Yo kids.
I went to Indie Rock Karaoke last night at Northsix in Brooklyn. I was expecting madness. I was expecting thousands of critical hipsters. I was expecting the Yeah Yeah Yeah's to be there, chuckling about the performances of their songs.
What I was not expecting was to be the only group of people there. I was also not expecting the KJ to look just like that kid from "18 Again," who is the same kid who was in the TV version of "Ferris Bueller," which is another topic for another time.
Bench Buddy and I got there one hour after doors opened, and we were literally the only two people there. We were soon joined by R and his girlfriend J. Then there were four of us, and 850 indie rock karaoke songs to split amongst ourselves!
I was suprised by the lack of turnout. I was convinced that everyone in Williamsburg would think that this was the best thing ever, but, as Bench Buddy astutely pointed out, "Not everyone thinks like us."
True, Bench Buddy, true, which is why we are so darn special!
The KJ is from Athens, GA and tours with this. He can't quite make a living at it. I was hoping he'd say "Yes, I make MILLIONS!" so Bench Buddy and I could immediately quit our jobs and bring Indie Rock Karaoke to Brooklyn as a regular occurence.
At any rate, the selection was good. Lots of Pixies, Sonic Youth, Neutral Milk Hotel, random They Might Be Giants songs such as "Ana Ng," a never-ending supply of Liz Phair and Radiohead. Yeah, it was cool.
It was coolest because in his list, the KJ had a bunch of lame songs like things by Britney Spears or K-Ci and Jo Jo or Creed and there would be an explanation listed next to them such as "I got this because I wanted a Weezer song" or "I really wanted 'Float On' by Modest Mouse." Heh.
We weren't really the only ones there. There were maybe a total of 20 people there, including a bartender and bouncer-type.
There was lots of Liz Phair being sung, and by lots, I mean two songs. J did "Supernova." It was awshummmm.
I wanted to do "6'1''" but didn't. Something I hadn't thought of regarding Indie Rock Karaoke - reverence. All of the songs are good. You respect all of the songs, and therefore don't want to mess them up. Usually you can start off with something easy or cheesy - but not here! No! You don't want to mess up "Weezer." It would be a sin.
I don't really know what anyone did for songs, because I was too busy staring at the book or taking photos.
I do know that some kid scooped Bench Buddy and did "Army" by Ben Folds. Wtf? Who else does "Army" by Ben Folds? This is Bench Buddy looking sad about not being able to sing his selection.
I myself sang "Nobody's Fault But My Own" by Beck and felt a bit emo while doing it. It made me want to cry. That song reminds me of things. Such a beautiful song, though, even with a lot of feedback.
My second selection was "Kissing the Lipless" by The Shins. Here I am singing:
It was GREAT karaoke, although I was thinking "I am doing a great disservice to The Shins right now" the entire time. People seemed into it. I got to scream a bit and pretend I was in a really good band. I'd love to do this song again, but I know I won't get a chance to, because Indie Rock Karaoke doesn't happen every day.
And I swear Bench Buddy and I were having a better time than the middle left photo would indicate.
Wednesday, March 16, 2005
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2 comments:
You are a Indie Rock Star! That would be so awesome to do. I saw Neural Milk Hotel back in, like 1998, with they first released "In the Aeroplane Over the Sea". ("Holland, 1945" is my favorite.) Go ahead and quit that job to become a millionaire KJ! Sign me up to sing! I'm next!
Thanx for being one of the few people to enjoy IRK in New York. I wish they hadn't tried to charge a cover, because that never works. Maybe I'll come back one day and do things proper.
Sincerely,
the guy who vaguely looks like that clown from "18 Again",
DJDoIt
www.myspace.com/hipsterkaraoke
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