In memoriam

I just learned yesterday that Laura Branigan, pop star, has passed away. She brought us the newly discovered karaoke gem, "Gloria." I am not sure what else she sang, but surely it was lovely too. As it has been the practice of the soc karaoke-ists to honor the recently passed (e.g., Jerry's tribute to Ray Charles, mine to Mr. Superfreak himself, Rick James), I'd like to suggest a group sing of "Gloria" for next time. Whenever that is.

My first ever recap

Here it goes...I hope that my recap does not stop others (i.e., Jeremy) from continuing their own official or otherwise recaps. We all have our differing viewpoints/stylistic interpretations - though I suppose we're all using Dorotha's notes (just wanna give Dorotha a shout out for her mad note-taking skills - though occasionally I cannot read them, which is probably more often when Jeremy took over) which may make for more consistency across recaps.

To begin, I am actually feeling a little bit lazy so maybe this won't be the most complete or exciting recap ever. But it is, in fact, my birthday today and I feel I deserve to do whatever in the world I want to do. I am, after all, feeling a little bit pitiful about the fact that I am sitting in my office on my birthday with the only goal of doing this recap. (I am re-reading this and laughing at myself for having just spent at least 1.5 hours on this. If only I were able to be so dedicated to my diss. But whatever! It's my birthday and I do have a strange karaoke/careyoke obsession!)

So, with no further ado:

These were some of the highlights of the August 25th sociology careyoke night.

1) Things got started off with a little "Summer lovin'," courtesy of Jerry and Ang - a nice start to Jerry's last Sconnie hurrah of the summer.

2) No surprises here: I followed up with a little "Sister Christian."

3) Next, Ang sang "Family." Where was I? Why do I have no idea what this means? That definitely was not the name of the song but none of us can seem to remember it. Is there anyone out there who knows? Oh, wait! Duh! I figured it out. Ang sang the theme to Fame, which was so frickin' awesome! Another fantastic choice by a star singer!

4) In non-singing news, I was given the best and weirdest birthday gift ever: a plastic cake (which rather looked like a Devo hat) with a (thankfully clothed) Barbie popping out of it. It is actually a piece of department sociologica (work with me here) that has been handed down from generation to generation. Sort of. So now I am the keeper until I find a new, deserving owner of the Barbie cake. The best thing about this gift was it's many karaoke uses.

5) Speaking of the Barbie cake, it was invaluable for Jeremy and Dorotha's "Wild, Wild Life," another strong showing of Dorotha's incredible depth of Talking Heads knowledge and singing stylings. Oh, and Jeremy wore the cake on his head like a pink Devo hat. Plus Barbie.

6) Another # by Jerry. A classic: "Georgia on My Mind." Beautiful.

7) A birthday treat for me: "Sweet Caroline," which normally I think is a little overdone karaoke-wise, except when sung directly to me! Thanks, Jessie J, Dorotha, and Lisa! Hugs all around!

8) Teddy followed up with one of her classics: Faith. What would karaoke be without George (and Teddy)?

9) I then did "Maniac" as promised. And, yes, there were dancers. Ang and Jessica B put Jennifer Beals (or rather, her body double) and J Lo to shame! They need some schooling from my ladies!

10) In the most touching moment of the night, Loopy sang a love song to Sir Edwin Pegasus in celebration of their 11th (I believe) anniversary. It was "When I'm 64." Super sweet!

11) In the skankiest performance of the night, Shamus and I sang (sort of) "Love hangover." Said performance was rather problematic as neither we nor the audience remebered the song well. But dance did we ever! And, yes, I did that in front of my advisor and his wife. And some strangers too. Not that that's really so unusual for me...

12) A non-sociology performer sang, "Hurts so good," by John (Cougar) Mellencamp. Not sure if he was "Cougar" then or not. Anyway, the best thing about her performance, I believe was her switching the gender of the lyrics so that she could maintain her gender status of a woman and, I assume, her sexual orientation by referring to her boy/guy. Very quick on her feet is that one! Oh, and she did, in fact, have a very good voice. I believe Dorotha's fave thing about her is that she told us, with all our raucous clapping and screaming, "You guys are too nice." Where does that fit in the Harried-Freese (or is it Freese-Harried?) theory of audience participation?

