The magic of the empty orchestra

I didn't think it would be possible, but the time has come to admit something to myself. I'm a karaoke junkie.

I like listening to music. I love my iPod. I like changing or enhancing my mood by the music I listen. It brings back memories, it makes me feel emotionally better (or worse) and it makes riding on bus or trains so much more comfortable when you don't have to listen to the conversations around you.

But lately I've catched myself listening to music with the sole purpose of being able to sing it in karaoke when I get back to Japan, and even actively searching for songs with a good performative potential. I'm wondering which songs by ABBA a normal japanese karaoke box would have, how drunk would I need to be before dancing on the table and which songs would earn me an undying and preferably good reputation as someone who is a must for every karaoke evening (well, that's already kinda sorted out and my reputation was made by singing enka - but I need to uphold it *g*).

And even though I've always been unable to either listen to music without any "bodily reactions" (at least tapping fingers/foot or nodding head), now it has evolved to the stage where I'm making up choreographies in my head (that somehow filter themselves into my walking rhythm) and silently "singing" the song going on in my iPod (read: making faces - when I'm in the karaoke mood I'm prone to overacting the lyrics...) when walking the path from the bus stop to home. For the moment no one's called neither the cops nor the nice men in white coats after me, but if I suddenly disappear this might be one reason: It's not deemed "proper behaviour" to dance and sing publicly to a music no one else hears.

So, January will have to include some trips to karaoke. There's of course the basic karaoke box you rent with your friends, usually for 2 hours or so (either with or without drinks). This is all fun and nice in itself, but there are 2 better alternatives.

The first one is a kind of "Happy Hour" karaoke in a normal karaoke box, called "Free Time". It's usually until 6pm or so, and it's a fixed price that isn't tied to the amount of hours you spend there, as long as you get out before 6pm - and usually you can buy a nomihôdai (all-you-can-drink) for the whole time, also for a fixed price. The result of all this is of course "Päiväkännit karaokessa" (hard to translate...) - you could come in around 2pm, drink and sing for 4hrs for some 2500yen/person. Heck, you wouldn't even need to sing if you don't want to, and it would still be one of the cheapest options to get drunk during the daylight.

The other one, which isn't actuallly really possible without knowing the right persons is to go to a "snack" (sunakku) after it's closed and do a karaoke evening there. "Snacks" are small bars run by a Mama-san, a middle-aged or older lady, who employ girls/ladies to converse and pour drinks to the older salarymen who are the prime targets of these establishments. Usually you won't even get in in them without knowing someone beforehand, since the clientele tends to be loyal to their place and very cold towards any strangers who try to come to their territory. They're less impersonal and "clean-cut" than the karaoke boxes, though, and that's why they're more fun. There's also space for the performances (karaoke boxes tend to have a table for the drinks that tales up all the space, hence the earlier speculation about dancing on tables), and there's also often some kind of masquerading equipment (and there's nothing as funny as a japanese guy with an afro-wig singing Piano Man, or, well, maybe someone singing japanese punk rock with reindeer horns, or the gaijin-girl singing enka with 150% feeling, but you get my point, right?). I think that must have been my best night out during the whole year - at least one of the funniest, though the day started with morning zazen 6-8am, continued by a temple tour in Kamakura, but then got some speed from the monk bar and ended... well. At least those 2 friends don't see buddhism nor buddhist priests the same way ever again, I think. :)

The afro-wig made sure of that.