Mika @ Gen40, 40TV (Spain) - October 2012

This was recorded last October in Madrid and aired some months later, but we couldn’t get a decent video of it until this week!

Thanks to @mariaasuncion for recording and sharing

First part:

[YOUTUBE]JPPMWM7T8U4[/YOUTUBE]

Second part:

[YOUTUBE]YgM2GOoHNkQ[/YOUTUBE]

Thank you so much, PurpleCat!

My translation (I apologize before hand for any mistakes):

Hi, I’m Mika in 40 TV.

And I want to say I’m going to try and speak in Spanish, but I can’t speak it that much so I’m going to make a lot of mistakes, but… you gotta be nice, please.

At home as a kid I listened to a lot of stuff. First in Paris I used to listen to things like Shabba Ranks. Shabba Ranks was the first concert I ever attended, and I was 9 years old. I don’t know why, I don’t know why, maybe because Shabba Ranks was like an animated character, not very real, a little bit absurd. But also Nina Simone, I liked her a lot, and also stuff like Nirvana. Nirvana, Shabba Ranks, Nina Simone. A mix, that’s true.

While my mother was cooking, she always played flamenco vynils, so I have this memory of the kitchen, the house, my mother, six years old, I was six years old, and flamenco music *claps* Things like that, I don’t know why. In Paris.

The first disc I bought. I feel a bit ashamed about that. It was the disc… Because at home there were many discs, no, not discs, vynils and cassettes, ha! Cassettes. I’m 29 years old, so cassettes were quite important when I was little. And, but the first disc I… The soundtrack of the movie “Cool Runnings”, with the song… a horrible song, a song *sings* I’m sorry.

The first concert I ever went to was a classical one, in Paris. I think it was a concert or Tchaikovsky ballet, or something like that. I was 3 years old, 4 years old. Because my mother loves these kind of things, and for her it is important to go to see classical music and also rock and pop. But the first ever pop concert I attended was a show by Shabba Ranks in Virginia and I was 8 years old. I went with my family in the US, and it was a little bit weird because I was 8 years old and they… Like in airports, they frisked me for guns and stuff like that. And also, I didn’t understand why we waited for two and a half hours to see Shabba Ranks. I was really disappointed, actually hated it, it was awful. It was horrible.

The record I’ve listened to the most is maybe Nirvana, or Jeff Buckley’s record, or maybe, I don’t know, Fleetwood Mac’s record “Rumours”, I like it a lot. Things like a record, a best of of Queen too, when I was 15. It was very important because musically I realized you can make music that’s a mixture of rock, pop, opera, but with a huge importance on melody as well, and that was like an explosion to my ears.

A special concert. Maybe Cesaria Évora’s concert, a singer from Côte d'Ivoire, who’s dead now, but it was incredible. Or also a Rufus Wainwright’s gig in London, Shepherd’s Bush Empire, which was incredible. But I don’t know, I don’t like enormous concerts that much, like U2 or things like that. I do like the music, but an enormous concert like that, I don’t know, there’s a distance, there’s a feeling like Vegas, Las Vegas, and for me that’s not, that’s not… I don’t know, it’s not like a theater or a club. A theater or a club, a theater, for me, is the perfect place for a concert.

In a movie, I’d like to play the role of maybe Little Richard, the rock singer, one of the inventors of rock music, or maybe Nina Simone, a great pop star, jazz music star, a mixture of everything. But the problem is it wouldn’t be very easy because Little Richard, whose name is Richard Penniman, and my name is Mika Penniman, but that’s the only similarity, because Little Richard, well Little Richard is black, and Nina Simone is a woman, so it wouldn’t be easy.

The song I enjoy dancing to the most is “Smalltown Boy” by Bronski Beat. I love this song, I don’t know why. I like the… It’s a bit like an electronic, dance version of a band I love - I don’t know how to say it – which is The Cure. I love The Cure, but… Maybe also a song by The Cure, or Bronski Beat. Both.

I would have liked to have written myself the song “Nature Boy”, from Nat King Cole, and from David Bowie too. It’s an incredible song, one of the best songs in the world.

(I’d share a good talk with) Tina Turner or Michael Jackson. That’s a good idea. Or maybe with Houdini, but Houdini is not a musician, but he’s a very interesting character.

For me an excellent choreography is Elvis’ choreography in the ‘50s, with his leg like this *dances* It’s so simple and it’s perfect, we can do it today or in the ‘50s, and it’s interesting and very easy.

A song for Sunday mornings, maybe a song by the band First Aid Kit. It’s a band from Stockholm, two sisters. Or maybe a song by Jessie Ware, I like her.

My summer song, for me it’s a song by Paul Simon with the band Lady Blacksmith Mambazo, it’s the song “Graceland”. It also puts me in a good mood, the whole album, it’s incredible, I like it a lot.

My latest musical discovery are the songs by Of Monsters and Men. I love their videos too. And the song “Little Talks” is incredible, I love it.

Well, thanks, and I’m sorry for my terrible Spanish. This is my Gen 40. Until next time, I am Mika.

Thank you so much Purple Cat and Leire for this interview

Mika has tastes so special that span every musical genre. I'd hear him talk about music for hours!

And then Nirvana fan! He has all my respect!

It was a pure fun to watch these videos... thank you so much!!

