Mika in US & Canadian Press - 2013/2014

[RainbowGirl]

I like her, she's good. I hope he works with her under his own name though. Otherwise, no one will know it's him. They'll probably think it's Gary Barlow or some other inferior being, who's written her songs.

 

Yeah, if he write for/with her I wish he would put his own name cos i like knowing and recognising songs

[dcdeb]

From a college newspaper University of Southern California - Annenberg

 

http://www.neontommy.com/news/2013/03/exclusive-interview-mika-opens-about-origin-love

 

 

UK electropop star MIKA—of beloved hits like "Relax, Take it Easy", "Grace Kelly" and "Love Today"—is bringing his North American tour to Los Angeles, where he will play a sold out concert at the El Rey theater on March 27.

 

 

Neon Tommy reporters Ashley Riegle and Taylor Johnson had the chance to speak with singer-songwriter, MIKA, by phone this week while the artist was in Vancouver kicking off his North American tour.

 

MIKA opened up about his current tour and album, “The Origin of Love", discussing everything from the meaning of the album to the stresses of making music videos to his dream collaboration.

 

NT: Beginning with your current album, "The Origin of Love," you’ve mentioned that the last two albums were more about characters and that this one was kind of more about you, does that make this album more meaningful to you?

 

MIKA: No, I mean it’s as meaningful as the other ones ‘cause even if I’m writing about characters, the whole [album] before was kind of like a mad man makes a comic book and creates all these monsters, heroes and villains, but truth is he is the villain, he is the monsters, and he is the hero. He is all those characters. He’s exercising them into something that he’s making. So that’s kind of how I approach my music. You know, I am all these creatures. I am like Lollipop Girl. I am Billy Brown. I am Grace Kelly. And so that’s how I approached it.

 

On this new record, there were a couple things: First, I was in a position in my life where I wanted to take this feeling and put it in a bottle, like a kind of perfume, and I’m 27/28, I’m in a pretty big moment in my life and I’ll never feel like this again.

 

Why not write? I love the concept of writing this kind of big, tall, mystical title, “The Origin of Love,” it sound almost biblical, you know? Why not take something like that and actually rip it to shreds? Make songs about alcohol and you know, I love how you **** me, and all these pathetic little things that actually make up the most important things of life. And so, I just felt like writing a concept album about all these love songs. The songs I would do when I’m 35 will sound completely different so I want to capitalize on it, just bottle it. The result is still just as meaningful, just in another way.

 

NT: You mentioned this a little bit, that "The Origin of Love" is the title of the album. "Origin of Love" is also one of my favorite songs on the album, what is the meaning behind the title?

 

MIKA: It’s about somebody who turns around and says “I come from nowhere, I’ve made work-kind of music since I was 11, I am happy, and I’m looking at my life and deciding to be a man.” And in that process, I’m looking at everything. A big part of the thing is church and I started off in a Roman Catholic family. I still go to church from time to time. I still consider myself a Roman Catholic, but obviously I’m at odds with[,] I have this great strained relationship with religion.

 

On the one hand, it’s important to my values so much and I respect it; I have a deep respect for it. On the other hand, I’m completely at odds with so many of the conservative and destructive beliefs and political beliefs of the Roman Catholic Church. In all honesty, of most religions. So the song’s about that, conflicting opinions. It’s a crazy-ass love song that basically says “I will rewrite history for you. I’ll rip up the Bible and rewrite it for you, even if it takes me to Hell. I will make a long song that sounds like Jagger that sounds like The Kinks that sounds like church music just because I like you so much.” And it has this kind of insanity about it. That’s what the song’s about.

 

It berates church and it berates concepts of religion and politics of religion, so that in the end, that after all this, I sit there and I thank God that you found me. It’s clearly conflicting, but that’s life.

 

 

NT: I love the Adam and Eve reference in the song.

