Karaoke is an inclusive Activity

The US Election is finally over and the “people” have spoken. Unfortunately, the people who spoke loudest, are the haters, the bullies, and the ignorant. It may be just a temporary shock, but I am currently questioning whether or not I can continue to hand microphones to people who hate, bully, and ignore. I always ran my karaoke shows saying, “The show isn’t about me, it’s about you all, folks, come on up, sing a song, have fun, impress (or don’t impress) your friends.”

But, occasionally, people would come up and want to sing utterly tasteless artists, like, “Kid Rock” for example, especially during times when his anti-gay anti-trans videos were all over the news. People would come up and hold up a can of Bud Light and say “Dump em out boys!” in reference to Kid Rock’s anti-trans, anti-gay agenda. during that time. I don’t know if I can continue to hand mics to people in red hats for another 4 years. It’s one thing to have a minority of bigots in the room, but an emboldened majority… that’s a totally different thing.

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Forbidden words in Karaoke

A karaoke host’s mission every night is to establish a modern-day vibe of “Kumbayah”. Unfortunately, certain forbidden words in music add to the stress of the job. While we aim for inclusivity, certain words that exist in the English language have origins rooted in bigotry. This creates a slippery political situation every night, with the Karaoke host stuck in the middle.

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The Subtle Mind-Games of a Saturday night Karaoke Host

As I’ve said in previous blogs. Ultimately, my job as a Karaoke Jockey is a bit more abstract than I imagined it to be before I took the job. Ultimately my job is to make sure that people “have fun” and stick around and drink drinks. Sometimes, however, one person’s fun makes several other people … Read moreThe Subtle Mind-Games of a Saturday night Karaoke Host

Experiments with AI Video for Song Lyrics, Poetry, and Book Passages

This video is a rough demonstration of how a video might be generated from Music Lyric prompts using various techniques of AI coercion. It shows some of the promise, but also some of the challenges in attempting such a feat. Obvious benefits Some challenges.. Now here’s a AI interpretation of a book passage that is … Read moreExperiments with AI Video for Song Lyrics, Poetry, and Book Passages

Progress Report 11/7, Better multi-artist search and more

In developing BigBigBook.com, I’m learning the hard way that there’s a reason every Karaoke book in every Karaoke dive bar you’ve ever been to is riddled with errors and is an utter mess… it’s because maintaining these books is REALLY hard. Way harder than I ever anticipated it being when I first set out to … Read moreProgress Report 11/7, Better multi-artist search and more