Song of the Day: You Oughta Know

Artist: Alanis Morissette

Released: 1995

Background: Man, Full House sure was a great show. Who could forget how Bob Saget, Dave Coulier and the Olsen Twins provided America with hilarity that the entire family could enjoy?

Flash forward to the present, and the stars of Full House are anything but family friendly. Saget created a cottage industry out of saying vulgar things in random places. The Olsen Twins have become drugged-out messes. And Dave Coulier? Well, nobody really knows what he’s doing. But Alanis Morissette pretty much accused him of being an asshole.

OK, I guess Coulier hasn’t been outed as the subject for “You Oughta Know,” probably the most memorable ‘woman scorned’ song of the 1990s. But it’s impossible not to imagine Coulier as the mean old guy who totally screwed over Alanis. And because of the song’s immense popularity, “You Oughta Know” has become a rallying cry in the karaoke world against Dave Coulier – or at least assholes who break our hearts.

What makes the song great popular: Truth be told, I don’t have a strong opinion on this song. I mean, it’s not good or bad by any stretch of the imagination. But to me, the song’s message of rebellion and angst has struck a cord with those of us who came of age during the hard-scrabble 1990s.

Usually, the song will be sung by a woman as a way to showcase empowerment against a loser of a guy. But I’ve also seen the tune sung by guys as a rather ironic statement of sorts. I don’t know if my friend Robert Rasmussen has been scorned recently. But I think his performance shows the song’s entertainment value.

On the plus side, the song does have a great deal of vocal variety. The verses alternate between soft and loud phrases pretty effectively. And the chorus allows a singer to yell and scream to their heart’s content. There are also a few memorable lines involving movie theaters and dinner that everybody seems to know.

Best element of the song: It’s popular and it seems fun to sing. Also, people with good vocal ranges can probably do excellent renditions of this song.

Worst element of the song: It’s a common song. And it’s always best to avoid monotony by trying something new.

Conclusion: I can understand this song’s appeal. It’s a song that’s catchy, memorable and fairly fun to sing. But I can also understand how devoted karaokers could get burnt out after awhile.

Truth be told, I’ve never sung this song and I probably never will. I have nothing against Dave Coulier. Now Jon Stamos? That guy needs to be ripped apart!

Jefferson Starship Airplane

I remember reading either Blender or Maxim or Stuff many years ago and reading how Jefferson Starship’s “We Built This City” was one of the worst songs ever. I’m not saying it’s a good song, but there are definitely tunes that are far, far, far worse.

In any case, I would actually argue that “We Built This City” is a decent karaoke song, mainly because it’s highly recognizable and catchy. Want proof? Here’s Parker Eshelman’s rendition of the song:

Clint Eastwood

This one’s a bit old, but here’s entertainer extraordinaire Kyle Ayers singing Clint Eastwood:

And now a song from the weaker Dylan…

I’m not a fan of The Wallflowers or their biggest hit “One Headlight.” But like most things in life, Scott “Big Boss” Ross actually was able to turn a lame song into karaoke gold.

Watch and learn:

We Can Dance

This video needs like explanation or introduction:

Song of the Day: Smells Like Teen Spirit

Artist: Nirvana

Released: 1991

Background: Whenever I think of one of the most popular songs of 1990s, I can’t help but think of Diamond Dallas Page.

You see, the Las Vegas wrestler used “Smells Like Teen Spirit” as his entrance song. It wasn’t actually the song, but rather a fairly similar cover version with Page mumbling over the instrumentals. So, it really wasn’t much different from the original with Kurt Cobain.

I was pleased a few people at Eastside karaoke understood what I was talking about. Several karaoke compatriots contorted their hands into the diamond cutter, a mannerism that was shamefully plagiarized by Jay-Z. And then, all grunge hell broke loose.

In actuality, “Smells Like Teen Spirit” is something of a spiritual knockoff as well. I watched a documentary on VH1  a few months ago where the remaining members of Nirvana mentioned that the song had a lot of inspiration from The Pixies. The Boston-based group enjoyed making music that had a “quiet-loud-quiet-loud” progression. “Smells Like Teen Spirit,” for the most part, follows that route rather well.

The song’s structure fits well for karaoke. The “quiet” part of the song gives the singer time to build up for the “loud” part. And then, it’s up to the singer’s discretion about how loud he or she wants to go. I chose to scream the chorus like I was possessed. But I think the crowd would react positively regardless.

What makes the song great: Besides being a relatively fun song to sing, “Smells Like Teen Spirit” is almost guaranteed to get a good crowd reaction. That’s not an absolute guarantee. If you sing this song at a country karaoke bar in Fargo, North Dakota, it may not go over well. But there’s something about this song that taps into a tender wave of 1990s nostalgia.

And much like any song sung by Rage Against the Machine, “Smells Like Teen Spirit” allows the singer to unleash a vortex of angst. This is especially helpful after a hard work day or after rabid monkeys bite you.

Best element of the song: The song’s vocal variety is a big help. And it certainly doesn’t hurt that you can scream and thrash with abandon while singing this song.

Worst element of the song: This song has some fairly lengthy instrumentals in the beginning and in the middle. While these instrumental parts could give the crowd to relive their mosh-pitting days, it can leave the singer a bit high and dry.

Conclusion: I think you can make a solid argument that Nirvana’s overall popularity has been overcome by the Foo Fighters. But their legacy seems sturdier. And the reputation of “Smells Like Teen Spirit” transitions well into the karaoke arena.

As for Diamond Dallas Page, I don’t know where he is. But I’m sure he’ll give himself a self high-five after reading this.

In honor of Tiger Woods

… here is one of the greatest songs of the decade:

Hey Man Nice Shot (The Banana Song)

A long, long time ago, a band called Filter came on the scene. The group released a fairly popular song known to the populace as “Hey Man, Nice Shot.”

I like that song. With a brooding bassline and a screamo-happy chorus, “Hey Man Nice Shot” seems on the surface to be a respectable karaoke song. I may still be right. But there isn’t way to verify this fact.

You see, when I put the song in to sing at Eastside Tavern, I was struck how the background music sounded absolutely nothing like the actual song. Instead, it resembled either Gloria Estafan’s “Get On Your Feet” or Harry Belafonte’s “Day-O (The Banana Song). I couldn’t help but be a bit disturbed as I tried to slog my way through the song.

Why? Because “Hey Man, Nice Shot” is about this. Not exactly a happy moment.

So whoever configured that specific track, congratulations. You created a very weird karaoke moment.

Muppets do Bohemian

This has been trending on Twitter today.

I think this proves my point that Bohemian Rhapsody may be the most beloved song of all time. It remains popular even when it’s parodied by puppets.

If you have a heart of gold, you should probably see a doctor

Here’s another video from last Thursday’s karaoke session. It involves Neil Young:

I would gather that “Rockin’ in the Free World” would also be an excellent karaoke jam.