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| From | Michael Coxe <popville@gmail.com> |
| Subject | Be careful what you sing in Manila |
| Date | Sat, 06 Feb 2010 22:12:26 -0800 |
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http://www.nytimes.com/2010/02/07/world/asia/07karaoke.html
Sinatra Song Often Strikes Deadly Chord
Jes Aznar for The New York Times
GENERAL SANTOS, the Philippines — After a day of barbering, Rodolfo
Gregorio went to his neighborhood karaoke bar still smelling of talcum
powder. Putting aside his glass of Red Horse Extra Strong beer, he
grasped a microphone with a habitué’s self-assuredness and briefly
stilled the room with the Platters’ “My Prayer.”
Next, he belted out crowd-pleasers by Tom Jones and Engelbert
Humperdinck. But Mr. Gregorio, 63, a witness to countless fistfights and
occasional stabbings erupting from disputes over karaoke singing, did
not dare choose one beloved classic: Frank Sinatra’s version of “My Way.”
“I used to like ‘My Way,’ but after all the trouble, I stopped singing
it,” he said. “You can get killed.”
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.”
- Michael
NP: David McNeil 45 - Space Plane b/w Don't Let Your Chance Go By
(1968). Amazing soft psych by the son of Marc Chagall. Released this & 2
other 45's in the 60's (tracking down), tho had lps later - 70s &
beyond. Also writes novels.
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