Compiled last night while I was out, mostly self-explanatory:
• “Stairway To Heaven”
• “L.A. Woman”
• “Goodnight Saigon” (nb this wasn’t performed last night but I think the point still stands, unless you were actually in the military and then you get a pass)
• Anything by A Perfect Circle that isn’t “Judith”
• Anything that clocks in at over five minutes, especially “Scenes From An Italian Restaurant,” because seriously people, an hour is a finite period of time and there are other people in the bar.
Feel free to add your own.
@juiceandgin: I’ve been guilty of doing “Fell in Love with a Squirrel” myself.
@El-Zilcho: Every time I go to a Karaoke bar I beg the owners to add David Bowie’s “Sorrow” to the list. It’s one of my favorites by him and it’s the only one I could ever see myself attempting in front of strangers.
Unfortunately, no one has ever heard of it ;-(
Also, I’d like to second whoever called for a ban on “I Will Survive.”
young americans is HARD. that song has so many words.
i disagree with the one person who said not to do maps. although you have to be able to sing the same few words over and over and not seem boring. (see also: miss world.)
lately i’ve been doing mostly george michael, shy guy by diana king, and elisive butterfly.
and by elisive i mean elusive.
@slowburn:
The semi-obscure Bowie tracks would be pretty solid, but definitely experts-only. Even stuff that you think would be simple on first examination (”Heroes”, “Ashes to Ashes,” “Suffragette City”) has some non-trivial technical hitch to it. For example, “Ashes to Ashes” has that tricky jump from falsetto/head voice to chest voice (depending on vocal range) in the verse melody.
I love that all of you are so good at picking the shit songs that I have nothing to add to this thread other than GREAT WORK!
“Alabama Song,” The Doors. Terrible.
The last time I went out for Karaoke, 4 different women sang Alannah Myles’ “Black Velvet” at various times throughout the night. That song sucks so much, but to see four women try to outdo eachother with that song just added to it’s suckiness.
Ban “Black Velvet” from Karoake!
Here’s my list:
1. American Pie.
That is all.
Groups of closely related women, assembled for a wedding/reunion of some sort, singing “We are Family”, and being surprised to find out there’s lyrics other than the title of the song.
Europe’s “The Final Countdown” wears thin really, really fast. For everyone involved.
@spankyjoe: Yeah, I know the words to so many Bowie tunes. But I can’t even come close to them vocally. I’ve wanted to get up and do a rousing “Young Americans,” but I just can’t get it right.
But somebody needs to get up and sing them, cause they’re great.
@El-Zilcho:
I will not be that somebody. I get nervous singing along to those songs in the privacy of my own apartment.
Yeah, I hear “Don’t Stop Believin’” and “Summer Love” about once a karaoke night. I live in Texas, so we also get a lot of fat white girls singing songs in the keY of “Before He Cheats.”
My personal pet peeve is the endless coda. I do “End of the World (as We Know It)” but I have the good grace to get off stage before the second end of that song. “Hey Jude” falls into this too - that’s like 3 minutes of going “Naaaa na na nanananana.” Just stop.
@spankyjoe: Ah, you make a good point. Perhaps it’s for the best that I’ve never gotten the chance.
Stevie Wonder, “I Was Made to Love Her”.
Actually, most any Stevie Wonder. It’s okay that you’re not Whitney or Mariah, but his songs are deceptively challenging.
what? nobody mentioned “love shack”? especially if there’s a college with sororities nearby. ugh.
i’ve been known to bring it with blondie’s “the tide is high”.
Last week witnessed a tiny little white girl absolutely kill on some Danzig “Mother”. Astoundingly awesome!
…of course, this was followed by a medley of drunken guys singing Steve Miller and Sabbath songs (5+ mins a pop) horribly.
Here, here for banning: Black Velvet, Paradise by the Dashboard Light, Love Shack, and Grease songs.
May I add anything by Alicia Keys? Even if the singer in question has talent, she’ll grossly over-sing. The rest of them? Sheer torture.
More Bowie would be good, more Joe Satriani would be better.
I can’t think of anything to never do…I’m alover not a hater.
My best ever karaoke experience was singing Laura Branigan’s “Gloria” as a duet with a friend. We brought down the house.
Coincidentally her video is just like a karaoke performance!
@TroubleonWheels: I was just about to come back here and say “Paradise by the Dashboard Light” but you did it for me! Seriously, people — you can’t sing this song. You can’t. You’re not cute or funny faux duking-it-out with your significant other.
I would do anything for love, but I won’t sing that.
Most dudes should never attempt Guns’n'Roses. Axl’s voice is hard to nail.
Falsetto is hard to do karaoke. I once attempted U2’s “Lemon.” Won’t be trying that again ever.
“My Way.” Ha ha, yeah, we’ve seen “The Great Rock ‘n’ Roll Swindle”, too. Funny.
There are karaoke bars which have A Perfect Circle in the catalog?
