基本信息出版社：Reaktion Books
页码：207 页
出版日期：2007年04月
ISBN：1861893000
条形码：9781861893000
装帧：平装
正文语种：英语

内容简介 In Japanese, the term Karaoke means, literally, 'empty orchestra'. One definition disparagingly describes it as the 'social sensation from Japan where sufficiently inebriated people embarrass themselves in public by singing along to a music track with the lyrics displayed on a tv screen...'. In recent years, the world has been witnessing a massive worldwide Karaoke explosion. In "Karaoke", Zhou Xun and Francesca Tarocco address the complexity of this social craze, exploring its emergence in post-war Japan, its development and spread from South East Asia to the West to become a global phenomenon of modern times. Personal accounts of the Karaoke experience form an important part of this book. The authors are from very different cultural backgrounds and have travelled extensively around the world researching and experiencing first-hand the spread of the Karaoke phenomenon. The world of Karaoke is one of kitsch, crime and weirdness - the authors show how Karaoke can mean dramatically different things to different people.

The full colour illustrations in the book reveal the escapist fantasy world of Karaoke bars, exploring the role of Karaoke in prostitution in South East Asia, and all its crazy manifestations, such as Karaoke taxis in Bangkok, and nude Karaoke in Toronto.
专业书评 From Booklist
In their serious but not ponderous study of a worldwide phenomenon, Xun and Tarocco indicate that karaoke can mean different things to different people and within different cultures. It also serves different purposes: to encourage egalitarianism (before karaoke, after all, few people sang in public), to learn foreign languages and improve literacy, for propaganda, and for self-expression. They devote a chapter to karaoke's origins--the common belief is that it originated in Japan, though Filipino inventor Roberto del Rosario holds the sole patent for the karaoke system, and even the Welsh have staked a claim--then look at karaoke fever in Japan and Korea, Southeast Asia, China, North America, Britain, and Europe. The concluding chapter chronicles the increasing sophistication of karaoke technology, including karaoke on the Web, karaoke video games, and karaoke on mobile phones. A cultural study that is simultaneously surprisingly erudite, entertaining, and a lot of fun. June Sawyers
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Review
"In their serious but not ponderous study of a worldwide phenomenon, Xun and Tarocco indicate that karaoke can mean different things to different people and within different cultures. It also serves different purposes: to encourage egalitarianism (before karaoke, after all, few people sang in public), to learn foreign languages and improve literacy, for propaganda, and for self-expression. They devote a chapter to karaoke''s origins--the common belief is that it originated in Japan, though Filipino inventor Roberto del Rosario holds the sole patent for the karaoke system, and even the Welsh have staked a claim--then look at karaoke fever in Japan and Korea, Southeast Asia, China, North America, Britain, and Europe. The concluding chapter chronicles the increasing sophistication of karaoke technology, including karaoke on the Web, karaoke video games, and karaoke on mobile phones. A cultural study that is simultaneously surprisingly erudite, entertaining, and a lot of fun."--Booklist