OPEN MIKA SESSION (California Chronicle)

[lillibet]

Well said , Babs.

We all have problems , i think that Mika knew the consequences of the war but his parents made their possible to grow theit childrenup in a comfortable way.

[Dark Angel]

I donno what to say (right now) except for i feel sorry for him

 

Thx for posting anyway!

[RAK1]

I love how London is an island on the island.

London is no different to any other city, or for that matter towns in the UK.

Most major cities here have a cultural diversity of people, London doesn't have the monopoly on that.

If anything Manchester and Glasgow, have equally as many cultural mixes as London.

[Sam7413]

London is no different to any other city, or for that matter towns in the UK.

Most major cities here have a cultural diverity of people, London doesn't have the monopoly on that.

If anything Manchester and Glasgow, have equally as many cultral mixes as London.

 

True...Leicester (mainly unheard of as it is no major city) was (don't know if it still is) the most multicultural city in the UK.

Although this may have excluded London. Lolz.

[Jazzy]

London is no different to any other city, or for that matter towns in the UK.

Most major cities here have a cultural diverity of people, London doesn't have the monopoly on that.

If anything Manchester and Glasgow, have equally as many cultral mixes as London.

 

I'm not quite sure I agree with that - growing up in East London/Essex means I see first hand how much the city has changed in the last 20 years.

 

I direct you to this:

 

http://www.statistics.gov.uk/cci/nugget.asp?id=263

 

Where I am at Uni, I find it ridiculous that there are barely any ethnic minorities because I'm so used to them, and apart from that, people are really quite racist and generally unnaccepting of people who are different. It's not to the point where it's really really awful (though all racism is awful) but people are a lot more bigoted than they are where I'm from because everyone from all walks of life were there from day one for me.

[Christine]

PS: I still feel for him, though as he keeps analysing all this. His prescious soul is obviously scarred.

 

I don't know...I don't mean to sound cynical but don't you think it has a lot to do with his image and his promotion of this album in particular? He's always saying he doesn't talk about his private life. Are we really meant to believe he's spilling his guts and indulging in psychotherapy in front of the whole world virtually every time he opens his mouth in public? I mean this isn't something that slipped out during a vulnerable moment, it comes up every time he discusses the theme of the album.

 

Obviously it's affected him and shaped his life, but not all of the consequences have been negative. By his account he wouldn't be a pop star and perhaps not even into music at all if it wasn't for his difficulties in conforming as a child and a teen.

 

It is a bit heart breaking to hear his take on the whole thing but I think many people go through that in their teens even if they have lots of friends. It's a very confusing time in your life because your whole world is changing and you don't have the knowledge to deal with it with complete confidence. We all experience rejection of some sort and it's just as painful to you when it happens even if your circumstances don't seem so bad objectively speaking.

[LilStar]

Thanks for posting!! interesting article...

 

i just have one question... which might be dumb, but ive been wondering for some time now... Being dislexic means you have trouble reading or writing right? He says he still can't spell... im wondering... he always asks how people spell their names when he gives out autographs... That means he can spell? no? im confused!!! help me!!!

 

and now i feel so sorry for him, poor mika, im glad he found music

[Jazzy]

Thanks for posting!! interesting article...

 

i just have one question... which might be dumb, but ive been wondering for some time now... Being dislexic means you have trouble reading or writing right? He says he still can't spell... im wondering... he always asks how people spell their names when he gives out autographs... That means he can spell? no? im confused!!! help me!!!

 

and now i feel so sorry for him, poor mika, im glad he found music

 

Dyslexia can be a lot of different things, though most common is difficulty with reading and writing. Everybody's different but language is something that's based on the way most people see things whereas with dyslexic people it doesn't happen in quite the same way as everyone else, hence the difficulties. Same goes with numbers, simple maths can be pretty hard for dyslexics, though my brother is amazingly good at maths, but can't spell to save his life, so like I said, everyone's different.

 

Other things with dyslexia can be always losing things (phone, keys, wallet - they're my brother's favourites ) always being late and just being disorganised in general.

[babspanky]

I'm not quite sure I agree with that - growing up in East London/Essex means I see first hand how much the city has changed in the last 20 years.

 

I direct you to this:

 

http://www.statistics.gov.uk/cci/nugget.asp?id=263

 

Where I am at Uni, I find it ridiculous that there are barely any ethnic minorities because I'm so used to them, and apart from that, people are really quite racist and generally unnaccepting of people who are different. It's not to the point where it's really really awful (though all racism is awful) but people are a lot more bigoted than they are where I'm from because everyone from all walks of life were there from day one for me.

