Your karaoke songs...
- Thread starter Johnny Vodka
- Start date
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Changing the facts
That just got me thinking so looked and the song has quite a varied origin! The person who first recorded it actually never released it until 3 months after someone else released it in 1972. Then Elvis was the first to really have success with it having been the second to record it 1 day after the original recording but not releasing until months after the 1st two!
& to think most know it from the Pet Shop boys version!
I’d love to do Cry Me A River, and when I said so last night I got the side-eyes and folks going “….Justin Timberlake….?” and I discovered they none of them knew the Ella version, nor even the Julie London version,
And today, while looking it up, I found the Barbra Streisand version, which is like a whole movie packed into one song (it gets a bit histrionic towards the end but the beginning is gold).
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Changing the facts
We used to do the Bertolt Brecht version at primary school (we also did madrigals and Benjamin Brittan. I loved singing and the teacher got us doing standard folk songs as well as more challenging stuff. I was picked for a solo in the Christmas service and it was then that the wicked stepmother relentlessly mocked me into silence).
I imagine that I Just Don't Know What To Do With Myself could be an excellent Karaoke song.
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Changing the facts
God I would never attempt that. I was warbling along to Sitting On The Dock Of The Bay recently and realised how far beyond my skills it is.
Aaronf
Bizarro Aaronf
Knowing me I'd end up sitting on the grapevine and getting thorns in my bum
I'm tone deaf by the way but I try my best.
furluxor
snake with a claw
I do karaoke with a group of friends every month or so. I am a bad singer (often go off-key) and some of the people I sing with are even worse than me. I don't care if they drink all night and then just do one number when they're pissed, or whether they just scream lyrics back whilst other people are singing, it's really just a way for people to let go and experience the joy of making music. Some of them are really brave lads. I know how hard it can be. When I was a kid I had headphones put on me and told to sing a song I didn't know at a classmate's birthday party, and everyone laughed. The classmate who did that to me was a soprano in a choir, ofc.
Some of the ones I've done recently were Country Roads, Take Me Home by John Denver, Heart-Shaped Box by Nirvana, Meds by Placebo, Rawhide from The Blues Brothers, Nowadays from Chicago, Bohemian Rhapsody by Queen and Summer In The City by The Lovin' Spoonful.
My advice for those who want to sing but find it hard to pluck up the courage (I was there!):
Some of the ones I've done recently were Country Roads, Take Me Home by John Denver, Heart-Shaped Box by Nirvana, Meds by Placebo, Rawhide from The Blues Brothers, Nowadays from Chicago, Bohemian Rhapsody by Queen and Summer In The City by The Lovin' Spoonful.
My advice for those who want to sing but find it hard to pluck up the courage (I was there!):
- pick your songs in advance and practice at home, you will find that some songs will naturally suit your voice better than others, and the only way to know is to try. I just can't do Leonard Cohen although he ~sounds~ easy.
- develop a regular singing practice, e.g. in the shower. You will improve over time, I went from hopeless to passable that way.
- most karaokes have two microphones, do duets. People will join you if you ask, they hate waiting for their turn.
- when it comes out sucky, laughter is a good alternative to dying inside.
- perform, it's a show: use gestures, dance, etc. If that's not your jam, there's a way to do a static performance in a way that still looks heartfelt and deliberate.
- and for fuck's sake, if you're doing rap, do not vocalise the N word.
Rebelda
Nearly as bad as Badgers
I was thinking that after I posted!Bestie and I do a cracking version of Faith No More's Midlife Crisis
Solo faves include I Want To Break Free, Dreams (Fleetwood Mac rather than Gabrielle), I Touch Myself and Solsbury Hill.
Rebelda you and I still need to duet on I Want It That Way
Derek S-H
Klaatu. Barada. Nikto.
What do you mean, "embarrassingly?" It's an absolute classic!
I do love a good Power Ballad, me! If I had the bollocks, I'd have a crack at this:
What a fucking tune, that is!
