Karaoke blues

First November two-zero-zero-nine. Today’s the day. Can I say the soft launch? Apa pun I’m celebrating it with a good lunch, maybe alone as usual.

It’s been quite a while I’ve been procrastinating to start blogging and each time chatting, social teh tariking, books and pillows took the better half of me. Or maybe I’ll be better off flogging certain quarter of the society, huh?

Got nothing in particular to start with but just remembered what I did the night before: testing the microphone & sound system of a joint or commercially known as karaoke. Can still remember the first few times I karaoked when I was very young… and it’s not like what it is now.

In social gatherings in the country of origin, it’s customary for the Japanese to sing & drink first before shoving the foods, followed by more bottoms up, then only they’re down. It’s sort of compulsory for all to sing, may it be solo or assisted, accompanied with claps and beating of chopsticks, spoon, knuckles and whatever available on the table. Occasionally, there'll be somebody bringing along their harmonica.

Though I haven’t started my Japanese classes yet, thot that it was a good idea to impress the Japanese with the number I learned from my late grandfather. But alas, the claps and beats faded gradually after couple of seconds crowing it. Well, later only I realised that the song’s actually a patriotic number that’s very popular among the Japanese soldiers at war...

For the rest of my almost one year stay, I just crowed Malay & English numbers if I have to, clapping or drumming the table with them until I started to go ga-ga with Momoe Yamaguchi, Hiromi Iwasaki, Ishikawa Sayori and Seiko Matsuda.

Though karaoke joints in Klang Valley are getting more sophisticated & sort of going global but only a handful got Ribaibaru (Revival) by Mayumi Itsuwa, released only about over a decade ago. It's beautiful especially the lyrics.