Sing us a song (Piano Man only)

“I sing better when I’m drunk!”
– famous last words

Do you ever wake up in the morning really hung-over, still wearing the clothes from last night, but smellier, not really knowing how you got home, and though you’re already running late for work, you still think it’s a really good idea to take a long shower, and as you’re getting out of the shower realise just how uncoordinated you actually, and as you get dressed you just hate your life so much and cuss and swear at yourself for drinking and spending so much last night and then you DO make it to work, but barely, and you’re sweaty because you had to run (blast you extra long shower) and then you reach into your back pocket because it’s more comfortable to stand like that than it is to have your arms crossed in front of you, and then you find a 20 note and everything you were angry about instantly goes away? Well that happened to me this morning.

Last week I went to Paris with my mom and it was pretty much the most whirlwind trip ever. Really cool. I was contemplating doing this week about Family, or a weekend getaway: Paris, but weekend getaway is not super fun for anyone to read except me and I kind of get to sounding like a tour book and the one about family I’ll save for a time when I want to get everyone all sentimental-like. This week’s cultural topic is:

Karaoke

In case you have never been out of the house and have no idea what this is, it’s basically the chance for someone who is often not a very good singer to sing in front of real people. Karaoke was invented in the 1970s in Japan (duh). In Japanese (not that I speak it) Karaoke is literally broken down to the words kara = empty/void + oke = orchestra. So, music void of lyrics. It is then the singer’s job to play lead vocalist and fill in the “void”.

I know my grandmother goes to a group every week to do it, and the time that we all went to see her, she was actually really good. I, on the other hand, am not good. In fact, I’d say most people who try to sing well are horrible and those who try to sing horribly are horrible as well. Karaoke let’s me put my shower singing practice into good use. My most common song of choice is Twist and Shout by the Beatles, even though I’m not the hugest Beatles fan. I just really love belting out that “Ah…ah…ah…” followed by what was voted VH1’s best scream in rock n roll music. I don’t know if I’d say it’s number 1 calibre, but it’s definitely a gooder. I think it should be given to The Who, but what do I know? This week we’re going to “Rockstar Karaoke Night” at Zoo bar in Leicester Square. Haven’t decided what I’ll sing yet.

Have you ever read the book or seen the movie “High Fidelity” (written by Nick Hornby, movie staring John Cusack et al.) where they always list “TOP 5” whatever? Well lately, we’ve been doing that a lot with music. Different genres, different styles, different eras, different levels of influence, best UK bands, best American bands, etc. It’s fun. You should try it. It’s actually really hard to figure things out like that, because sometimes I really won’t like a certain artist, but cannot deny the fact that he/they had a huge influence on music. I’m expanding my horizons, maybe. But I still think Screamo sucks.
Traditionally, karaoke was done in a bar, or clubhouse, or house party, or wherever people gathered, but now, you can do it just about anywhere, from arcades, to bedrooms, to home video game consoles. Scary, yet promising.

Many people think that they get to be better singers when they’re drunk. This is incorrect. What’s actually happening is that alcohol reduces sensory capabilities which affect proper hearing. I’m not saying that if you know you’re bad, you shouldn’t sing, but it’s important that you know something: (I understand that it feels good when you get up, hold the mic, people clap and then your friends high five you, but) just because you won’t remember it tomorrow, doesn’t make singing out of tune okay. So if nothing else, remember that.

I’m pretty sure most people, even non-musicians, have fanaticized about being a rockstar for one reason or another. After all, rock stars don’t really need to accidentally find money in their back pockets, they’re practically made of it.