Skip to main content

Erasure - Love To Hate You

Last night, in an unknown karaoke bar on the edge of a small town in America, I committed the ultimate party foul. In the midst of a slightly flamboyant performance of Love To Hate You by Erasure, I stepped out of the designated singing area in an effort to bring the full performance closer to the audience. This short video captures that moment:



Unfortunately, upon my return to the stage, I unknowingly stepped on one of the floor lights. My attention was drawn to this unfortunate error as I gazed into the faces of the regulars seated near the stage. They were aghast and angry. Hoping I could redeem myself with an impassioned vocal delivery,  I continued the song. At the tune's conclusion, my mic shut off sharply. An audience member, with long Robert Plant-like hair, rushed to the stage and investigated the light. The stand mechanism was broken. "You gotta look out for the lights, man. What were you thinking? There are lights up here, y'know!" Embarrassed, I apologized. As I exited the stage, I passed by the karaoke DJ and offered a further apology, "I'm so sorry. I didn't see the light." He shook his head. "Yeah! You broke it buddy. Sit down, sir! Take a seat!"

I won't burden you with the absurd details of what followed. Let's just say that this was not my crowd, this wasn't their kind of music and it was not my finest moment. I won't be welcome at this karaoke bar for a long, long while. 2017 ends in bitter shambles and it's all my fault. Love To Hate You. What a fitting end to this strange year.






Comments

Post a Comment

Trending Tracks

Jules & the Polar Bears - Good Reason

Jules & The Polar Bears is one of those bands that you want to like, but continue to remain on the fence about even after a decade of failed listens. Recently, I've been sampling bands from the late 70s and early 80s who released fake new wave albums -- major label acts who played middle of the road rock, but disguised it in skinny ties, brightly colored sweaters and catchy, Cars-y keyboard riffs. Jules & The Polar Bears are a good example. Their first record, 1978's Got No Breeding, was compared to Dylan, The Kinks and Springsteen. Personally, I hear a quirky Jackson Browne in the songwriting. Everything sounds bearded and mid-tempo, except Jules Shear, the singer. He gives the band a distinct sound with his "singing at the top of my range" yelp. But even with Shears' interesting squelch, the songs never break out of 70s rock conformity. The guitarist's resemblance to a member of Orleans or Doobie Brothers is telling. Enter 1979's "Fenêt...
Post a Comment
Read more

Sweetbottom - Shrapnel In My Ankle

Sweetbottom -  Angels of the Deep . I can provide a totally valid explanation for the existence of this record in my collection. You see, I'd been eyeing this peculiar 12" at my favorite little hole-in-the-wall record shop for about a month. It was in the $5 box. After a few weeks it finally landed in the $1 bin. For the album artwork alone, I thought, this is worth a buck. Four late-70s dudes clad in white, cotton shirts and pants, hairy chests and... white shag carpet. Sweetbottom indeed. Adding to the allure, the notes revealed that the album had been recorded at the Shade Tree Resort Studio in Lake Geneva, Wisconsin between 1977-78. Could this be like the Great Lakes version of Yacht Rock? Could I be holding some long-forgotten, Midwest soft rock obscurity? I was tempted to cheat and pull out my cellphone to Google them, but then I paused. This is $1 we're talking about. Let's take the risk and live dangerously. As I approached the register, I noted that the ...
Post a Comment
Read more