 

MIKA: Well and you know, when you read the lyrics, it’s so funny because they just make sense. No matter who you are, just read the lyrics. You’ll agree with it. No matter who you are, what you are, how old you are, whatever. Girl or guy, it doesn’t matter, gay or straight. It all comes back to common sense. So much of what matters is common sense.

 

NT: Your music videos are always really creative. How do you come up with the ideas?

 

MIKA: I hate making music videos. It’s one of the worst things. I love coming up with ideas—but making them, I can’t explain it. I cant describe it; it’s such a ****ing pain in the ass. It’s not like a movie where they actually prepare and build it. It’s all done so quickly. There are so many people involved. The record company drives you completely insane, inevitably. The biggest problem with music video directors is so often they jump from job to job. But sometimes it works. Sometimes it really works. For example, I did a video for the song called “Underwater,” which I think is really beautiful. And for this song called “Happy Ending,” which was really beautiful. Sometimes it just works. At the same time I did a video for this song “Big Girl” and I thought, ‘I cannot believe I did that.’

 

At the same time, I make everything. Have you seen a show of mine? [Ed. note: Neon Tommy will be attending his show next week.] When you see one of my shows, you’ll get it. I work in a collective. I build a team of artists: I have graphic designers, illustrators, animators, puppet-makers. We all go into a room and there’s nothing, we have no show, and then we build, let the show evolve out of the chaos and all of these people making the show illustrating the universe of whatever record that I’m touring. I make videos in the same way. After a few of hours, we’ll start with nothing [but] we’ll end up with stories and a vision and a record mood board and everything.

 

Working in a collective is amazing. I think it’s because I come from a family of five kids, and we’ve always worked with each other.

 

NT: If you could collaborate with anyone, anywhere throughout history—who would it be?

 

MIKA: Oh man. Well firstly, it wouldn’t be any of my musical icons because I would be terrified that they would destroy my vision of them. Certain people, if you like them enough, stay the **** away from them, because you’re going to ****ing hate ‘em when you see ‘em up close.

 

Walt Disney. Working with old school animation and building a world around that and writing songs in that old fashioned style of animation. That would be an incredible thing to be able to do. That golden age of animation that happened in the 1950s. We’re talking about movies that had a certain kind of naïveté but also with that naïveté, a real depth and completely not at all about video game culture.

 

I think that’s what’s destroying so many whimsical and magical films. You sit there and you feel like you’re watching an advert for the video game. Challenge one, challenge two, step three, step four. So when you see something like “Wall-E,” for example, and it’s so poetic and it’s so un-videogame-like; it has power and it’s moving and it’s emotional. And there’s a reason why the last few “Pirates of the Caribbean” movies are borderline boring because you feel like you’re watching a video game.

 

So going back to that golden age, it was something quite pure.

 

NT: What are you looking forward to specifically about the upcoming North American tour dates?

 

MIKA: I like playing in America so much, I can’t tell you. I don’t like the airports. I think American airports suck ass. It’s like the worst airports, the worst planes, and the worst airlines. So the traveling part of it sucks, when you compare it to the world, it’s so weird. But the cities are just amazing and the people are unbelievable and the history of the venues and all of that—it’s the people really. I love playing in front of people in America. There is this appetite for music!

 

I’ll never forget, I was at Ryan Adams—I’m a big Ryan Adams fan—he was playing at the Royal Albert Hall in London and I got called out for tapping my foot. And people just started screaming at each other in the audience. Actually, one guy was screaming at another who was hollering, and it was so ****ed up. It was kind of weird and really quite negative and destructive.

 

The only way I can describe it is that playing a show in America is 150% not that. Americans have this ultra-melody, which is quite amazing.

 

America is so huge and diverse, which makes it so adaptable. It’s hard to imagine that. Things like Regina Spektor, we don’t have Regina Spektor in the UK. She doesn’t really have a presence there as much as she does here [in North America]. That whole kind of melodic pop music that you’re allowed to experience in America, and a lot of other places, but it’s not like that in the UK. It’s not the same.

