월요일, 12월 29, 2003
just got back from malacca less than an hour ago and lo and behold imagine my happiness and glee when i perused kayzee's blog and what should i see but a whole buncha paragraphs extolling the virtues of karaoke, also known as KTV to everyone in the know *nudge nudge wink wink*

to be honest, it's one activity that i only got the hang of quite recently. never was a big fan of showing my tonsils to the world, always having been a hummer-in-the-shower type of person, and anyway, i got enough of singing in the choir. however, the emotional high that one can get over something so simple really promotes the kind of camaraderie (amongst your adoring audience, no doubt) that is an ingredient of the glue that pulls us all together. indeed, i only go karaoke-ing with my nearest and dearest, which means no weird strangers or people who are, all too bluntly, trying to be funny.

there's no such thing in the uk though, which is a bit distressing. in the rare events where the karaoke machine is pulled out, the people who manage to wrest the mike away from the bar lady who doubles up as dj for the night are mostly too drunk to sing in tune, or make a good job of going deliberately off-key. i suppose there's fun in that too, but the joy sometimes is to really enjoy that short 4 minutes of american idol-esque experience before you have to relinquish the mike to your equally eager friend. (the wilber pan song -- 是誰偷走了我的麥克風？ comes to mind.) interestingly enough, those precious few minutes of singing more often than not gives the individual an ego boost by allowing them to claim their allotted taste of super-stardom in their own right.

most, if not all of us will never make it to the stage, but then again, everyone has a right to dream. ktv-ing goes beyond the superficial facade that it maintains of sleazy old men, soggy peanuts and ktv girls; it facilitates some sort of bonding and enjoyment that is unique unto its own. in my opinion, it berates its own worth too much, with respect to the fact that it relinquishes itself to consolidation of the dregs of society, forgetting that the entertainment it provides is much more profound than is actually perceived. indeed, those technicolour neon lights to belie something much deeper than sex, cheap wine and hokkien songs.

all in all, i'm sure lots of people enjoy a good yodel on the mike, although many may not be willing to admit it. sure, we might not be the next clay aiken, (who, by the way, did not win american idol, so why the heck is he more famous than reuben?) but sometimes it's fun just to imagine that we are, even if it's just for those 5 minutes. so go on, stretch those vocal cords, no one's looking. =)