Never heard of them.

69 Love Songs is the canonical album

Ouch. Not my style.

Unfortunately, I cannot answer your specific question, Whelk, but it did get me to wondering: in US karaoke places, are there really that many songs by any band like the MFs? I mean, relatively (in pop star terms) obscure, "independent" and "quirky" bands? I'd expect it would pretty much all be classic rock and soul and R&B, plus of course current(ish) hits by major pop stars and American Idolatrous types.

I'm actually rather interested in karaoke culture in the states, since I know zero about it. Any info would be most appreciated!

I've always assumed that karaoke was one of those things that happened more in movies than in real life. People really do that?

This would be great. Except I'd probably end up drunkenly picking "The Luckiest Guy on the Lower East Side" and then dying of asphyxia while trying to make it through the long drawn out "go for a riiiiiiide" at the end. (But I can pull it off at least 75% of the time when crooning along in the car, I swear!)

The last time I participated in karaoke I ended up singing an a capella ballad version of the Misfit's "Skulls" on a dare from two punk guys I'd met in line for the bathroom. This was at a gay bar, where I was the first person of the evening to not be tackling Queen, Donna Summers, or (the person directly ahead of me) Alanis Morisette. They had no Magnetic Fields, but since they let me do an a capella Misfits song, I'm sure they'd have allowed somebody to sing whatever they wanted by that point of the evening.

I have seen a karaoke place that had more indie/hipster music available, but that was in New York City, where normal rules don't apply.

Flapjax, they often have a surprisingly deep list of showtunes and doo-wop and American Songbook stuff.

And some of them have lots of metal and punk and ....really? For karaoke? okay.

Oh and lots of early Madonna cause that's just ..talking in front of music.

"Dress! you! up! in my love!"

Current hits are usually a gimme, as are old songs with singalong elements, duets in general and things that allow people to show off their pipes and/or their mimicry (which is part of the reason, I think, that there's sometimes a lot of metal--more than a few iconic vocalists in that genre).

Karaoke CDs are widely shared, so it's not at all uncommon for veteran KJs (not my favorite construction, but whatever) to have huge, huge collections.