What I Did With My Afternoon

Comments

1. That Neil Guy says:
   June 2, 2011 at 6:02 pm

   I want a ukulele.

   Great job! Keep playing — and keep sharing your progress (as if you need encouragement to share…).
2. Sara says:
   June 2, 2011 at 6:03 pm

   Wow. Have you played any string instruments before?
3. Hubert says:
   June 2, 2011 at 6:04 pm

   Well, we know what the kick-ass entertainment on the next book tour is going to be.
4. chinkle says:
   June 2, 2011 at 6:13 pm

   Nice! You’re all set for the next w00tstock!
5. Dave H says:
   June 2, 2011 at 6:24 pm

   WOOOO! FREEBIRD!
6. Natalie says:
   June 2, 2011 at 6:26 pm

   Yay! Another ukulele player. *UKE HIGH FIVE* I also just started playing (two week and counting). Soon we will take over the world with our dulcet tones. May I inquire what kind you got?
7. CTJen says:
   June 2, 2011 at 6:30 pm

   Wow, that was not terrible! Good job!

   My 5 y/o wants to learn ukulele so I guess I should get on that.
8. Roberta Jones says:
   June 2, 2011 at 6:32 pm

   OK, now my entire world has come full circle and I am content. I just KNEW I would hear more about ukeleles once my favorite knitting blogger confessed her own obsession. http://knittyblog.com/?p=755
9. cturkel says:
   June 2, 2011 at 6:35 pm

   Nice!

   Also, I’d so pay you to play “Don’t Stop Believin’”.
10. Mary Sue says:
    June 2, 2011 at 6:42 pm

    That was the second song I learned on the ukulele!

    (The first was Johnny Cash’s “Ring of Fire”)
11. Peter Sursi says:
    June 2, 2011 at 6:52 pm

    I love you, you are so random.
12. Pip R. Lagenta says:
    June 2, 2011 at 7:30 pm

    O.K. Now you’re just messing with me. So, last month I upload to YouTube six videos of you, John Scalzi, talking at Borderlands in San Francisco. Two days ago I upload a video of my friend, Steven Strauss, playing “Walkin’ After Midnight” on the electric ukulele: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5T_xcjYihcU
    And today YOU are playing Walking After Midnight on the ukulele! You are seriously messing with me!
13. LoLo Gibson says:
    June 2, 2011 at 7:54 pm

    *clap clap!!* That is one of my favorite songs.. :)

    You did very well!! :) :)
14. Corylea says:
    June 2, 2011 at 8:28 pm

    So, when you’re a shambling zombie because you’ve been on tour for three weeks, and you have neither your usual complement of energy nor your usual complement of brain, THAT’S when you decide to learn how to play a musical instrument? And you manage not to suck at it, to boot?

    You’re scary, John.
15. Dr. Jim says:
    June 2, 2011 at 8:35 pm

    Very nice. I found that by keeping the neck in the natural “C” between the thumb and first finger, the chord changes are easier and faster. Enjoy.
16. Catherine Shaffer says:
    June 2, 2011 at 8:37 pm

    Yeehaw! *grabs fiddle*
17. Lance says:
    June 2, 2011 at 9:48 pm

    QUIT YOUR DAY JOB! No, really. No. No. Really. No.
18. SarahK says:
    June 2, 2011 at 10:20 pm

    Excellent choice for a first song! Bravo!
19. Bill Wisner says:
    June 2, 2011 at 10:33 pm

    Album on Bandcamp. NOW!!! Okay, maybe not now, since you’ve just gotten back from book tour, but soon-ish.
20. Cathy says:
    June 2, 2011 at 10:41 pm

    I don’t think I’ve ever heard a ukelele interpretation of Patsy Cline. Nice job.
21. hugh57 says:
    June 2, 2011 at 11:01 pm

    Can you play Fuzzy Man on the uke yet? Can’t wait for the John Scalzi Ukulele Concert at Worldcon in Reno!!
22. htom says:
    June 2, 2011 at 11:02 pm

    I became a true believer in ukelele when I was sent this performance by Jake Shimabukuro.
23. Kelly says:
    June 2, 2011 at 11:11 pm

    Oh, I do so love that song! And you did not suck. (Unlike my Spousal Unit, who is threatened with death and dismemberment whenever he tries to sing.) When do you plan on releasing your first CD?
24. Chris Gerrib says:
    June 2, 2011 at 11:13 pm

    And you wonder why people don’t wish for the life of the professional writer! ;-)

    (Actually, a pretty good performance.)
25. Morlane says:
    June 2, 2011 at 11:31 pm

    Now you just need to work on a duet with Molly.
26. dirty wizard hunter says:
    June 2, 2011 at 11:33 pm

    that was actually . . . musicalilocious.
27. Troy Meyers says:
    June 2, 2011 at 11:54 pm

