Karaoke - 28th Jun 2007

Back to the Hotel this week after last weeks mini-break and first off I'd like to point out that we're now at the half way point of 2007 which means that I've been blogging about our Thursday night singing for 6 months now.

I don't think I've ever stuck with anything for so long (I'm still 'playing' the guitar too!) so if you've been following events this year, thanks for sticking around and if you're reading Jamesco, you started this . Don't forget to also read Captain Jacks Tracks as well as he writes a lot more stuff than me, some of it interesting , and deserves a pat on the back for some of the time he put's into his mini-essays!

On to the night and yet again there were no new songs for me. I sang three that were for the first time this year but none that were new to me. I had intended to have a go at a couple of Linkin Park tracks but after having a go at them in the car on the way up I decided that I'm no Chester Bennington and the people in the hotel wouldn't have deserved such a verbal assault! There is a new Sunfly out now and so hopefully I'll try a couple of tracks from that (maybe Pigeon Detectives, The Twang and Yello) but other than that I'm struggling to find inspiration for new stuff at the moment. Time for a delve in the old Now That's What I Call Music collection me thinks. Any suggestions also will be taken on board.

Tina, Louise & Hayley decided to 'celebrate' a certain event this week by singing Stop! by..... the Spice Girls. Yes, they've reformed for a reunion tour and it's a pity that they didn't take heed of this song and STOP RIGHT THERE!!!! What on earth is it all about. Surely they don't need the money so it can only be for some sort of sadistic kick to see if they can get any of their singles back into the charts, or get the now grown up teenagers who once idolised them to part with a weeks wages to go see them given that they no longer need their parents permission to go to a gig. Why, why, why....

Another event that's taken place is the ban of this: Yep, this week was the last time we'll be singing in smokey pubs. I'm kind of glad in a way about the ban because there's nothing worse than a smokey pub and the hotel does occasionally get pretty bad and as an ex 20+ day a smoker for over four years you do notice it. I do feel for those who now have to stand outside in all weathers for a fag though and yes, you may say that they can go without or quit, but it's not that easy. I just hope that it doesn't stop people coming out and enjoying themselves as all the doom and gloom merchants predict, although having driven past the hotel this morning and seen the umbrellas put up outside (I guess for the smokers) they're not going stop the driving rain or bitter cold come later on in the year. It will be interesting to see how the year progresses now that the ban is in force.

Anyway, enough waffle and onto this weeks songs:

• Shaun: Will Smith - Getting' Jiggy Wit it
• Scott: Rolling Stones - Jumpin' Jack Flash
• Andy: Tone Loc - Funky Cold Medina
• Tina, Louise & Hayley: Bryan Adams & Mel C - When You're Gone
• Shaun: Wyclef Jean - Perfect Gentleman
• Others: The Pretenders - I'll Stand By You
• Scott: Robbie Williams - Come Undone
• Tina, Louise & Hayley: The Bangles - Manic Monday
• Others: Womack & Womack - Teardrops
• Others: Do You Know The Way To San Jose - Dionne Warwick
• Shaun: The Killers - Somebody Told Me
• Scott: Soundgarden - Black Hole Sun
• Tina, Louise & Hayley: Spice Girls - Stop
• Others: Oleta Adams - Get Here
• Others: Alanis Morissette - Ironic
• Others: Roxette - Listen To Your Heart
• Others: Weather Girls - It's Raining Men
• Others: Van Morrison - Brown Eyed Girls
• Shaun: The Fratellis - Henrietta
• Scott: A Better Man - Robbie Williams
• Tina, Louise & Hayley: Savage Garden - Affirmation
• Others: Katie Melua - The Closest Thing To Crazy
• Others: Carly Simon - You're So Vain
• Others: Candi Staton - Young Hearts Run Free

Some changes in the stats this week with Britney Spears' - I Love Rock N Roll and the Eurythmics - Sweet Dreams taking over as joint most sang song with The Fratellis' - Whistle For The Choir now pushed back into third place. The Frats are still holding firm at the top of the artists chart and although the pack is bunching up underneath to make a challenge I think they will hold out for the year

Other random stats from the Thursday night song chart:

• There have been 652 songs sang on a Thursday night in the Birches Head Hotel in 2007
• 441 of these songs are unique. That means that on any given night you won't have heard roughly 2 out of every 3 songs sung before in this year.
  
• 73 of these were Scotts, 69 mine, 27 Andys and 22 the girls.
  
• On an average night, 25 songs will be sung
• The first song sung this year was Abba's Voulez-Vouz by Louise & Hayley. It has not been sung since.
• Elvis and The Beatles have the highest number of different songs sung from their catalog with 11 each.
  
• For Scotts benefit, the Rolling Stones are next with 9 different tracks.
  
• The most hated song is Boyzone - Words

Ok, so I made the last one up, but you know it's true

So, here's too another 6 months (and beyond!) and until next week, Me.SayGoodbye(True)