 

All of this stuff, it’s so melodic. Just because it has melody doesn’t mean it’s dirty or fabricated and fake. It’s not. Actually it’s sometimes more sincere than the kind of pose-y rock. There’s amazing rock. I’m obsessed with rock. Actually one of my icons growing up as a performer and as a writer was Marilyn Manson. I was completely obsessed with what he was doing.

 

But anyway, there is a good culture of melodic pop in the States, which I love.

 

NT: Is there anything you want to tell your fans in the US or fans coming to your L.A. show?

 

MIKA: If you’re coming to the show, bring your personality with you. And if you know how to sing, then ****ing sing really loud. It’s kind of this gig where I’ll even bring someone up from the crowd and people can request songs. It’s gonna be pretty cool. So expect that if you’re coming.

 

If you haven’t been to one of the shows and you’re kind of curious, I would start with listening to some records that hit you over the head the first time you hear them, but then you get it after awhile. Such as my last record.

 

I feel very lucky to have the opportunity to play. So I feel very grateful.

Edited March 24, 2013 by dcdeb

[mamiam]

From a college newspaper University of Southern California - Annenberg

 

http://www.neontommy.com/news/2013/03/exclusive-interview-mika-opens-about-origin-love

 

 

UK electropop star MIKA—of beloved hits like "Relax, Take it Easy", "Grace Kelly" and "Love Today"—is bringing his North American tour to Los Angeles, where he will play a sold out concert at the El Rey theater on March 27.

Mika's third album "Origin of Love" was released in September (Photo Courtesy: Girlie Media)

Mika's third album "Origin of Love" was released in September (Photo Courtesy: Girlie Media)

 

Neon Tommy reporters Ashley Riegle and Taylor Johnson had the chance to speak with singer-songwriter, MIKA, by phone this week while the artist was in Vancouver kicking off his North American tour.

 

MIKA opened up about his current tour and album, “The Origin of Love", discussing everything from the meaning of the album to the stresses of making music videos to his dream collaboration.

 

NT: Beginning with your current album, "The Origin of Love," you’ve mentioned that the last two albums were more about characters and that this one was kind of more about you, does that make this album more meaningful to you?

 

MIKA: No, I mean it’s as meaningful as the other ones ‘cause even if I’m writing about characters, the whole [album] before was kind of like a mad man makes a comic book and creates all these monsters, heroes and villains, but truth is he is the villain, he is the monsters, and he is the hero. He is all those characters. He’s exercising them into something that he’s making. So that’s kind of how I approach my music. You know, I am all these creatures. I am like Lollipop Girl. I am Billy Brown. I am Grace Kelly. And so that’s how I approached it.

 

On this new record, there were a couple things: First, I was in a position in my life where I wanted to take this feeling and put it in a bottle, like a kind of perfume, and I’m 27/28, I’m in a pretty big moment in my life and I’ll never feel like this again.

 

Why not write? I love the concept of writing this kind of big, tall, mystical title, “The Origin of Love,” it sound almost biblical, you know? Why not take something like that and actually rip it to shreds? Make songs about alcohol and you know, I love how you **** me, and all these pathetic little things that actually make up the most important things of life. And so, I just felt like writing a concept album about all these love songs. The songs I would do when I’m 35 will sound completely different so I want to capitalize on it, just bottle it. The result is still just as meaningful, just in another way.

 

NT: You mentioned this a little bit, that "The Origin of Love" is the title of the album. "Origin of Love" is also one of my favorite songs on the album, what is the meaning behind the title?

 

MIKA: It’s about somebody who turns around and says “I come from nowhere, I’ve made work-kind of music since I was 11, I am happy, and I’m looking at my life and deciding to be a man.” And in that process, I’m looking at everything. A big part of the thing is church and I started off in a Roman Catholic family. I still go to church from time to time. I still consider myself a Roman Catholic, but obviously I’m at odds with[,] I have this great strained relationship with religion.

