let me explain something to you about karaoke

[metasynthie]

There seems to be a bit of confusion about me and karaoke. Some of my friends know me as someone you really want to drag to do karaoke, because I always sing, even songs that nobody remembers who picked them. Other friends are like "I know you don't do karaoke, you never come out for it." I think I can clear this up: there are two types of karaoke

Comments

[product_junkie]

i like singing in bars in front of people. the risk is greater, but the payoff is excellent. it's like you're crafting a little performance and it's all about timing and fit and expressiveness and luck. when i'm down, i sometimes remember the couple of times that i've really hit it out of the ballpark and brought the house down, to mix a metaphor. the applause, oh! the glory! there is no glory in little karaoke rooms, only intimacy, which of course is nothing to scoff at. and also deliciously cheesy grafix.

but, and i know we've had this discussion before, out of respect for you and all of japan i'm now going to call it "singing in front of a lot of drunk people in a bar" instead of "karaoke."

[metasynthie]

You can still call it careyokee! :D

But yeah, I don't think karaoke was originally supposed to be about personal glory. Obviously, I'm not against that -- I like applause as much as the next performer -- but I am still "hmmmm" about combining it with karaoke = careyokee.

[product_junkie]

though i agree that those broadway fags at suite have an tendency to showboat

[ikyoto]

I apparently need to get a list of your karaoke places since in my experience you have to buy the food/drink provided by the business that you're renting the room from. In fact, it wasn't any different at places I went to in Japan (some you could bring snacks, but had to buy their drinks). In the awesome film "Linda, Linda, Linda" there is a long drawn out scene where the Korean foreign exchange student in Japan cannot fathom that they won't let her rent a room if she doesn't get a drink, so maybe it is regional.

Regarding careyokee, I think it might be better outside of NYC. I feel like many of the people lurking at bars here dream of getting their big break, and sing accordingly.

[metasynthie]

It's true, I have been to a number of places that only let you buy drinks at the front counter. I haven't been to any in NYC where you HAVE to buy a drink though, and some of them just seem really lax... as in, put the beer in your backpack and walk in and just drink it. After all, you're not REALLY supposed to bring beer into movie theaters either, but I do almost every time.

[surblimity]

I am sometimes tempted to bring beer into movie theaters, but then I'm worried I'll have to go pee in the middle of the movie, something i refuse to do.

I think I enjoy careyokee for the same reasons as Bryn. I used to do the Meow Mix careyokee back in the day and won prizes twice for the best performance of the night, for "Break On Through" and "Twist and Shout," I believe. Note that I won for best performance, not best singing. Basically I tried to channel Jim Morrison for the former and Ferris Bueller for the latter. I just can't tear it up like that in a little room for my friends, it feels silly. Somehow it didn't feel silly when I was drunk as hell on the stage at Meow Mix.

However, I also enjoy karaoke, though like other folks I never realized you could bring your own food or drink!

[erinfinnegan]

I avoided Careyokee for many years before finally finding the true spirit of karaoke a few years ago, thanks to my non-stop-obnoxious-japanophilism. I would never, ever do Careyokee, and find it very dull to watch.

[innerlife_]

I am so with you on this. Never have done the bar version (though I've sung onstage at Camp Trans). I prefer to inflict myself only on understanding friends.

[kat_chan]

Another voice to say "Careyokee? No thanks!" I'm not sure that we have any karaoke rooms here in Central Ohio, however.