- Video of Tyra Banks performing “Proud Mary” at New York City’s Spotlight Live; reader comments range from “I like Tyra singing” to “why do that other singer keep with the hand on the other guy.” [Ziddio] - What happens when two Brit-rockers do karaoke together? The Carpenters and Kate Bush happen, of course. [AOL Spinner] - Samantha Ronson is returning to her celeb-packed Tuesday-night karaoke residency at Guy’s in Los Angeles. [Myspace/bowiekaraoke]
1. Ne-Yo - “Because Of You” Ne-Yo clearly wants to convince the world that he’s the heir to Michael Jackson, and after listening to Because Of You non-stop for two weeks, I’m at least willing to hear him out on that point. While it’s obviously not up there with Thriller (or even Off The Wall), it’s one of the best R&B albums in a long while, and it’ll go about five singles deep before the year is over. “Leaving Tonight,” the accusatory back-and-forth with Jennifer Hudson, is probably going to be the big karaoke hit, but “Because Of You” is as good sing-along as you can get, especially with that multi-layered bridge. 2. Klaxons, “Golden Scans” Is it “Ooh-ooh-ooh-ooh-ooh, ooh-ooh-ooh-ooh-aaaaah” or “Doo-doo-doo-doo-dooh, doo-doo-doo-doo-haaaaa”? 3. The Wildhearts - “The New Flesh” I’ve given up all hope that this long-running British-rock troupe will ever make it here in the U.S.; hard-rock fans nowadays are more interested in neo-grunge leg-press anthems than they are in fast, hooky, cartoonish metal. “The New Flesh” is the second single from the ‘Hearts self-titled new album, and it sounds like the Mutt Lange house band covering “We Didn’t Start The Fire.” 4. Beyoncé - “World Wide Woman” This bonus B’day track got no love from commenters when we posted it on Idolator, possibly because there are few things cornier than a love song about computers. But I love the “double-you/double-you/double-you” chorus—and as as far as Internet-related jams go, I’ve heard much worse. 5. Devin The Dude ft. Snoop Dogg & Andre 3000 - “What A Job” I can’t even pretend to pull off more than a few hip-hop songs at karaoke (though I can fake my way through “Fight The Power”and “The Humpty Dance”), but considering that the Dude speak-sings his verses, this could work. It would require some stellar guest-work, though.
Took a trip yesterday to Burbank’s Dimples, the 25-year-old karaoke bar that purports to be the first such location in the U.S. (and, for that matter, the Western hemisphere). I didn’t see any celebs while I was there, though one patron mentioned that Dennis Haskins (a.k.a. Mr. Belding) is a regular, as evidenced here. I also met with owner Sal Ferraro, who noted that he was first turned on to karaoke in the early ’80s, when he saw the machines being distributed by (I kid ye not) Our Gang creator Hal Roach.
I haven’t watched American Idol since season one—not for any nose-in-the-air reasons, but because the premiere episode of season devoted a quarter of its running time to mocking its lesser-talented applicants, which struck me as not only mean-spirited, but wayyy easy. So even though I’m out of the loop here, I was sure the “k-word” was essentially banned from the show, or at least never spoken aloud, lest it give the program’s critics more ammo. So imagine my surprise when, at the 2:15 mark of this clip, Randy Jackson compares Sanjaya’s losing performance to “just like karaoke.” Dogg! Dogg?
This week is the one-year anniversary of the music-critic throw-down at Seattle’s Best Karaoke, which was held after during the annual EMP conference. I remember talking up my Neneh Cherry skills beforehand, only to choke a bit due to some technical difficulties (though that may be selective memory at work). Some blogger lady took this photo, which I’ve always admired; I’d like to see William Eggleston so expertly pair a lone Japanese tallboy with overlapping verses of “Buffalo Stance.”
There will be about a half-dozen or so YouTube clips and Flickr galleries of last night’s Indie Rock Karaoke in Brooklyn, but for those who missed it, the show’s highlight was when Paul Rudd and Wet Hot American Summer director David Wain performed Boston’s “More Than A Feeling” (they were accompanied, of course, by Of Montreal, who knocked out a dozen or so karaoke songs after already playing a full set, and therefore must be lauded for their patience and endurance). There was some minor side-stage drama before Rudd performed, as one eager singer had already signed up for the Brad Delp homage, and had to be bumped when the actor showed up (Rudd seemed unaware of any of this). Luckily, everything was resolved when she and I got to duet on “Raspberry Beret.”
Other memorable moments included former Shudder to Think lead singer Craig Wedren performing “Suffragette City,” and Of Montreal lead singer Kevin Barnes (above) maintaining an icy, Klaus Nomi-style stare for the entire set, even while wielding a giant lobster claw. More info and pictures TK.
Racked is reporting that a Starbucks location in Brooklyn’s Greenpoint neighborhood is about to get crowded:
The Greenpoint Starbucks already exhibited signs that it’s a little different than other ‘bucks outposts. Now, we have a piping hot rumor on our hands: namely, that this location of the coffee-shop giant will be offering karaoke. A tipster emails us these images, saying “I was told by the baristas today that they are looking to do karaoke on a regular basis there sometime soon.” Karaoke without the courage-building of alcohol? A frightening thought, but if anyone can get a handle on that concept, brand it, then sell it to customers across the nation, it’s Starbucks. Pour Some Sugar On Me…and my half-caf soy latte, please.
There’s got to be a catch, so I’m guessing that patrons will only be permitted to perform songs from the chain’s Hear Music label. Who’s down for an Antigone Rising medley? Anybody?
Last night, The Sopranos became the umpteenth TV program to incorporate some sort of karaoke reference into the plot (the show now joins a long list that includes the CW’s Veronica Mars, NBC’s The Office and 30 Rock, and Brooklyn Public Access’ Dudes Be Singing). But am I the only who suspects Carmela’s musical selection was some sort of subliminal Easter shout-out?
Lord help the poor soul who enters the search term “karaoke” into YouTube, for he/she is doomed to spend hours upon hours plowing through such shakily shot entries as “ME AND D DRUNK @ KARAOKE SINGING GNARLS!!” But those who dig deep enough will find some especially well-made karaoke videos, such as this entry for Bright Eyes’ 2002 lament “Lover I Don’t Have To Love.” While many amateur k-clips simply take a photo of the artist and splash some words across the bottom, “Lover” is notable for its verisimilitude: The creator took great pains to re-create the look of Sound Choice’s karaoke videos, even going so far as to insert the company’s logo at the beginning; meanwhile, the random stock footage of mountain streams and beach-side strolls plays up the absurdity of such a dark song being turned into a group sing-along.
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