“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.
“Boys Don’t Cry”
by The Cure
from the album Boys Don’t Cry
1979
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When I was a tween/teen and getting really into most of the music we talk about on this blog, I was firmly against the Cure. I would make fun of them, I would say they sucked, etc. The truth is, which I can freely admit now and probably at least subconsciously knew then, is that I was just so against them because my best friend at the time was so into them. We’re talking dressing as Robert Smith on Halloween, etc. Never mind that we shared most of our other bands in common, The Cure is where I placed my (ridiculous) stake in the ground. It wasn’t until he and I stopped being friends that I was finally able to listen to them properly.
“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.
“Glycerine”
by Bush
from the album Sixteen Stone
1994
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I feel like Bush has gotten a lot of flack, but this album hit at a time where I got really into them (plus I admit, I had a man crush on Gavin Rossdale). I think I stopped listening to them after their second album, but still love Sixteen Stone (actually, looking at the tracklist, I realize I’m way overdue in revisiting it), and I saw them once in Atlanta with either Pearl Jam or No Doubt.
“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”
“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?
“Alone”
by Heart
from the album Bad Animals
1987
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There are songs that make me wish I were a female, just so i could sing them. There are songs that aren’t duets but I convince someone to make it into one. And there are songs that seem like a good idea and then go horribly, horribly wrong. This one checks all three boxes.
“Lightning Crashes”
by Live
from the album Throwing Copper
1994 Radioactive
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I’m totally behind on my posts, so I was feeling a bit stressed on what to pick for the karaoke entry. I had something completely different in mind when I decided to hit MNP to see what Chris had cooked up for his entry. Upon seeing “Brick” I thought FUCK IT and countered with my own depressing karaoke song. Ladies and gentled, the song you should never sing with expectant parents in the room… “Lightning Crashes.”
“Brick”
by Ben Folds Five
from the album Whatever and Ever Amen
1997
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This isn’t exactly a karaoke upper. For people who don’t know it, it’s a bit of a downer in sped, but if you do know what the song is about, it’s downright depressing. Which of course hasn’t stopped me from doing it a time or two.
Continue reading Karaoke Tuesday: “Brick”
“Hey Jealousy”
by Gin Blossoms
from the album New Miserable Experience
1992
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I wasn’t too sure what to post this week. Nothing was really calling out to me, but was just looking at my karaoke playlist and this jumped out. Probably because it’s so much of the same time as Lance’s pick. I never really got into the Gin Blossoms. I think I had this album at one point but got rid of it, but man, this song is great.