Description Armed with a keen eye and a terrible singing voice, writer Brian Raftery sets out across the globe, tracing karaoke's evolution from cult fad to multi-million dollar phenomenon. In Japan, he meets Daisuke Inoue, the godfather of karaoke; in Thailand, he follows a group of Americans hoping to win the Karaoke World Championships; and in New York City, he hangs out backstage with the world's longest-running heavy-metal karaoke band. Along the way, Raftery chronicles his own time as an obsessive karaoke fan, recalling a life's worth of noisy relationships and poor song choices, and analyzing the karaoke-bar merits of such artists as Prince, Bob Dylan, and Fugazi. Part cultural history, part memoir, Don't Stop Believin': How Karaoke Conquered
the World and Changed My Life is a hilarious and densely reported look
at the liberating effects of a good sing-along.
Brian Raftery's features, profiles, and criticism have appeared in such publications as Wired, Spin, GQ, and Entertainment Weekly. He lives in Brooklyn, New York, and his favorite karaoke song is Night Ranger's “Sister Christian.”
"I am afraid to sing in public, and I've never understood why anyone would
want to pursue that experience on purpose. After reading this book, I am no longer
confused. I'm jealous. You can find self-actualization anywhere, and Brian Raftery
found it in all the half-drunken karaoke bars that terrify me."—Chuck
Klosterman, author of Sex, Drugs, and Cocoa Puffs
"Brian Raftery's book is a joy to read. Like a great night of karaoke,
it's fast-moving, vastly entertaining, and occasionally really touching. Better
yet, you don't need to drink three whiskey sours to enjoy it."—A.
J. Jacobs, author of The Year of Living Biblically and The Know-it-All |
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