Hyphen Blog

« Bookworms, Rejoice! Newbery Award Goes to AA Author | Main | South Asian Persuasion »

January 21, 2005

This is How it Feels

Got some new karaoke CDs in the mail. I have a pretty decent Pioneer setup that runs CD-G’s and DVDs. We don’t mess with the DVD’s—CD-G is the way to go. More selection, better sound and no wack videos.

I go in spurts when supplementing my collection (now 50+ deep, cripes!). I’ll get on an R&B jag, or think I’d really like to try that New Radicals song. Lately I’ve been trying to boost my ‘80s collection and I found a disc that had Joe Jackson (“Look Sharp,” “Steppin’ Out”), The Clash (“Train in Vain,” “London Calling”), Thompson Twins, Oingo Boingo, and, the key acquisition: ABC’s “The Look of Love.” How did it go? Let’s just say my throat is wrecked. One of the funnest parts about singing “The Look of Love” is when it heads into the spoken word part: “My friends they tell me, Marlin (sic) maybe someday you’ll find true love. I saaaay maybe. There must be a solution to the one thing, the one thing…” And it ends with a Tom Jones-like pelvic thrust. “LOOK! OF! LOVE!” Crazy.

Also, I got a ‘90s disc with The Smiths’ “How Soon Is Now?” and a Morrissey song “The More You Ignore Me (The Closer I Get).” It’s interesting to see how savvy the CD-G companies are getting as karaoke spreads from the bowling alley cocktail lounges to hipster parties. Could you picture a CD-G with all those bands like Happy Mondays, Inspiral Carpets, Husker Du, Big Audio Dynamite, Beautiful South or Stone Roses? Maybe I’ll get together with some instrumentally intact friends and record left field choices, make a million bucks, and then invite ABC to play our launch party.

Posted by claire at January 21, 2005 12:05 PM