 

Yes I agree with this aspect. I worked and lived in London for *cough more years than you have been alive and not so long ago started working outside London. Even say 50 miles outside London, I find people a lot less accepting of different cultures. I work mostly with white, English people and to be honest I miss the diversity that I have had in most of my working life in London.

[LilStar]

Dyslexia can be a lot of different things, though most common is difficulty with reading and writing. Everybody's different but language is something that's based on the way most people see things whereas with dyslexic people it doesn't happen in quite the same way as everyone else, hence the difficulties. Same goes with numbers, simple maths can be pretty hard for dyslexics, though my brother is amazingly good at maths, but can't spell to save his life, so like I said, everyone's different.

 

Other things with dyslexia can be always losing things (phone, keys, wallet - they're my brother's favourites ) always being late and just being disorganised in general.

 

oh thanks!!!!! ive always been wondering how it affected people... i didnt know it was different for everyone

thanks for clearing that up! It must be sooo difficult to live with it

[Jazzy]

Yes I agree with this aspect. I worked and lived in London for *cough more years than you have been alive and not so long ago started working outside London. Even say 50 miles outside London, I find people a lot less accepting of different cultures. I work mostly with white, English people and to be honest I miss the diversity that I have had in most of my working life in London.

 

Yeah, my brother and his mate, who's black went to Guildford once and his mate got stared at by people walking by because he's black. I mean seriously, one would think people in Surrey were a little more dignified than that, though apparently not.

 

 

Also, one thing I miss being away from East London - no chicken shops! Only KFC and that's welllll overpriced.

[Jazzy]

oh thanks!!!!! ive always been wondering how it affected people... i didnt know it was different for everyone

thanks for clearing that up! It must be sooo difficult to live with it

 

I think it gets diagnosed a lot earlier on these days - when Mika was a kid he was probably branded as just being dumb - my brother's 3 years younger and he was called 'slow' but it wasn't until he was 16 that they said he was dyslexic.

 

People find ways of dealing with it, and get round any major issues, though they do have to work hard at it. It's not all bad though, when they go to uni they'll probably get a free laptop!

[RAK1]

I'm not quite sure I agree with that - growing up in East London/Essex means I see first hand how much the city has changed in the last 20 years.

 

I direct you to this:

 

http://www.statistics.gov.uk/cci/nugget.asp?id=263

 

Where I am at Uni, I find it ridiculous that there are barely any ethnic minorities because I'm so used to them, and apart from that, people are really quite racist and generally unnaccepting of people who are different. It's not to the point where it's really really awful (though all racism is awful) but people are a lot more bigoted than they are where I'm from because everyone from all walks of life were there from day one for me.

 

My point is, that everyone from outside London seems to think London is the only place that has a multicultural centre in the UK, and the monopoly on it, which it doesn't.

[Jazzy]

My point is, that everyone from outside London seems to think London is the only place that has a multicultural centre in the UK, and the monopoly on it, which it doesn't.

 

No, obviously there are other places too, but it is the MAIN place, is what I'm saying.

[babspanky]

My point is, that everyone from outside London seems to think London is the only place that has a multicultural centre in the UK, and the monopoly on it, which it doesn't.

 

You sound like one of those London haters, Rose.

[lillibet]

Ok with your pertinent analysis, want to add something: Mika is often talking about his childhood and now his adolescence with the second album;

Could it be a way to avoid revealing what is happening in his life now?

Maybe grandpa Freud could have the answer?

[sienna]

"They came home one night and one of the walls was missing from my sister's room".

 

Scary!

 

I have met so many families trough my work who have had similar experiences in their life, and every time it makes my grateful to be living in a country where there is no war.

 

 

 

And not everyone is charismatic and looking like a toddler with curls and dimples and talking about it in the media...so no one cares.

 

 

I don't know...I don't mean to sound cynical but don't you think it has a lot to do with his image and his promotion of this album in particular? He's always saying he doesn't talk about his private life. Are we really meant to believe he's spilling his guts and indulging in psychotherapy in front of the whole world virtually every time he opens his mouth in public? I mean this isn't something that slipped out during a vulnerable moment, it comes up every time he discusses the theme of the album.

 

Obviously it's affected him and shaped his life, but not all of the consequences have been negative. By his account he wouldn't be a pop star and perhaps not even into music at all if it wasn't for his difficulties in conforming as a child and a teen.

 

It is a bit heart breaking to hear his take on the whole thing but I think many people go through that in their teens even if they have lots of friends. It's a very confusing time in your life because your whole world is changing and you don't have the knowledge to deal with it with complete confidence. We all experience rejection of some sort and it's just as painful to you when it happens even if your circumstances don't seem so bad objectively speaking.