13) In a rare solo performance, Dorotha shined, singing "Tainted Love." Fan-friggin'-tastic!

14) Another classic: Jerry's Ike and Tina Turner #, "Proud Mary." Jessie J and I got up for a little of the requisite dancing. However, I think we need to learn a couple more of the moves for next time...but when will that be? Maybe Jessie J will take over that song for a while??? I don't know. I'm just saying I heard rumors, that's all.

15) In Lisa's first sparkling # of the night, she did a reprise of what was earlier a duet of the Dixie Chicks' "Goodbye Earl." Word on the streets is that one of the boy band members (to be discussed below, or as seen on Jeremy's blog) was going to do that until he heard her. Of course, Lisa's abilities would intimidate most, but thank God we were able to have the N'Sync moment instead.

16) Jessie J followed up with a jazzy rendition of Earth, Wind, and Fire's "September," which I was very excited to learn actually is mostly nonsensical lyrics since I've never been able to figure them out.

17) During one of the most standout moments of the night, and the only full audience standing ovation, Jessica B got the house on their feet with her classic, "I've never been to me." It was truly a piece of performance art with the creepy dolls in the video doing dirty deeds and a reappearance of the Barbie cake - this time on the stool onstage. Truly a masterful karaoke-ist.

18) Following up the last song was a difficult task, but Ang and I took it on with a little duet I mentioned previously. She was the American diva, Aretha. I, the British diva, George Michael. I hear there were rumblings in the crowd that we had practiced. And I just want to dispel all rumors right away. I, of course, practiced in the privacy of my own home, all alone, but there was never a joint practice. We're just that good.

19) Some more non-sociologists with "Love Shack." Nice but sociologists have done it better.

20) Teddy's classic: "I will survive." Yes, she will!

21) A non-sociologist performs a sociologist's song. B-Rad sang "Yoda." Dorotha was horrified. It was okay and all, but no Dorotha. Why should I have to listen to that when I can hear the master?

22) One of our non-sociologists faves performs "You've lost the loving feeling" really really badly. I am sorry. But it's true. Dorotha runs out of the Kid for hatred of the song.

23) Another non-sociologist, who cares?

24) Ang with a powerful Pat Benetar: "Hit me with your best shot." Really great for accompanying hand motions.

25) Group sing for Tara's birthday: the Tara/Sara thing worked! Though I know I said "Sara" at least once. Whoops! Then we got hugs.

26) Ronke, a sociology pal, sang "Last Dance," and dance we did!

27) Non-sociologist sings "She's a lady." I enjoyed. Others found it creepy.

28) Nina and Jerry rock out on "If I had a hammer" - a classic in the making.

29) "Total eclipse of the heart." Normally I wouldn't think more would need to be said, but Jessie J told me that she yelled at Jeremy to stop singing the "Turn around" parts that he and I were doing. I, however, kept yelling at him to sing more and directly into the microphone. I can't even begin to imagine the emotional turmoil of that moment for him.

30) Non-sociologists doing Roxette's "The Look." I am jealous that they thought of that before we did.

31) Non-sociologist's "Summer of '69." Yawn.

32) Teddy + co (including my neighbor friend who swore he wouldn't get onstage! Yes! Peer pressure still works!) doing "Natural woman." Loved the "a-whoo"s! And singing harmony from the audience as Jessie J and I are wont to do.

33) Non-sociologist: "Walking in Memphis." Good singer. Bad song.

34) Dorotha + co: "It's raining men." People seemed to have some difficulties remembering the verses, but it happens. A fantastic choice!

35) Susanah (spelling?), Jeremy, and Dorotha: "Living on a prayer," which produced that classic photo from the last JFW official recap. Another shining moment - though Dorotha may disagree. Her notes include something about someone making "an a$$" of him/herself and there is a response about Dorotha continuing "to [squiggledy - is that 'record'?] all of [his/her] karaoke triumphs."

36) Jessie J and careyoke duet: "I've had the time of my life." Turns out I can't sing as low as Bill Medley, but nobody puts baby in a corner!

37) In the second most touching moment of the night, Jerry sang "You are so beautiful" to the birthday girls. Post-performance he got hugs from said birthday celebrators.

38) I think this is Loopy + co doing "Brick House." This got people on the dance floor - if that's what we can call the little aisle of room between the tables and bar. People were shakin' it!

39) Another Ronke song: "If you wanna be happy." Dorotha is not a fan of this song. She can express more if she wishes in comments.

40) Boy Band, composed of 2 sociologists, a med student, and a couple of ultimate frisbie players. They performed "It's gonna be me," with full on dance moves and everything. I think that Justin Timberlake (a sociologist) and J.C. Chasez (the med student) were busy all evening preparing for their performances which really highlighted moves from the "Bye, bye, bye" video, choreographed by Darrin Henson (who later released the famed "Darrin's Dance Groves" tape/dvd including a special pop and lock routine! We need this!) - in particular, the jump, jump, jump, one fist thrust into the air, pump, pump, pump. Get it? The backup "singers" were really more dancers, but they added another layer to the performance with their lost expressions and skillful (though non-choreographed) dancing. One of the best moments of the night.

41) Things start to get a little scribbledy here in Dorotha's notes so if I miss something, blame her. I'll just stick to the sociology crew+ guests from here on out.

42) Actually, scratch that. Someone (non-sociology) sang a song that I assume is called "Big balls." What? The best thing about it (for me at least) though is I am now inspired to do "Fat bottomed girls" at the next event.

43) Group performance of "Hey Ya." Great idea whoever signed up for that. I especially enjoyed attempting to do the keyboard noises myself - though I wasn't particularly successfull in mimicking them. Dancing ensued. Especially during the "shake it like a Polaroid picture" part.

44) Dorotha and careyoke: "Africa." A little low for me, but when else will one get a chance to sing "Sure as Kilimanjaro rises like Olympus above the Serengeti" - which Toto actually attempts to sort of rhyme with "As they grow restless longing for some solitary company." Close. At least it works.

45) Jessie J and careyoke: "Jump" by Kriss Kross. My first ever rap karaoke performance! That was rough for me. All that jumping really did me in, but it was such an integral part of the performance that it was worth it. I need to work on my rapping - though Ronke described it as "So so def."

46) Weird song by the bouncer, or was that the dj? I think the dj, who was hating on me all night and refusing to take songs from me. What's a birthday girl to do? Ok, so I have been corrected. It was definitely the bouncer. See Dorotha's comments for more. But I stand by my complaining about the dj.

47) So now that I complained about the dj, I am skipping the non-sociology people and just talking about the last 2 sociologist songs. Which were both mine. But, jeesh! It took forever! I actually had written them out the second I got there, but wasn't able to hand them in until later...and then it took forever to get them played...whatever! But I sang "9 to 5" as promised and "Love is a battlefield." But the crowd had thinned greatly by that time, so I think I have to do them again next time.

48) Also, as Dorotha pointed out in her notes, by the time I got to "9 to 5" the bouncer was now wearing one of the birthday crowns that Tara and I had been given as he walked around clearing up glasses and bottles. I just want to point out, it wasn't my crown. I have it at home.

49) Oh, whoops, I forgot - even with the notes staring me in the face - that in between "9" and "Love," Ronke and I performed Meatloaf's epic "Paradise by the dashboard light." I actually got to be the girl! But how come nobody seemed to know this song in the audience? Where have all the Meatloaf fans gone?

50) Dear Lord, that's it for the highlights! The fingers are exhausted!

Some of the lowlights:

1) One of my fave performers, whose greatest hits include Sting's "Desert Rose," Cher's classic "Gypsies, Tramps, and Thieves" (my absolute fave!), and Bobbie Gentry's "Ode to Billie Joe, was not able to attend last night due to cat illness. She sent her regrets but was still sorely missed.

2) While one of my faves was in attendance, and gave me the weird Barbie cake, he did not perform. Maybe next time. But glad he could make it at all - and that he and his wife brought the Barbie cake!