 

On the one hand, it’s important to my values so much and I respect it; I have a deep respect for it. On the other hand, I’m completely at odds with so many of the conservative and destructive beliefs and political beliefs of the Roman Catholic Church. In all honesty, of most religions. So the song’s about that, conflicting opinions. It’s a crazy-ass love song that basically says “I will rewrite history for you. I’ll rip up the Bible and rewrite it for you, even if it takes me to Hell. I will make a long song that sounds like Jagger that sounds like The Kinks that sounds like church music just because I like you so much.” And it has this kind of insanity about it. That’s what the song’s about.

 

It berates church and it berates concepts of religion and politics of religion, so that in the end, that after all this, I sit there and I thank God that you found me. It’s clearly conflicting, but that’s life.

British electropop star MIKA will play the El Rey theater on 3/27 (Photo Courtesy: Girlie Media)

British electropop star MIKA will play the El Rey theater on 3/27 (Photo Courtesy: Girlie Media)

 

NT: I love the Adam and Eve reference in the song.

 

MIKA: Well and you know, when you read the lyrics, it’s so funny because they just make sense. No matter who you are, just read the lyrics. You’ll agree with it. No matter who you are, what you are, how old you are, whatever. Girl or guy, it doesn’t matter, gay or straight. It all comes back to common sense. So much of what matters is common sense.

 

NT: Your music videos are always really creative. How do you come up with the ideas?

 

MIKA: I hate making music videos. It’s one of the worst things. I love coming up with ideas—but making them, I can’t explain it. I cant describe it; it’s such a ****ing pain in the ass. It’s not like a movie where they actually prepare and build it. It’s all done so quickly. There are so many people involved. The record company drives you completely insane, inevitably. The biggest problem with music video directors is so often they jump from job to job. But sometimes it works. Sometimes it really works. For example, I did a video for the song called “Underwater,” which I think is really beautiful. And for this song called “Happy Ending,” which was really beautiful. Sometimes it just works. At the same time I did a video for this song “Big Girl” and I thought, ‘I cannot believe I did that.’

 

At the same time, I make everything. Have you seen a show of mine? [Ed. note: Neon Tommy will be attending his show next week.] When you see one of my shows, you’ll get it. I work in a collective. I build a team of artists: I have graphic designers, illustrators, animators, puppet-makers. We all go into a room and there’s nothing, we have no show, and then we build, let the show evolve out of the chaos and all of these people making the show illustrating the universe of whatever record that I’m touring. I make videos in the same way. After a few of hours, we’ll start with nothing [but] we’ll end up with stories and a vision and a record mood board and everything.

 

Working in a collective is amazing. I think it’s because I come from a family of five kids, and we’ve always worked with each other.

 

NT: If you could collaborate with anyone, anywhere throughout history—who would it be?

 

MIKA: Oh man. Well firstly, it wouldn’t be any of my musical icons because I would be terrified that they would destroy my vision of them. Certain people, if you like them enough, stay the **** away from them, because you’re going to ****ing hate ‘em when you see ‘em up close.

 

Walt Disney. Working with old school animation and building a world around that and writing songs in that old fashioned style of animation. That would be an incredible thing to be able to do. That golden age of animation that happened in the 1950s. We’re talking about movies that had a certain kind of naïveté but also with that naïveté, a real depth and completely not at all about video game culture.

 

I think that’s what’s destroying so many whimsical and magical films. You sit there and you feel like you’re watching an advert for the video game. Challenge one, challenge two, step three, step four. So when you see something like “Wall-E,” for example, and it’s so poetic and it’s so un-videogame-like; it has power and it’s moving and it’s emotional. And there’s a reason why the last few “Pirates of the Caribbean” movies are borderline boring because you feel like you’re watching a video game.

 

So going back to that golden age, it was something quite pure.

 

NT: What are you looking forward to specifically about the upcoming North American tour dates?

