I see ‘em!

Karaoke is a mighty interesting pastime that I am constantly finding a secret passion of my friends. Singing usually proffers a new aspect to people and in fact, it is something that is itself interestingly changing, as a part of people’s lives.

I’m no historian but I believe that the people of the past sang much more. At dinners, at births, deaths, war, in the garden, plucking berries. In the mundane and the majestic moments of life, singing had its special meaning. In our present day, singing is rarely done by any of us. It speaks volumes that singing is done in the last private sanctum of privacy – the toilet. Without song, what else marks the events of our lives?

I believe that perhaps in the past, there was a song to greet the day, a song to be thankful for for breakfast, a song to remember the ancestors that guided the day, a bath song, a working song (hi-ho-hi-ho-it’s home from work we go), a song to marvel the sunset, a song to raise the barbeque fire, a song for the sleeping child and a song for one’s love. These days, we have replaced these songs with other people singing them for us. From singing, we are now listening. We have a soundtrack of morning songs, songs to accompany through that traffic jam, an easy-listening-dun-offend-the-colleagues soundtrack, a playlist for exercise, a playlist for chill-out. It is kinda strange isn’t it?

Anyways, as people sing, you can see that bit much more of their inner self. It is not just about singing, it is what songs they choose as much as those they do not try, who they sing with, how they care about lyrics, melody… All these are interesting and comforting as they extend their personalities before you. To me, there are a lot of things that ring true through these songs.

Objectively, I am not saying much. Naturally, as you spend more time with people, you learn to see more sides of them, and then karaoke is nothing different from any other activity.

But ask a karaoke lover, and he/she will tell you it is different. Within the darkened room, images of wishes and desires projected, one can take up another personality, live a break-up, celebrate a first kiss, pine a lost one. It is not uncommon, such a feature of entertainment, to live vicariously the performed. For people looking to gun down karaoke, where one becomes the performer, the charge is that it is all an act.

Yes, I agree with it. It is an act, a brief one, like a drama performance. But it is also true, these words whose author I cannot thank due to poor memory:

"Be careful of what you pretend to be,

for that is what you are."

Does the world wait to know who you are? Are there more than the precious few whose mute melody you understand? The hearts you can count on to duet and sing out to without a word – yet there are few we are willing to give this tune to. Simply put, only a few truly know us, and there are even fewer we are willing to reveal ourselves to.

The rest of the world that does not know you, that you do not give your frequency to, they need some connection with you. Even if you think singing to be pretense, it still resonates from a part of yourself. Not the heart, but it still bears your breath.

Everyone is a singer. In the quiet moments of memory, between the brief spaces where feeling falls between word and image, melodies remain. You have that song you love, that you sing within when you hear it from others. You might sing for yourself, you might sing to the world. If you think that singing is an act, a contrived performance, I still tell you to sing. I’m deaf to your silent song; sing so that I have melody to at least know you by.

———————————————————————————————–By the way, if you love easy-reading, finishing a book in one sitting, and love songs, read ‘High Fidelity’. It is not a challenging read, but one that you will no doubt enjoy and will want to relisten to, like a favourite song. Finished it some time back and suddenly thought about it. Borrow it from me if you want! I’ve 2 copies! Strangely enough…