Orchestral manoeuvres, what a lark

We went to see the Ukulele Orchestra of Great Britain last week, and what a top night out it was. Brilliantly idiosyncratic covers of great songs and some genuinely hilarious onstage banter (e.g. after they'd re-entered the stage from the wings after exiting in advance of the first encore: "You can't get out that way".) I love the way they drop the 'U' word into the songs from time to time too - with (genuinely) hilarious consequences.

Anyway, you'll doubtless know all about this seven and sometimes eight-piece combo (unless you've been terribly remiss or remote from the UK) so I'll not blather on any more about them now, apart from to urge you all to head over to their website to buy some Ukulele Orchestra of Great Britain merch at your earliest convenience. You know it makes sense. There's even a Christmas album, which would make an ace present for the music fan in your life. Which may well be you, come to think of it. Whatever. Here's a selection of classic Ukulele Orchestra of GB clips to whet your appetite: Teenage Dirtbag, The Theme From Shaft and a singalong version of Anarchy In The UK. Join in, swing your pants!







Also, here's one of the newer songs in the Orchestra's repertoire, Hot Lips, which was originally recorded by Swedish electro types Pacific! (Exclamation mark theirs.) The Pacific! version is here if you fancy comparing and contrasting. Thanks to super sleuth Spike for seeking these out.

R.I.P. the Walkman

Too predictable? Maybe. But any excuse to feature such a great song.

Songs for the dumped

After self-pity comes bitterness; here are three prime musical examples, especially recommended if you like your Swedes bitter. And trust me, if you've ever been dumped (as I'm sure most of us will have at one time or another) you'll not hear a more staisfying, or indeed better, bitter song all year than Lucky You. Let the catharsis commence.

The Wannadies - Lucky You mp3

Hello Saferide - Last Bitter Song mp3

The Bear Quartet - What's Your Virtue? mp3

That is like soooooo unfair!

Rol at Sunset Over Slawit has revealed the first instalment of his list of favourite self-pity songs today. What a splendid idea. I think I may already have blogged this song fairly recently, but it's perfect for the self-pitying theme, I think, and fairly obscure, so hopefully I won't be treading on his toes by posting it here. Oh, and once again, it's by a Swedish artist.

Mutts - Somebody Has To Be Me mp3

Now, stop feeling sorry for yourselves and get over to Rol's blog a bit sharpish!

Search of the Day

"David Rappaport trumpet"

There you go.

Suburban Kids With Biblical Names - Trumpets & Violins mp3

Action Biker - TV Star mp3

(continuing the Swedish theme)