'Hood #20: Palms for Some Really Bad (but Fun!) Karaoke (Pt. 1)

For my 20th neighborhood, I thought I'd aim closer to home — like real close — Palms, which is where I've lived for the past year and a half.

Palms is a small Westside 'hood north of Culver City, at the Intersection of the 405/10 Freeways.
Although mostly residential, it happens to be home to a great karaoke bar—Boardwalk 11—named one of the top neighborhood bars in Los Angeles.  I'd only recently stumbled upon it in a mini mall about a quarter-mile from my condo.  Tonight, I went with my friend Mary Jo for the happy hour ($3 drinks until 8 p.m., 1/2 price appetizers till 7 p.m.).

What I love about this bar: there are some really good singers... and there are some really bad singers. I fall into the latter category, and I'm not being overly modest.  In fact, I've never sung karaoke solo anywhere ever before, but there is so much love here.  No matter how bad you suck, people will sing along with you.  They'll clap.  They'll whoop along when you stumble.

I put out a plea on Facebook for song ideas—I got some good ones, but none I felt confident singing.  Rather than torture other peoples' eardrums, I would have gladly just sat and listened— but since I'm doing this challenge, I feel that I need to participate.

On a whim, I started out with Rhianna's Umbrella.  The ella ella ella's were fun, but I have a whole new respect for Rhianna because you'd be surprised by how high the notes in the song go, or at least I was surprised. While on stage. With a microphone. And people watching.  It was a minor train wreck.

Mary Jo sang The Talking Head's Road to Nowhere (she was surprised by how low the song went). Her next song was Build Me Up Buttercup, which was a real crowd pleaser because, seriously, who doesn't love that song?

For my final song, I went with Christina Aguilera's Candyman.  It's not all that well known, but I figured if you can't carry a tune, go with a peppy 1940's vibe and some saucy lyrics, which include "He's a one stop shop, makes the panties drop" and "...makes my cherry pop" and "...with a real big *ugh.*"

The most fun songs of the night:  Pharell's Happy (which I'd considered singing but knew I didn't have the chops), and—surprisingly—a slightly off-tune but super enthusiastic version of Michael Jackson's Off the Wall.

So the question is... what's YOUR karaoke song (or at least your favorite song to sing)?  And any suggestions for an easy song for someone who can barely carry a tune?


Palms, Part 2: Coming up, I'll explore Palms' other treasure: an oddball museum called the Museum of Jurassic Technology—which has nothing to do with dinosaurs and is rumored to possibly even be a total sham.  Stay tuned!