And I think I understand Spanish better then English! well maybe "mika-spanish":mf_rosetinted:

And the last song? I knew he would love it!!!! I adore this song! and always thought to myself "Mika would love it!! he must hear it"

OMG, thank you thank you Laura and Purplecat, always interesting to know Mika's tastes :wub2: and his spanish is improving day by day, he should make a song in spanish :wub2 he makes this laguage even more beautiful :wub2:

Thanks a lot girls! It is totally priceless!

OMG, thank you thank you Laura and Purplecat, always interesting to know Mika's tastes :wub2: and his spanish is improving day by day, he should make a song in spanish :wub2 he makes this laguage even more beautiful :wub2:

Oh, how I agree!

Nature Boy

"The greatest thing you'll ever learn is just to love and be loved in return"

" A theater, for me, is the perfect place for a concert." Awww!!!

I love "Little talks "

I love "Little talks "

it's so mika style, the song and the video

I think he did this before but in a written interview, it's so much better to hear him talking about life and favorite music

I love how he tells his stories, even better if he does it in spanish!

Of course these vids are blocked in Germany as the most interesting vids are blocked . But thank you for your translation Leire

Enjoyed watching this interview so much! So relaxed, interesting and about music.

It's true cassettes were really important back then. The first album I ever bought was a cassette (it was MJ's Dangerous).

And yes a beautiful theatre is indeed the perfect place for a gig!!

Also it was great hearing him speak Spanish!

Thank you Laura and Alicia:flowers2:

Of course these vids are blocked in Germany as the most interesting vids are blocked . But thank you for your translation Leire

dito. would have loved to see him dance in elvis style!

cool that he likes of monsters and men, i also love that song, and seen them live already twice (at work)... finally something mika likes that i know! and even agree with. at least regarding that song - the rest of their music isn't as good imo, nice to listen to but most songs i found nothing special. little talks is great tho. will be interesting to see whether they can keep up their success or stay a one-hit-wonder.

You're all welcome!

@Sabine @Mellody Maybe you can download them using http://keepvid.com/?

dito. would have loved to see him dance in elvis style!

cool that he likes of monsters and men, i also love that song, and seen them live already twice (at work)... finally something mika likes that i know! and even agree with. at least regarding that song - the rest of their music isn't as good imo, nice to listen to but most songs i found nothing special. little talks is great tho. will be interesting to see whether they can keep up their success or stay a one-hit-wonder.

I remember he wrote about this song long time ago,on twitter,that's how I found out about it,and became obsessed for a while But you're right,the rest of their songs are mediocre.

Edit: found his tweet:

MIKA official ‏@mikasounds 18 May

heard Little Talk by Of Monster and Men yesterday, adore it, adoreitalot!!!!!!

You're all welcome!

 

@Sabine @Mellody Maybe you can download them using http://keepvid.com/?

thanks... i tried now that i'm at the pc, but it complains about my java installation. will try again when i have more time to check that. plus i have some proxy software with which i can watch most of the blocked videos but i also need to update that first - pfft, it'd be much easier if they just didn't block it in germany!

I remember he wrote about this song long time ago,on twitter,that's how I found out about it,and became obsessed for a while But you're right,the rest of their songs are mediocre.

 

Edit: found his tweet:

 

MIKA official ‏@mikasounds 18 May

heard Little Talk by Of Monster and Men yesterday, adore it, adoreitalot!!!!!!

it's funny, i didn't think the song was released that early - but i just checked wikipedia and obviously i was wrong. it entered the german charts a week before mika's tweet. i don't follow the charts closely anymore like i did 15 years ago, so i just remember that some time in august or september last year when i was at their gig i knew the song from hearing it on the radio, but i thought it was relatively new at that time. i hardly ever check for the songs/bands in mika's tweets (never actually, unless he posts a link to a video), as so far there were only few i liked.

it's funny, i didn't think the song was released that early - but i just checked wikipedia and obviously i was wrong. it entered the german charts a week before mika's tweet. i don't follow the charts closely anymore like i did 15 years ago, so i just remember that some time in august or september last year when i was at their gig i knew the song from hearing it on the radio, but i thought it was relatively new at that time. i hardly ever check for the songs/bands in mika's tweets (never actually, unless he posts a link to a video), as so far there were only few i liked.

Frankly,this was the only song that I liked from all Mika's suggestions And you definitely should watch his Elvis moves!

Thanks for your posts @PurpleCat and @Leire

I can´t download the vid

You're welcome, girls!

i just updated my proxy tool and it worked. (sabine: it's called proxtube and works for firefox or google chrome ) - lol @ the elvis part, but i liked the bit even better when he sang the cool runnings song!

i just updated my proxy tool and it worked. (sabine: it's called proxtube and works for firefox or google chrome ) - lol @ the elvis part, but i liked the bit even better when he sang the cool runnings song!

Sorry, I´m too dumb for that, I tried it three times now but it doesn´t work for me, I mean the download of proxtube

This is really great! I love to know what he likes. And I agree about Fleetwood Mac's "Rumours" album - which I've played a lot It's also funny that he likes the Swedish sisterduo in First Aid Kit.

But mostly I love that he'd like to share a good talk with my idol Tina Turner!!

You have a good taste MIKA !!

Love,love

me

I tried it seven times and now my firefox accepted proxtube, so I was able to watch the vids now. Thank you Mellody:thumb_yello: