Remember how we used to buy cassettes and CDs, pop them into the player and pull out the lyrics sheet to sing along? As time passes, more and more things get digitize and music is not spared. CDs no longer sell as much as they used to, but a person who loves to sing still loves to sing. And if you’re like me, you might be playing songs on your computer and having a separate tab on your browser with the lyrics page open while you sing along to whatever is being pumped out your speakers.
That’s a bit of work since you’ve got to search for the lyrics and at the same time, try to avoid spammy sites that is full of crap and still use pop-ups as if they didn’t receive the notice about pop-up blockers.
A new speaker, aptly named “Lyric Speaker,” attempts to solve that problem for you. Since we no longer get CD booklets with lyrics sheets, streaming the song from your phone to the speaker is all you have to do now in order to see the lyrics to whatever song you bought online. The speaker connects to the Internet and downloads the lyrics to be displayed on the speaker itself, which is transparent. It doesn’t just display the entire lyrics in your face but each line appears in tandem with the progression of the song. The lines also appear in different variations depending on the mood or tempo of the music.
The speaker is available for testing at Isetan Shinjuku, Mitsukoshi Nihonbashi, and Mitsukoshi Ginza. And you’ve probably figured out that it doesn’t come cheap. *mumbles, nothing in Isetan is cheap* But if you find 324,000 yen a price you’re willing to pay, you can place an order here.
When I saw it do its job on TV, I find the lyrics a little too in pace with the song, it doesn’t help me sing along that well. Imagine going to a karaoke and the next line appears only when you’re supposed to start singing. Perhaps if I get to see the actual product, it might not be as bad as it appears. Either way, I’m not paying over $4,000 for a speaker. I don’t even pay 4,000 yen for a headphone. But if you’re just a tech geek who wants to own everything that’s new, I’d say go ahead. Although you might want to consider using that few thousand dollars on investments instead of a speaker.
