3.10.2006
Why on earth do people go to karaoke bars?
And yes, the impetus for that question was the fact that I went to one. One of my wife's coworkers was having a surprise birthday party, and this was the place of choice, mostly to embarrass the guest of honor.
But I was more greatly surprised by the other people...the ones who weren't there because their friends put them up to it. The ones that were there for real. One gentleman in particular, who, as far as I could tell, was there alone, continued to turn in the slips of paper with various songs on them. We were there during the opening minutes of the bar, and I'm glad others eventually joined in the singing, because for a while, this guy was the only one wanting to. The DJ forced him to take 5 between every performance so that the audience could take a break from him.
I was also impressed with his musical diversity. The first four songs he sang were some country ballad, Rockin' Robin, System of a Down's B.Y.O.B (explicit lyrics warning), and a Ray Stevens song called "The Streak," which I had the pleasure of hearing for the first time that night.
But besides this guy, there's just the entire mentality. The people that are there goofing around are fine. It's the ones that are serious that interest me. Do they think they're great singers, there to grace the drunken masses with their presence? The American Idol (go Taylor!) that was never found? One man's empassioned rendition of Bob Seger's "Turn the Page" hit me with the fact that, in some way or another, people do want this...whatever it is. They want to be seen, heard. They want their four and one half minutes of fame, filtered through cigarette smoke and ill-aimed moodlighting.
But then came the pudgy man with the hawaiian shirt and disheveled hair, who crooned the Tupak Shakur chorus we all know and love: "Back then you didn't want me, but now I've got these hot [explitive deleted]s all up on me." Can I get a what what? It suddenly became clear: on stage you can say or do anything. It doesn't matter what you see, because whoever you want to see you, will. It's the release of confession without the penance.
# posted by Sir Omer : 3/10/2006 03:54:00 PM
Subscribe to Posts [Atom]
