Karaoke

I started to write an entry yesterday, but I didn't ever finish it. That happens all of the time.

It's part of the reason there aren't more journal entries here. Some days, it's just not clicking.

So I'm going to give it a shot again:

Saturday was filled from beginning to finish with a twelve pound salmon, the roof of a friend's house, and a karaoke machine.

The day itself wasn't anything special. I climbed out of bed later than I have in months, stumbled into the kitchen to pour a bowl of cereal, and sat on the couch in the noonday sun.

By six thirty, I was watching Tim stuff a huge fish with six-inch sprigs of fresh rosemary and halved cherry tomatoes. By seven thirty, we were eating barbecued garlic, zucchini, corn, tomatoes, and a serious helping of that huge fish.

At about nine or nine thirty we climbed to the roof of Tim, Miho, and Sonoko's house to watch the sun's retreat.

Later in the evening, we visited a "family karaoke" place, where you rent your own private room with a bunch of friends (there were eleven of us, or so) and sing until you can't sing no more.

Or until the $30/hour saps your funds.

Every person there amazed me. I sing and play guitar. But I suck at Karaoke.

Sonoko, Tim, Miho, Aki, and the rest... they were incredible.

There was a time when standing around and singing together was the finest form of entertainment.

Recorded music (dating way back) started to change that, as people began to have other things to listen to. Records featured opera stars with amazing voices.

People began to worry about the quality of their voice, and not the quality of the experience.

Steadily, the folk tradition died, or became just another category at warehouse-sized stores.

I'm not about to say that a bunch of kids gathering together in a room to sing pop favorites in two languages brings back that tradition with any force.

But for a moment, I got a glimpse of what it must have been like to be each other's entertainment. And I'm glad we did it.

About this Entry

This page contains a single entry by Jeremy published on August 18, 1998 12:00 AM.

The number fifty was the previous entry in this blog.

Thank you is the next entry in this blog.

Find recent content on the main index or look in the archives to find all content.

Pages

OpenID accepted here Learn more about OpenID
Powered by Movable Type 4.3-en