Car-aoke

The last time we've been to the karaoke was in 2005 - celebrating our turning a year older by screeching it out at Red Box The Curve after dinner. It's interesting, because about a third of the playlist included songs that weren't sung but screamed (not LP, but Bon Jovi). The upside of it, of course, was that 98% of the songs were in English - 1% in Chinese and 1% Malay. Earlier karaoke sessions during our uni days saw a healthy 90% Chinese pop and 10% English (courtesy of yours truly) - and when the English songs came about our batchmates graciously gave way for us to solo on the mike (because they didn't know the songs) unless it was something contemporary like When You Say Nothing At All (we remember this song was sung 3 times at the first NoGaPs Annual Dinner).

We'll admit to being a semi-closet car karaoke singer though. Not a shower singer, as we're too busy enjoying the water to actually get the urge to burst into song...although we do suddenly burst into BodyJam movements while bathing at times, at high risk as there were a couple of occasions we almost used our face to greet the floor from that.

Getting back to topic. Our car still uses the tape deck, which we've gotten this tape adapter thingy which plugs into the earphones port in our iPod/music player/NDS, and turns the car radio speakers into our own surround sound system. When we first met our iPod (goodness it's been over 2 years now!), our tendency to listen to the radio dropped to nearly never. We'd trusted others to tell us about new and upcoming singles, heh.

Of course, our car radio's been acting up and will need to see the doctors soon. So we've been letting it rest and plugging in the earphones.

And as we drive alone, we have free reign to bawl out to whatever playlist is on at the moment, whether it be the Vox playlist of Latin choirs, or the Ballads chock-full of boybands and such, musicals, currently-bought-albums or whatever takes our fancy. And we enjoy harmonizing too, so we're guilty of playing a song twice sometimes taking turns for each part. Or songs where there are two parts counterpointing each other (example, Les Miserable's The Confrontation between Javert and Jean Valjean).

Just gotten our hands on Snow Patrol's Signal Fire finally, and the first two lines just floored us. Good thing not literally or else we'd have crashed into some other car.

The perfect words never crossed my mind
'Cos there was nothin' in there but you

Whoa.

Really grateful for l'agneau orange for loaning us her Eyes Open and Final Straw. Snow Patrol's been rocking our foundations and breaking us down. And with Victoria Station so near us, it's difficult not to 'innocently walk just to see what's new' and not walk out with a handful of CDs. Unfortunately their albums are out of stock, save one Eyes Open: Special Malaysia Edition.

Okay, what, exactly is the Special Malaysia Edition? Made in Bolehland kar? That would explain the price. Somehow we...don't support these, we're not too sure why. Asides from the fact that the CD cover has that big bar [SPECIAL MALAYSIA EDITION] blocking the cover art.

Anyways, it seems that the songs we remember how to sing are stuck in the past, and even that sometimes not the full lyrics (tempting as it may be we avoids reading lyrics on the iPod while driving). But it's in our car, what do we care? And anyone looking at us from another car will see earplugs plugged in and assume we're on a hands-free.

Unfortunately our voice has been going down the drain ever since we've started BodyCombat. Combat's a class where, if you're gung-ho enough, you start shouting as you execute the moves...

CalvinC: When you kick, open your mouth and go, "KIA!"

When otousan, lad and us first started Combat and after the shy shy phase of keeping quiet in class, we became one of CalvinC's 'sound speakers' group: obliged to shout at points so that everyone's motivated. Of course, it's long ago when we were 'sound speakers'. Now if he needs us he'll shout go "Lord!". And otousan is "King!". Lad...is suppose to decide if he's quitting the gym or making it for classes once in a while rather than donating free money to the gym. And shouting nonstop for 16 counts as we do stomach punches is no joke. It's a standard affair that after his classes we'll be croaking and talking in whispers.

Maybe that's why we can't sing Faure's 'Requiem' anymore. :'(