Customer Reviews

Don't Stop Believin': How Karaoke Conquered the World and Changed My Life

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A friend gave me this book for my birthday since he knows I'm a karaoke dabbler if not budding enthusiast and I just have to say- it's an AWESOME book. Mr. Raftery is witty, humorous, introspective and an excellent storyteller.

Sure, there are tons of valuable and interesting tidbits about karaoke but there's so much more to the book. 'Don't Stop Believing' is equal parts travelogue, self help biography and informational on karaoke. The best thing is that all of those parts add up to a very well written and thoughtful book about one of life's most ironic pastimes, amateurs grabbing the mic in a crowded bar, singing popular (or not so popular) songs to a group of mostly strangers.

It took me by surprise, honestly, I thought I'd enjoy more information on a topic I was already interested in but what I didn't expect was the insight that Mr. Raftery shared. He was able to sum up what makes karaoke not just a fun thing to do on a drunken weekend but a majorly life affirming rite of passage that everyone should partake of.

I loved it and for the first time, I can more easily express why I love to sing even though I'm so bad at it and why I want everyone to join me in this ultimate freedom of publically enjoying your own follies rather than trying to hide them.

Read it and go sing your heart out!

I love Karaoke. I love it so much that I sang, among other things, M. Manson's "The Beautiful People" while aged strippers shook their thing a few feet away (aka Stripperoake) and braved a lethargic version of Radiohead's "Optimistic" just because I wanted to show off my Thom Yorke dance. A connoisseur, yes, but my participation and devotion to the art are nothing compared to Brian Raftery's, a former GQ and Spin journalist who spent years perfecting his craft. An equal mix of history (interviews with inventors, track production houses and members of live karaoke bands), the author's White Whale chases (i.e. Fugazi's "Waiting Room", "Thirty Songs I'll Never Find at Karaoke"), karaoke cruise ships and underlying sadness over age versus the desire to get up - and get your friends up - to rock, Raftery's text does the culture justice like no other.

I'm in the middle of reading this book, and I am impressed by the author's thoroughness and thoughtfulness of the karaoke experience. His coverage of the types of songs that are karaoke-worthy, the story of the business behind the CDGs that are produced, and even the theories as to why karaoke has become more acceptable as a social activity all resonate in the experience I have accumulated over the last 15 years that I have participated in and eventually hosted karaoke shows.

Little nuggets of the history of karaoke in the USA and, ultimately, of the origins from Japan help ground the book to general culture.

If I were to write a book, this would be a definite topic that I would have enjoyed researching first hand! A great read for karaoke lovers. Kudos to Raferty!