If you can do the mighty Jim Steinman, then you probably could do this monster:
Not a Power Ballad, but this must be an absolute bastard to sing in tune:
Aaronf
Bizarro Aaronf
All great points but the last one especially. I know people who like rap music but I can't abide by it. The general language, swearing and especially ones who just go N this & N that I just don't get.
Edit: looked more into and next time I go, I want to do my first choice and have looked at other songs from the same soundtrack and film (it's Grease) & turns out they're all pretty good to 'attempt' to sing!
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Changing the facts
Aaronf
Grease has excellent singalong value. It came out in 1978, which was a terrific year for loads of other karaoke friendly songs.
Me and my buddies loved Grease and we’d act it out, with songs, of an evening. I was usually Danny and once put globs of Vaseline in my hair to get the right look and despite increasingly desperate efforts, it wouldn’t wash out in time for school the next day. So I had to either be a greasy unwashed weirdo, or just stay in character all day. I opted for the latter, which probably made me look even more weird.
And this is why I don’t like karaoke.
Can’t stand this kind of music. It actually pains me.
No shade on you, I get why someone wants to song these songs. I understand and admire the merits, and I’m sure it’s huge fun to sing them, but it’s anathema to me. So to have the flow of my evening interrupted by music I actively dislike, being sung not very well, by people I’ve never met… yeah, that’s why I usually leave when the karaoke starts.
Was at a gig a little while ago and after the last band they did karaoke and someone got up to sing Slide Away (Oasis). I mean, as a track on that LP, yeah okay. But when a drunk bloke gets up to bellow it into a mic without the enormous live production, it’s just six minutes of dreary repetitious whining.
Doing it in a group of friends rather than in public makes better sense to me, so you can interact and take the piss and build memories.
All this seems self-evident to me, and pretty much describes what I did the other night. Good to know I’m on the right track for future house shattering karaoke success. I suspect the popularity and energy of the song plays a part too. That might put Sylvia’s Mother out of the running (seems like it’s a bit obscure these days) but there’s so much scope for Performing that I might have to include it.
Maybe I’ll have a crack at Joe Cocker’s version of With A Little Help From My Friends….. Someone suggested Janis’ Mercedes Benz too.
I think I’ve been lumped into the Gritty Belter category after my rendition of Ace of Spades.
If someone wants to do Whitney, I can’t be in the room. Nope.
The pub over the road was doing karaoke last night and someone did Food For Thought (UB40), and did it really well. Followed by a dreadful rendition of Jamming (BMW).
Grease has excellent singalong value. It came out in 1978, which was a terrific year for loads of other karaoke friendly songs.
Me and my buddies loved Grease and we’d act it out, with songs, of an evening. I was usually Danny and once put globs of Vaseline in my hair to get the right look and despite increasingly desperate efforts, it wouldn’t wash out in time for school the next day. So I had to either be a greasy unwashed weirdo, or just stay in character all day. I opted for the latter, which probably made me look even more weird.
And this is why I don’t like karaoke.
Can’t stand this kind of music. It actually pains me.
No shade on you, I get why someone wants to song these songs. I understand and admire the merits, and I’m sure it’s huge fun to sing them, but it’s anathema to me. So to have the flow of my evening interrupted by music I actively dislike, being sung not very well, by people I’ve never met… yeah, that’s why I usually leave when the karaoke starts.
Was at a gig a little while ago and after the last band they did karaoke and someone got up to sing Slide Away (Oasis). I mean, as a track on that LP, yeah okay. But when a drunk bloke gets up to bellow it into a mic without the enormous live production, it’s just six minutes of dreary repetitious whining.
Doing it in a group of friends rather than in public makes better sense to me, so you can interact and take the piss and build memories.
All this seems self-evident to me, and pretty much describes what I did the other night. Good to know I’m on the right track for future house shattering karaoke success. I suspect the popularity and energy of the song plays a part too. That might put Sylvia’s Mother out of the running (seems like it’s a bit obscure these days) but there’s so much scope for Performing that I might have to include it.
