Tag: karaoke

Marilyn Manson completely rips off my karaoke song

So I’m not really for or against Marilyn Manson and his eponymous band.  Don’t mind at all to listen to the songs, some I even like, but I don’t give a rat’s ass about what Marilyn Manson wears, looks like, dates.  If you are paying close enough attention to be shocked or surprised at his appearance or his stage show or whatever, you are feeding into exactly what the band hoped for: attention, press, uproar.  Mister Marilyn Manson can call it artistic expression or whatever, but it all boils down to a big fat paycheck at the end of the day—the more the shock, the outrage, the bigger the paycheck.  Anyhooooo…

I like the Manson cover of “Sweet Dreams.”  Eerie, spooky, enjoyable stuff there, especially as the lyrics are whispered in your ear about three minutes into it, that’s fabulous.  I do not like the cover of “Personal Jesus” at all; Depeche Mode’s original version was uber sexy, let’s strip, get on the horse and ride, and even though they made it their own, Manson’s cover is hollow–on a vaguely related note, Rob Zombie’s “Pussy Liquor” has that same “Personal Jesus” type of riff, and it is completely dance on the coffee table and strip-worthy.  Some of Manson’s originals like “If I Was Your Vampire” are quite listenable, marrying the woe, doom and gloom of bands like The Cure with a more industrial flavor similar to NIN.

Marilyn Manson’s “Tainted Love” just pisses me off.  That’s my song.  That’s my on my knees, crawling on all fours, leaving the stage to mingle in the crowd karaoke song.  I do it justice.  It’s mine.  They ripped me off with this song.  It loses all its heartsick bitter jaded wonderfulosity in the Manson version. (What’s also terrible, maybe even worse, is H.I.M.’s cover of Chris Isaak’s “Wicked Game”…but that’s a tangent for another day) I think they need to blow it up, remove it from the universe, give it back to me, pretend it never existed and we’ll call it even.

birthday

Good birthday so far.  Got my first birthday kind thoughts in my email inbox at 12:12 AM (yes, I know, I shoulda been sleeping, tell me something I don’t already know), and it’s been all good since, but I have been so well celebrated with food that I might explode!  Gawd bless T for bringing my favorite juice smoothie AND a bendy straw this morning.  Warm cookies.  Breakfast casserole.  Haven’t even gotten into the banana split fixin’s I was generously gifted with today, and dinner awaits, too.  I’m so thrilled at being thought of this year, just giddy about it.  Karaoke and paintball tomorrow…come one, come all, let me shoot at you and sing horribly off key (but with enthusiasm) to you…

A Fabulous Farewell for The Bean

One of my favorite coworkers is moving away; The Bean has been offered a job that she couldn’t pass up, and so she’s outta here!  Can’t blame her, but I hate it.  It’s such a treat to have coworkers you actually like to see, office buddies that make the whole thing a little more tolerable.  The Bean has an optimistic outlook and good sense of humor, and our office could use heaps of that–we’ll all miss her so much!

Friday night we had a little farewell gathering for The Bean over karaoke.  As many songs as we sang alone or as “The Wild Girls,” as we were dubbed by the DJ, it might as well have been our own private party.  Our posse paid tribute to Billy Idol, Pat Benatar, Wham!, Frank Sinatra, The Clash and everyone in between as we raised our glasses and raised hell.

I have my own repertoire of songs I will sing in public, drunk or completely sober–liquid courage is not required for me to do karaoke, as I’m ready to make an ass of myself 24/7.  I have my karaoke standards that are easy and fun, like “Love Shack” and “Tainted Love.”  Since it was a special evening, I decided to broaden the horizons and select something I would normally never sing outside my car.  I opted for the Violent Femmes’ “Add It Up,” the little ditty that asks “Why can’t I get just one kiss…” and ponders “Why can’t I get just one screw?” and goes on to explore “Why can’t I get just one fuck?”  It was a true crowd pleaser, but whether I’d do it again depends entirely on the crowd, really–I wouldn’t want to roll that one out at an office social or anything (though I have writhed on the floor singing “Like A Virgin” for an office event!).

I hope The Bean enjoyed her shindig.  I know I did, and her beau was a freakin’ hoot and a half!  The Bean’s got some packing to do and some loose ends to wrap up, but before you know it, she’ll have left Western NC for a bigger city and new adventures.  I’ll miss The Bean and her silliness, as well as the wisdom she’s shared with me along the way.  She is one cool chickie, and I wish her a blessing for every time she laughs in a day.  I’ll miss you—-good luck, good things, keep smiling and sharing your spirit everywhere you go, girl!