MUSIC REVIEW: MAROON 5 “MOVES LIKE JAGGER” and KARAOKE by Michael David Stewart

Moves Like Jagger Lyrics at elw

Okay, so I’m an old geezer who hasn’t listened to a lot of rock and pop music full time since 1970. Yeah, I’m an old “Classic Rocker” (although I’m sure most of my younger friends think of it as more “Fossil Rock”).
My eras were the 1950’s and 60’s. But once in a while a single song would come along and I’d be hooked.

Maroon 5’ “Moves Like Jagger” just seems to grab me and makes me want to dance (which would most likely end with me in and E.R. with more herniated discs!) I first heard the song in total on this past Tuesday’s episode of “GLEE” (I’m a GLEEK!, So what, ya wanna make something out of it?)

Downloaded the single the other day, and just found the music video which is brilliantly edited and it just moves. It’s one of those songs that is so infectious you want to dare yourself to give it a try on Karaoke Night. It’s a challenge and would be a surprise to everyone who knows me.

I used to perform (sing) when I was younger. I love it. Go away from it for a long time. After my heart attack five years ago, it was one of the first social experiments I tried and kept it up for a long time. I’d find a song, an old favorite from my performing days and download the lyrics then sit in my apartment with the words in front of me, my ear buds firmly in place, and crank up the old iTunes and rehearse.

Since I don’t drink, it was about the performance for me. And I’d challenge myself by picking songs I’d always wanted to try but never dared to. In fact the first night I decided to go do Karaoke I was terrified, kept thinking “What if I forget the lyrics?” And the little voice in the back of my head said, “You can’t forget the lyrics, stupid! It’s Karaoke!”

So I became accustomed and truly enjoyed Karaoke Night. But reader beware, there are pitfalls to Karaoke. In my case I’d rehearse a particular version of a song by a specific artist, find it in the Karaoke book and discover the version they had on the computer was not what I’d rehearsed regardless of what was written in the book. It quickly became Karaoke Improvisation Night!

Eventually I had two songs in my vast repertoire that became very popular with the audiences. One is the classic Be-Bop ballad by the great Cab Calloway “Minnie The Moocher”. It always seemed to surprise the audiences (translation: inebriated bar patrons) and I could get them to sing along on the “Hi De Hi DE Hos”.

The other is “Rainbow Connection” from “The Muppet Movie”. And I would sing it in character as Kermit The Frog (even though my nickname is Fozzi-Story for another time). The first time I performed it was at Sardo’s Grille & Bar in Burbank on

Pornstar Karaoke Night (better known as PSK). When I began to sing, the crowd was pretty noisy, but then I began to notice that the conversation level was slowly diminishing almost to the point of silence.

My first reaction was to look around the room to see if some like Jenna Jameson had come in. But, nope, there was a bar full of pornstars and civilians actually listening. When I finished, there was such an ovation I was embarrassed. As I returned to my table I was being high-fived, patted on the back, and getting hugs from Porn Chicks I didn’t even know. It was quite the night. Now, if I ever show up on PSK Night, I get asked if I’m going to sing it again. It’s very weird.

And I’m also up to taking a dare. One night a dear friend dared me to sing a particular song and I said I would. I think she wanted to see if I would really do it. So when my name was called I got up, grabbed the mic, and performed a version of “I Feel Pretty” from “West Side Story” that would have made Billy De Wolf proud (Google him!).

I mean, why not? Some of the best songs from Broadway were written for women. (I’ve always wanted to get up and do “You Can’t Get A Man With A Gun” from Irving Berlin’s “Annie Get Your Gun”. I think it’d be a hoot and a surprise). So now I’m toying with the idea of getting back out there and doing Karaoke again, so who knows? We’ll see.