 

I wanted to quote this because it's such a genuine description about the teen years.

When asked if there is an age I would go back to and relive I wouldn't choose my teen years for sure and I was well treated, had lot's of friends and everything I could wish for, but I was very uncomfortable within myself like most teenagers.

[Buzzbuzz]

Wow, how sad!

 

I know how he felt being bullied. I'm lucky that I "rose above it" and became my own person within the past 3-4 years. But it was rough.

[sarac]

Mika is extremely lucky to have the mother that he does. Think how many mothers you know who would refuse to see her sons problems/potential problems with others (clarify - problems others would have with him) and support and protect him as she did and has. PROPS to Mrs. Penniman.

[suzie]

yes, I do understand that he is saying all this as an explanation of the album / his artistic concept and he no longer spends sleepless nights about it all but I think the very fact that he created an album based mainly on his teenage fears shows that he had difficulty in coping with these.

I also think that him being shy and insecure under circumstances that are new to him (whether that be a tv show with an audience or a gig) are the direct consequences of a constant fear to be accepted. And that is why he is so thankful for any positive response he gets during gigs.

 

PS: I hope I don't sound too dramatic. I know he is fine now, but can't help analysing him

[Cherol]

Most people feel outsiders at some point in their lives, it's surely more to do with the way they feel themselves.

And hey ho another article! Good job I am not famous because I would have you all weeping, as I am sure would a lot of other people. We all have had our struggles. Not that I am unsympathetic at all to Mika, but he has been lucky enough to have his family around him.

 

I agree with all of this, especially the bolded part. I think he's very lucky in that aspect.

[Shine]

Ok with your pertinent analysis, want to add something: Mika is often talking about his childhood and now his adolescence with the second album;

Could it be a way to avoid revealing what is happening in his life now?

Maybe grandpa Freud could have the answer?

 

I think he can't and he couldn't do that. Moreover I'm pretty convincied that the childhood and his adolescence are only the creative background to shape and project his actual situation. With this kind of flashbacks his lyrics and music seem to be more sensible, provokative and powerful in artistic way. Some of his topics belong to the past tense, but they're still parts of his fluid identity and we feel it all the time. And that's what people usually don't understand about him and his music.

 

T4P:wink2:

[Soaring Simpson]

Yes I agree with this aspect. I worked and lived in London for *cough more years than you have been alive and not so long ago started working outside London. Even say 50 miles outside London, I find people a lot less accepting of different cultures. I work mostly with white, English people and to be honest I miss the diversity that I have had in most of my working life in London.

 

Now that's funny, cos I find Londoners not very accepting of people who don't come from London (unless they're suitably exotic). And I've yet to be convinced that Mika realises there IS a UK outside London.

[Soaring Simpson]

Mika is extremely lucky to have the mother that he does. Think how many mothers you know who would refuse to see her sons problems/potential problems with others (clarify - problems others would have with him) and support and protect him as she did and has. PROPS to Mrs. Penniman.

 

Hmmmmmm

 

Ok with your pertinent analysis, want to add something: Mika is often talking about his childhood and now his adolescence with the second album;

Could it be a way to avoid revealing what is happening in his life now?

Maybe grandpa Freud could have the answer?

 

I think you're right- it's easier to talk personally about stuff that's safely in the past and, to a certain extent, sorted

[RAK1]

You sound like one of those London haters, Rose.

 

I don't hate the city, love walking (NOT driving:sneaky2:) around it.

I just get annoyed by how everyone seems to think it's the be all and end all of life in the UK, when there are equally beautiful and vibrant cities (Edinburgh for example), and towns (Salisbury for example), that get overshadowed.

And the "it's the capital city" arguement means nothing to me. It's just another city in a country full of amazing places.

To get back on topic, I think Mika keeps harking back to his childhood and adolescence, because he still isn't over the things that happened to him then.

And he's working in an industry that has a set way of doing things, which doesn't tie in with the way he has got used to doing things, so he's still going to look, and feel a bit like an outsider, to the rest of them.

He has said he doesn't read reviews now (a lot of artists don't, not really anything new), this could be because he is well aware that he's still not been totally accepted by the industry as a whole, even with the Brit award nomination.

Also, not so long back, didn't he say he got some racial abuse on Twitter for saying he thought the price of coffee in London coffee houses was too much?

(I'm British, and I agree with him!)

I know some people who don't like him and are quite scathing about him, and they've never even met the guy, it all stems from hearing his songs, but some stuff they say is quite uncalled for!

So, yes I would say that he is justified in what he says in this interview, from things I've seen and heard.