"My Way" killings go global

And now, the end is near,
and so I face the final curtain...

The international media have finally caught up with this very Filipino phenomenon that has been around for as long as I can remember.

from The New York Times:

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.

I could attest to the veracity of this story--I remember my college friend Carlo nearly got into fisticuffs with some guy badly singing "My Way" over and over and over (he pronounced it "My Weeeee" too, LOL). Luckily, cooler heads prevailed and violence was averted but this song is just too hot to handle for some people here.

Its especially annoying when I could hardly find a family gathering without groups of tipsy older relatives shrieking it, one after the other. So it's a good thing that karaoke bars are effectively banning the song... but I think my relatives would still sing it at our parties anyway, so no luck for me.