harlequeen

I start to believe Mika does not like to be smaller than others... in one of the german radio interviews he stood on tiptoes when the pic was taken with the DJs because the guy was some cm higher than Mika - and now he helps his hight with is hair

don't know if it's worth to start another thread for it, but WAG video will be up in the 'Neu'-Show on the german TV station VIVA this evening from 22:00 (9pm UK time) the show will be rebroadcasted a couple of times and WAG will probably be on the playlist from tomorrow http://www.viva.tv/TV/ShowDetail/id/5474/0/ Also, WAG is highlighted as one of the six video-tips on the video-section of their webpage http://www.viva.tv/Videos/Index/ Edith says: I'm a bit worried about the VJs comment on it :rotfl:

maybe it's just my problem. Do you know why pink is the 'gay' colour? http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pink_triangle For gay people the color is a important statement, at least for the ones in the know. The famous Rosa von Praunheim chose his name from that symbol and the pink lists associated with it (rosa is german for pink). For me it has a wrong feeling when people say 'no straight would wear pink' (I know you did not say that, exactly, but still...). It sort of comes in from the wrong side for me, because it's not about a simple color that labels girlish/gay, as many think, but a symbol very consciously chosen by gay people. It gives me the creeps when it's banalized in a way (not that I am accusing you of being banal or careless, mind you. Not at all! It's rather being german and sometimes overconscious about it). I don't want people to get the impression that if someone fancies pink clothes he is gay as if this is inborn. This is the wrong way around! Maybe I should take it more lightly, but that is of course not your problem but mine.

believe me, you are not alone with this by far, and Mika is not too . I could say that for young people their self-esteem is a rather fragile thing and that the shyness will go over eventually, but often it does not. Insecurity gets planted in almost everyone of us, often already as kid, by bullying or because family members or teachers make careless comments about us that get stuck in our heads. We don't want to be hurt like that again and again and rather avoid situations where we could be rejected by someone, especially someone we fancy or love. The trouble is, that we ourselves are the only ones who can make it different. Nothing will change if we just wait for others to help us, and it's not fair to them too. It's not easy, but luckily we most often have loved ones who support us and whom we can fall back to, should it go wrong. So next time: go for it! You are shy? So what? Still go for it! I'll cheer for you

maybe she was just referring to the girl dressed as boy since mellody linked this pic for her? http://www.bilder-hochladen.net/files/big/awqc-w.jpg (the pic is a bit big for the forum )

I would bet with you that in the UK most openly gay men do not wear pink teapot scarves too. It's a question of context to wear something like that, to straight and gay alike. maybe you recall that guy? http://sophieblackall.blogspot.com/2009/06/from-yesterdays-observer.html just read the guys comment to it. I think we can safely assume he's not gay, having a girlfriend? Blaming it on the world we live in is a lazy argument . The world we live in is not a third party, it's us. You and I on this forum do the labeling or refrain from it, not 'the world' or 'reality'. When Mika can spare us the labels, we can do too, if we chose to. We don't need to tell that pointing fingers and labeling happens everywhere. People know that, they are not stupid. The question is, do we shrug and give a damn and tell young people to just eat it or die? It feels utterly wrong to me to discuss whether Mika should come out for the sake of gay teenagers when we help to it that they feel uncomfortable about themselves in the first place. I know that this is not anyones intention on here, but telling someone that nothing is wrong with being gay and at the same time kick everyone back in their boxes with 'no straight would ever wear/do this' does not do the trick. Just for the record: I don't want this thread to be shut down, not for the sake of the board, and sure not for the sake of Mika, he is a grown up and has a clear view on things. It's a worthwhile discussion IMHO.

I highlighted the sentence that I take offense in, seriously. Because it's just a cliche. I don't know what Mika had in mind with the accessories used in the vid. He's the only one who can tell. But there is one thing he does not do: he does not put labels, because he does not deliver the other half of the equation by telling us whether he is gay or not. I have a immense respect for his approach to this. So there is my question: why do we feel the urge to do this for him? Label things, manifesting cliches, instead of open-mindedness? Why do we need to point at the vid and say: no straight man would ever do that? It's not true, and it does sure not help teenagers to accept themselves, gay or straight. Maybe it's because of the region I come from. Every year 1.5 million people in my home town are out in the streets dressed out in the most ridiculous outfits, just for fun, from age 1 to 100, all sexes, all sexualities, all classes. It's a community thing, not targeting any group. And I assure you, no straight man seriously fears wearing a tutu, angel wings or a soother as necklace. The weirder the better! LOL I even saw my grandfather in a minnie mouse outfit. Even if only for a short time every year, it's liberating and creates an air of open-mindedness that crosses over to everyday life. Also, it helped creating the environment to a active and open gay community. That's the spirit I would hope everyone could adopt, instead of putting gay-labels everywhere. With labels we enforce limits, instead of tearing them down. Heck, even the ticket fairy on this forum was a man in a fairy outfit. Shall we discuss whether the avatar was chosen to transport gay vibes?

