(Killer Karaoke In The Philippines) Sinatra Song Often Strikes Deadly Chord

The New York Times ^ | February 6, 2010 | NORIMITSU ONISHI

[DogByte6RER]

Sinatra Song Often Strikes Deadly Chord

By NORIMITSU ONISHI

GENERAL SANTOS, the Philippines — After a day of barbering, Rodolfo Gregorio went to his neighborhood karaoke bar still smelling of talcum powder. Putting aside his glass of Red Horse Extra Strong beer, he grasped a microphone with a habitué’s self-assuredness and briefly stilled the room with the Platters’ “My Prayer.”

Next, he belted out crowd-pleasers by Tom Jones and Engelbert Humperdinck. But Mr. Gregorio, 63, a witness to countless fistfights and occasional stabbings erupting from disputes over karaoke singing, did not dare choose one beloved classic: Frank Sinatra’s version of “My Way.”

“I used to like ‘My Way,’ but after all the trouble, I stopped singing it,” he said. “You can get killed.”

The authorities do not know exactly how many people have been killed warbling “My Way” in karaoke bars over the years in the Philippines, or how many fatal fights it has fueled. But the news media have recorded at least half a dozen victims in the past decade and includes them in a subcategory of crime dubbed the “My Way Killings.”

The killings have produced urban legends about the song and left Filipinos groping for answers. Are the killings the natural byproduct of the country’s culture of violence, drinking and machismo? Or is there something inherently sinister in the song?

Whatever the reason, many karaoke bars have removed the song from their playbooks. And the country’s many Sinatra lovers, like Mr. Gregorio here in this city in the southernmost Philippines, are practicing self-censorship out of perceived self-preservation.

[Arthur McGowan]

Two reasons come to mind:

It’s a nihilistic song that gives the audience license to behave violently;

It’s a horrible song.

[SunkenCiv]

The authorities do not know exactly how many people have been killed warbling "My Way" in karaoke bars over the years in the Philippines, or how many fatal fights it has fueled. But the news media have recorded at least half a dozen victims in the past decade and includes them in a subcategory of crime dubbed the "My Way Killings."

Thanks DogByte6RER.

[goat granny]

***Regrets? I’ve had a few....***

But then again too few to mention.....I love that song...

[a fool in paradise]

PRIME SUSPECT

[a fool in paradise]

Sid Vicious knew how to take care of people who didn't like him singing My Way.

[dfwgator]

“The record shows...I have no clothes...and did it my way.”