So after using my secondhand Sony laptop for almost a decade, I finally had one night where it wouldn’t boot and delayed karaoke by over an hour at Burns Alley, so within a week, I went shopping for something new. The new one doesn’t have that awesome Weird Al Yankovic autograph on it, so I gotta look for something interesting to decorate it. I’m sure I’ll think of something fun to do with my vinyl cutter. Thankfully Winamp v5.9.2 was released this year, with Windows 11 support, although I don’t think I needed to update it from what I had saved in my big software installers folder on the backup hard drive. It still functions exactly as Winamp 5.0 did in 2006. I say that MP3 files haven’t changed since the late 1990’s, and CDG graphics are formatted for the compact disc standard of 1985. It’s nice that this thing boots up faster, but it still plays music files like any PC from the last 20 years.
That said, the play count on all my karaoke tracks dropped to zero as I started a new music library. This means “Mr Brightside” is no longer standing high above all other songs as the most played, with more than double the number of the song in second place. I guess I will get less angry when people sing that one these days. I did have that nice break from hearing that song during the Covid-19 pandemic. I honestly don’t think I heard it at all for 18 months. Ah, those were special times. Yes, there is already a new leader after only a month of use, clearly running far ahead of all the others in how often I have to hear it. One of the old “top 5” songs is back up there, but the top spot is one that has always been present, but seems to have gotten a boost in popularity lately. I’ll try to wait a few months before I start complaining about people’s lack of originality.
Also, thirty-something new songs added tonight. Check out the new songs page, or just try and find something new when you’re searching the main list. Keep telling me what new stuff you want to sing and I’ll keep trying to get it for you. I’m sticking with my decision to not use Karafun (that software sucks) or their subscription karaoke. I feel good about that choice after once again this week, someone asked to sing “Rich Men, North of Richmond.” I don’t want to hear that song, and if you do, you’re probably also wanting to share some really wrong, really ignorant political ideas. The same goes for “Courtesy of the Red White and Blue,” which has been requested quite a few times since October 7th. I deleted that track several laptops back, so I don’t have it available for you to sing. I’ll just let you think about why now isn’t the time for that.