Mikasounds and Twitter Update Thread (Part 10)

[Christine]

But why?? If the album is already finished, why wait?

 

Who said the album was finished? In any case Mika was still working on the album artwork in the middle of the night 3 months after TBWKTM was finished so it's going to be awhile yet.

 

They did a lot to gear up to the last album. They built an entirely new website from scratch, they launched the points program, they released the EP, he went around the world for listening parties, he did an acoustic tour, he did the summer festivals, he created all the artwork (after changing the album name after the promo copies had already gone out ), he released a single, made a video, etc.

 

I don't see any evidence of this stuff happening yet except for the summer festivals.

 

Regarding the webcams, sometimes the videos are up later,I will keep an eye on it:thumb_yello:

I've just tweeted R1 to see if they are putting the guest videos up later.

 

Cheers.

[eloise.shaw]

Who said the album was finished? In any case Mika was still working on the album artwork in the middle of the night 3 months after TBWKTM was finished so it's going to be awhile yet.

 

They did a lot to gear up to the last album. They built an entirely new website from scratch, they launched the points program, they released the EP, he went around the world for listening parties, he did an acoustic tour, he did the summer festivals, he created all the artwork (after changing the album name after the promo copies had already gone out ), he released a single, made a video, etc.

 

I don't see any evidence of this stuff happening yet except for the summer festivals.

 

 

 

Cheers.

 

Is that why on spotify it has We Are Golden as an album, AS WELL AS TBWKTM? With all the same songs, but just a different title and artwork.

[Christine]

Is that why on spotify it has We Are Golden as an album, AS WELL AS TBWKTM? With all the same songs, but just a different title and artwork.

 

Probably. There was a copy called We Are Golden without Loverboy on it. It had different artwork and was circulating in August 2009.

[kath]

Probably. There was a copy called We Are Golden without Loverboy on it. It had different artwork and was circulating in August 2009.

 

It seems really strange now to think of it as We are Golden doesn't it.....but that is what we were expecting at the time.

[eloise.shaw]

Probably. There was a copy called We Are Golden without Loverboy on it. It had different artwork and was circulating in August 2009.

 

That probably explains it then! I always like the artwork for We Are Golden

[Christine]

It seems really strange now to think of it as We are Golden doesn't it.....but that is what we were expecting at the time.

 

I REALLY hope he changes the name of this one too. That chicken joke has been doing my head in for 5 years and I can't handle another 5 years of TOOL jokes.

 

That probably explains it then! I always like the artwork for We Are Golden

 

The artwork for the album was different from the single.

 

[Milda]

Who said the album was finished?

MFCers

In any case Mika was still working on the album artwork in the middle of the night 3 months after TBWKTM was finished so it's going to be awhile yet.

I would have preferred not to know this fact now all I wanna do to Mika is and tell him to hurry up

They did a lot to gear up to the last album. They built an entirely new website from scratch, they launched the points program, they released the EP, he went around the world for listening parties, he did an acoustic tour, he did the summer festivals, he created all the artwork (after changing the album name after the promo copies had already gone out ), he released a single, made a video, etc.

Now these things make me fangurl I wonder if this time he will do such things.. I hope he does

[Lucrezia]

The artwork for the album was different from the single.

 

 

Oh my! I've never seen this!

 

Thanks Christine!!

[willywonka]

Is that all in the interview?

 

Those miserable 10 mins where he doesn't even speak about Tool?????

 

Yuck!

[eloise.shaw]

I REALLY hope he changes the name of this one too. That chicken joke has been doing my head in for 5 years and I can't handle another 5 years of TOOL jokes.

 

 

 

The artwork for the album was different from the single.

 

 

Yep! That's the artwork I like! More than the single version anyway...

[Anney]

I REALLY hope he changes the name of this one too. That chicken joke has been doing my head in for 5 years and I can't handle another 5 years of TOOL jokes.

 

 

 

The artwork for the album was different from the single.

 

 

never seen it before .thank you:thumb_yello:

I´m glad the albumcover was changed. I like it more the way it ended up:blush-anim-cl:

[SjoerdvWijk]

never seen it before .thank you:thumb_yello:

I´m glad the albumcover was changed. I like it more the way it ended up:blush-anim-cl:

 

Hmm... I liked that one better than this one:

 

[Marilyn Mastin]

I REALLY hope he changes the name of this one too. That chicken joke has been doing my head in for 5 years and I can't handle another 5 years of TOOL jokes.

 

 

 

The artwork for the album was different from the single.

 

I ordered the album as We Are Golden, but then he changed the name. I ended up getting two copies, but gave one away as a Christmas Present.

I prefer the artwork of WAG, to the artwork of TBWKTM

[Milda]

I ordered the album as We Are Golden, but then he changed the name. I ended up getting two copies, but gave one away as a Christmas Present.

