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Politics Daily 'Wins' Karaoke in the Capital
By "win," I don't mean the Little League kind of win (i.e., you're ALL winners!). At Wednesday night's "Karaoke in the Capital," Politics Daily's Editor in Chief Melinda Henneberger bagged the coveted "Don't Quit Your Day Job" Award.
We are all so proud.
Henneberger and Politics Daily publicist and public relations consultant, Susan Bennett, decided two hours before the show to sing the Pat Benatar song, "Hit Me With Your Best Shot."
Waiting in line to go on stage, Henneberger noted with dismay that the first couple of singers were really good. (This is common knowledge to those of us who actually can't sing. That's why, coward that I am, I'd turned down all Henneberger's requests to humiliate myself in front of a room of D.C. media and political insiders).
Karaoke in the Capital, at Washington's Rock and Roll Hotel, was a fundraiser for the Mr. Holland's Opus Foundation, which supplies musical instruments for deserving students and schools.
Henneberger was surprised to learn the accompanying soundtrack was instruments only -- no vocals: "This seemed like such a good idea a few weeks ago! And I thought Pat Benatar would drown out our voices!"
Taking pity on my boss, I offered her a drink or a Valium. She turned down both. Henneberger faced her stage fright, potential humiliation and fears the old-fashioned way: with grit and deep breaths.
When Henneberger and Bennett were announced, the crowd cheered loudly. The dark room was packed to the walls, and the only lights were on stage or from the TV cameras and camera flashes.
The music started and the lyrics appeared on the small monitors: "Well you're the real tough cookie with a long history. Of breaking little hearts like the one in me."
PD's intrepid duo quickly acclimated to the stage, singing and dancing and looking confident and, actually, really cool. Cheering them on were Politics Daily writers and editors: Carl Cannon, Jill Lawrence, Patricia Murphy, Bonnie Goldstein and our other two karaoke singers -- Lynn Sweet and David Corn -- who clearly had spent time practicing in the shower, as their performances surprised even their colleagues.
After Henneberger's gig, her husband, Washington Post reporter Bill Turque, met her stage-side. Asked what he thought of his wife's singing, he said, "She should keep her day job." Which oddly enough, ended up being the award she took home; perhaps Turque was secretly on the judging panel?
Many other bold-faced names offered themselves up for the cause, some with beautiful singing voices, some so bad we had to cover our ears with our hands. CBS's Bob Schieffer -- unrecognizable in a cowboy hat, beard and sunglasses -- sang Johnny Cash. Choosing not to karaoke, Rep. Dennis Moore (D-Kans.) thrilled the crowd by playing the guitar while singing live.
Lynn Sweet was next up for the Politics Daily team. She was introduced as the "hardest working reporter in Washington." As the first notes of the Rolling Stones' "I Can't Get No Satisfaction" began, Sweet fearlessly sang loudly, in tune, and danced a well-choreographed routine.
Hands down, Lynn Sweet was the night's biggest shocker. "She's amazing actually! And so out of character," said co-worker Bonnie Goldstein.
Her fancy footwork, which defies a written description, must be watched on video. "Who knew Lynn Sweet had such moves?" asked FishbowlDC co-editor Christine Delargy.
After her song, Patricia Murphy told Sweet, "The crowd loved you!"
Finally for Team Politics Daily was David Corn, the most confident of the bunch. As he went on stage, he waved to his cheering fans who were chanting "Corn! Corn! Corn!"
Singing Talking Heads' "Take Me to the River," Corn opened his pipes full-throttle and moved smoothly in his Converse sneakers. The women in the crowd were taken by the Corn-man. "Do you work with him?" asked a blonde next to me. "He's so cute!" said a girl in the front row.
Martin Moe, AOL executive and the big boss over Politics Daily, attended the event, and many of the writers were shocked to see the scary suit in real life. Asked what he thought of the Politics Daily writers' performances, Moe said he was "completely blown away by the talent."
"What talent, exactly?" I asked, playing the role of hard-hitting investigative reporter. Moe laughed, clearly buying himself time to come up with the right words to assuage the sensitive egos of his team of writers.
"Melodic," he said. Pause. "Rhythmic." Longer pause.
As he struggled to come up with a kind description of the talent, I said: "You do know that WE work for YOU, right?" He laughed. Then, looking pleased with himself, Moe produced the perfect adjective: "Compelling!"
Update 10/31: Bud Jackson, the organizer of the event, emailed to alert this hard-hitting investigative reporter that "David Corn also took home the prestigious 'You Sing and Dogs Bark' Award. (You shouldn't short-change him ;-)" So, we at Politics Daily are just as proud of the success of the Corn-Man as Henneberger. To watch Corn's performance- worthy of making dogs bark - click here: David Corn sings karaoke.
Follow me on Twitter @EmilyMillerDC
We are all so proud.
Henneberger and Politics Daily publicist and public relations consultant, Susan Bennett, decided two hours before the show to sing the Pat Benatar song, "Hit Me With Your Best Shot."