Maybe I’ll have a crack at Joe Cocker’s version of With A Little Help From My Friends….. Someone suggested Janis’ Mercedes Benz too.
I think I’ve been lumped into the Gritty Belter category after my rendition of Ace of Spades.
If someone wants to do Whitney, I can’t be in the room. Nope.
The pub over the road was doing karaoke last night and someone did Food For Thought (UB40), and did it really well. Followed by a dreadful rendition of Jamming (BMW).
furluxor
snake with a claw
It sounds like you have already achieved not only success but full karaoke stardom - don't forget, the bar is very low. You're up against the lads belting Wonderwall with their arms around each other's shoulders to keep them upright. I appreciate that you want to erase them from the picture, but they keep those karaoke nights going and embolden the rest of us.
Zapp Brannigan
Built like a steakhouse, handles like a bistro
Great karaoke songs of our time wot I have done:
Kings of Leon - Sex on Fire. Requires a certain bravado to really belt out the chorus. I had that bravado; alcohol had been consumed.
Ryan Gosling - I'm Just Ken. Almost ruined my own wedding by giving it full beans; alcohol had been consumed, but vows had already been taken.
Tony Christie - Avenues and Alleyways. A crooner classic, in my head it was just as Jude Law and Jonny Lee Miller did in Love, Honour and Obey (great film). I can croon with the best of them, this one was actually a decent performance.
Sinatra - My Way and New York, New York. See above - crooned like a goodun.
George Michael - Somebody to Love. Unless you're Freddie reincarnate don't attempt the Queen version, it's a couple of notes higher than the GM one. This one I can actually sing - I've done it twice, once taking it vaguely seriously and once after alcohol had been consumed. The drunk version had the better falsetto finish but everything else was pap; the serious version got a round of applause in the pub and a "fucking hell mate, fair play" from a complete stranger who also bought me a pint. To this day, remains my best performance review either in karaoke or from my day job.
Kings of Leon - Sex on Fire. Requires a certain bravado to really belt out the chorus. I had that bravado; alcohol had been consumed.
Ryan Gosling - I'm Just Ken. Almost ruined my own wedding by giving it full beans; alcohol had been consumed, but vows had already been taken.
Tony Christie - Avenues and Alleyways. A crooner classic, in my head it was just as Jude Law and Jonny Lee Miller did in Love, Honour and Obey (great film). I can croon with the best of them, this one was actually a decent performance.
Sinatra - My Way and New York, New York. See above - crooned like a goodun.
George Michael - Somebody to Love. Unless you're Freddie reincarnate don't attempt the Queen version, it's a couple of notes higher than the GM one. This one I can actually sing - I've done it twice, once taking it vaguely seriously and once after alcohol had been consumed. The drunk version had the better falsetto finish but everything else was pap; the serious version got a round of applause in the pub and a "fucking hell mate, fair play" from a complete stranger who also bought me a pint. To this day, remains my best performance review either in karaoke or from my day job.
Derek S-H
Klaatu. Barada. Nikto.
I completely respect your opinion (this isn't the Politics' section, after all!), but might I suggest you're taking it all a bit too seriously?
Look, I love music too and I can't imagine existing without it. But I also know that karaoke is NOT professionally arranged and recorded music nor performance, it's a form of social interaction involving members of the public regardless of their musical ability:
Karaoke - Wikipedia
Just don't let it ever get too much for you:
"Violent reactions to karaoke singing have made headlines in Malaysia, Thailand and the Philippines, with reports of killings by listeners disturbed by the singing. In the Philippines, at least half a dozen killings of people singing "My Way" caused newspapers there to label the phenomenon "My Way killings"; such that some bars refused to allow the song, and some singers refrained from vocalizing it among strangers.[47]"
(Wikipedia)
!
Idaho
blah blah blah
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