Singing, drinking and 'more': The karaoke scene
JAKARTA (JP): Have you ever noticed the lyrics of Green, Green Grass of Home? It's about a prisoner who is going to be executed and dreaming of his home for the last time. But, don't expect to see a scene of a weeping prisoner on the song's karaoke video clip.
It was 11.30 p.m. at Oke 1 karaoke bar on Jl. Gajah Mada, downtown Jakarta. A man loudly sang Green, Green, Grass of Home loudly, not Tom Jones for sure because he was out of tune an couldn't follow the rhythm. The man, sitting on a sofa in a dimly-lit room, read the lyrics from a big screen in the center of the room. The song is tragic, but the video clip projected on the screen is merry. It is a scene in a summer beach with surfers and women in bikinis.
The man, lingering on the sofa with a sexy woman clad in a tight black dress and two other men engrossed in their drinks, continued to bellow into the microphone. His second repertoire of the night was Besame Mucho. An Asian lady wearing sunglasses walking alone around a harbor appeared on the screen. She does nothing except walk. The camera sometimes approaches her and shoots her pretty face in full. But no scene reflects the song's story.
Third song. The man sings again. This time it's a Mandarin song like those found in martial arts TV series. No one seemed to mind his horrible voice. The lyrics appeared in the Latin alphabet for people who want to sing the Mandarin song but can't read the Chinese characters. Mandarin songs were banned by the Semarang and Jakarta administration in 1991, but today, in most karaoke bars, Mandarin songs are being played.
The song finishes, but only the waiters and the woman in black applaud.
Its now the other guests' turns. No matter what song they sing, sad or happy, the karaoke video depicts only beautiful scenes, lovers holding hands, sunshine, restaurants, cars and sensual women. Most people who frequent karaoke bars don't care.
"I come here to sing, to relax from my tight schedule. What I want is to sing, so what is on the screen doesn't bother me," said Bob Simatupang, an employee of a French company in South Jakarta.
A few do care.
Andrew, a manager of a pharmaceutical company who is a regular guest at karaoke bars, was annoyed that only a few songs have proper video clips. One example is a Spanish song called Guantanamera. The video clip features a profile of a man as the lyrics require.
Most of the video clips are produced in Asian countries like Taiwan, Japan and Indonesia. The Taiwanese and Japanese clips are obvious because they have Chinese or Japanese characters.
"I don't like the karaoke produced by Asian countries because the arrangement of the songs are different from the original ones. It is difficult to follow them because we are used to the original arrangement we hear from cassettes," Simatupang said.
Andrew confirmed Simatupang's statement, saying that most of karaoke bars' guests are not professional singers and don't know anything about technique. Their only guide is the original songs that they often listen to, so that any change in musical arrangements will cause problems.
"Most of us like singing, but that's all. Therefore what we do is merely copy or following the original tunes we are familiar with," Andrew explained.
Not interesting
Both Simatupang and Andrew agreed that singing at home or in the bathroom or even installing a sophisticated karaoke set at home is not as interesting as singing in a karaoke bar.
"It's different. My sister installed a good karaoke system at home, but it doesn't sound like in a karaoke bar. The atmosphere plays a great role too," said Andrew.
Simatupang said the rooms at karaoke bars are equipped with special instruments so that voices produced by the microphone sound better.
The good singers are honored with applause, too, which doesn't happen if we sing at home, he said.
Some karaoke bars mentally test singers because they must sing on stage which is quite intimidating because people pay attention to them. Japanese karaoke bars, which can be also be found around Blok M in South Jakarta, are an example. In others singer can entrench themselves on a sofa in the dark.
"It is a weird place. People come here to sit, chat and sing," said Mark Harris, an English national who was visiting a karaoke bar for the first time when he met The Jakarta Post.
Later, after singing several songs, he said, "It's quite amusing, but still, for the first time it is embarrassing because we feel that other guests are listening to our singing."
Special rooms which can be rented by the hour are a haven for those who prefer to sing in private. Prices range from Rp 20,000 (US$9.09) to Rp 30,000 an hour, with a minimal time of two hours.
In Oke 1, where six private rooms are available on the second floor, each room is furnished with a TV karaoke set with two microphones, a quite comfortable sofa and a list of songs available. After choosing a song, guests ask the disc jockey to play their selections on the TV then sing along. Drinks can be ordered to the rooms. A telephone is the only link to the outside world. Waiters don't appear unless requested and the sound-proof walls keep patrons from disturbing those in other rooms.
"I like such a private room because we can sing as many songs as possible. In the karaoke's public hall, we have to wait for our turn. During weekends, if you can sing twice it's already good," said Simatupang.
It is said that the private rooms make some karaoke bars into brothels. A karaoke bar in West Jakarta, for example, offers hostesses who are available for chatting, drinking, singing and sometimes "more".
P.P., a hostess, who can be hired for Rp 20,000 a hour for chatting and singing, said bluntly that she is willing to provide "other services" for Rp 300,000. A woman who seems to be the manager of the hostesses gives the karaoke bar a stronger brothel image by calling herself "mami", a formal Indonesian title for a madame.
Simatupang said once when he hired a private room with a woman and a man. A waiter offered him the service of a hostess.
"One woman is not enough for two men," Simatupang quoted the waiter as saying.
No further explanations of why one woman isn't enough when singing was offered. Maybe the pictures of the nude women and the couple embracing that hang on the walls of Oke 1's private second floor rooms is the answers. (als)