denver vs Twisted Sister The Beatles Original	3/9​
77​	UkeCan1	Wendy	So Long, Farewell	The Sound of Music	3/9​
78​	wee_ginga_yin	Rob	Mad World	Tears for Fears	3/9​
79​	mikeinmontara	Mike			3/9​
80​	xommen	Wim	Crazy	Seal	3/9​
81​	ChaosLibrarian	Marin	Fired My Therapist	Madelline	3/9​
82​	flyingroc	Roy	Hurt	Nine Inch Nails	3/9​
83​	TCK	TCK	Paranoid	Black Sabbath	3/9​
84​	TCK	TCK	Madness	Prince Buster	3/9​
85​	TCK	TCK	Valerie	Amy Winehouse	3/9​
86​	Canada Jim	Jim	We were Kind of Crazy Then	Susanna Clark	3/9​
87​	Mezcalero & Friesse	Kev & Jasmine Fellows	Across the Universe	The Beatles	3/10​
88​	UkeCan1	Wendy	You're My Home	Billy Joel	3/10​
89​	wee_ginga_yin	Rob	Crazy	Patsy Cline	3/10​
90​	Bystander		Help!	The Beatles	3/10​
91​	kolibri	Ylle	I'm Going Slightly Mad	Queen	3/10​
92​	dr_mitch	Paul	All the Young Dudes	Mott the Hoople	3/10​
93​	OiNumiDellArpa		chi desia di saper	Francesca Caccini	3/10​
94​	YooperGirl	Tanya	Unwell	Matchbox Twenty	3/10​
95​	hands_on_lanzon	Chris	Crazy	Gnarles Barkley	3/10​
96​	Canada Jim	Jim	My Dad Worked Hard	Rachael Kilgour	3/10​
97​	ukudancer	Arvin	What I Was Made For	Billie Eilish	3/10​
98​	UkeCan1	Wendy	My Home Town	Tom Lehrer	3/11​
99​	hands_on_lanzon	Chris	This Must Be The Place	Talking Heads	3/11​

Seven songwriters submitted 17 originals.

Table 2. SOTU 629 Originals

UU Name	Name	Song
UkeCan1	Wendy	Leap Day
mountain goat	Jon	riches and wonders
mountain goat	Jon	the yellow leaf
UkeCan1	Wendy	Neurodiversity (Matchmaker parody)
jtsteam	Edwin	Final Straw
mountain goat	Jon	song for john berryman
hands_on_lanzon	Chris	Crazy for Uke (Parody)
One Man And His Uke	John	Like The Regent Benefiting From The Madness Of King George
jtsteam	Edwin	Overthinkers Anonymous
jtsteam	Edwin	Better Reasons
mountain goat	Jon	lean-to
Barbalanca	Berni	Lost Hours
One Man And His Uke	John	NOYFB
joo	Joo	on Monday
mountain goat	Jon	poem for worn out lovers
joo	Joo	I can't sleep
joo	Joo	the voices in our heads

Rob led the way with 8 entries, Wendy led the way with 13 songs in 7 entries (if my math is correct), followed by your host (me), Jon and Jim rounding out the top 3 submitters.

Table 3. Entry Count ... etc....

I admire your ultra-nerdiness. I plan to copy this post and fill in my own stats when I host. This is uke nerd heaven right here.

 

[TBB]

My postcard arrived today and it’s awesome, I LOVE it!!! Thank you, Chris

 

[One Man And His Uke]

My beautiful postcard arrived safely too. Love it! Thanks Chris

 

[Ms Bean]

And mine must have been on the same plane too. It's phenomenal!

Thanks so much, Chris!

 

[ukudancer]

Well, since we're all sharing...

 

[Canada Jim]

Just arrived in this morning's mail. Thanks a lot Chris and thanks for being our host this season.

 

[Oldscruggsfan]

What a great Season, Chris! And congrats to all the winners!