2003-10-03 - 11:36 a.m.
Just Say Yes. Go On, Say Yes. I Dare You.It looks like the "war on drugs" is going to have to adopt some serious reverse-psychology before long in order to stop so effectively turning kids onto drugs. For some reason I find this very, very funny.
We Built This Crumbling Edifice on Rock and Roll
Last night The Adversary, Gandalf, Goddess, Palinode and myself sat in a loud pub and stood against the cacophonous waves of Karaoke Madness. Karaoke teaches you an important lesson about the deepest workings of the human psyche, about the array of inner selves we're said to have. There is of course the Inner Child, the outlet for the primary-colours glee we apparently never completely outgrow. And anyone who's spent any time in bars has seen certain patrons indulging their Inner Pugilists. But now we have seen a new inner beast whose tongue is unbound by the sweet beery nectar: the Inner Rock Star.
Karaoke is no longer the wedding-reception special-occasion chestnut it once was, and it's certainly only dimly remembered as a once-alien Japanese cultural import. Now the zealous regulars memorize the weekly 'karaoke nights' of every pub in town and ensure that they need never go more than 24 hours without a fix. I suppose for some people there is a comfort in knowing that your next hearing of a pained amateur rendition of "Sweet Caroline" is at most 18 or so hours away...
A consequence of this is that one now seldom hears truly awful singers, which is what karaoke used to be all about. So many regulars take part now, honing their skills night after night until they're actually quite strong singers, that collectively they have the double effect of taking up most of the airtime each night and intimidating the truly inept amateurs from having a go. Some consider this a blessing, and it does improve the overall quality of the entertainment, but it has one unfortunate consequence: it prevents karaoke from being what it was originally meant to be, what made it a beautiful spectacle when it was first conceived by whatever inspired genius created it: its capacity for horrendous, knee-quivering, up-against-the-wall, stand-and-deliver public shaming. Good as the singers often are now, I miss the public shaming.
Greetings Smurfette. Welcome to my humble website. Can I get you a drink?