    I clicked on it expecting something horrible…and was nicely suprised. good job.
28. Ben says:
    June 3, 2011 at 12:00 am

    You probably already know this, but Eddie Vedder has a solo record in which you might be interested.

    http://www.amazon.com/Ukulele-Songs-Eddie-Vedder/dp/B004V6MWFU/ref=sr_1_1?s=music&ie=UTF8&qid=1307073619&sr=1-1
29. PolkaDot says:
    June 3, 2011 at 1:36 am

    I am now reviewing all the Scalzi tweets naming his next band.
30. Zedug says:
    June 3, 2011 at 1:46 am

    ha, I could put a voice over the blogs & tweets now.
31. Rene Quebec says:
    June 3, 2011 at 3:39 am

    definitely “like”…
32. Therese Norén says:
    June 3, 2011 at 4:54 am

    Wow, you’ve got a great voice.
33. John Lenahan says:
    June 3, 2011 at 7:42 am

    I’ve got a Fluke and it’s a great Uke. They even do a tie dyed version.
    http://www.fleamarketmusic.com/store/Scripts/prodList.asp?idCategory=5
34. Anne says:
    June 3, 2011 at 7:56 am

    #22 htom
    That video is awesome. Thanks!
35. Nancy C. says:
    June 3, 2011 at 7:57 am

    *waving lighter above her head*
36. iain says:
    June 3, 2011 at 8:04 am

    FREEBIRD, uke style!!!

    Or, “In The Court Of The Crimson King” would be cool, too.
37. ebear says:
    June 3, 2011 at 8:18 am

    Well, you’re ready to come back to VP now. ;-)
38. Janice in GA says:
    June 3, 2011 at 8:40 am

    I like the beard. I’m trying to resist the Lure of the Ukulele. I already have a bunch of instruments I don’t play.
39. Narmitaj says:
    June 3, 2011 at 9:23 am

    A ukelelist and songwriter I like a lot is Sophie Madeleine, who does tuneful, witty, mostly charming and delicate songs (some of which are in danger of tipping over into cutesy tweeness, though). I heard about her from several entries on boingboing, though it turned out she was actually studying music and performing about 25 miles from me in England.

    Boingboing also posted videos of her partnership in a duo called Rocky and Balls, whose songs can be very innuendo-laden, even if delivered as though butter wouldn’t melt in their mouths – see Girls Like Boys With Skills.
40. James A. Brown says:
    June 3, 2011 at 9:27 am

    Combined with the ceiling fan, it’s hypnotic.
41. Theophylact says:
    June 3, 2011 at 9:53 am

    Whew. I feared you might take up the accordion.
42. Greg says:
    June 3, 2011 at 10:24 am

    yuke! yuke! yuke! yuke!
43. Greg says:
    June 3, 2011 at 10:33 am

    two days ago I came home from work stopped at the hardware store, bought some copper pipe, fittings, torch, solder, flux, cutter, and taught myself to solder pipe. a garden hose and some clamps let me pressure test that me work held up under pressure.

    after the incident the week before, it seemed lime a handy skill to know.

    i suppose i could do a youtube video, but i dont want to feel responsible for all the homeowners who decide to splice in a new sink somewhere and flood their basement.

    with great power comes great responsibility and all that truck.
44. Keri says:
    June 3, 2011 at 11:06 am

    Dude, you learned this AFTER your whirlwind tour? Sigh. Anyway, what’s it like to have a voice good enough that you’re not embarrassed to record a video and put it on the net for your 40,000 daily visitors to view? I’d really like to know.
45. Lefty says:
    June 3, 2011 at 1:55 pm

    Congratulations! Ukes are awesome – I have three and would love a dozen but my wife put a stop to that idea. :) Excellent choice for a new hobby!
46. hugh57 says:
    June 3, 2011 at 2:43 pm

    #41 by Theophylact: Accordion’s not that bad. I’m just glad he didn’t take up bagpipes.
47. evilsteve says:
    June 3, 2011 at 9:31 pm

    Fantastic! The next Jake Shimabukuru in the making!
48. Rene Quebec says:
    June 4, 2011 at 9:19 pm

    Strangely, this kinda reminds me of this:
    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8u0XGsfo6ng
49. Bozo the Clone says:
    June 5, 2011 at 5:31 pm

    My favorite version:
    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J4jSeQhokc0
50. Jaine Fenn says:
    June 5, 2011 at 5:42 pm

    In the unlikely event he hasn’t already come across them, might I point my learned and multi-talented colleague to The Ukulele Orchestra of Great Britain? Their rendition of Anarchy in the UK is particularly spirited. (They played the Royal Albert Hall last year, doncha know.) Here’s a link to their website, which a true-geek would have embedded properly: http://www.ukuleleorchestra.com/main/home.aspx.

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