I was wondering about that too . The german translation of his answers feels sort of awkward in many places, and my translation back to English sure did not make things any better, not my field of competence I must admit! thank you the figurine in the pic is the mascot of the Cologne carnival museum, it's a 'rag-clown', a traditional cologne carnival outfit. When I saw the picture of Mika I was like: where have I seen this pose before? When it struck me it was that clown I just had to photoshop them in one pic facing each other

I'll give it a try, if my english is strange, feel free to laugh "I'm not a mummy boy!" Text: steffen-Ruether Photo: Julian Broad The British singer Mika still lives with his parents. A visit to his room. The meeting place for an interview with Mica Penniman is unusual: Mika's room. The 25-year-old son of a Lebanese and an American occupies the basement of his parents house in London's upmarket/noble/posh? district Kensington (?don’t know what works best). Unusual enough. But that Mama Penniman – still sweating after her gymnastic exercises - makes coffee, the little brother checks whether Mika is finally done showering, and a painter is bustling around painting the skirting on the ground floor in pink, gives sort of a cinematic feel to the scene. Meanwhile, one floor below, Mika has made himself comfortable on the sofa with his fish and broccoli breakfast. The bed is made, he has lots of cartoon characters/figures?, a colorful bike and a piano. "I'm not a mummy boy," he says, "even if people laugh, because I live in my parents basement/cellar." He had simply not had time to look for a home of his own. After the huge success of his debut album "Life in Cartoon Motion" with hits like "Grace Kelly" and "Relax, Take It Easy" Mika toured around the world for one and a half years, then he recorded his new CD "We Are Golden" in Los Angeles (which will be released in September). "I'm now saving for a home of my own," says Mika, "but unfortunately, prices in London are still far too high." Two years ago you became one of the biggest pop stars in the world. How much did it get to your head? (durchdrehen usually would be ‚lose it‘ or something like that, but I’m not sure if it would fit here) The success went to my head, yes. But in other ways than I had expected. Namely? I became even more solitary, more reserved, more cautious than before. I've been even more closed. The fact that I was touring all the time kept me sane. I just always thought of the next show and the next town. This was what I would concentrate on. It reminded me of the time when I was a child. With 11 years I was out of school for half a year, because I was on tour with theater and operas and song shows. I had to be very disciplined when I sang opera back then. But this discipline has benefited me now. It saved me. (lol this feels like badly translated in the first run and now it becomes even more bad translating it back). The more famous you become, the more reclusive you are? Yes, it is. I had to do that, to be able to write songs. The more you reveal about yourself, the less will remain as subjects for your songs. Because you want them to be a bit mysterious. Communicating freely and honestly I can best in my songs. That‘s why I protect myself and my energy and my life. If this is taken from me, it would be the end of my creativity. Is the new song "I see you" about you falling in love? Yes, but in someone, whom I've never met. It's about how I sit there liking someone at the other end of the room, but do not dare to walk over and say "Hello". This is typical for me. If I‘d tell you now that I fancy you, you would laugh at me or punch me. Thus I protect myself by just staring. That’s how I am. You don’t say? Erm, yes, that’s how it goes. But I start imagining what could be. In my head I shoot really hot movies. When I meet this person again, it's almost like a second date. But I just stare. So you're really shy? Oh yes, terrible, ich bin ein ganz übler Aufreißer??? (out of context it would be I'm a badass player but I guess he said he was bad at hitting on someone) Completely useless. And you? Me too. I need to be approached in the first place, otherwise nothing happens. See! Then you know how it is. Does your shyness bug you? Depends on my mood and time of day. You always seem to be cagey about your love life. Because you have none? Oh, there is a love life. But not of a sort I‘m proud of. I just don’t manage to build a steady, lasting relationship. Maybe I‘m not made for it, I don‘t know. I just know that I would protect my relationship. There would be no photos in magazines, or Home Stories. Most think you are gay. But you don’t talk about your sexual preferences. Why not? Because for me there is no difference whether I'm gay or not. May be it’s strange to protect ones life like that. And I don‘t claim that my way is the right one. But it is my way. In "Blame it on the Girls' you complain about a guy who has everything but is still dissatisfied. Who is it? You yourself? Someone in the music business? Oh, the other musicians and pop stars are all stupid. You never see who these people really are, they pretend. Also, these people very quickly become your friends, but just as quickly you lose sight of them again. I don’t want to find friends in music business.

in germany the uncensored version would be rated for the 'hurt myself' = 'shoot-myself' gesture, nothing else. The reasoning behind it are fears for inducing suicides among teenagers.

and german amazon imports it from US http://www.amazon.de/Boy-Who-Knew-Too-Much/dp/B002KVSJ7S/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&s=music&qid=1249911658&sr=1-2

this is the Mika playlist on my favorite radio station in germany, WDR2 31.07.2009 05:26:52 Mika Big girl (You are beautiful) 31.07.2009 12:41:40 Mika Grace Kelly 31.07.2009 20:32:29 Mika We are golden 01.08.2009 16:29:47 Mika We are golden 02.08.2009 09:45:16 Mika We are golden 02.08.2009 19:20:42 Mika Relax, take it easy 03.08.2009 04:15:17 Mika We are golden 03.08.2009 17:12:10 Mika We are golden 04.08.2009 12:13:02 Mika We are golden 05.08.2009 02:20:02 Mika We are golden 05.08.2009 14:33:54 Mika We are golden 06.08.2009 10:25:07 Mika Big girl (You are beautiful) not as much as you get in Netherlands or UK, but pretty nice for germany

yes, all there http://www.mikafanclub.com/forums/showpost.php?p=2407807&postcount=392

It's a mix of lighting and editing me thinks. When he talks about the tent-scene from 5:18 to 5:45 you see that someone walking between him and the light-source casts a shadow, and how the editing kicks in blurring the chest in these moments.

I lived my teenage years in the 70s and early 80s in middle europe, and this hilarious joking around in the vid was what we did then too. We had no laser beams, no. But a flashlight brought it across just as well. The difference to your view on it is: it never crossed our minds then that this could be perceived as gay. One of my male friends is gay, the rest is straight. And it was not the gay who was the weirdest of them . Do you really think only gay man would play around with a dickhead like that? No! Not my experience . Maybe nowadays to many boys and men are afraid of being labeled gay to do that anymore. So sad for them!

I'm with you in this. For me there is not just self-irony and self-affirmation in this, but he is mirroring back all the things that were and are said about him back to us, asking: how can you be so sure? How dare you judge? Many seem to believe that he is coming out with this, but I don't buy it. He sure has mannerisms we point our fingers at and say !GAY! But can I be sure that he doesn't use exactly this against me in the vid when telling me: I'm not what you thing I am! And there are just as many mannerisms shown that are 'straight' like boob-grabbing and some of the posing, and again it screams in my face: I'm not what you think I am! So the overall message of this vid for me is not about Mika, but about me, my prejudices. It's asking for open-mindedness and meeting other people unbiased, out of respect. And actually, that's the message of the song for me too.

I'm not going to say that I disagree with you but to be fair, many that applied early checked and canceled within the 24 hours the contest was open. That should be ok imho and then there were some who had to ask parents first, and eagerly hoped that the already won (and free) ticket would make their parents change mind and let them go. Not a brilliant idea, for sure, but well... haven't we all done something similar in our youth, hoping to the last minute that we'd get the clearance? Sure there's a lesson to be learned, but I find it a bit difficult to really blame them, keeping in mind my own sins

well if some friend or family member of mine thinks it's weird to have two copies, I can just blame it on senility , or just reply with one often used saying around here: 'fool, let fool pass by'

I'll buy both versions for a pretty simple reason. The SE I have to preorder from UK, but that won't count for the charts in my country. So I'll buy the normal version at a local shop to have it count. The higher up it goes in the charts, the more it gets played on radio (I'm a dedicated radio listener ), the more likely is he'll show up on TV, the more chances for gigs. Call me selfish but I'll buy two! (no worries, if I would have to decide wether to save the money for gigs I'd do it your way too )

I let some people watch the video today who are no fans, some have never seen any Mika video before, and they were pretty cool with it. When I said that it was undecided wether this was the censored or uncensored version everyone was like 'why in high heaven would someone censor something harmless like this??? It's just hilarious and fun to watch.' . Guess we are worrying way to much about it's impact on the general public

I really wonder why they put the video on the official german mikasounds-webpage, but not on mikasounds.com and myspace?

on a serious note though: I sincerely hope that there will come a day when noone anywhere in this world feels the need to put any such tags anymore, but we just can watch it and enjoy it in all it's glorious fun

yes, and it looks like they raided the storerooms with fan gifts to decorate it This man is surely in love with the detail!

amazing! who would have guessed that the video would actually feature the gerbils? Or what is in this little terrarium to the right side?

maybe it's already the censored version?