 

MIKA: I like playing in America so much, I can’t tell you. I don’t like the airports. I think American airports suck ass. It’s like the worst airports, the worst planes, and the worst airlines. So the traveling part of it sucks, when you compare it to the world, it’s so weird. But the cities are just amazing and the people are unbelievable and the history of the venues and all of that—it’s the people really. I love playing in front of people in America. There is this appetite for music!

 

I’ll never forget, I was at Ryan Adams—I’m a big Ryan Adams fan—he was playing at the Royal Albert Hall in London and I got called out for tapping my foot. And people just started screaming at each other in the audience. Actually, one guy was screaming at another who was hollering, and it was so ****ed up. It was kind of weird and really quite negative and destructive.

 

The only way I can describe it is that playing a show in America is 150% not that. Americans have this ultra-melody, which is quite amazing.

 

America is so huge and diverse, which makes it so adaptable. It’s hard to imagine that. Things like Regina Spektor, we don’t have Regina Spektor in the UK. She doesn’t really have a presence there as much as she does here [in North America]. That whole kind of melodic pop music that you’re allowed to experience in America, and a lot of other places, but it’s not like that in the UK. It’s not the same.

 

All of this stuff, it’s so melodic. Just because it has melody doesn’t mean it’s dirty or fabricated and fake. It’s not. Actually it’s sometimes more sincere than the kind of pose-y rock. There’s amazing rock. I’m obsessed with rock. Actually one of my icons growing up as a performer and as a writer was Marilyn Manson. I was completely obsessed with what he was doing.

 

But anyway, there is a good culture of melodic pop in the States, which I love.

 

NT: Is there anything you want to tell your fans in the US or fans coming to your L.A. show?

 

MIKA: If you’re coming to the show, bring your personality with you. And if you know how to sing, then ****ing sing really loud. It’s kind of this gig where I’ll even bring someone up from the crowd and people can request songs. It’s gonna be pretty cool. So expect that if you’re coming.

 

If you haven’t been to one of the shows and you’re kind of curious, I would start with listening to some records that hit you over the head the first time you hear them, but then you get it after awhile. Such as my last record.

 

I feel very lucky to have the opportunity to play. So I feel very grateful.

 

THANK YOU !!! Huge - and really interesting interview

 

Love,love

me

[krysady]

Thank you,Deb! This is a nice interview.......with many bad words

[mellody]

thanks deb, i love the interview! finally he talks in an interview about the origin of love (the song) like i think he should have done it right from the start when the album came out! not that the info what it's about is new to us, but it's much better to hear it from the man himself. and it might be new to the random music listener / concert goer, if they don't usually pay much attention to the lyrics, i hope they will now!

 

i also love that he wants to collaborate with walt disney, fab ideas that he's mentioning there! not so good tho that he regrets doing the big girl video - i would have hoped that maybe he'd invite fans again to take part in one of his future videos - but that doesn't seem very likely, judging from this comment. anyway, i love the whole interview, we don't get such interesting interviews every day.

Edited March 24, 2013 by mellody

[Yuna]

Thank you for the interview! hmmm... I think Big Girl MV is one of his best MVs so far... Underwater and Happy Ending is...

in opposite part of my list

 

I feel frustrated whenever feel like I have a completely different taste of something from my fave popstar

Edited March 24, 2013 by Yuna

[Christine]

On the one hand, it’s important to my values so much and I respect it; I have a deep respect for it. On the other hand, I’m completely at odds with so many of the conservative and destructive beliefs and political beliefs of the Roman Catholic Church.

 

I will never understand this. If it doesn't reflect your values (and in fact if an organization's values are at odds with human rights) I don't understand why you would have any respect for it. The church IS conservative. The church IS destructive. The church IS political. If that is completely at odds with your values then why would you respect it and more importantly why would you call yourself a member and lend it the power to enforce its conservative and destructive policies??

 

Sometimes it really works. For example, I did a video for the song called “Underwater,” which I think is really beautiful. And for this song called “Happy Ending,” which was really beautiful. Sometimes it just works.