3) (I can't believe I forgot this initially!) While the voting on Dorotha's Disney Ditties was really heated - with "Under the Sea" edging out "Supercal" in the last few minutes of voting (sort of), the Kid had a severe lack of all things Disney. No "Under." No "Supercal." No "Hakunua." No "A Whole." No "Gaston." No nothing! So, Dorotha made an effort to do a little Disney medley a capella. It was nice - and a non-sociologist got so into "Supercal" that we ended up having to repeat the verse about "my father gave me nose a tweak and told me I was bad" twice - but it just didn't do justice to all the hype - and all the voting from my dedicated reader(s). You know who the two (three, maybe even four?) of you are.

Disclaimer: There is no way in the future that I can spend this long on one of these. So we'll see what happens next time. If there is a next time...

Dorotha's Disney Ditties Poll to Close 5pm Today

For those of you who are interested in the results, they will be finalized tonight at 5pm. Currently, Supercal. is slightly ahead of Under the Sea, but Gaston appears to be making a comeback. Scroll down for the poll. Vote until your fingers fall off!

A few important announcements

It's careyoke eve and so I thought I'd tell you/me some important information:

1) Supercal... is kicking some butt in the Dorotha's Disney Ditties poll (at the time of this post). I wonder what the exciting conclusion will bring. Will Hakuna Matata will come from behind to win? Will the Kid even have the winning song? How many drinks will it take to get Dorotha to sing it? If the winning song is a duet, will Dorotha sing both parts? Have Dorotha and I been the only people voting?

2) My song list so far: (solos) Dolly Parton's 9 to 5, Night Ranger's Sister Christian, Michael Sembello's Maniac, Diana Ross's Touch me in the morning, Rod Stewart's If you want my body, something by Duran Duran (The reflex? Hungry like the wolf? Rio?), Pat Benetar's Love is a battlefield. The first 3 are almost definite (as long as the Kid has them). The rest I'll have to see how the night goes.

3) My duets: so far, I only have definite plans with Angela, and I'm gonna let that be a surprise. Here's a hint: American diva + British diva = awesomely awesome cheese.

4) One of my fave karaoke stars will be performing tomorrow. I don't believe we'll be hearing any Nelly this time, (in particular, the Nelly-Kelly duet will be put back on the shelf for some time, I am sure), but he'll bring lots of pizazz with his country hits.

5) In case this wasn't clear, it's my birthday karaoke tomorrow - oh, yeah, and it's Tara's birthday karaoke too and Jerry's last karaoke hurrah of the summer. So I will expect some songs to be purchased for me! In fact, sign me up for whatever you want. I'll do it! Perhaps we should use code names for me though as I believe the Kid employees tire of me quickly.

6) And, finally, crappers, I am very annoyed with myself. Lisa said something on our morning walk that I wanted to share here. No, it wasn't her idea for a Weird Al parody of "Survivor" called "Provider" - a feminist take on breadwinners. It was something else. Ergh. Well, perhaps she'll refresh my memory tomorrow,....Oh wait! I remembered! Lisa suggested I take notes at the Kid tomorrow night to report back my very first karaoke recap. While Jeremy's is the official recap, at least the official JFW recap, I am feeling a lot of pressure for my first-time recap. Plus, I may (just maybe) have a couple of drinks, making the next day's recapping perhaps more difficult. However, the prospect of taking notes at the Kid makes the experience much more work than I would ever want it to be. So cross your fingers and keep your expectations low, and I'll see what I can do. Perhaps Dorotha, Lisa, Jessie J, Tara, and others will help me fill in any holes. But no pictures. I have no idea how to do that. And I don't have a camera. I'll point you to Jeremy for such fanciness.

7) BTW: Happy 28th Birthday, Tara! I just wanted you to know, if/when you eventually read this, that I was thinking of you on your day!

Karaoke/careyoke. Wednesday. August 25. 8:15pm. The Karaoke Kid.

