It seems our little bohemian Tiki culture is expanding further into the mainstream, as evidenced by this very hip and swingin’ article, A String Thing, featured in the January issue of the normally-square Time Magazine. Written by Tim Morrison, the post (woops, I mean article. ha ha) mentions how the Uke has been growing in popularity once again, as proven by millions of YouTube hits featuring contemporary Uke-strumming kats and kittens (as opposed to, as the article reads, Tiny Tim. As if.)
It goes on to say how the popularity of the instrument is probably based on its low price and ease of use. But we know better…it’s The Tiki Movement, baby, and it’s taking the world by storm! It also mentions that ‘ukulele’ is Hawaiian for ‘jumping flea’. Never heard that before.
I’m pretty sure it’s illegal to post a full-res copy of the article here, so you’ll just have to buy the mag to read the whole thing. Or get a really good magnifying glass.
You can get a toy uke for around 20 bucks that you can bang around with to find out if you’ve got enough interest to lay out 40 clams on a decent one. Of course you can pay over a grand for one, if you’re nuts. I have a Collegiate from the roaring 20s that looks kool but can’t be played. Maybe I should invest in a playable one, just for fun.
-Tiki Chris reporting from the music room at Pirate’s Cove Tiki Bar & Grille. Tiki Lounge Talk…you’re swingin’, strummin’ B-Lounge for exciting ukulele news, and stuff.
Mahalo for sharing that. A great article…
… tempted to pick up one of the little fellas myself!
Why not? They are fun little buggers, and if you can’t play it, it still makes a nice decoration for the bar.