Too cool for karaoke

“There are many things for which I am not too cool. I am, however, too cool for karaoke.”

I was fond of saying that once. I could still be fond of saying it, actually, though it loses its punch when you learn that I’ve sung karaoke.

At work.

Sober.

A former colleague signed me up for it at a meeting, and “let me know” afterward. It kind of pissed me off, honestly, but I thought “no, I’ll be a good sport. It’ll be fine.”

So, karaoke. There are two broad approaches. You can pick a silly song and ham it, or you can pick a good song and try to sing it well. I chose the latter path, and after a perusal of the offerings I settled pretty quickly on Del Shannon’s “Runaway,” a longtime favorite.

I practiced. I sang it two or three times a day in the car for a week. And then when I got there, the track the karaoke guy had was in a different key.

And that little witch who signed me up didn’t even come to the meeting.

So I didn’t even get to lose my karaoke cherry with a flourish. I face-planted, ruining one of the greatest rock ‘n’ roll songs of all time. It was like a vegetarian deciding not to be one anymore and celebrating with a can of potted meat.

The other guy who sang chose David Allan Coe’s “You Never Even Called Me By My Name.” Well-played, sir.

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6 thoughts on “Too cool for karaoke”

  1. I’m trying to figure out who thought Karaoke at the office was a good idea anyway. Everyone knows karaoke requires alcohol, dim lighting, a room full of mostly strangers, and a group of friends singing with you to be fun.

    Reply
  2. It’s been quite some time ago now, which are generally the only kind of work stories I tell. I’m sure the aim was team-building, camaraderie, &c. Like I said, I’d have never raised my own hand, but decided to high-road it out instead of cancel. I should have canceled. 🙂

    Reply
  3. It was a contract win party, as I recall. Maybe when SAIC got SCRS?

    A fellow ASMS alumnus played the violin. Seems like Klaus may have played his guitar. I went on after a sign–language interpretation of some somber number and pleaded with Steve Hettinger to warm the crowd back up.

    Being thrust into the limelight was an aspect of the story I had forgotten. Good times.

    Reply
    • Heh! I had forgotten Steve was emceeing.

      You played the whole thing much better than I did. Like I said, I’d bail today.

      Or maybe I’d bring my trombone.

      Reply

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