Sunday, February 20, 2005

Reason to Love Japan #289- Karaoke

For those of you who haven't experienced the great Japanese tradition of karaoke, let me tell you-- you're missing out. For those of you who don't know, let me describe the Japanese karaoke experience. You and however many of your friends go to a karaoke joint, and rent out a private room by the hour, and sit down with the big book of songs to choose from. People take turns entering their faves, and once your song comes up, it is time to perform. There are usually tambourines and sometimes maracas for those not singing at the moment to participate in the show. At most places I go to, when you're done with a song you are given a kilo-calorie rating to show how much energy you put forth into the effort. If you've seen the movie Lost in Translation then you've seen an accurate representation of karaoke (of course, you don't have to be inebriated to enjoy it).
I karaoked last night with some cool folks from Mito and had an absolute blast. I would like to give public mad props to Peter for bringing the house down with Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band (I want to hear Elevation next time!) and Jessica's rocked out rendition of Bohemian Rhapsody. My personal fave to sing is the Grease MegaMix. For those with karaoke experience, what's your favorite song to belt out? For those of you who haven't karaoked, what song do you fantasize performing? :)

No comments: