Gatagordinha
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Posts posted by Gatagordinha
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Alex tweeted that link
I really love this story, thank you:thumb_yello:
Was just about to post this link too. I love this bit:
"The budding young singer-songwriter, who is classically trained, shouted back that he could play the track, I Love It You When You’re Drunk."
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I didn't really like that performance, sorry
I find Celebrate to be tuneless when done acoustically. Very dull.
But it's the single and he is stuck with that for now
I wouldn't object to a full band version or even, horror of horrors, singing to a backing track, if it's to promote it and the album. It just does not suit acoustic treatment IMHO. I'm sure many of you disagree, but that's my opinion.Many Mika songs are lovely performed stripped back like this, but not this one.
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I just don't get this. I mean I understand why people are not fans. Mika's voice can be an acquired taste and if his songs are not your taste in music or you think they are lightweight or whatever, fine. But with all the no talents in the music industry I don't know how you cannot have respect for someone who can properly sing a song.
I think Celine Dion is a strange woman who sings old fashioned melodramatic music and I cringe when I see her carrying on about her shows or her family. But if she was two feet away from me singing like that I would show her the respect she deserves because she is an amazing vocalist.
Yes I agree, it's basic manners to show appreciation. However some people can be very close-minded.
I know I bang on about it , but really, Mika is seen as a bit of a joke in certain circles here in the UK and just when I think I am being over sensitive about it or only seeing the bad, something like this reminds me of it.
Of course, he also has his fans here and those who do recognise his abilities whilst maybe not being fans.. But I fear he'll always be fighting an uphill battle here. I believe and hope that one day he'll be elevated to National Treasure status, as that's often the way it goes! Then after that he'll be knocked off his pedestal again and we'll be back to square one! I love the UK media!
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The only thing I was disappointed with on the show, was the less-than-enbthusiastic clapping from the revew panel. But then, of course, I'm biased. If I'd have been there I'd have given him a standing ovation!
I also thought he gave a brilliant answer when they asked him what Bond song he'd have liked to have sung. The Lois Armstrong song, All The Time In The World, is the best Bond Theme, because it has true emotion in it. It's a beautiful song.
Trust Mika to come up with a gem of an answer, when put on the spot. Just another reason why I love this remarkable guy so much!
I was struck by the look of complete disdain on Paul Morley's face. That man is a music snob if ever there was one and I wouldn't be surprised if he loathes Mika
Whatever!!
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You are absolutely right. What annoys me is that it was predictable. All opinion polls on MFC as well as (most) fan reactions revealed that.
I think the time has now arrived to say that whoever made the decision to insist on Celebrate to be the lead single in this form (with that mix and Pharrell) is incompetent. To be fair, the success of EMD last summer ust have played a part in that decision though: even record company must believe that Mika is a lightweight popstar, with simple 'summer hits' being his strength,. However, I think that in reality should he release the phonebook in French in France that would also go to No1.
Stardust is the next single in the UK: the sticker names Celebrate and Stardust as singles off the album. So that is a good sign. Should that one not pick up in the UK, nothing will. Then he can release some of the more mature stuff like Underwater and TOOL as singles.
Is it? I didn't know, I thought it was Underwater. well that's good news.
My 13 year old daughter, who kind of likes Mika but isn't a mega fan and has only heard Stardust once, to my knowledge, was singing it this morning. If that isn't instant pop appeal then I don't know what is. And she thinks Underwater is boring.
So there you go.
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It would have had a chance, if Radio One had played it. This is precisely why I wanted people to tweet them.
I haven't seen any ads for the album on TV yet.
I despair about the UK too, and I'll be gutted for Mika if the album doesn't chart high.
I just hope for the best for the USA, because if the single and album do well there, the UK media will def open their eyes and their ears.
I really hate to say this but I'm not at all surprised Celebrate hasn't charted. In my opinion, wrong single at the wrong time and not played on the "right" channels all adds up to poor sales.
I just HOPE the album sells better. I think it will chart inside the top 10 but it needs to stick around a while and not plummet after the first week.
Unfortunately I just don't think Underwater will do anything to boost sales of the album. Stardust would have been a better second single. That would stand a small chance of getting played on Radio 1.
To be honest I have given up worrying too much about his chart placings here in the UK but it still frustrates me a little bit, although I wish it didn't.
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i think she is referring to Barney, the purple dinosaur.
"Psychotic Barney" would be quite scary
Yes, this was my first thought too.
I used to hate that show, when my kids were younger.
But I remember taking my daughter to see him at the local shopping centre when she was 3. It was surreal (but not psychotic, thank god ). -
I love this article!
I generally despise the Daily Mail but credit where it's due, this is a balanced and positive piece of journalism (for once
).The part about coming to terms with his sexuality just made me melt a little bit inside
Thanks for posting!
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So where exactly is the venue, then?
It's just that I have a mania for looking places up on google maps whenever something like this is happening
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An endless string of putdowns yet 4/5 stars. Only in Britain.
I think the phrase is "grudging praise through gritted teeth"
On a general note, can I just say thanks to everyone who's reviewed the album so far, I won't waste space quoting all the posts, but I have enjoyed reading everyone's thoughts
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In the November Isssue of Q Magazine, they have reviewed TOOL, but I have not seen it on their online website yet.
Jazz-Hands Free!
Meet the new- less irritating- Mika.
Poor Mika, pilloried for the worst sin you can commit in the British Isles: having too much fun in public. The primary colours, soft shoe Bojangles-on-poppers singalongs and guileless emotionalism of his debut, 2007's Life In Cartoon Motion, helped shift 5.6 million copies and made him that year's chief dispenser of good times. They also got him tagged as the most irritating man in pop. If the album had been released 30 years before it would probably have been waved through on the Guilty Pleasures exemption. Album number three arrives with Michael Penniman freshly out as gay (who knew?) and somewhat flintier of heart. Love is overrated in this goddamn world, apparently, and popularity isn't all it's cracked up to be either. The bustling, everything-but-the-kitchen-sink arrangements are still in place- think a school orchestra plus Fairlights going nuts on a parade float- but Mika's falsetto has gone the way of innocence too. Tweenees is not entirely absent ("Save me from your theories/At the very least let me cry on you", he sings wetly on Make You Happy) but there's a few good gags too, not least one about being dunked in the school toilets for being a weed. Feisty electronics from Nick "Pnau" Littlemore and bump'n'grind DJ Benny Benassi now augment much sleeker, more economical songs whose astringency sharpens their sweetness. The result is persuasive, likeable grown-up pop without the off-putting jazz-hands factor. Mika could well have earned his next 15 minutes.
Andrew Harrison
4/5 stars
Downloads: Love You When I'm Drunk, Origin Of Love and Make You Happy
But..but..but... I liked the jazz hands
However, by UK press standards (towards Mika), this can be classed as a glowing review.
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He's been absent from UK shores for the last couple of years, but far be it from Mika to take it easy in between playing shows the globe.
Instead, he's been beavering away on his third studio opus The Origin Of Love, the results of which we'll be able to hear next month.
Digital Spy met up with the singer to talk more about the LP, working with Pharrell Williams on his new single 'Celebrate' and the real story behind writing a song for Madonna.
We hear you're not very well at the moment, is everything okay?
"I've been having some problems with my throat but I think I'm over the worst of it now, thanks! It's fine, I'm a complete hypochondriac."
It's been three years since The Boy Who Knew Too Much; what have you been up to apart from recording?
"I've been travelling a lot, relaxing and playing some amazing and strange gigs. I didn't write anything for a year and a half. It felt horrible and I didn't know what to do. I was a bit lost and I'd worked back-to-back on my last two records - stuff that I'd been working on for years. I then toured incessantly, so I ran completely out of steam."
How did you get yourself back into it?
"I started growing up! I got my own place and settled down a bit. A lot of stuff happened in my personal life - something happened to my sister - and shortly after I felt ready. I booked a ticket to Montreal, found a hotel on the way out of the airport, had two shots of whiskey and wrote the first good song I'd written in over two years - the title track of my new album The Origin Of Love. It was then that I decided to leave my sister, family and past relationships behind."
That sounds intense...
"It was, but also great, because I finally had something to say again. Believe me, I was getting calls whenever RedOne was in town!"
So how good is The Origin Of Love?
"Hopefully very good! I had a much more liberal approach with this record. For my last album I had the idea that everything had to come from me only - I sat behind a piano for months - but this time I allowed more people in. There was one person who wouldn't work with me at first and I hounded her until she did. I approached this record like it was the last thing I was ever going to make."
Doesn't that pile the pressure on you a bit?
"It does in a way, but it's my Arab Sufi mentality. I think there's a lot to be said for that in music. You never know which gig is going to be your last."
Your new single 'Celebrate' definitely gives off that vibe...
"This single was me realising that I was happy again. I was that feeling that, f**king hell, I can make this strange music that no-one else is allowed to make! I can still envisage Nick [Littlemore] in the corner high as a kite and Ben Garrett who I found on the internet making beats in the corner. It was crazy."
And Pharrell Williams, which no-one could have predicted...
"It just worked. I lead the charge but there was no sense of hierarchy. The aim was just to make interesting music with charm and if it goes beyond that, then great. He was very clever and quick - he called me a scientist though which couldn't be further from the truth!"
Can you clear up this Madonna business? Did you write 'Gang Bang' on her latest album?
"There were a lot of people involved in that record. I wouldn't say I wrote the song, but I definitely wrote part of it. The result is actually a very cool colliding of lots of separate people and I love that chaotic nature about it. I like the song, I just wish all of them on her album was like that. It was cut with the attitude of a Grace Jones record - you didn't know where that song was going. That's what I love about it."
Huge worldwide stars are all holding writing camps these days. Would you ever contribute?
"I know that on Rihanna's albums all my friends write like maniacs for them, but they always get turned down. She's a superstar though, what do you expect? It's a dangerous thing to get involved with which is why I don't do it much. I'm happy to be on the new Empire of the Sun record though, it's going to be a brilliant record."
You make left-field pop, which generally has a harder time finding success in the charts. Does that bother you?
"The album draws from a rich pool of music that I love - Fleetwood mac, The Bee Gees and a whole encyclopedia of pop. I think that represents me well; my sound was born out of an accident - I'm not from a sound or scene. It means you have a responsibility to make a bold record, which is what I think I've done this time!"
Mika's new single 'Celebrate' is out September 30. The album, The Origin Of Love, follows on October 8.
http://www.digitalspy.co.uk/music/interviews/a408352/mika-interview-ive-made-a-bold-crazy-album.html
Not much new here, except maybe for the admission that he was only a contributor to Gang Bang, but I think we may have known that already
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Thank you so much
It was very interesting, but his "animals" scared me 
Yes if he stuffs Melachi and keeps her in his living room one day I think Mika and I are going to have to part ways.
He only likes owls and vampires...It's all a bit Norman Bates isn't it
As long as he hasn't got a woman's skeleton in the cellar. and doesn't answer the door in women's clothes, then it's all fine by me
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I thought it was a good performance and it will have done his profile a lot of good in the UK.
You only had to read through the tweets about him to see how much he has been forgotten in this country these past few years. I mean I knew it anyway, but reading the tweets confirmed it. Of course there were the usual hate comments but I was heartened to see a good number of people saying positive things too - or just acknowledging that he's "back".
I liked the different bit of the song he sung over Pharrell's talky bit. It fitted well. And his voice sounded great, I thought; very controlled. Same could be said for his dancing ... phew
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Oh yes I think you're right
Mika just has exactly the wrong voice to rap and could only do it properly if he was totally mimicking a real rapper. But that would likely be an even more bizarre outcome.
Priscilla is really Salt N Pepa fabulous in this song. I wasn't especially impressed with what I'd heard of her so far but this is awesome. She totally outshines Mika in the rapping but then her support vocals make him sound really cool in the rest, especially the chorus.
I agree Priscilla sounds great. Exactly the right kind of voice for this song.
As for Mika's drawl-rap, the rubbishness is balanced by the fact that he's singing about not being cool at school, and we know that the ability to rap/MC well is seen as ultra cool among kids these days (all the popular boys at my kids' school are good at it:wink2:). So it makes perfect sense that Mika can't rap
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Ok here is my review/thoughts on TOOL.
Origin Of Love
I still think this is a very good song but badly let down by the production, which is too light and unremarkable. As the opener for the album it needs to have more oomph. A disappointment for me as I had higher hopes. It's better live. 7.5/10
Lola
Perfectly pleasant, well crafted midtempo song with nice piano and vocal hooks, but it doesn't stand out, and it's not single material. 6/10
Stardust
I think this could well be the gem on this album. At first it reminded me of a very good Eurovision song, the kind that would win hands down, but with noticeably more depth than that. It's pure adrenaline electrodance with a very modern feel with more hooks than a Peter Pan-themed fancy dress party, and Mika sounds genuinely full of longing in his vocals, which gives it a human edge that much music of this genre lacks. It MUST be a single. If Island don't grab this chance they will regret it. 9/10
Make You Happy (1)
A departure for Mika in terms of him experimenting more with time signature and electronica, and of course the vocoder tool. Unlike some of Mika's work this is a song I can listen to on repeat without getting annoyed, as it's subtly affecting, both musically and lyrically, and it proves an important thing to me about Mika: he can push his boundaries musically when he wants to. That makes me happy for the future. 8/10
Underwater
There's something about this song which just bores me, and it's called the chorus. I recognise it's nicely written, and the verses are catchy, but it does nothing for me overall and will become a skip candidate. 4.5/10
Overrated
Now this is an interesting one. Schizophrenic or what? An intro that sounds like Kraftwerk and a touch of Radio Gaga in the verse, then Mika decides it would be a great idea to stick in the squeaky chorus of that old demo we have a soft spot for. Somehow though, it ends up working, in a crazy way. Definitely an oddity, certainly marmite, and potentially a live stormer.
