I'm pretty dreadful. But my usual prop is a cup of tea. And as for having too much time on my hands, guilty as charged... but I need to refer you to this thread
http://www.wordmagazine.co.uk/content/help-me-i-need-a-riposte

Make a self-promoting film with an acoustic space-travel/alienation themed strum-along?

Sounds like a recipe for success to me.

video christmas cards? cheer-up-comedy-video-postcards? if you're *prepared* to make a bit of an arse of yourself, it can raise a few smiles ... (i once completely missed my niece's birthday, did an appalling version of Happy Birthday To You on acoustic, posted on YouTube, emailed the link ... result, smiling niece who got to say "my uncle's on the internet!")

and it's usually acoustic guitar because it's probably the one instrument people have lying around, as opposed to a 30 piece orchestra ;-)

and "all the world" can potentially see, but it's more likely that you get seven or eight hits, including the person you sent the link to, then a few weeks later you remember to delete the thing ... so de jure megalomania rather than de facto

I think you need help with this.
I mean there's masses of porn you could be downloading instead.
What's wrong with you?

*smiley face*

katyg / Glenbervie,

You seem a little bit offended, maybe? I hope not...

As I said, I'm not looking for whether the performance is good or bad: if you're posting clips of yourself singing along, I'm honestly not out to judge the qulity. Nor the sentiment. So a personal message to a friend or relative isn't something I'd generally be pithy about (1). However, I suppose that if you're doing it and there's something in the performance which suggests that you believe yourself to be doing the world a massive favour by sharing; something overly self-congratulaory in it, then yeah, guilty as charged - I'm going to find you completely hilarious.

As for the "too much time on your hands" thing; in the context of posting these types of clips to YouTube, I'd probably have to stick by that. It's not, though, an accusation I'd level at anybody just because they're enthusiastic about cultural stuff. *I wouldn't be visiting this blog*.

(1) The below video is one that I found on one of my late night YouTube forages. Musically it's not *amazing*, but I think it's great because there's an honest joy there, from the little boy holding his ears at the beginning, to the family singalong bits:

I know it's been posted before, but here's Robin Pecknold of Fleet Foxes covering Judee Sill's Crayon Angels in the back of a London Cab.

Does that tick all the boxes?

Not really what you're looking for, Nick, but this guy seems to have made a sideways scuttle from Youtube strummer to trying his hand on iTunes.

He started off with a few cover versions but seems to have found his niche, or should that be rock pool, with his own songs.

To be honest I've heard too many of the type you mention to give them a moment of my time so it's nice to hear someone playing the uke properly instead of making it an instrument of torture.

Watch this space, I'm sure he's heading for greater things.

i bet if Nick Lowe sang it everyone would be nodding away in an approving manner..there is a lot of far far far worse stuff posted on the internet than a few old blokes bashing out some tunes...

of earnest covers..."Yankee Bayonet" alone should keep you going for a couple of evenings.

I like this Eastern European one, especially for the "Vorms and veevils" line