So, it's official. The next karaoke/careyoke event has been decided. And everyone is getting excited. Or at least I am. So far, I have planned "Maniac" like I told you before, but now I need to work on a duet for Ang and me. It'll be the fake birthday/almost birthday celebration. We are thinking of doing "The boy is mine" - the Brandy and Monica duet. That'll be one to download for me, just so I can be refreshed as to how it goes. But the cattiness of the whole thing should make for good drama "on stage." But, who should we fight over? Jerry?

And speaking of birthdays, shhh! I don't think Tara knows my blog address yet - not that I imagine it'd be hard to find - but I am thinking we should do "Sara" by (Jefferson?) Starship, but sing "Tara" instead. So clever, I know. Or, clever, but I just gave it away. Eh, it'll work anyway whether it's a surprise or not.

And speaking of (Jefferson) Starship (Airplane), I heard another song of theirs the other day and wondered how I could have been so stupid as to not have an entire night devoted to them. Well, maybe that'd be a little much, but considering that "We built this city" was such a hit, I think "Nothing's gonna stop us now" would be just about as cheesily awesome, or as awesomely awesome.

Also, I must admit that one of my goals is to inspire another download (or to be part of a group that inspires a download) of the performed song. Jeremy downloaded "Survivor" after a group performance. When I heard about that I just about peed my pants. That's about as much as a karaoke performer could ever hope to get from a performance. It's like Olympic gold. And, yes, I have been watching the Olympics just about as obsessively as I've been thinking about karaoke songs. Last night Joshie (who was still around on his surprise visit until this afternoon) and I watched 2 nights worth of Olympics coverage in one night. You see, we'd taped the night before - I had to see the women's gymnastics all around finals - but we didn't want to miss last night's stuff either. So, we watched Thursday night's coverage during the commercials. It was like extreme Olympics watching, the laziest way to get the most out of your Olympics. But, I digress...So now "Survivor" has become something of a regular song. It's maybe starting to get a little old. But it's still so magical. And I want to capture the magic again and inspire another download. But it's tough. It has to be a song that isn't too obscure or nobody'll care about it to begin with but it can't be so popular that someone would have already downloaded. Or I have to be so jazzy with the song to inspire an entire rethinking of previous hearings of it. So, with all of that in mind, I am thinking some "old school" Pink - before she got all "in charge" of her own career. In particular, I am thinking of "Most Girls." Not her biggest hit, but there are some great lyrics, my fave being: "Cuz shorty's got a job, shorty's got a car, shorty can pay her own rent." Not that any of that is true about me, but it sure sounds good! And I do like any and all references to shorties. Including shorty wardrobe boxes. If you have a shorty, but you don't have a shorty wardrobe box...Oh yes, son, I'm talking to you.

I need a hero

Or, rather, I need a dancer. Or couple of dancers. You see, the next karaoke event is coming up next week. Maybe Monday. Maybe Wednesday. And I have decided on another song that's on my list (though not on my running list on the blog yet - I'll be working on putting that in my sidebar soon). It's "Maniac" by Michael Sembello. So, of course, I need a dancer (or 2 or 3) to do the requisite Flashdance-type moves in front of me (or to the side or wherever) during my performance. You know. The running in place. And, even better, the flailing around on a chair while water is poured on you. Any takers? I'll be holding auditions in the bathroom at the Kid at say, 8:35 pm, the night of the karaoke event. No prior experience necessary.

But speaking of having dancers and the like, Dorotha suggested on our walk this morning that we start putting a little more effort into the karaoke performances. In fact, I think we should no longer think of them as single performances and instead should think of ways to integrate the various performances into a larger show. Dorotha suggested props, costumes, and choreographed numbers. I say, yesssss! Maybe we can do our own kind of "Moulin Rouge" or "Mamma Mia" (the Broadway musical) type thing in which we integrate a whole series of songs to tell a story. OMG! That would be a karaoke event to be proud of!

Vote early, vote often!

Dorotha to perform songs from The Little Mermaid!

On our walk today, I told Dorotha about how my high school band did a pretty pitiful job of playing "Under the Sea" during halftime of football games while standing in fish formation - basically, they were standing as if they were outlining a deformed Goldfish cracker. Kind of pitiful. But, from that stupid story came a shining moment. Dorotha got "Under the Sea" stuck in her head. And then she sang it to me... It was the best rendition of it I'd ever heard! That woman sure can do a serious Sebastian-the-Jamaican-crab impersonation. But that's not all! She also went on to sing that other song...the one about "wish I could be part of that world." Splendid again!

So, anyway, perhaps next karaoke should be an all Disney theme. No, I don't think that's a good idea either. But instead maybe it should be the Double D theme: Dorotha and Disney, together forever. (BTW, Dorotha, I've got the lyrics for you, if you want them.) It could be Dorotha's greatest Disney hits. Because, you know, after this morning's Little Mermaid show, I am sure there are more where those came from.

Well, crappers. If I knew how to do a poll, I'd let you, my avid readers (who are really just me), vote on which Disney songs she should do. Personally, I think a little "Gaston" would be nice. And maybe "Prince Ali." Of course, "Chim-Chim Cheree," "Hakuna Matata," or "Supercalifragilisticexpialidocious" would be out of this world!

Milli Vanilli

How could I have not thought of this before?! Milli Vanilli would be a perfect karaoke/careyoke addition! And there are so many options. There's "Girl you know it's true," with it's fantastic speaking part in the beginning: "...And I realized it really means a lot to me. You mean a lot to me..." She responds, "I really mean that much to you?" "Girl, you know it's true." Boom! Boom! Boom! Insane keyboards, and we're off! Or "Blame it on the rain," which my friend Mandy (Mando Calrissian) used to always sing wrong as "Blame it on the rain, yeah, yeah! Blame it on the flowers in the sun," back in 8th grade. And then, the slow song "Girl, I'm gonna miss you" that even my mom liked. I think my oldest sister actually put that on a mix tape for her. Ooh, mix tapes! "Mum's songs," it was called. It also had other gems such as "I wanna know what love is," by Foreigner and "To all the girls I loved before" by Neil Diamond and Willie Nelson (another good one!) And, I hate to say it, but I'm sure that "Wind beneath my wings" was on it too. But I digress... And then there's "All or nothing" and "Baby, don't forget my number" (thanks, Jessie J, for reminding me of that one!).

So, whatever I/we (royal or otherwise) decide, there are some other things that are necessary to pull off this whole Vanilli thing: spandex, braids, and dance moves. At the very least, we have to do the insane jump in the air and smack chests (guts, more likely). Who's up for it? All we have to figure out is who gets to be Rob and who gets to be Fab! (Of course, this would require a moment of silence in respect for Rob. Still very sad.)

Running list of songs to do

Don't even THINK about doing one of these after reading this without first giving props to careyoke and her crew. I will try to give props where deserved. Feel free to correct me. Oh, and btw, my titles/artists might not always been exactly correct. I'll take advice on those as well. I am already wasting enough time on this blog. I don't want to use any more to look up all of the exact correct artists/titles.

New additions in bold
"I always feel like somebody's watching me," Rockwell (thanks to the Ellen Degeneres show)
"What about love," Heart
"I remember you," Skid Row
"Making love out of nothing at all," Air Supply (in homage to one of Jeremy's papers)
"Jolene," Dolly Parton
"9 to 5," Dolly Parton (I call this one for next time!)
"Reunited," Peaches and Herb (thanks, Jessie J)
Something ridiculous by Babs
"If you want my body (and you think I'm sexy)," Rod Stewart
"On my own," Patti Labelle and Michael McDonald (thanks, Jessie J again)
"We don't have to take our clothes off," Jermaine Stewart (thanks, Jeremy!)
"She thinks my tractor's sexy," Kenny Chesney
"Cool it now," New Edition
"Sexual healing" and/or "Let's get it on," Marvin Gaye
"Sign your name" or "wishing well," Terrence Trent D'Arby
Anything by the Eurythmics
Anything by Destiny's Child/Beyonce (perhaps we should branch out beyond "Survivor")
"Don't it make my brown eyes blue," Crystal Gayle
"After all," Peter Cetera and Cher
Any song in which the title includes the word "Jump" (e.g., by the Pointer Sisters, Van Halen, Criss Cross (Jessie J, again!), House of Pain, etc.)
We also need more J Lo, Britney, Christina, Madonna, Prince, Duran Duran, Avril (Dare I?), Mariah, Celine, Cher, Ponter Sisters, N'Sync/Justin, Lionel Richie, various Jackson family members, Mary J. Blige, Neil Diamond, Stevie Wonder...

