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Ukulele Blitzkrieg Bop

Mark Frauenfelder at 12:25 pm Fri, Apr 25, 2008

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Gus and Fin perform Blitzkrieg Bop on ukulele. (And here are the Ramones doing it, live.) (via Otomano)

Mark Frauenfelder is the founder of Boing Boing and the editor-in-chief of MAKE and Cool Tools. Twitter: @frauenfelder. Come and hear Mark speak at the ALA conference in Chicago on July 1.

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  • howtoplayalone

    Watch these guys do” What Do I Get” – it’s way better

    http://howtoplayalone.wordpress.com/2008/01/18/holy-crap-i-want-one/

    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HWk3dgy9hqU&eurl=http://howtoplayalone.wordpress.com/2008/01/18/holy-crap-i-want-one/

  • Birdguy

    My ukulele group used to play Blitzkrieg Bop as a regular feature (the chords we used are here. We played it in a more restrained fashion, a bit like the Yo La Tengo surf guitar cover.

  • MiceHead

    I personally love (and have been listening to incessantly) their version of “Are Friends Electric?”

    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HAOWKs4dcPE&feature=related

    I’m collecting covers of this song. I also like Information Society’s version:

    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SmU-aZPJnfA

    But they don’t use ukuleles, of course.

  • flosofl

    What a fun version!

    Well, now I know what I’m doing with my “stimulus” rebate check next week. Buy myself a Uke!

    Just doing my part…

  • Tommy

    It’s a testament to the Ramones that the song rocks, even on ukulele.

  • Wingo

    Totally. F-ing. Awesome.

    I have a Uke that I’ve never played. I guess it’s time to put some strings on that baby…

  • Otter

    Did somebody say Yo La Tengo? Love this version.

    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kBq_rbtrsTw

  • the man who was thursday

    Look for the ukulele orchestra of great britain

    Their versions of punk classics are brilliant, but the deadpan cover of Je’taime wins hands down

  • Foolster41

    This is pretty cool. Makes me want to try to learn this, though my fingers are probibly not quick enough.

  • sandyfeet

    Our uke group (the Saturn Street Strummers of SPI) plays pirate songs in pirate gear and we are quite formidable if I do say so myself (and I do.) This seems like a natural to add to our cover set.

    Arggghh!

  • mh

    This is great!

    My daughter is a uke fan as well. Check her work out here:

    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iGNN2L-Wh5I

    and

    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0_gvhKJMVmw

  • texasroute66

    Thanks again, Gus and Fin!

  • ClownX

    This postulates, nay, proves that the next Rock Band needs a ukulele peripheral. EA is eating all of my money.

  • LSK

    I love ‘ukuleles! I’ve been working on a version of “Mr. Self Destruct” by Trent Reznor.

  • so1omon

    I’ve got my Cordoba on my lap right now. I always love seeing people having fun with my favorite instrument. Everyone should play ukulele… they’re cheap, and easy to learn enough to play some tunes on.

    I do have some concern that the ukulele’s newfound popularity is a mixed blessing. People still seem to think of the ukulele as primarily a novelty instrument. Unfortunately, my own music doesn’t do a great deal to change people mind of that fact… It’s a dilemma.

    I won’t whore out my music here… that just feels wrong. I will say that The Bittersweet Way on MySpace is haphazard, abbreviated pop songs that will bring a smile to your face. I am a whore.

  • Takuan

    I want to see street gangs with ukuleles hanging around my neighbourhood intimidating the hiphop brats

  • Maddy

    George Harrison was a big fan of Ukes, and even supposedly received oral goodness from a call girl while playing his Uke (source: You’ll Never Make Love in this Town Again) …

  • TedJohnson

    The ukulele was the gateway drug for me.

    I got a uke from my grandma for Christmas when I was five or six years old. But I never really tried to learn to play it, or any instrument until I was 15.

    It was 1977, and I wanted to be in a Punk band. The uke was the only instrument I had around the house, so I started Punking out, playing Sex Pistols and Buzzcocks songs.

  • Fnarf

    Yeah, George was OK on the uke, but if you really want to hear something track down some Eddie Kamae, especially his stuff with Gabby Pahinui in Sons of Hawaii.

  • JavaJunkie

    Good Job!!! Good Stuff! Good times, good time. :)