Green IslandWhy Karaoke is Great
August 14th 2008 02:21
Many ways to enjoy a single pleasure
Obviously karaoke is not great because of the overall quality of the performances you hear on an average night. In a typical karaoke box evening you usually get a few really well sung songs and a few real cringe worthy performances; and the rest falls somewhere in between.
My first argument why karaoke is great has to do with Andy Warhol’s idea that in the future everyone will have 15 minutes of fame. Andy got it wrong about the duration of the fame – in today’s fast moving world nothing seems to stand still for a whole quarter of an hour. Nevertheless, he pointed out our deep-seated desire to be in the spot-light, to grab the attention of an audience, to be commented on, to be noticed. There comes a point when the consumer wants to create something to be consumed by others. Indeed the division between consumer and content creator is becoming more blurred with reality TV and webcams where the average Joe and Joette can create content whilst at the same time being a consumer. This trend, for me, is one of the defining aspects of early 21st century culture; and karaoke epitomizes this because in an average night in a karaoke box you sing maybe 5 or 6 songs and consume perhaps 30 songs. At points everyone sings together and at these points everyone is simultaneously a creator and a consumer.
These lads are loving their own entertainment
That’s the first reason why karaoke is great. The second reason is that experiencing a song in karaoke often changes your opinion about that particular song and can make you love a song even more than you did prior to hearing your friend sing it. At this point you might think I’m nuts. How can anyone enjoy listening to someone murdering a Celine Dion song, crucifying an Elvis tune or stumbling through an Eminem rap? Well, naturally, the original is and all ways will be better, but it’s great to be able to read the words and fathom out what the song is actually about. Usually we just sing the chorus of pop songs and hum the in between parts and never even consider that the song might have a message or a story. A good example is “Every Breath You Take” by The Police. It seems to be a typical song of besotted love, when in fact it’s the words of a stalker threatening his victim. Or who listens to “Across the Universe” by the Beatles and considers that it is a Hindu pean? Having the words up there on the television screen challenges you to respond to a song on a cerebral as well as visceral level; and that definitely makes karaoke great.
Saturday night in Mishima, Japan
And finally what makes karaoke great are those end of the night bonding experiences. Everyone’s had a few or a few too many drinks, and everyone’s sung a few tunes; and then like coming up on ecstasy you suddenly feel really connected with everyone in the room. Voices harmonize and tambourines compliment and for an instant the moment acquires profounder significance. You are not just loving it; you’re really loving it, and that bloke whose been hogging the mike all night suddenly seems all right really. A zenith of feeling is reached where briefly we feel true brotherhood and sisterhood with our neighbours and acquaintances.
Or perhaps that’s just the booze talking and distorting what is otherwise a very pathetic spectacle. And that’s a valid point because karaoke without alcohol is like an empty wallet; unless you’re a Japanese school girl that is, then karaoke and collecting photo booth shots of you and your friends IS your alcohol.
So there you have it. Karaoke is great because it is culturally significant, it gives tired old songs new meaning and it makes you feel bonded with the group. And it’s more interesting than looking at a painting of a soup can.
By day an English teacher, by night a song bird
Thank you to everyone who added their top ten karaoke tunes to my earlier blog. Here are the results.
1. Dare – Gorrilaz (21 points)
2= Sweet Child of Mine – Guns & Roses (17 points)
2= Off the Wall – Michael Jackson (17 points)
4 Mr. Brightside – The Killerz (15 points)
5 Creep – Radiohead (14 points)
6 Digital Love – Daft Punk (13 points)
7 Suspicious Minds – Elvis (12 points)
8= Shima Uta – The BOOM (11 points)
8= Hotel California – The Eagles (11 points)
10th was shared by a host of songs that people put as their number 1 favourite but had no other votes and so remained on 10 points.
Thanks to James at Mensore Productions (www.mensoreproductions.com) and Ben for the photographs.
“I would rather be remembered by a song than by a victory.” Alexander Smith, Scottish poet.
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