I just wanted to sing Hungarian

Mr. Brightside came out in 2004. N*ggas in paris came out in 2011.

Despite different release years, what do these songs have in common?

They are being played in 2024 as if they have just hit the public. What were crowd pleasers once upon a time, somehow are still crowd pleasers.

If we don’t let songs expire we will turn what was once a promising experience into a collective routine of dancing and fake singing to a song nobody feels that strongly about anymore. This has now been reenacted hundreds of times before, and if I'm not soooo excited when Sweet Caroline comes on, I'm a party pooper. I always invite classicals to play, but not to dominate.

I don’t understand how the crowd lets this stand. Do you not want to hear something new? If you are still THAT excited by these songs it makes me think nobody out there is looking for a new type of experience.

I was in Budapest and wrapped up a dinner with a group of professors from England - all of whom were above the age of 50, and acting like they were 5. They were so poorly behaved at this fine dining experience that the staff had called a cab for us (well, them) to prevent any chance of lingering outside the restaurant. As a lost group the cab took us directly to where we belonged - a district in Budapest full of karaoke bars and neon blue sugary drinks.

I figured karaoke would be a good way to eliminate the need for further conversation because I could no longer handle speaking to these misbehaved lads. Karaoke unsurprisingly proved to be nothing special - Australians singing Mr. Brightside and every other song you hear.

Given that I was in Hungary, I decided for my song I would try and sing a Hungarian song. I obviously don’t know Hungarian but maybe it would be funny to give it a try.

I went up to the karaoke host and told him what I wanted to try.

"Hungarian music is banned at this bar".

I asked him why, and he responded "don't worry about it".

The reason why is obviously that the bar wants to cater to visitors, that is their main clientele, and if random close minded travelers brought in from Ryanair hear Hungarian being screamed they are likely to go elsewhere. Generally, people are afraid of things they cannot understand.

I felt shame - I'm not sure if it was my own shame, or on behalf of the bar, or the general area, that the feeling is music from the host country here must be banned. 

I went up to a group of Hungarian boys, and asked them to go and tell the host they wanted to sing a Hungarian song. They tried and were rejected to. I then tried the same experiment again with a group of blonde girls from England. The host was giving me a look.

I approached him again and said "Your bar clearly caters to westerners, I am a westerner, and I want to hear Hungarian music".

Logic usually does not work with nightlife staff (money does). I was sent out of the bar.

Maybe this isn't new, but globalization is diminishing local or even national music because western travelers want to have the same experiences repackaged in a different place.

I understand that if I want local music I need to find a watering hole or go to parts of a country that haven't turned to tourism, but what I want to get across is that visitors should be more receptive to hearing something new.

I found this trend continued at another god forsaken place, Music on The Rocks in Positano. This shouldn't come as a surprise because the entire Amalfi coast is tourism, but at this place I was hoping to hear some type of fun Italian music.

The DJ was openly taking song requests, and when I asked for something Italian, he responded saying "I can't play anything Italian, this is an international crowd". He proceeded to play Pitbull ;/

I understand as a  DJ you want to please the crowd, but at the same time, you are the one with all of the power. If you start playing unfamiliar Italian music, nobody is going to leave.

If playing Italian music were truly to clear a room, then fuck those people whose ears cant handle something unfamiliar. Those that stick around will be the ones who appreciate the music and that is who you want listening. I'd much rather have 10 quality people who stuck around to listen to music they don't understand than please a crowd of 500 with the same shit spun everywhere else. DJs need to clear the room rather than create a comfortable space for uninteresting people.

What I ask is that next time you are in a foreign land, and the music is not so foreign, request to hear some local, regional, or national music. If this request is rejected, go insane and rally other westerners to push for the same demands.

With enough push, the culture will shift, and going to foreign bars will feel like the fun, weird and wild experience we're all seeking.