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The Dangers Of Karaoke

rynner2

Gone But Not Forgotten
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no dogs or llamas, but it is about high-pitched singing:
Karaoke songs bring a lump to the throat

Richard Lloyd Parry in Tokyo
For some it is an instrument of torture, for millions of others around the world a glorious outlet for unrecognised musical genius.

But the world of karaoke has been stricken by a fearful epidemic that threatens to silence Japan’s bars and the caterwauling of millions of amateur vocalists.

Japanese doctors report a surge in the condition known as “karaoke polyp”, a growth on the vocal cords caused by excessive warbling in bars and parlours. Formerly an affliction of middle-aged businessmen, the malady has spread among housewives and young people because of the continuing popularity of karaoke.

Ear, nose and throat clinics report a doubling in cases of karaoke polyps and the operation necessary to remove them. A surge of popular songs of especially high pitch, which put excessive strain on the vocal cords, is being blamed for the polyp plague.

The condition is exacerbated by the cold, dry Japanese winter, also a time for traditional end-of-the-year parties that frequently end in enthusiastic karaoke.

“I believe that the recent increase of popular songs with many high notes is causing this,” Ryuichi Mochizuki, head of the otolaryngology department of Osaka Kaisei Hospital, told the Asahi newspaper.

“When you sing a high note, your vocal cord is pulled back and forth and vibrates more vigorously than when you sing at a lower pitch. When such a note is sustained, it adds to the burden on the vocal cords.”

Karaoke machines, which play a background musical track of songs and display their lyrics on a video screen, are found in bars, private karaoke rooms and homes all over Japan. The first machines appeared in the 1970s and karaoke polyp was identified by Hiroyuki Fukuda, of the International Medical Welfare College, Tokyo, ten years later.

Thre are 47 million Japanese who indulge their passion every year in 133,000 karaoke rooms, although the numbers are down from the peaks of the late 1990s. It was in those days that psychologists identified another disorder associated with the craze: karaokephobia, or trembling, sweating and stomach cramps induced by the prospect of being forced unwillingly to sing in public.

Polyps of the vocal cords can also afflict teachers, clergymen, actors, lawyers and other professionals who spend a lot of time speaking out loud.

Humans have two vocal cords, each 1.5cm (0.6in) long, that vibrate against each other to produce speech. In normal conversation they vibrate a few hundred times a second. A soprano hitting a high note, however, can produce 1,200 vibrations a second, and such a pitch can damage the untrained throat.

The vocal cords can rub each other raw, causing polyps on one or both sides. Tobacco smoke and alcohol, traditional elements of the karaoke experience, increase the chances of this happening. The symptoms are huskiness and, occasionally, breathing difficulties, although not usually pain. Polyps can clear up of their own accord but if they harden they may require surgery to remove them.

One Japanese clinic, the Osaka Voice Centre, receives 20 patients with karaoke polyp every month and has performed surgery on 170 amateur singers last year, double the number in 2004. Doctors say that the only way to avoid the polyp is to exercise moderation — three full-throated karaoke songs in one evening are enough for the untrained voice.

Karaokeists should also stay within their vocal range, they say. Lower-pitched, growlier songs by the likes of Leonard Cohen and Bob Dylan are kinder to the vocal cords than those of high-risk musicians such as the Bee Gees.

The good news is that karaoke polyps are not dangerous and a timely throat examination can reveal other, more serious health problems at an early stage. “If your voice becomes hoarse and it keeps cracking, you must visit your doctor,” says Kazuhiko Goto, of the Osaka Medical Association, which offers health advice for karaoke enthusiasts on its website.

“It can lead to the diagnosis of diseases such as cancer of the larynx at an early stage.”

High risk

Last week’s karaoke Top Ten. Song with asterisk is dangerously high-pitched

1 * Crescent Moon by Ayaka

2 * Love Song by Shonan Wind

3 * Lovers Again by Exile

4 * Beyond 1000 Nights by Aqua Timez

5 * Cherry Blossom by Small Bag

6 Sky Boat by Tokio

7 * Let’s Meet Again by Seamo

8 * Sign by Mr Children

9 Dogwood by Hito Toyo

10 Powder Snow by Remio Romen

After the music, time to face the check-up

Dr Thomas Stuttaford

It used to be known as the sergeant-major’s voice but now the hoarse, rasping, breathy voice associated with heavy drinkers and smokers is known as a karaoke throat.

Vocal cords that are abused by yelling and shouting — as on the parade ground or by singing too loudly, particularly singing high notes, in British pubs or in Japan — develop nodules and polyps.

Similarly, irritating the cords by inhaling tobacco smoke, or alcohol fumes that rise up through the airways from the stomach and oesophagus, may cause the same condition. Any patient who is hoarse for more than three weeks should consult a doctor so that an ear, nose and throat specialist can do a biopsy of any nodules and polyps to make certain that none is malignant.

Benign karaoke nodules can be removed either by standard microsurgical excision or, increasingly, by laser surgery.

Although a laryngeal nodule is not premalignant, exposure to smoke and alcohol, rather than boisterous singing or shouting, may cause laryngeal malignancies, one form of which may arise on the cords, and this possibility must always be excluded.

http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/life_a ... 421249.ece
 
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Man shot dead for bad karaoke
Thursday May 31 17:49 AEST

A jobless man was shot dead by a security guard for singing out of tune in a Philippine karaoke bar, police said Thursday.

Romy Baligula, 29, was halfway through his song on Tuesday night in a bar in San Mateo town, east of Manila, when 43-year-old security guard Robilito Ortega yelled that he was out of tune.

As Baligula ignored his comments and continued singing, Ortega pulled out his revolver and shot him in the chest.

Senior Superintendent Felipe Rojas said Baligula died instantly.

The security guard was detained by an off-duty policeman shortly after the shooting.

Deaths and violence are not uncommon in Philippine karaoke bars.

The popular Frank Sinatra song "My Way" has been taken off many karaoke bars in Manila after it was found to be the cause of fights and even deaths when patrons sang out of tune.

Article link

Commentary: If the body guard wanted to hear people singing in tune he should have gotten a job at a night club, not a karaoke bar.
 
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A suitable punishment if you ask me, Karaoke has an awful lot to answer for. And yes i do know it can be a bit of a laugh but karaoke leads to unspeakable horrors. In particular it makes some people believe that the really can sing and they never stop inflicting their voices on others. Shootings to good for em if you ask me.
 
Maybe this could be the next big thing in the US. Special karaoke nights for postal workers :shock:
 
Seems like they have lowered the criteria for Fortean News Stories since three of my posts recently has been moved over here.
 
feen5 said:
A suitable punishment if you ask me, Karaoke has an awful lot to answer for. And yes i do know it can be a bit of a laugh but karaoke leads to unspeakable horrors. In particular it makes some people believe that the really can sing and they never stop inflicting their voices on others. Shootings to good for em if you ask me.

It would certainly liven up Pop Idol. :D
 
Chinese toddler's karaoke tantrum ends in bloodbath

Malcolm Moore in Beijing
11:51AM BST 30 Aug 2012


The evening began jovially enough when Mr Yun, the owner of a noodle shop in the central Chinese city of Xi'an, invited his family to celebrate Qixi, China's Valentine's Day, with a singing session at a local karaoke parlour.

But by 11pm, there was discord in the room. Mr Yun's four-year-old son was hogging the microphone and his parents were indulging him.

Two of the boy's uncles began chastising Mr Yun and his wife for having raised a spoilt child; a "Little Emperor", as the Chinese say.

According to the Xi'an police, the argument became heated to the point where the two uncles began pushing, and then punching, Mr Yun.

Finally, Mr Yun's nephew, who also worked in the noodle shop, ran back to the restaurant and fetched a meat cleaver.

The man, named as Mr Hui, hacked the two uncles to death, inflicting at least ten wounds on each uncle. He has since been arrested.

There is no shortage of criticism inside China for the bad behaviour of the Little Emperors, the children raised under the one-child policy and doted on by their parents.

Karaoke, meanwhile, is taken very seriously not just in China, but throughout Asia, where singing rivals alcohol as a social lubricant.

Other karaoke massacres have taken place in the Philippines, where the Frank Sinatra song "My Way" has had to be removed from many songbooks after sub-standard renditions provoked a string of killings.

In Thailand, meanwhile, a man shot eight of his neighbours, including his brother-in-law, after tiring of their tuneless reprisals of John Denver's "Country Roads".

In the United States, a woman punched a man for continuing to sing Coldplay's "Yellow" after she had told him he was not up to the task.

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldne ... dbath.html

A Chinese-Restaurant Karaoke Massacre? Let the punning commence!
 
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Restaurant workers often seem to take up fearsome weapons when trouble breaks out.

I once saw a thug lose an eye, after getting nasty with a waiter who refused his drunken party a table. Just a broomstick, in this case, but wielded with devastating precision. Perhaps they train? :eek!!!!:
 
It's service with a snarl. :)
 
A cleaver: a chop-chop-chop stick.

The uncles were right, mind.

You shouldn't panda to little brats like this.
 
Were they actually uncles? Relatives?
In that part of the world, an old friend or neighbour is often called 'uncle' or 'auntie'.
 
Other karaoke massacres have taken place in the Philippines, where the Frank Sinatra song "My Way" has had to be removed from many songbooks after sub-standard renditions provoked a string of killings.

In Thailand, meanwhile, a man shot eight of his neighbours, including his brother-in-law, after tiring of their tuneless reprisals of John Denver's "Country Roads".

Bloody hell.
 
If your karaoke singing isn't enough to make other people hurt you, there's always the chance you'll hurt yourself ...
Too Much Karaoke Sent a Man to the Hospital with a Collapsed Lung

When some people perform karaoke, they sing their hearts out. But one man in eastern China took it a little further than that. He sang for so long and with such intensity that he experienced a collapsed lung.

After performing 10 consecutive songs — all with very high notes — the 65-year-old suffered from chest pains and had difficulty breathing, the South China Morning Post (SCMP) reported on August 8.

The man, identified by the surname Wang, visited a hospital in Nanchang county the next day; doctors told him that his lung had collapsed, a condition known as pneumothorax. Dr. Peng Bin-fei, one of the emergency room physicians, said that Wang's lung collapsed "because of the high lung pressure caused by singing high notes," SCMP reported. ...
FULL STORY: https://www.livescience.com/collapsed-lung-karaoke.html
 
And the award for Most Horror Inspiring Guinness World Record goes to ...
India breaks Guinness record for longest karaoke singing marathon

A Guinness World Record attempt in India for the world's longest karaoke singing marathon has surpassed the previous record of 792 hours and is aiming for 1,000 hours.

The record attempt at Little World Mall in Kharghar, Navi Mumbai, surpassed the 792-hour world record at 1:20 p.m. Wednesday, and the event is scheduled to continue with a goal of reaching 1,000 hours. The former record was set in China.

The karaoke marathon has featured more than 800 singers from all around the country performing more than 9,000 songs.

The event is being recorded on video, and observers are being kept on hand at all times to ensure the singing marathon complies with the rules laid out by Guinness, which is expected to present a certificate to organizers when the 1,000-hour mark is reached Sunday.
SOURCE: https://www.upi.com/Odd_News/2019/1...-karaoke-singing-marathon/1761576773324/?sl=6
 
India breaks Guinness record for longest karaoke singing marathon

... And a new Guinness record has been set for longest karaoke marathon by a duo ...
South African duo break karaoke world record

A South African duo broke a Guinness World Record by singing karaoke songs for a total 35 consecutive hours.

Jacqueline Brits and Rhinus Lotz of Mbombela said they had initially planned to sing for a full 48 hours, but they decided to stop at 35 due to exhaustion from the marathon singing session. ...

The amount was enough to beat the record of 25 hours and take the Guinness title for longest karaoke duo marathon.

The attempt took place at Wild Medlar and the venue live streamed the attempt on Facebook.

The record attempt raised money for rebuilding a church in Dixie Farm, a small community outside of Barberton. ...

SOURCE: https://www.upi.com/Odd_News/2020/08/27/South-African-duo-break-karaoke-world-record/5981598545644/
 
A fire that gutted a Vietnamese karaoke parlor earlier this week has claimed 33 lives, and search / recovery efforts are ongoing. Many customers were apparently trapped because they ignored employees' calls to evacuate and remained inside locked private rooms.
Death toll climbs to 33 in Vietnamese karaoke parlor fire

The death toll from a fire at a karaoke parlor in southern Vietnam has climbed to 33, officials said Thursday, with police blaming some of the fatalities on customers who failed to heed employees’ warnings to flee and remained inside locked rooms.

The death in a hospital of a person who was injured in the Tuesday night fire added to the 32 victims — 17 men and 15 women — found earlier in a search of the four-story building housing the An Phu karaoke parlor in Thuan An city in Binh Duong province ...

The fire was put under control within an hour, but continued to smolder into the next day, hindering recovery efforts ...

About 60-70 people were inside the building at the time of the fire, and survivors either jumped — often injuring themselves in the process -- or were rescued by firefighters using ladders. About 40 people were treated at hospitals, where about 10 remained Thursday in serious condition. ...

The online news site VnExpress quoted the provincial police director, Col. Trinh Ngoc Quyen, as saying at a Thursday news conference that the high number of deaths was due to some customers ignoring employees who went to the rooms where groups were singing to tell them to escape. ...

He was quoted saying that most of the customers were intoxicated, and that firefighters found that most of the rooms were locked from the inside.

Officials at the news conference said the establishment had passed fire inspections. The cause of the fire was not yet clear, though media reports said it was thought to have been an electrical short circuit. They speculated that the fire spread quickly because of flammable soundproofing foam and wooden fixtures. ...
FULL STORY: https://apnews.com/article/fires-vietnam-hanoi-7c70b739f3092605df767076864cb86c
 
The Vietnamese karaoke parlor fire tragedy is not an isolated incident. The news article (quoted above) includes the following:

In 2016, a fire at a large karaoke parlor in the capital, Hanoi, killed 13 people. The fire in the eight-story karaoke parlor quickly spread to several nearby buildings housing restaurants and other karaoke parlors.

Enforcement of safety standards at entertainment venues in many parts of Southeast Asia is sometimes lax and contributes to multiple deaths in case of fires. ...

Police in Thailand said a pub in the eastern province of Chonburi was presenting live music without a license when a fire broke out in early August, trapping many people inside because exits were blocked or locked.

The toll from that fire has climbed to 23 dead, 13 of them on the night of the blaze and 10 in the month since then. Many had serious burns over most of their bodies. At least five other victims are believed to still be on ventilators.
 
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