 

Err...to each his own.

 

Certain people, if you like them enough, stay the **** away from them, because you’re going to ****ing hate ‘em when you see ‘em up close.

 

I wish he would name names here instead of just hinting around all the time. My money is on Rufus Wainwright and/or Elton John.

 

I think that’s what’s destroying so many whimsical and magical films. You sit there and you feel like you’re watching an advert for the video game.

 

I agree with this 1000%. I despise modern animation/CGI so much I absolutely cannot watch it. It is so distracting and artless and overshadows everything else in the movie. I think South Park which uses paper cutouts is easier to watch and more creative than most of the blockbuster movies these days.

 

I like playing in America so much, I can’t tell you. I don’t like the airports. I think American airports suck ass. It’s like the worst airports, the worst planes, and the worst airlines.

 

I agree with this 1000% too. LAX feels hyper militarized and third world all at the same time. It's awful. And coming into Canada our customs agents can be real bastards.

 

I love playing in front of people in America.

 

You can really feel that especially in New York. It feels like it's his home gig and in every city he gives people extra attention that I never see in Canada and don't always see in Europe.

[JohannaÄlskarMika]

 

MIKA: If you’re coming to the show, bring your personality with you. And if you know how to sing, then ****ing sing really loud. It’s kind of this gig where I’ll even bring someone up from the crowd and people can request songs. It’s gonna be pretty cool. So expect that if you’re coming.

 

If you haven’t been to one of the shows and you’re kind of curious, I would start with listening to some records that hit you over the head the first time you hear them, but then you get it after awhile. Such as my last record.

 

I feel very lucky to have the opportunity to play. So I feel very grateful.

 

Great article, thanks for posting. Especially like the end part, I hope someone goes up on stage to sing with him! Just wished I could see one of the intimate shows! Hope the people who goes will enjoy it!

[dcdeb]

 

i also love that he wants to collaborate with walt disney, fab ideas that he's mentioning there! not so good tho that he regrets doing the big girl video - i would have hoped that maybe he'd invite fans again to take part in one of his future videos - but that doesn't seem very likely, judging from this comment. anyway, i love the whole interview, we don't get such interesting interviews every day.

 

Well, you know I was loving his choice of Walt Disney

 

And I'm sad he doesn't like the Big Girl video. I have a real soft spot for it, since there are people I know who are in it! I know it's not artsy or very well produced, but it's very real, in a sense, and like you said, I would love for him to include fans in a future video.

[mellody]

I will never understand this. If it doesn't reflect your values (and in fact if an organization's values are at odds with human rights) I don't understand why you would have any respect for it. The church IS conservative. The church IS destructive. The church IS political. If that is completely at odds with your values then why would you respect it and more importantly why would you call yourself a member and lend it the power to enforce its conservative and destructive policies??

.

 

he talks about religion in the sentences before it, so i guess that's what he respects, not so much the church itself. i think he wants to make clear that he believes in god and in the 10 amendments, and basically in many of the teachings of the roman catholic church, but of course not in the conservative and destructive parts. i understand his point very well. i'm more or less an atheist, so i had no problems leaving the church, but if you do believe in god and were brought up catholic, i don't think it's something you can push away so easily. you know, you go to hell if you leave the church. mika already thinks he's going to hell for criticizing them. :rolls_eyes:

[Sabine64]

Maybe he likes the vids of Underwater and HE because he was suffering the most by doing them? the first was painful and the second very wet......

