Karaoke Favorites
by Joshua Malbin on Jan.04, 2010, under music, Uncategorized
The video in Josh K-sky’s post below has the Carpenters’ “Superstar” as its soundtrack. That’s not only my favorite Carpenters song, it’s one of my favorite karaoke standbys. Others include:
David Bowie, “Rock ‘n’ Roll Suicide” or “Life on Mars,” usually not both on the same night
Bruce Springsteen, “Thunder Road”
Dr. Dre, “Forgot About Dre”
LL Cool J, “Momma Said Knock You Out”
Merle Haggard, “Carolyn”
Digital Underground, “The Humpty Dance”
Eminem, “The Real Slim Shady” (Admittedly I haven’t yet sung this one in public. I’m itching to, though.)
The list reflects the implicit karaoke philosophy of the group I usually sing with: pick songs that are actually fun to perform rather than the usual 80s hair-band anthems with high kitsch value. That usually means songs that are in some way challenging to pull off. Also, always spring for the private room.
I’ll probably add more titles as I remember them. Yours?
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A Jewel in the Crowd - Joshua Malbin
July 15th, 2010 on 12:46 pm[...] has an exact opposite mythopoetic gesture. We’ve all been to the bar where amid the drunk jocks and party girls (bless them) moaning through “Light My Fire” [...]
January 4th, 2010 on 7:10 pm
songs that are actually fun to perform rather than the usual 80s hair-band anthems with high kitsch value
False dichotomy alert! My friend Michelle pointed out at our last karaoke outing that the kitschy 80s numbers have the advantage of dynamic changes, whereas a lot of popular hip-hop and dance tracks can fall into a trap of not changing enough over the course of the song.
They don’t always have it, but when they do, I go with Estoy Aqui by Shakira. High stakes, but if I keep up on the chorus, I own that joint. Otherwise it’s between Eye of the Tiger, Flashdance and Cracklin’ Rosie.
January 5th, 2010 on 8:58 am
It’s not intended to be an absolute dichotomy, it’s a difference in intent.