Ellenowl

I managed to buy the Songs for Sorrow book and cd new for £7.20 on eBay a couple of weeks ago, and Live in Cartoon Motion for 99p! I don't like the book as much as I hoped- some of the artwork is a bit creepy- but it looks awesome with my Mika collection! If you check eBay, there's a good chance you will find a rare item for ridiculous value!

Is this something that's come from Mika himself or just speculation? It would be a very bizarre move , not least considering his recent popularity in Italy.

I'm not sure that the hiding Mika is necessarily the best songwriting Mika. It happened for TBWKTM ('second album syndrome' ,and afterwards he spoke of the horrible loneliness he felt), and also for TOOL (a combination of a very difficult family time and writer's block). Both of these situations had reasons for hiding other than necessarily writing an album. LICM was written over several years (from the age of 16), without the pressures of fame or expectation, and has arguably been the best-received and definitely the most famous yet. Surely songwriting and producing is going to be a more creative, happier and easier process if he's not locked away from the outside world? His album-producing rate is really slow which is frustrating! What we all have to bear in mind though is that we have chosen to be the fans of an artist not solely interested in making music every second of his life (unlike a few (other) musical greats), but he is free-spirited and does many other creative and awesome other things too. Whilst this means we don't get new songs all that often, he pops up in loads of other places (to do WTH he feels like, not necessarily what will be the best for his fans or commercially), doing cool and inspirational things! Even if he's not ready to bring out a full album, a preceeding EP might be a good idea- I just want to hear some new songs!

You know you're a Mika fan when your mum has to tell you that saying 'accordingly to plan' (in conversation) is grammatically incorrect!

Hmmm... I'd be more keen on new songs than recycling old ones. I'd be happy to have Hialeah on there though (it doesn't count!)- such a happy, refreshing, summery song!

I hope mika actually sees this thread and takes note!

I hoped that TOOL would have been like a green LICM/TBWKTM! I love that style of artwork!

Haha! I agree with BiaIchihara! Did I hear something about the album being released this year? Going by previous experience, that probably means by the end of 2015 if we're lucky! As far as substance is concerned,I'd like some acoustic songs, and some more layered ,partially electronic songs. Real orchestral instruments (especially strings,piano and brass) would be good too. I'm not sure about anybody else, but if Mika is going to produce something like his previous albums, I hope it will be more like the first two albums than TOOL (although there are some really good songs on that one too). I look forward to the album artwork almost as much as the music!

I think this 'song' was born out of frustration at being unable to read sheet music ( I can empathise with this!) when he was a child. From what I understand, it was probably quite discordant and erm... not exactly amazing. 'Awful' was the word he used to describe it. I'm almost certain that there's therefore no recording of it. It would be interesting to hear it though! Hope this helps.

I love this one too for the same reason. It would probably be too cheesy if sung in English, but in French it is just perfection!

It's hard to choose a particular song. Different songs suit different moods. Rain is awesome- the perfect combination of a catchy pop melody with strings and electronic sounds (ELO-type idea) The pizzicato of the violins sounds like raindrops pattering and the electronic and stronger string effects almost sound like thunder (is it possible to have an onomatopoeic song?!) , although I'm too superstitious to listen if I don't want it to rain! Other songs like Karen, We Are Golden and Love Today are some of my other favourites because they explode with Mika's bouncy energy. Some of the old, raw demos (and songs for sorrow) like You Made Me are great too, because they are very simple instrumentally and highlight mika's vocal and melodic skills. . Overrated (before the horrific TOOL version) is the most epic example of these, and might be one of Mika's finest creations. It is definitely easier to find my least favourite songs- there are only two mikasongs I dislike- Overrated (untidy and thoughtlessly electronic version of the original song) and Make You Happy (very cold and unpleasant sounding). Having said that, the live version of MYH with Greg Wells on the piano that cathouzouf posted about is sublime.

That's certainly what it seems like. In some ways, I like him not being mainstream over here, but it also feels like he's slightly neglecting the rest of us!

Mirror image maybe? But even so, his mouth looks definitely wonky!

haha! Same here- the problem is that I don't think wrists would be the first place it'd go! How big is it (as in minimum length?) I prefer the bigger one!

The swatches are cool, but are a little on the expensive side for what they are. I think I like the look of the box more than the watch itself though. How do you buy it? I'm thinking it's country-bias again! And yes, I agree with those who say they want more new music and more gigs. I guess Mika is really creative, and has many other areas of interest/talent than just music. Having said that the idea of x-factor is a bit though, especially considering Mika has spoken out against that style of show in the past. But then again, he seemed to want to do it to learn Italian as much as for anything else! ARGHH!

Such a cool (and mikaish) design- was not expecting that!

Popula song in a shop yesterday. In England this isn't too short of a miracle!

So there i was worrying that I'd be really easily recognisable from the collage... Took me a good 5mins to find my picture! What a great group effort, it's amazing to see what happens when so many people participate. And thanks for putting it all together-it can't have been an easy job!

That'll make at least two of us. Thanks!

Forgive my ignorance, but does the pose involve the heart shape above the head or can it be below?

I just saw the update from MIKA on Facebook. Now we have his approval, I will do it ASAP.

Phew!

It is highly unlikely that he'd have been able to just get a tattoo scratched into his neck (of all places) without experiencing any swelling or redness or anything. Added to the fact the girl looks like she's doing a nazi salute, and the whole 'not like mikaness' situation. It just doesn't add up for it to be real-at least I hope it doesn't.

well that's a shock! I don't like tattoos anyway but that one is bizarre. I really hope it's not a permanent one.