I prefer the artwork of WAG, to the artwork of TBWKTM

Me too. Not that I don't like TBWKTM artwork, but it was too similar to the artwork of LICM

[Christine]

I think the colours of the original design were much prettier and striking. Album artwork is all but irrelevant these days. Its purpose is just a small advert now, more often seen online than in a shop (and more often than not they used Mika's image in the MFC banner rather than the album artwork to advertise the album). I never understood the Mubbins and all of that anyway. He never explained it really and it had nothing to do with the album. I hope he just goes with a pretty design again and doesn't waste inordinate amounts of time with half developed characters. I just want to hear some music, this year and not in 2013 please.

[dcdeb]

I think the colours of the original design were much prettier and striking. Album artwork is all but irrelevant these days. Its purpose is just a small advert now, more often seen online than in a shop (and more often than not they used Mika's image in the MFC banner rather than the album artwork to advertise the album). I never understood the Mubbins and all of that anyway. He never explained it really and it had nothing to do with the album. I hope he just goes with a pretty design again and doesn't waste inordinate amounts of time with half developed characters. I just want to hear some music, this year and not in 2013 please.

 

I have nothing to add to that, just want to echo those sentiments.

 

PLEASE, Mika. We're saying PLEASE!

[suzie]

I think the colours of the original design were much prettier and striking.

I also prefer the original design, although I can see no relevance to the album itself.

 

I never understood the Mubbins and all of that anyway.He never explained it really and it had nothing to do with the album.

I think that was just an attempt to copy even the idea of having some characters for the second album like he had Chew Chew and Lollipop Girl for the first album. He failed to elaborate it even to the extent he dealt with the characters on the first album though. I have always had a feeling he was at a total loss as to what he wanted with the second album, including content, themes and music, so to me it never got together as an album but was a mishmash of ideas, sounding like a Greatest Hits compilation.

I hope he just goes with a pretty design again and doesn't waste inordinate amounts of time with half developed characters. I just want to hear some music, this year and not in 2013 please.

 

oh, I think he will release it by the autumn and I am positive it will sound great.

[Marilyn Mastin]

I think the colours of the original design were much prettier and striking. Album artwork is all but irrelevant these days. Its purpose is just a small advert now, more often seen online than in a shop (and more often than not they used Mika's image in the MFC banner rather than the album artwork to advertise the album). I never understood the Mubbins and all of that anyway. He never explained it really and it had nothing to do with the album. I hope he just goes with a pretty design again and doesn't waste inordinate amounts of time with half developed characters. I just want to hear some music, this year and not in 2013 please.

I think he wasted a trick with The Mubbins. I pictured them as cuddly toys and I think they might have been popular if they had been manufactured. As it happens, I agree with you, if he wasn't going to develop The Mubbins, there wasn't a lot of point to them.

I think the problem, for us as the fans, is that we don't know what he's up to atm, so he just seems to be procrastinating. But maybe later on we'll understand, once he lets us into the loop.

For me, it's not so much that I want the album out, next week (although that would be great) but if he explained what he's doing and what the timescale is likely to be, I'd be okay with the waiting. I think it's just the not knowing what's going on in Mika's world that can be frustrating.

[nas]

MIKA official ‏ @mikasounds

He was a notorious hypochondriac & people used to joke that he was always saying he was ill or dying. This time it was for real. Such a loss

 

 

MIKA official ‏ @mikasounds

His life was full of achievements but he was so saddened by death around him and creeping up on him.

 

MIKA official ‏ @mikasounds

We spent the afternoon together & he was everything I hoped he would be. full of mischief and joy but also the grumpiest man ever. Loveable

 

MIKA official ‏ @mikasounds

Maurice Sendak has died. I am so sad to hear that news. He was one of my lifelong heroes. I met him at his house last year & adored him.

 

 

 

 

RIP Maurice .....

[eloise.shaw]

MIKA official ‏ @mikasounds

He was a notorious hypochondriac & people used to joke that he was always saying he was ill or dying. This time it was for real. Such a loss

 

 

MIKA official ‏ @mikasounds

His life was full of achievements but he was so saddened by death around him and creeping up on him.

 

MIKA official ‏ @mikasounds

We spent the afternoon together & he was everything I hoped he would be. full of mischief and joy but also the grumpiest man ever. Loveable

 

MIKA official ‏ @mikasounds

Maurice Sendak has died. I am so sad to hear that news. He was one of my lifelong heroes. I met him at his house last year & adored him.

 

 

 

 

RIP Maurice .....

 

RIP Maurice

 

Didn't Mika write about meeting him? Somewhere...?

[krysady]

RIP Maurice

 

Didn't Mika write about meeting him? Somewhere...?

 

Yes,here: http://www.mikasounds.com/blog/post/5244263476

[nas]

RIP Maurice

 

Didn't Mika write about meeting him? Somewhere...?

 

in his XL column last year...