First serious karaoke post

Gentle reader(s),

So, I think we need to figure out some way to get our hands on the song list books from the Kid. These books are filled with countless gems of songs that I am sure we are always forgetting at our monthly karaoke outings. I feel like I have some sort of strange singer's block when I get there and am faced with these books for the few moments before someone else wants them or the guy takes them away (b/c we've invariably put in too many songs too fast). (Grrr, I have a habit of pushing control-s every 5 seconds - I am a compulsive saver whenever using MS Word. That means that I keep publishing my post before I mean to. Whoops.) Anyway, the other thing about the books is that they are missing some fan-friggin-tastic songs as well. For example, "Mama Said Knock You Out," which was to be careyoke's rap debut, was sadly missing from the song list. (For those of you wondering, I am thinking of "Informer" by Snow instead, but that will require some more work.) As was "Mr. Roboto." That was a dark moment for Jessie J (I did it again with the control-s!) and me. We had big plans for doing some serious roboting with that one. I even downloaded the lyrics so we could get the Japanese right. I think that was Japanese...Eww, I sound so ignorant.

Anyway, my suggestion: put copies of the Karaoke Kid song list books in Memorial Library! Or perhaps Madison public libraries to be more fair to non-students. But any library. Or, no, even better: on the web! From my quick search, they don't appear to have a website. They seem so technologically advanced otherwise. So that's a surprise. But, anyway, wouldn't it be nice to know what songs are available at all times...just in case you feel the need to practice your harmonies, or dramatic interpretations (a la Dorotha), or something?

Bridal blog: Today Dorotha told me that if Joshie and I don't have karaoke at our wedding she's not coming. Horrors! I am sure Joshie's parents would be all about karaoke. It'll make the wedding more of an "affair." And then we'll have something worthwhile for the videographer to film (if Joshie's mom gets her way) and for us to watch later - although I'm sure repeated viewing of us breaking the glass will be a hoot! Actually, if there's karaoke at the wedding, then I am all for a videographer! I should start practicing now!

The plan

Ok, so I have all sorts of ideas that are coming to me while I am attempting to type notes from a book I need for my diss. Assimilation is so karaoke-inspirational somehow. I'm sure it doesn't hurt that I am listening to my downloads - most of which are on my playlist for my or someone else's karaoke benefit. I guess my karaoke benefit is your karaoke benefit. Anyway.

So, I have some plans for my blog. The problem is that I am not very computer savvy. I wanted to do a little sidebar with cutesie things and links to other blogs, but I haven't figured that out yet. But someday, I'll do that. Also, I am thinking of doing karaoke-related polls. For example, I'll invite people to vote on what song I or other karaoke regulars should sing at the next karaoke event. Once I figure out how to do that.

btw, the next soc karaoke fest should be sometime during the last week of August. I hear that Proud Mary himself is all about another night at the kid before he heads back to the karaoke wasteland of NYC. [Maybe I need to clue him into the raucous times that can be had at the Amsterdam Cafe in the Upper West Side. One time while there with Joshie and crew, the super self-absorbed dj guy (who normally plays whatever songs he looks prettiest dancing or singing to) actually picked up a mic and sang backup to my "Sweet Child O' Mine." What a moment!] Anyway, so the next karaoke event needs to happen before he leaves and to celebrate a couple of regulars birthdays (including me!). And, yes, that is a hint for a present. Or free drinks. I mean, and free drinks.

Holy crap

So I am blogging about karaoke. And only karaoke. No, that's probably not going to be the case. But I am sort of obsessed with it. So that's how it'll start. Perhaps my life is not that fascinating to actually maintain a blog. But we'll see. This could be just a very depressing experiment.

And all of this just to reply to Jeremy's stinkin' blog!