giraffeandy

Me too and only once in France...

It's official that there'll be a Japanese Edition with Sound Of An orchestra and It's My House as bonus tracks but I haven't seen this edition anywhere else yet: https://www.universal-music.co.jp/mika/products/uicu-1312/ It should be released one week later, on 11th October. It seems I'll probably get both versions anyway because I want the physical copy as soon as it's available.

I asked them and they didn't know for sure but I should try on Tuesday. Luckily I walk around many times a week so I'll just try next week...

Today I was at a big bookshop in Prague where they also sell foreign books and press and they have the Italian Vanity Fair! They just had the previous number and it was expensive but I'll probably get there the one with Mika as soon as they get it anyway...

Ich denke nicht, dass die Preise bei Flixbus regionsabhängig sind, die Fahrt muss ja dasselbe kosten, aber ich hab's schon vor einem Monat gebucht, kann also jetzt schon teurer sein... (Btw, ich weiß, dass Flugzeug wieder mal was anderes ist, aber ich bin mehrmals aus München in den Urlaub geflogen weil es trotz der Fahrt dorthin viel billiger war als aus Prag. )

Was Zürich betrifft, ich hab für die Rückfahrt ein Flixbus für ca. 20 € gebucht, und dass nach Prag. Nach München muss es noch billiger sein. Die Hinfahrt hab ich bei einer anderen Gesellschaft gebucht, da war es ein bisschen teurer, ca. 33 €, aber wie gesagt, München ist nicht so weit entfernt.

I've heard it should be both, like Sinfonia Pop (live album and DVD)...

There is also Sinfonia Pop (both live CD and DVD) but I guess it's something different for him because he sings with the symphony orchestra... And he probably already forgot about Live at Sadler's Wells (live CD)? Actually I collect CDs and the only live albums I have (and also the only I care about) are from Mika so it's quite strange that according to him he didn't release any.

Yes, also the part of Italian Riviera around Sanremo is called Riviera dei Fiori (Riviera of Flowers) and Sanremo is known as the city of flowers...

Regarding the deluxe version, I was searching on Amazon.de for the physical copy because I'll probably order it there and I saw they recently added another version with a different ASIN, I hope it's a deluxe version but it also could be just an import (a French/Italian edition?). However, probably there are more editions of the album after all.

Finally a czech review of Tiny Love, it got 9/10, Sanremo too: https://musicserver.cz/clanek/61810/mika-tiny-love/ (I know nobody on MFC will appreciate it but I'm glad that at least someone here writes about the new songs and album...)

That's exactly how I get it! (Even though I speak neither Italian nor French and I'm not even a native speaker of English so my opinion is probably irrelevant... )

So how many tracks do we already know by name? Ice Cream, Tiny Love, Sanremo + Jealousy, Blue, Paloma..., Tomorrow, Platform Ballerinas (if those are the real titles) Anything else I've missed?

An interesting interview where he speaks about Sanremo and Blue but also some new songs like "Paloma...": https://www.edgemedianetwork.com/entertainment/music//281448#.XXLrOpLXWkA From, "San Remo" not being about San Remo at all, but being about growing up gay and being a 13-year-old gay walking around the streets of San Remo and feeling incredibly intimidated by every other masculine presence that seems more beautiful, more slim, more heterosexual — just cooler and better than you'd think you could ever be. That's what that song is about. It's not obvious but it's in there.To a song like, "Paloma..." It's about my sister and it's about the night that I found her on railings having fallen from the window of the fourth floor of her apartment... And I'm standing barefoot in my boxers. And she's dying on the railing. And I'm looking at her, at that situation... when I started writing about it... there was beauty in the fact that I saw her there in the most grotesque situation... She survived, that's why it's easier to see the beauty in it. Still, doing a process like this and not being Mika was very important. Being Michael Holbrook, this dude who is just writing songs about himself, about his life at the moment, his childhood, the women in his family — and about the fear of some of the future... and putting all of that insecurity into something still attractive, bearable and comforting and that's what the process of writing this record was. My favorite song is "Blue," because it is the most romantic song. It challenges your preconceptions. And it plays on so many different levels. Blue is about gender, sexuality. It's about the idea that you're only okay if you're so ####ing upbeat and smiling at everyone all the time. When sometimes, actually, that's the biggest sign that you're ####ed up. And it's a love letter to the people that I love in saying that, from the deepest part of my heart, I will always love that blue in you because within that blue is the deepest color and the deepest version of you... It starts off as one thing and ends up as something completely different. And that kind of pirouette is really what makes me happy as a writer and its fun to sing because you're going on a journey. They also mention two songs called "Tomorrow" and "Platform Ballerinas"... EDGE: I always have a cherished MIKA song off each album that I play over and over like "Billy Brown," "Blame it on the Girls," etc. On this one I have "Tomorrow" and "Platform Ballerinas." Do you have a favorite? (Mika talks about Blue here) EDGE: You write in the paradoxes, in the contradictions, in the multiple meanings. One of the things I love so much about "Tomorrow" is I felt it could be about a one night hook up or about two people who've been dating for a while...MIKA: Or if you analyze it even closer it could be about a one-night hookup getting back together with someone that you've been with for a very long time but you swore you would never be with again. (Ok, it seems that Tomorrow won't be really relatable for me... )

I don't know if it's already on MFC somewhere but he mentioned the music video for Sanremo in this interview: https://www.edgemedianetwork.com/entertainment/music//281448#.XXLrOpLXWkA "I'm working with a guy called W.I.Z., he's a director for my music videos. He did the "Tiny Love" video and we're doing another video for the song, "San Remo," which is based on homosexuality in the 1960s. All filmed on real film." And also: "From, "San Remo" not being about San Remo at all, but being about growing up gay and being a 13-year-old gay walking around the streets of San Remo and feeling incredibly intimidated by every other masculine presence that seems more beautiful, more slim, more heterosexual — just cooler and better than you'd think you could ever be. That's what that song is about. It's not obvious but it's in there."

It's very similar to the chapter he read here: We spent our family holidays in Bordighera last year and in San Remo eight years ago so somehow it makes me happy to know Mika has been there with his family too...

I have to say the more I listen to the song the more I like it, especially the chorus is really catchy, the verses aren't as remarkable for me so far but I enjoy the dreamy atmosphere... It's so different that it makes me think what other songs are on this album, each of the singles are so unique. This one could be a part of TOOL but Tiny Love didn't sound like that at all.

Yes but I also have the feeling that deluxe editions aren't a thing anymore as unfortunetaly most people only stream their music... Maybe he will do a special edition later, a repack like the special edition of NPIH.

Me too, I've spent a summer holiday in Sanremo with my family a few years ago, so I kind of hoped this song will be inspired by his family holidays there...

If Ice Cream reminds of Prince and Tiny Love of Beatles, Billy Joel and Queen, Sanremo gives me somehow Phil Collins vibes, idk why...

Oh sorry, I mixed it up, I couldn't recall the name and I came up with a different one...

The melody played in the background in this video immediately reminds me of this masterpiece: Am I the only one?