SingalongaWaitingMan

[waitingman]

Apropos of nothing... & because I've nothing else to write about, here's a list of my 'go-to' Karaoke songs... inspired by both the departure of our friend & long-time Karaoke host for the wilds of north-western New South Wales radio & the implied invitation (& threat/promise/warning??) from one of the sales staff at the company I work with, to the Christmas Party at the end of the year, where he hopes I'll be up for a bit of Karaoke with him, unlike all the other staff... make of that last bit what you will

'Ballroom Blitz' - The Sweet
This one serves 1 of 2 purposes: it either warms up my vocal cords, or it can finish them off - depending on when I sing it

'Gay Bar' - Electric Six
I first did this one at our friend Rufus' 'Trashaoke' night years ago, because it was one of the trashiest songs I could think of (that hadn't already been done by someone else that night!) & it's just kind of stuck in with me since then

'Grace Kelly' - Mika
Rufus kind of dared/inspired me to have a crack at this one, saying I was the only person he'd heard who could possibly pull it off. I did this one again at his farewell night a few weeks ago...

'Reasons To Be Cheerful Pt III' - Ian Dury & the Blockheads
Another good 'warm-up' song. If you can get all the lyrics out, without stumbling, then you're set for the rest of the night...

'Chelsea Dagger' - The Fratellis
One of the great 'Yob's Chorus' songs - for when the singing voice is a little shot, so you can get the rest of the pub to sing for you

I've thought of quite a few I enjoyed singing over the years - some only once, some until L-SP begged me to stop singing it & do something... anything!! else. For another time, then...

Comments

[paserbyp]

Do you have records of these karaoke songs?

[waitingman]

If you mean do I personally own the albums these songs come from, then yes... yes I do

If you mean did somebody video my performances of any of these songs, then no... jesus I hope not!!

Actually, I do know Rufus the host filmed me doing 'Grace Kelly' the first time. Fortunately, for both him & me, that video has never seen the light of day...

[paserbyp]

Indeed, I want to see your performance...

[chaosvizier]

I love karaoke. I am questionable at it, but I also have a handful of songs that I'll use as constants.

1. Piano Man by Billy Joel. I memorized this song almost 30 years ago and it stuck, and it's lodged so tightly in my memory that it comes out totally natural.

2. Country Roads by John Denver. I just like this melody and the lyrics. Also learned it 40 years ago and never lost it.

3. A bunch of stuff by Simon and Garfunkel. While occasionally their voices exceed my range, I can usually adapt and adjust mid song to match my limitations.

4. Orange Crush by REM. Michael Stipe's voice aligns perfectly with mine, so a lot of REM stuff works for me. But especially this one.

5. 99 Red Ballons/99 Luftballons by Nena. I can do the English by heart; I need to read the German lyrics because they're not quite 100% ingrained yet.

[waitingman]

At any given moment, at any place in the world where Karaoke is being performed, someone is singing Piano Man... as sure as eggs is eggs & as sure as it will be followed by someone singing My Way... I'm sure it's in the Rules somewhere

I tried to do 'It's The End Of The World As We Know It' by REM once & the screen didn't keep up with the lyrics, so I kind of fumbled through some parts, as I don't know all the words by heart... except for the bits about Leonard Bernstein & 'birthday party, cheesecake, jelly bean boom!'

I prefer doing the German version of 99 Luftballons. It was a hit, in German, here in Australia when it was released, as was Der Kommisar by Falco & Çà Plane Pour Moi by Plastique Bertrand. See, multiculturalism works!!

[basefinder]

There was a fleeting period in my life (several weeks, when I was on temporary duty in Colorado Springs back in 1992) when I did Karaoke. I earned the nickname Murdock the Headbanger, though that was unrelated to my choice of Guns and Roses tunes.