 

On a cold January morning this year, I made my way up the winding roads of upstate Connecticut. I was nervous, not only because I was the one doing the driving (I am a terrible driver), but because this felt more like a pilgrimage than a meeting. After getting lost I finally found a discreet painted wooden house, secluded in the middle of a dense forrest. I had arrived at the home of ‘Where The Wild Things Are’ illustrator, Maurice Sendak. Walking into the house, I came across a short, elderly man, dressed in his pyjamas and sitting at the dinner table talking loudly on the phone. When finally presented to him, he looked at me softly and smiled - “you’re very young”, he said, “I’m 82, have a seat”.

 

Over the next three hours, I glimpsed into the life of a man who’s work has been one of the biggest creative inspirations in my life. Sendak is most famous for the Wild Things but has illustrated over 100 books. His art has reinvented illustration and children’s books, the same way Norman Rockwell reinvented the art of marketing illustration. He lives with his female assistant and friend. With visitors he is generous with his thoughts and time but prefers to work and listen to Schubert. He does this in the same room that he sleeps in, working endlessly, desperate to achieve and leave behind a body of work as good as his heroes, William Blake and Keats.

 

If I hadn’t become a musician I would have become an illustrator. Illustrations work in a very similar way to pop songs. In pop songs, melodies and lyrics have to be direct. They work best when something indescribable is created out of the most simple ingredients. It can take only seconds for a song to grab your attention. Illustrations have to do the same thing. The lines seem simple and the image quickly understandable, but what goes into it can take as much skill as any painting in the Louvre. In this way, Sendak is the Beatles of the art world.

 

When sitting with Sendak, it is hard not to feel like you are sitting with one of his characters come to life. Small, big faced and bursting with expression and one-liners. He is a perfect combination of wickedly cynical yet constantly in awe of art and music. It gives him a childlike quality. His ‘Jewishness’ is almost exaggerated. He speaks bits of Yiddish, often with a raised voice and theatrical flair. Many people are unaware of the massive influence Eastern European (mostly Jewish), fine artists from the 1940s, shaped the imagery of their childhood to this day. Fleeing war and political instability, many eastern European painters emigrated to the USA. There they found themselves out of work, with paintings that had no hope of making money. It was in the booming publishing industry that they found a future. With the development of cheap high quality colour printing, books and magazines flourished and illustrations were needed to fill them. The skill of the emigré artists revolutionised illustration. The drawings were still direct and pop, (the publishers made sure of that), but they had a wealth of sophistication and training behind them. Artists like Gustaf Tenggren and Tibor Gergely would later be poached by Walt Disney and many were responsible for creating the intricate visual world of many Disney classics, including Snow White, Disney’s first full length film.

 

The resentment that some of these artists felt was not unjustified. They were for a long time the unsung heroes of pop culture, rejected by the fine art world, and underpaid by the mainstream companies. How things have changed. I got my first job at eleven after being expelled from school. Unable to read and write, my mother decided to give me a new start and keep me out of formal education for almost a year. During that time I learnt to sing, play the piano and would stare at the pictures in children’s books. The pictures were far more important than the words and there began my obsession with illustration. A couple years later, after I finally managed to save some money, I used all the cash I had to buy my first drawing. It was a watercolour by Jim Woodring, of a bunny called Frank. Frank is drugs, sex, insecurity, happiness and fear. The only thing is, Frank doesn’t speak, there is no text in his comics and he lives a made up surreal fantasy land. Somehow, all these emotions are still communicated and crystal clear. Frank was subversive but my parents had no idea. My Frank picture cost me $300, a fortune at the time. I didn’t stop there. Whenever I made money, I found a picture to spend it on. By the age of 17 I was already trading and selling my pictures online. I often kept this addiction secret from my friends, embarrassed of some of the risks I was taking. It seems I was by no means alone. A whole generation who has grown up with illustration art refuse to see it as merely something disposable. Those Tengrenns and Gergelys that were once given away, can now fetch over a $100,000. How they would turn in there graves!

[SjoerdvWijk]

RIP Maurice

 

Ps. Tonight I'll upload the BBC Radio interview on YouTube for those who aren't able to open it on mikatube

[eloise.shaw]

Yes,here: http://www.mikasounds.com/blog/post/5244263476

 

in his XL column last year...

 

On a cold January morning this year, I made my way up the winding roads of upstate Connecticut. I was nervous, not only because I was the one doing the driving (I am a terrible driver), but because this felt more like a pilgrimage than a me...............ture cost me $300, a fortune at the time. I didn’t stop there. Whenever I made money, I found a picture to spend it on. By the age of 17 I was already trading and selling my pictures online. I often kept this addiction secret from my friends, embarrassed of some of the risks I was taking. It seems I was by no means alone. A whole generation who has grown up with illustration art refuse to see it as merely something disposable. Those Tengrenns and Gergelys that were once given away, can now fetch over a $100,000. How they would turn in there graves!

 

Thankyou

[silver]

RIP Maurice, who understood Wild Things