[Christine]

he talks about religion in the sentences before it, so i guess that's what he respects, not so much the church itself. i think he wants to make clear that he believes in god and in the 10 amendments, and basically in many of the teachings of the roman catholic church, but of course not in the conservative and destructive parts. i understand his point very well. i'm more or less an atheist, so i had no problems leaving the church, but if you do believe in god and were brought up catholic, i don't think it's something you can push away so easily. you know, you go to hell if you leave the church. mika already thinks he's going to hell for criticizing them. :rolls_eyes:

 

I am just getting tired of Catholics blaming their conservative leaders as if they play no part in supporting their policies by being members. If he wants to believe in god or even be a Christian he doesn't need to "respect" the church and call himself a Roman Catholic. It's like someone bitching about globalization and the huge disparity between rich and poor while working for a bank and buying stocks and riding around in a big gas guzzling SUV and trading in for a new iPhone every 6 months. If you want the church to stop having such a destructive influence in the world you need to stop complaining about it and put your money where your mouth is. Especially since it's not as if the church has suddenly gone to hell and become corrupt over night. It's the same church he was born into. The same church his parents and grandparents and great grandparents x 10 were born into. It's not going to change until people boycott it in tangible terms.

[RAK1]

he talks about religion in the sentences before it, so i guess that's what he respects, not so much the church itself. i think he wants to make clear that he believes in god and in the 10 amendments, and basically in many of the teachings of the roman catholic church, but of course not in the conservative and destructive parts. i understand his point very well. i'm more or less an atheist, so i had no problems leaving the church, but if you do believe in god and were brought up catholic, i don't think it's something you can push away so easily. you know, you go to hell if you leave the church. mika already thinks he's going to hell for criticizing them. :rolls_eyes:

 

Absolutely.

Being raise Catholic myself, I get where he is coming from. The Bible is full of stories that down the years have been translated over and over again, so who knows what the original text was, all we see is what the last translation tells us. For all we know, there have possibly been a lot of embelishments and personal statements added and taken away from the original text, to serve whoever was writing and in charge of the writing at that time. Like Chinese whispers.

Over the last 20 years,I myself have grown disillusioned with the church itself, but still believe in God. I liked Pope John Paul 2 as an amazing man who had a very tough life, and as Popes go he was probably the most admired, but I DON'T agree with church policy on contraception, homosexuality, and am disgusted with the way they treated the ladies at the Magdalene laundries, and the whole cover up of child abuse in the church.

[mellody]

I am just getting tired of Catholics blaming their conservative leaders as if they play no part in supporting their policies by being members. If he wants to believe in god or even be a Christian he doesn't need to "respect" the church and call himself a Roman Catholic. It's like someone bitching about globalization and the huge disparity between rich and poor while working for a bank and buying stocks and riding around in a big gas guzzling SUV and trading in for a new iPhone every 6 months. If you want the church to stop having such a destructive influence in the world you need to stop complaining about it and put your money where your mouth is. Especially since it's not as if the church has suddenly gone to hell and become corrupt over night. It's the same church he was born into. The same church his parents and grandparents and great grandparents x 10 were born into. It's not going to change until people boycott it in tangible terms.

 

but that's the point: you learn that leaving the church is about as bad as not believing in god anymore. sure you could say we're all modern-thinking humans, also mika, but if you were brought up with that belief, it sticks somehow. especially if your family is very religious, and/or you had a very positive view on it all in your childhood, maybe in the sense that your faith in god/the church community helped you go through hard times. i was never extremely religious and lost my faith in the catholic church and their god in my early teenage years, but still it took me until way into my 20s to finally leave the church. you think things like "well but if they ARE right?" - after all, the whole idea of god is about believing, so you are taught to believe in the church as much as to believe in god, and that one is inseparable from the other. for many it's a long way to go to leave the church, not a decision you simply make the day you realize that they're wrong in many things they taught you.

last but not least, the church does give you a feeling of belonging to a group. for example, where i live most of the population is catholic. in some areas you're sort of an outsider if you aren't. it's probably not like that in london, but if mika's whole family is catholic, his subjective feeling might be a little bit as if he doesn't belong to them anymore if he completely turns his back on the church.

Edited March 24, 2013 by mellody

[Christine]

but still it took me until way into my 20s to finally leave the church. you think things like "well but if they ARE right?" - after all, the whole idea of god is about believing, so you are taught to believe in the church as much as to believe in god, and that one is inseparable from the other.

