Sunday, June 08, 2008

Transitions

It happens so fast. One minute you're grieving the loss of an 8 year relationship, the security of knowing he can handle any disaster; a flooded basement, a dead possum, the wireless Internet connection. One minute you miss his warm body next to you in bed then before you know it you're contemplating who will occupy that empty space.

As if to mock the state of desolation your garden thrives as if it were located in the lush rain forests of the tropics rather than Northern New Jersey. The Joseph's Coat roses, named for their glorious show of petals that start out orange, merge into salmon then fade into a vicious pink, clamber over the fence as enthusiastically as if it were deep summer rather than just late spring. The peonies bloomed so early you had only 1 week to enjoy their fragrant wispy blooms the size of large grapefruits. And the mint! Good lord the mint has already grown to nipple height, increasing their sensual, beguiling allure. But I don't have to tell that to my friends or the dog. He tramples through the mint bed to cool his smelly, popcorn scented feet. My friends embrace the cool, herby stalks for Mojitos or chutney. Or like my friend Barbara, to writhe upon in ecstatic frenzy, like a person with human catnip.

Books you start reading: how to cook for 1. Emails you begin paying attention to: eHarmony and Chemistry.com. You begin to wonder if Facebook could be a good thing...

Friday, June 06, 2008

Top 10 songs to Karaoke before you die

Been spending a bit of time doing something I never contemplated. Singing in karaoke bars. Odd development considering my not too shabby musical lineage. My mother is a classical Indian singer. My cousin Tom Prasada-Rao is a multiple Kerrville songwriter of the year winner and possibly the best male vocalist I've ever heard. My other cousin Rekha (we ran out of names, ok?!) is a jazz singer/pianist. I did the occassional stint as backup and studio singer on top of the 10 years I sang in the choir. You heard me, choir. Chorale music performed before a live audience, mostly in church. 4 part harmony (sometimes 5 if a 2nd soprano was called for). I sang alto and sometimes tenor if Laurie Yost wasn't around to carry the tenor line with the 3 shy boys lassoed in from band.

I really loved it. Skye Sweetnam might think music is her boyfriend. It was my escape. My rendezvous with forbidden freedom, even if I was singing to sweater-wearing, blue hair rinsed old ladies cradling well worn Bibles. Even if I was harmonizing about the Old Testament prophet Moses and his bad ass serpent-transfiguring staff. But when one doesn't sing, the vocal chords normally accustomed to high Gs, breath control and generally emitting sounds acceptable to human ears atrophy. Badly.

So I discovered when my colleague Ping invited me to a karaoke evening with promises of happy hour Cosmopolitans. Why not give it a whirl, I've only sung for a quarter of my life. Apparently a quarter does not suffice. This new generation, and by that I mean the devilish kids who grew up with media channels like uTube, Myspace and reality television to showcase their nebulous but nonetheless unique talents. Did you forget James Hung already?

Luckily Ping's vocal talents are neither nebulous nor disturbingly unique. The boy can sing, really well. The Killers, 3 Doors Down, and best of all - Creep by Radiohead. Holy shit! what an epiphany to hear a hometown guy (via the Asian Karaoke belt) bellow Creep in a tiny 4 seater karaoke room with a disco ball glinting jewel colored lights against the dingy walls.

My singing fared less well. Years of rusty car singing to Classic Rock stations or JACK simply could not fabricate a confident, much less digestible voice. So I crackled and popped through some gruesome renditions of contemporary pop. No I'm not going to name them so you can giggle.

But I perservered at Ping's drawn eyebrowed request and guess what? I'm getting my chops back baby! So in honor of this newly acquired skill I'm paying homage to the mistakenly silly ritual of karaoke by listing 10 songs you MUST sing karaoke-style before you die.

10. New York State of Mind - dedicated to the formerly from San Francisco but now a bona fide New Yorker Ms. Sheila Shea.
9. Santeria - Sublime. Come ON.
8. Any song by the Carpenters
7. Killing me softly - Fugees version
6. Battle Flag - Lo Fidelity Allstars
5. Anything NOT by Bobby Vinton
4. Teen Spirit - Nirvana
3. Rappers Delight, with 3 participants otherwise forget it!
2. Lady Mamalade - either version
1. Total Eclipse of the Heart - Bonnie Tyler. The gravelly-voiced Tyler was reputedly a sword swallower and had the boys in my high school all misty eyed whenever it played. And yes, I've karaoked it.

For my amusement add your fave picks for songs to karaoke in any old order you please.