Waiting in line to go on stage, Henneberger noted with dismay that the first couple of singers were really good. (This is common knowledge to those of us who actually can't sing. That's why, coward that I am, I'd turned down all Henneberger's requests to humiliate myself in front of a room of D.C. media and political insiders).
Karaoke in the Capital, at Washington's Rock and Roll Hotel, was a fundraiser for the Mr. Holland's Opus Foundation, which supplies musical instruments for deserving students and schools.
Henneberger was surprised to learn the accompanying soundtrack was instruments only -- no vocals: "This seemed like such a good idea a few weeks ago! And I thought Pat Benatar would drown out our voices!"
Taking pity on my boss, I offered her a drink or a Valium. She turned down both. Henneberger faced her stage fright, potential humiliation and fears the old-fashioned way: with grit and deep breaths.
When Henneberger and Bennett were announced, the crowd cheered loudly. The dark room was packed to the walls, and the only lights were on stage or from the TV cameras and camera flashes.
The music started and the lyrics appeared on the small monitors: "Well you're the real tough cookie with a long history. Of breaking little hearts like the one in me."
PD's intrepid duo quickly acclimated to the stage, singing and dancing and looking confident and, actually, really cool. Cheering them on were Politics Daily writers and editors: Carl Cannon, Jill Lawrence, Patricia Murphy, Bonnie Goldstein and our other two karaoke singers -- Lynn Sweet and David Corn -- who clearly had spent time practicing in the shower, as their performances surprised even their colleagues.
After Henneberger's gig, her husband, Washington Post reporter Bill Turque, met her stage-side. Asked what he thought of his wife's singing, he said, "She should keep her day job." Which oddly enough, ended up being the award she took home; perhaps Turque was secretly on the judging panel?
Many other bold-faced names offered themselves up for the cause, some with beautiful singing voices, some so bad we had to cover our ears with our hands. CBS's Bob Schieffer -- unrecognizable in a cowboy hat, beard and sunglasses -- sang Johnny Cash. Choosing not to karaoke, Rep. Dennis Moore (D-Kans.) thrilled the crowd by playing the guitar while singing live.
Lynn Sweet was next up for the Politics Daily team. She was introduced as the "hardest working reporter in Washington." As the first notes of the Rolling Stones' "I Can't Get No Satisfaction" began, Sweet fearlessly sang loudly, in tune, and danced a well-choreographed routine.
Hands down, Lynn Sweet was the night's biggest shocker. "She's amazing actually! And so out of character," said co-worker Bonnie Goldstein.
Her fancy footwork, which defies a written description, must be watched on video. "Who knew Lynn Sweet had such moves?" asked FishbowlDC co-editor Christine Delargy.
After her song, Patricia Murphy told Sweet, "The crowd loved you!"
Finally for Team Politics Daily was David Corn, the most confident of the bunch. As he went on stage, he waved to his cheering fans who were chanting "Corn! Corn! Corn!"
Singing Talking Heads' "Take Me to the River," Corn opened his pipes full-throttle and moved smoothly in his Converse sneakers. The women in the crowd were taken by the Corn-man. "Do you work with him?" asked a blonde next to me. "He's so cute!" said a girl in the front row.
Martin Moe, AOL executive and the big boss over Politics Daily, attended the event, and many of the writers were shocked to see the scary suit in real life. Asked what he thought of the Politics Daily writers' performances, Moe said he was "completely blown away by the talent."
"What talent, exactly?" I asked, playing the role of hard-hitting investigative reporter. Moe laughed, clearly buying himself time to come up with the right words to assuage the sensitive egos of his team of writers.
"Melodic," he said. Pause. "Rhythmic." Longer pause.
As he struggled to come up with a kind description of the talent, I said: "You do know that WE work for YOU, right?" He laughed. Then, looking pleased with himself, Moe produced the perfect adjective: "Compelling!"
Update 10/31: Bud Jackson, the organizer of the event, emailed to alert this hard-hitting investigative reporter that "David Corn also took home the prestigious 'You Sing and Dogs Bark' Award. (You shouldn't short-change him ;-)" So, we at Politics Daily are just as proud of the success of the Corn-Man as Henneberger. To watch Corn's performance- worthy of making dogs bark - click here: David Corn sings karaoke.
Follow me on Twitter @EmilyMillerDC
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Emily Miller
Emily Miller, a public affairs consultant in Washington, DC has over 15 years experience in politics and media... moreRelated Articles
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Comments (4)
womanupdonna
4:25PM Oct 22nd 2009
Mr. Moe has enlarged the vocabulary for what we used to call "In. Tres. Ting."
RATE THIS COMMENT:
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garry402
5:36PM Oct 22nd 2009
No comment
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(2)
(2) Leslie
7:43PM Oct 22nd 2009
Sounds like they had their own liberal hoe-down here. Hey.........I thought we were supposed to be the "rednecks" Yeeha!
RATE THIS COMMENT: (2)
(2) garry402
7:50PM Oct 22nd 2009
Leslie, a statement like that will get deleted by the new censorship sheriff. My first "no Comment" comment was deleted once already today.
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