Serious Karaoke

It is true: In the Philippines, they take karaoke very seriously. They do it a lot. Often, it's more accurately called videoke, as there are videos playing along with the song.

But who knew it could become a context for murder? This recent article from the NYT, tells us about how no one in the Philippines will risk singing "My Way" anymore, because so many people have been killed for singing it, mostly for singing it badly.

There is a lot of weird stuff in that article. I tried to discern how much of it is based on stereotypes and generalizations, but it's hard to tell. Most of generalizations about Philippine society are made by Filipinos.

Very odd. But it does make me realize that I don't sing karaoke nearly often enough. I do have to wonder, though, if I've been in any of the karaoke bars mentioned in the article. I have very vivid memories of one, but I don't recall where it was.