So, we have a karaoke podcast. Naturally, I am regularly on the lookout for karaoke news stories--either as talking points for the show, or just because I really love karaoke. Sometimes, they cover someone famous doing something karaoke related. Sometimes, they end up being wild news stories or press releases I can use to play GSES(P) News with Adam on the show itself.
And sometimes, articles have bold proclamations--"The Ten Best Karaoke Machines This Holiday Season." "The Best Karaoke Bars in Austin, Texas."
This is a big, bold one, from Time Out: "The Best Karaoke Songs Ever."
Here's what I love--it's an article by committee. I'm imagining a spirited battle over the rankings and the choices. I'm wondering what was left on the editing floor, on scraps of paper in garbage cans, in drafts left unsent in their email accounts. As a karaoke person, I absolutely know what those discussions are like, and they are great fun. It's debating without real stakes--arguing for the sake of the fun of it.
They probably had a lot of fun doing it, writing that article. They probably had no idea they were writing a map.
This is my karaoke list for the next however many nights. I typically go out one to three times a week to sing karaoke. Each night, starting with number 80 tonight, I'm going to work my way all the way up to number one by singing at least one song on this list each night. No skips. No research--on the off chance I haven't heard it before, I'm going to sing it anyway.
And I'm going to use this space to chart that journey, just for fun.
There are some songs on the list I'm intimately familiar with, and some that I don't know that well. Some are songs that have been regulars in my karaoke rotation at one point or another ("Baby Got Back," "I Want It That Way," "Suspicious Minds," "Love Shack"). There's at least one I've absolutely crashed and burned on before ("Creep"). There's one I've only ever done because I pulled it out of a bucket on a "scaryoke" night ("I Wanna Dance With Somebody"), and a few I have no business singing ("Bohemian Rhapsody," "Tears of a Clown"), and one I just really don't like ("Ice, Ice, Baby").
So, if you're local, and a karaoke person, you'll be able to find me tonight (because you know where I'll be), doing my best to not totally massacre "Someone Like You" by Adele and, possibly, "What's My Age Again" by Blink-182.
This is what the format will be for the posts chronicling this journey. I'm keeping it fairly regimented, because that's going to allow myself the most space to muse on the songs and their karaoke potential. Realize that everything will be subjective: I'm a middle-aged guy with a deeper voice, with specific music style predilections and knowledge. That'll be the place I'm writing from with these 50 or so upcoming blog posts:
THE FORMAT:
Title:
Artist:
Album:
Year:
[INTRO AND FIRST THOUGHTS]
[THOUGHTS ON SONG ITSELF]
Date Attempted:
Location:
[HOW IT WENT]
Karaoke Difficulty Level: 1 - 10
Karaoke Fun Level - 1 -10
[DOES IT BELONG?]
If you end up following the same kind of journey of singing through the list, let us know how the experience was for you by emailing sungpoorly@gmail.com.