If I may be the music snob that I am, the following songs should enter a “Really? You want to sing this song like the last 4 people did?” department:
“Don’t Stop Believing”
“Summer Loving”
“Never Going to Give you Up”
“Sunday, Bloody Sunday”
“Born to Run”
“Livin on a Prayer”
“Pour Some Sugar on Me”
Still acceptable, despite cliched:
“Just a Friend”
“Bust a Move”
Songs that should get a lot more karaoke love:
“Angry Johnny” by Poe
“This is Hardcore” by Pulp
“Deanna” by Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds
“East Bound and Down” by Jerry Reed
“I’m Your Man” by Leonard Cohen
@Dead Air ummm Dead Air: Astoria is a magical (?) place.
* Meatloaf’s Paradise by the Dashboard Light
* Anything by Meatloaf
I saw a doppelganger for Axl Rose at a local bar sing “Round and Round” by Ratt. Honestly, one of my favorite musical moments.
I would like to see I Will Survive permanently retired.
@relaxing: How do you feel about “You’re The One That I Want,” which seems to go hand in hand with the songs you mentioned?
@Dead Air ummm Dead Air:
moar nick cave
Bohemian Rhapsody - Queen
Private Dancer - Tina Turner
Anything from that angsty girl phase back in the mid-90s, like “You Oughta Know,” and Meredith Brooks’ “Bitch.” I think I’ve seen both those songs done whenever I’m at a bar. And I like “Bitch.”
My personal song to bring the house down is Violent Femmes’ “Add It Up.” I’d also like to hear more people attempt David Bowie tunes. I’d do it myself, but I just don’t have the chops to hit the right notes.
If I never have to hear “Sweet Child of Mine” again, I’ll be a happy dude.
Corollary: Anything with extended instrumental passages.
@sXenester:
I see your Nick Cave, and I raise you some Tom Waits.
@spankyjoe:
Copacabana has like an 80 measure break in the middle. It is absolute torture.
If I hear anyone diss Bat Out Of Hell on this website again, it’s not going to be pretty.
working for the weekend by loverboy is highly underrated as a karaoke song
But for a song that you just shouldn’t do: Baby got back
@whoneedslight:
Oh, good lord.
@El-Zilcho:
I once saw a girl publicly work out some very deep-seated issues through a passionate performance of “Zombie,” by the Cranberries. Not for the faint of heart.
- Anything by the Darkness, unless you’ve really got the voice for it.
- Anything that’s too slow and quiet- “Maps” is one of my favorite songs, but you shouldn’t bore people. Karaoke is about the fun vibe… this isn’t to say you have to do a “fun” song (for example, a couple of months ago, I did “Message in a Bottle”, and everyone loved it), but it can’t be a song that will put drunks to sleep.
- I’m with anibundel- no “Bohemian Rhapsody”… though now that i think about it, “We Are the Champions” might be the exception to my above rule. Maybe because it’s slow yet not quiet, but regardless, I doubt anyone would be upset at a good rendition of “We Are the Champions”.
- Anything that’s so obscure that there’s no chance anyone around you will know it- again, karaoke’s about keeping a good vibe, not proving you’re a music snob.
- Emo.
If you’re even still doing this shit, Norebang is the way to go, fuck Karaoke . . .
@Mr. Guy: Unless you’re a girl with back. I’ve seen that. It’s humorous.
Anything by Yes.
The last time we went karaoke-ing, there was a group of theatre geeks at one table, and all they did were numbers from Wicked, Chicago, and (I think) Grease.
We all wanted to fucking strangle them.
The “L.A. Woman” ban, while a good idea in general, fails to account for the awesomeness of Tom Scharpling:
http://blog.wfmu.org/freeform/2008/04/hoof-and-mout-2.html#more
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Let’s say you break up “Scenes From An Italian Restaurant” by assigning each distinct musical section to a different singer. Is that OK? Because I reeeeaaaally want to do “Scenes From An Italian Restaurant” someday.
yeah, the grease songs have got to go. or at least be “lost” for 10 years or so. they’re fun, but they seem to be karaoke staples whenever i’ve gone.
i’d like to hear more “careless whisper.” and yes to more nick cave and david bowie.
“Rapper’s Delight” full length version, done solo. Yes, I’ve seen it. Well, part of it. I holed up in the bathroom when I couldn’t take anymore and my friend up next stood outside the crapper serenading me with “White Wedding” until I returned. Good times.
@borntohula:
@sXenester:
We should probably discuss a moratorium on “O’Malley’s Bar,” just for sanity’s sake. You’d think such things would be self-explanatory, but sometimes, the adults have to step in and take the toys away from the children.
Black Dog - Zep (the “Ah,Ah,Ah,Ah’s” are unbearable)
Sister Christian - Night Ranger
I actually witnessed the latter last weekend at a dive near my pad in Boston and couldn’t resist: