I can't sing.

I suppose that really isn't a fair conclusion. Technically I can sing. I know the words and sometimes the basic tune of songs. I can even tell when I hit a sour note. So I could sing. But I shouldn't.

At least that's what I've been told.

Two nights ago, Phil and I went to Friar's Pub with some friends. Saturdays are special there because they have 25-cent peel & eat shrimp. Mmm....shrimp. It's also karaoke night.

I know what you're thinking. It's probably the same thing the other five people at my table said when the karaoke songbooks were being passed out, "why does anyone...?" and "I would never...". Heck, I've even thought that myself sometimes. But to my surprise, I found myself defending it. I found myself intrigued by the whole concept. I mean, it's really just an extension of what I do in my car with the radio cranked anyway, so what's the big deal? And then I heard it. Those infamous three words..."I can't sing".

Do you remember the first time someone told you that you couldn't sing? I do. It's a traumatic experience. You're singing away to some song that you love and suddenly someone says, "wow, you should really let the singer do their own singing." Or my personal favorite, "I'm glad you never decided to sing professionally."

Or maybe no one told you that you couldn't sing. But neither you're parents nor your friends ever wanted to sing in front of you because they weren't comfortable with their own voices. Eventually you began to feel self-conscious and you decided not to sing in front of them either.

Or you could be a perpetual critic. And whenever anyone else gets up to sing, you make fun of them. Of course you don't want to try singing, because you're worried that everyone else will make fun of YOU.

But stop a think for a second. How do you feel when you sing? In your car or your house, when you think that no one else can hear you? Want to know how I feel? Charged up, that's how. I get into the music, I bop and I feel all my day-stress melt into oblivion. I feel absolutely free. And if I'm with a close friend and we are bopping together, I tend to laugh. And feel basically happy.

"I can't sing"? Why the hell not? I guarantee that you are not as bad as you think you are, your friends are missing out on a ton of fun if they don't want to sing with you, and no one is judging you as harshly as you are judging yourself. It isn't a competition. It's something fun and different to try. So why not try it?

And the next time you are in a place that has karaoke, remember, it doesn't matter if you suck. Have fun. Enjoy yourself.

And suck with style.

-- Lisa

Over in the forum:

Milk bad
Taking out the trash

Did you make more 'Survivor!' predictions?

What about the election?

Take me home, big fella