9/14/10 KTV in the Streets

Note: Just in case I haven't explained it already, What we know in North America as Karaoke is known in Taiwan as KTV.  Technically, karaoke only takes place when you rent a small room and sing in front of a small group of people.  I will use the terms interchageable since I believe that they represent a distinction without a difference.

*****

For all the shyness of the Taiwanese, one activity seems to be immune for causing them embarrassment…singing.  There are Karaoke machines here that operate much the same way as jukeboxes do back home although I can’t remember the last time I saw a jukebox.  Put in your coins, select a few songs and sing your heart out on the sidewalk.  A video with girls in a bubble bath provides the background to the lyrics.

Open Air Karaoke II - video

The teens give it their all, but it’s no use.  Every person I heard caused me to cringe; they were that bad.  It’s like tone deafness is widespread.  I can’t for the life of me picture teens in Canada exposing themselves in this way.  Maybe in the confines of their homes or in the safety of a private karaoke room in some seedy basement joint where the threat of an Asian mafia assassination is very real, but certainly not out on the sidewalk in full public view.  The group of teens I met that night was even unphased by my photography.  That’s one of the things I love about Asia, people aren’t put off by the lens and I’m not viewed as a weirdo, only a guy who like to take photos.