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There was a fascinating article in the New York Times the other day about violence in the Philippines and its thriving karaoke culture — and the deadly problems that can crop up when it comes to Frank Sinatra. In fact, it’s one Sinatra song in particular that seems to be the cause of so much trouble — and which has played a role in dozens of karaoke-related killings over the years — “My Way.”
The authorities do not know exactly how many people have been killed warbling “My Way” in karaoke bars 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.
Theories abound: some say it’s because of the song’s arrogant tone (”I did it my way!”), others claim it’s the ubiquity of the song — everyone knows it, has an opinion on it, and people clearly aren’t afraid to criticize one another’s karaoke skills in the Philippines — while defenders of the song cite the frequency with which it is sung; it’s simply more likely to be killed while singing “My Way” because it is sung so often. Still, rightly or not, “My Way” is increasingly finding itself banned from karaoke bars by fearful owners.
Incidents of karaoke-related violence in the U.S. are pretty low — but can anyone think of another pastime that might have a similar analogue? Britain has its deadly soccer hooligan brawls — what have we got? Bowling-related violence?
Comments (17)
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We have Chuck-e-cheese fights by opposing redneck birthday party families.
posted by EV on 2-9-2010 at 11:38 am
I agree with EV. That’s actually becoming a big problem.
posted by Chris on 2-9-2010 at 12:36 pm
I never knew Karaoke could be so dangerous!
posted by Heather on 2-9-2010 at 12:37 pm
We have the “tea party” protesting itself.
posted by shirleyfeeney on 2-9-2010 at 12:55 pm
Cum hoc ergo propter hoc.
posted by Jake on 2-9-2010 at 12:56 pm
I agree on the theory regarding ubiquity. Most people who choose to sing this are male, drunk, and aged 35 and up. I should know, I hosted karaoke parties for my relatives (I see to it that the mic gets passed around). They don’t complain if I don’t play My Way because I have substitutes: Matt Monro, Tom Jones and Engelbert Humperdinck.
posted by neckromancer on 2-9-2010 at 1:33 pm
Reminds me of the correlation of the rise of ice cream consumption and drownings…
posted by Cassie on 2-9-2010 at 1:52 pm
Plenty of sports rivalries can cause large fights and brawls in the stands. Red Sox/Yankees, Michigan/Ohio State football, Duke/UNC basketball all come to mind.
posted by Katherine on 2-9-2010 at 2:10 pm
Parents at their kids sporting event frequently spark violence.
We have a junior hockey team and even though it’s not parents a lot of the women in the crowd get pissed at the refs for everything.
posted by hockey zombie on 2-9-2010 at 2:39 pm
Female hazing. How many videos of high school girls ganging up on another girl have sprung up, sometimes w/ series injuries?
posted by Big Jonny on 2-9-2010 at 3:08 pm
Sounds to me like a bad case of Posterior-Retentiveness to me…
posted by Kate on 2-9-2010 at 5:42 pm
Maybe they just have hardcore critics in the Phillippines.
Victor@icomplainthereforeiam.com
posted by Victor @ I Complain Therefore I Am on 2-9-2010 at 8:33 pm
It’s more the ubiquity of karaoke establishments and karaoke-singing in general than the sinister undertones of “My Way” that explains this phenomenon.
Karaoke singing is a past time here in the Philippines. Regardless whether you have the talent or not, if you are a Filipino, you will sing. It sometimes gets to a point when it becomes irritating to encounter 1.) terrible singers, 2.) microphone hugs, and 3.) terribly singers who hug the mic. The latter usually gets in to trouble.
And yes, it is a byproduct of the culture of violence, drinking and machismo.
posted by Jay-R on 2-9-2010 at 9:32 pm
There are a couple figure 8 race tracks in my area and I’ve heard many tales of wannabe NASCAR drivers and pit crew members “brawlin’”.
Since I’ve never been, I can’t figure out what it is about playing NASCAR that brings out the meaness amongst enthusiasts.
posted by Dudley on 2-10-2010 at 12:48 am
@Jay-R: You know why we Filipinos are crazy about kareoke? Because WE invented kareoke. The name is Japanese but the invention is Filipino. Don’t believe me? Well there are lots of inventions out there made by Filipinos, like the fluorescent light bulb, the moon buggy & the yo-yo, that are sometimes misattributed to other people rom other countries, mostly Americans.
The reason for this, I think, is that even though we have a patent office, our government is too lazy for scientific progress & our Department of Science & Technology isn’t doing enough work to make our inventions world-renowned.
posted by Karl on 2-10-2010 at 4:16 am
I’m a Filipino. I knew the simple answer to your “mystery” about the killings. Filipinos loved that song too much. It comes to a point that when the song starts playing, everybody on the karaoke becomes very eager to sing My Way so they fight for the microphone. Then chaos.
posted by Lars Ben on 2-10-2010 at 10:31 pm
this is no mystery. this is just a case of exaggerated media attention. or an urban myth (haha!) either case, WE Filipinos love to sing because WE can sing.
posted by tikgirl on 2-11-2010 at 11:06 am