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| -Lurid Crime Tales- |
| Karaoke and Sinatra -- a deadly combination |
| 2010-02-07 |
| The authorities do not know exactly how many people have been killed warbling “My Way' in karaoke bars over the years in the Philippines, or how many fatal fights it has fueled. But the news media have recorded at least half a dozen victims in the past decade and includes them in a subcategory of crime dubbed the “My Way Killings.' The killings have produced urban legends about the song and left Filipinos groping for answers. Are the killings the natural byproduct of the country's culture of violence, drinking and machismo? Or is there something inherently sinister in the song? Whatever the reason, many karaoke bars have removed the song from their playbooks. And the country's many Sinatra lovers, like Mr. Gregorio here in this city in the southernmost Philippines, are practicing self-censorship out of perceived self-preservation. Karaoke-related killings are not limited to the Philippines. In the past two years alone, a Malaysian man was fatally stabbed for hogging the microphone at a bar and a Thai man killed eight of his neighbors in a rage after they sang John Denver's “Take Me Home, Country Roads.' Karaoke-related assaults have also occurred in the United States, including at a Seattle bar where a woman punched a man for singing Coldplay's “Yellow' after criticizing his version. Still, the odds of getting killed during karaoke may be higher in the Philippines, if only because of the ubiquity of the pastime....And Filipinos, who pride themselves on their singing, may have a lower tolerance for bad singers. Indeed, most of the “My Way' killings have reportedly occurred after the singer sang out of tune, causing other patrons to laugh or jeer.... |
| Posted by:Mike |
| #7 Relevant Belushi video. |
| Posted by: DMFD 2010-02-07 13:11 |
| #6 Early on in the WoT, an unnamed CIA agent remarked that there was a foreign enemy combatant holding site nicknamed The Hotel California. He said there were some particularly nasty elements to the place that put a whole different, and grotesque, complexion on the lyrics. |
| Posted by: Anonymoose 2010-02-07 11:20 |
| #5 Hotel California |
| Posted by: Whusotle White6027 2010-02-07 09:32 |
| #4 Listen - Take Me Home, Country Roads |
| Posted by: Elmomble Ghibelline2606 2010-02-07 09:25 |
| #3 I can definitely see wanting to kill if someone sings John Denver. As a veteran of Asian karaoke, if anyone puts on Hotel California it's going to be a "Kill Bill"-style massacre with the singer, his friends, the karaoke girls, the songs computer, and any other bystanders getting slaughtered with great malice...and I'd get off at a jury trial with justifiable homicide... |
| Posted by: gromky 2010-02-07 09:14 |
| #2 "My Way" has something unique about it. It was noted that many years ago in the US, there was a very popular national radio talent show, which ran for years, but every single contestant on the show who sang "My Way", won. There have been a few other song phenomena, such as "Gloomy Sunday", which in the 1930s was alleged to have resulted in many suicides (though little evidence exists today, as suicide was seen as shameful, so was not reported as such, as a rule, in the newspapers.) And I'm sure many people have very deep feelings about songs like, "Don't Worry - Be Happy", that either makes them want to hurt and kill, or at least think they are developing a brain tumor. |
| Posted by: Anonymoose 2010-02-07 09:05 |
| #1 My Way - Hear it. I can understand why Filipinos kill after hearing this song ..... they a tone deaf.... |
| Posted by: Crens Jones3943 2010-02-07 08:04 |