“Under the Milky Way”
The Church
from the album Starfish
1988
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I’ve never quite nailed this song to my satisfaction but it’s had a firm position in my karaoke song list for a few years. As to when it made its first appearance, it was almost assuredly a drunken addition one evening at a NYC basement karaoke bar. But the song weaseled its way into my heart a long time before that.
“Cinnamon Girl”
by Smashing Pumpkins (originally by Neil Young)
from the album Pisces Iscariot (Remastered)
1994
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The Pumpkins again? Sue me. Billy picks great songs to cover and they do them up. Besides featuring a repeat artist, this song also qualifies for the popular I had never heard the original until I realized the cover was a cover lament. I wanna be a Neil Young guy, I really do. But I guess I’m just not ready for a one-to-one relationship with him. Sorry Neil, we’re gonna have have to connect via covers.
“Earth Rocker”
by Clutch
from the album Earth Rocker
2013
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Power. This song has it in spades.
“Earth Rocker” starts with a slow build, just simple bass line and a ride cymbal, but even then you can tell it’s about to pummel you over the head with something. It’s not until a couple of verses in that you understand the message – quit being a whiney shit Lance and do something worthwhile.
“Banditos”
by The Refreshments
from the album Fizzy Fuzzy Big & Buzzy
1996
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I’ve mentioned this song to a few people and no one I’ve come across remembers it, which is a shame because it’s such a fun tune. I thought it would be relegated to my list of songs I really want to sing, but will never be able to find ever, until we stumbled across it (and “Jane Says“) at weird little sports bar in Austin.
“Leavin’ Here”
by Pearl Jam (originally by Eddie Holland)
from the album Lost Dogs
2003
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I first caught Pearl Jam’s cover of “Leavin’ Here” on the Home Alive compilation which contained tracks by (mostly) Seattle-based bands. Sales from the album benefited the Home Alive project which teaches self-defense on a sliding scale payment system and was started following the brutal rape and murder of Gits vocalist, Mia Zapata. To be honest, none of the tracks really did much for me at the time, but I always loved this PJ track. Short, fun, and everyone gets a little riff to play.
“Damn Good”
by David Lee Roth
from the album Skyscraper
1988
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Growing up, I was all about country and easy listening music because those were the only two radio stations I could reliably pick up with my clock radio (R.I.P. WSIX 98.6 and Easy 93). When I heard friends talking about Huey Lewis and the News, I thought he was an anchor on channel 13. Men At Work became “Minute Work” which I interpreted as some kind of scholastic study method (I was a weird kid). Eventually though, we got MTV. Although I missed out on a lot pop music as it was happening, I quickly caught up.
One of the first pop cassettes I bought for myself was David Lee Roth’s Skyscraper and I’m not ashamed to say that I absolutely adore it. I must have listened to that whole album a thousand times, although It took me a while to make the entire loop, I’d get hooked on a song, play it through and then quickly rewind and listen again. I became an expert in knowing just how long to keep the button down so that the track was queued perfectly. I can feel the vibration of my Panasonic boom box (with Ambience™) rewinding right now. “Just Like Paradise” and “Stand Up” were perfect singles. “Hina” was just a bizarrely amazing and beautiful song (it’s also a perfect night song). But the song that encapsulates a summer song for me is “Damn Good.”
“The Middle”
by Jimmy Eat World
from the album Bleed American
2001
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I’m going for the low-hanging fruit with this selection because Chris and I just discovered how fun it is to do as a duet a few months ago. What a great tune to switch hit with your friends. It’s totally easy to pass the stanzas back and forth and then come together on the chorus. Plus it’s got some fun air guitar moments if you’re into that sort of thing… which I am. Continue reading Karaoke Tuesday: “The Middle”
“3 Is A Magic Number”
by Blind Melon (originally by School House Rock!)
from the album School House Rock! Rocks
1996
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I found this track on a CMJ magazine sampler CD sometime in 1996. A few years later I totally got into MiniDiscs and transferred the tracks I really liked from those sampler CDs to MDs. And then recently when I was moving down to Austin, I transferred those MD mix discs into iTunes. This song has survived three generations of media, and rightfully so. It’s fun, magical little tune and serves as double nostalgia: for Blind Melon and for School House Rock!
“Give It Away”
by the Red Hot Chili Peppers
from the album Blood Sugar Sex Magik
1991
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This song sweats, that’s all there is to it. Even before Stéphane Sednaouie‘s gorgeous video confirmed it, the song had that dessert sun feeling to it. It’s just stanky and funky. I’ve performed this at karaoke a few times and it’s an exhausting song to sing. The structure is relentless and punishing – there’s never a chance to catch your breath. If you put it in the car and crank it and you’ll be excited for whatever adventure you’re driving towards, guaranteed. It’s totally a summer party anthem. Speaking of, this song brings to mind a very specific summer memory.
“Jane Says”
by Jane’s Addiction
from the album Nothing’s Shocking
1988
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“Jane Says” is another one of those songs whose absence from the karaoke songbook is a total head scratcher. Most places will have “Been Caught Stealing” and that makes sense, but then they’ll also have some random track off of Strays but not “Jane Says.” I mean WTF is that about?