6.5/10
Kids
Mellow and almost like a chillout track after Overrated. Despite some interesting percussion effects, it's a bit wishy washy overall. Not remarkable but it has its place in the flow of the album 5/10
Love You When I'm Drunk
As close as you can probably get to a signature sound for Mika. He brings a 70/80s vibe bang up to date with some flourish and a great, punchy vocal. Lyrically too this is going to make people nod and smile and connect. Very good mid-album track which blows away the cobwebs after Kids. 8/10
Step With Me
the lilting, quasi-Lovers' Rock verse gives way to a delicious, sexy chorus which could have been sung by a Philadelphia Soul 70s manband or perhaps 90s Boyzone. Possibly the biggest earworm on the album, and showcases Mika's lower register to great effect. Potential single and/or a big candidate for a cover version by another artist. 8.5/10
Popular Song
Mika doesn't so much rap as drawl Beck-style in this RnB/Broadway mashup. the fantastic hook in the borrowed chorus is the focus, of course, but Priscilla Renea's sassy vocals and the relatable lyrics make it a winner. Really catchy and another potential single 8.5/10
Emily
Cleverly translated into English, in my opinion; it retains the general sentiment of the original very adeptly. Still a bit too bubblegum pop and repetitive for me but it adds fun to the album 5/10
Heroes
Heartfelt ballad which evokes Any Other World and as such is not really my cup of tea. The falsetto chorus is nice, and it's well produced, but overall there is slightly too much schmaltz here 4.5/10
Celebrate
This changes the mood considerably and is a bouncy and sunny contemporary pop song. Whether it was good enough to be lead single is very debatable though.
7/10
Make You Happy (2)
The string-filled reprise is lyrically relevant, providing the response to the sentiments in the earlier version, but I prefer this as an electronic song. It rounds the album off well, though 6/10
Overall I'm giving the album 7/10.
It's a solid, well crafted and catchy pop album which really deserves to be a success for Mika.
But it's nothing groundbreaking or life-changing for me. -
Does anyone else think Mika sounds a bit like Beck when he raps?
Think of Loser, for example.I wonder if that's the idea, him being a fan etc., or if it's just that Beck's not the greatest rapper either
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Mika's just not a "details person" when it comes to time, is he
That's the polite way of saying it anyway!Either that or he is just fiendishly clever at bamboozling us with his time references, so that we'll never be able to pin down his romantic entanglements
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My French is good enough to understand it. I think I should qualify as well!
What country do you live in?
I can't see anything in the email about it (I speak French), but apparantely Barclay have tweeted that it's only for people in France
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Only less temptation for me:mf_rosetinted:
Well actually it does say there is an extra special unique password JUST for Ingie's computer.
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so it's not for everyone?
Shame I can't find the right smiley for this on MFC but I am really annoyed.
Mika's carrer is in the hand of a French record label that is selfish enough to have these exclusives for France only. Well, I may not buy the French version of the CD then. Only a loss for them.
I'm only going on what was said earlier in the thread, about it being only available in France. In mari62's post.
I can't see anything in the registration confirmation email which says it, but as the email is in French then that may be a clue
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I think it's dark humor... with a bit of irony. It's certainly not "hit you over the head" comedy!
Black comedy and dark humour is my favourite genre of funny
The darker the better. But I still don't see the humour in this video. I'm obviously missing something .Unless it's the dog running along in time to the music, that made me smile a tiny bit inside
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Ok so I wasted 45 seconds of my life signing up to something I can't have
Oh alright then! But they let me sign up and got my email address didn't they. Hmmmm.Not that bothered to be honest, I can wait. But I AM bothered, on principle, that this isn't a worldwide thing. I just can't understand, in this age of globalised media, why certain countries have to have priority.
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In the email blurb, the director says the video has "a bit of humour".
Can anyone point out to me where it is? I mean I have a good sense of humour, but I'm struggling
I wouldn't object to a full band version or even, horror of horrors, singing to a backing track, if it's to promote it and the album. It just does not suit acoustic treatment IMHO. I'm sure many of you disagree, but that's my opinion.
It was very interesting, but his "animals" scared me 
He only likes owls and vampires...
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Critic reviews of The Origin Of Love
in Mika News and Press
Posted
Really good review!
I do wish though that reviewers - good and bad - would stop with all these references to Mika being childlike/childish/squeaky/hyper/on a sugar high/on energy drinks etc., it is becoming so so boring. It's not 2007 any more. Move on!!