The "My Way" Killings of the Philippines

Okay, this is a little weird.

From the New York Times article by Norimitsu Onishi (h/t BARCEPUNDIT):

"The authorities do not know exactly how many people have been killed warbling 'My Way' in karaoke bars over the years in the Philippines, or how many fatal fights it has fueled. But the news media have recorded at least half a dozen victims in the past decade and includes them in a subcategory of crime dubbed the 'My Way Killings.'

"The killings have produced urban legends about the song and left Filipinos groping for answers. Are the killings the natural byproduct of the country’s culture of violence, drinking and machismo? Or is there something inherently sinister in the song?

"Whatever the reason, many karaoke bars have removed the song from their playbooks. And the country’s many Sinatra lovers, like Mr. Gregorio here in this city in the southernmost Philippines, are practicing self-censorship out of perceived self-preservation.

"Karaoke-related killings are not limited to the Philippines. In the past two years alone, a Malaysian man was fatally stabbed for hogging the microphone at a bar and a Thai man killed eight of his neighbors in a rage after they sang John Denver’s 'Take Me Home, Country Roads.' Karaoke-related assaults have also occurred in the United States, including at a Seattle bar where a woman punched a man for singing Coldplay’s 'Yellow' after criticizing his version."

Quick note here-- I love the need to include the US in this list. A man stabbed to death in Malaysia, a Thai man's multiple (8!) homicides... and then a Seattle woman who punched a guy in a bar over a Coldplay song. Which one of these incidents doesn't quite fit? No, I'm not suggesting Americans are less violent or whatever... But why include this Seattle incident that could be a skit on "Reno 911!" with these murders?

The article continues:

"Still, the odds of getting killed during karaoke may be higher in the Philippines, if only because of the ubiquity of the pastime. Social get-togethers invariably involve karaoke. Stand-alone karaoke machines can be found in the unlikeliest settings, including outdoors in rural areas where men can sometimes be seen singing early in the morning. And Filipinos, who pride themselves on their singing, may have a lower tolerance for bad singers.

"Indeed, most of the 'My Way' killings have reportedly occurred after the singer sang out of tune, causing other patrons to laugh or jeer.

"'The trouble with "My Way,"' said Mr. Gregorio, 'is that everyone knows it and everyone has an opinion.'

"Others, noting that other equally popular tunes have not provoked killings, point to the song itself. The lyrics, written by Paul Anka for Mr. Sinatra as an unapologetic summing up of his career, are about a tough guy who 'when there was doubt,' simply 'ate it up and spit it out.' Butch Albarracin, the owner of Center for Pop, a Manila-based singing school that has propelled the careers of many famous singers, was partial to what he called the 'existential explanation.'

"'I did it my way" — it’s so arrogant,' Mr. Albarracin said. 'The lyrics evoke feelings of pride and arrogance in the singer, as if you’re somebody when you’re really nobody. It covers up your failures. That’s why it leads to fights.'

[...]

"But in karaoke bars where one song costs 5 pesos, or a tenth of a dollar, strangers often rub shoulders, sometimes uneasily. A subset of karaoke bars with G.R.O.’s — short for guest relations officers, a euphemism for female prostitutes — often employ gay men, who are seen as neutral, to defuse the undercurrent of tension among the male patrons. Since the gay men are not considered rivals for the women’s attention — or rivals in singing, which karaoke machines score and rank — they can use humor to forestall macho face-offs among the patrons.

"In one such bar in Quezon City, next to Manila, patrons sing karaoke at tables on the first floor and can accompany a G.R.O. upstairs. Fights often break out when customers at one table look at another table “the wrong way,” said Mark Lanada, 20, the manager.

"'That’s the biggest source of tension,' Mr. Lanada said. 'That’s why every place like this has a gay man like me.'"

It is a strange world we live in...

I do notice how nobody in this article is talking about a legislative solution (such as banning the song-- although Onishi does suggest that there could be "something inherently sinister in the song." And nobody's threatening to sue the karaoke companies or bars. That's refreshing.