 

But if the Catholic church is right then Mika's values are wrong. This is where he is being totally irrational and I'm not talking about the irrationality of faith in general (because that is an atheistic judgement, not a logical one). Obviously I don't agree with the Catholic church but I can respect people who are members of a church (of any denomination) because it reflects their values and they believe that the church is offering them the truth. But if you reject the values and you don't believe in their truth then you can't blame the church for that conflict. It's your problem to fix and it's fixed by leaving the church. The onus is not on the church to change its millennial-old ways to suit your 2013 personal preferences. I don't understand why people complain about it or expect that the ushering in of a new pope is going to solve these massive value conflicts that some people experience.

 

If the church is right Mika is not only going to go to hell for criticizing them he will go to hell for being who he is. I can't imagine how anyone could resolve that conflict in their belief system without rejecting the idea that the church is right - about homosexuality or anything else it teaches (good or bad).

[Sabine64]

But if the Catholic church is right then Mika's values are wrong. This is where he is being totally irrational and I'm not talking about the irrationality of faith in general (because that is an atheistic judgement, not a logical one). Obviously I don't agree with the Catholic church but I can respect people who are members of a church (of any denomination) because it reflects their values and they believe that the church is offering them the truth. But if you reject the values and you don't believe in their truth then you can't blame the church for that conflict. It's your problem to fix and it's fixed by leaving the church. The onus is not on the church to change its millennial-old ways to suit your 2013 personal preferences. I don't understand why people complain about it or expect that the ushering in of a new pope is going to solve these massive value conflicts that some people experience.

 

If the church is right Mika is not only going to go to hell for criticizing them he will go to hell for being who he is. I can't imagine how anyone could resolve that conflict in their belief system without rejecting the idea that the church is right - about homosexuality or anything else it teaches (good or bad).

 

My brother in law is very catholic and we had terrible discussions because I couldn´t understand why a very intelligent person can believe all the things priests tell you without asking about the facts. My brother in law told me that there the sin would start to ask if church tells you the truth or not and good christs wouldn´t try to ask any questions........ he went to church every week and forced his kids to go to church with him. He really is afraid to do any sins because he was told so since he was born and it´s inside him until he will die and and he will be surprised not to enter a heaven the church promised him.....

[Christine]

My brother in law is very catholic and we had terrible discussions because I couldn´t understand why a very intelligent person can believe all the things priests tell you without asking about the facts.

 

But Mika doesn't believe these things. That's why calling himself a Roman Catholic makes no sense. If you don't support the church, then don't support the church by being a part of it. It's not an ethnicity or a nationality that cannot be changed. It's a choice. No matter how difficult it might be it's still a choice.

[Sabine64]

But Mika doesn't believe these things. That's why calling himself a Roman Catholic makes no sense. If you don't support the church, then don't support the church by being a part of it. It's not an ethnicity or a nationality that cannot be changed. It's a choice. No matter how difficult it might be it's still a choice.

 

Maybe sometimes irrational feelings are stronger than rational thoughts and you need much longer to choose .

[smokesignal]

But if the Catholic church is right then Mika's values are wrong. This is where he is being totally irrational and I'm not talking about the irrationality of faith in general (because that is an atheistic judgement, not a logical one). Obviously I don't agree with the Catholic church but I can respect people who are members of a church (of any denomination) because it reflects their values and they believe that the church is offering them the truth. But if you reject the values and you don't believe in their truth then you can't blame the church for that conflict. It's your problem to fix and it's fixed by leaving the church. The onus is not on the church to change its millennial-old ways to suit your 2013 personal preferences. I don't understand why people complain about it or expect that the ushering in of a new pope is going to solve these massive value conflicts that some people experience.

 

If the church is right Mika is not only going to go to hell for criticizing them he will go to hell for being who he is. I can't imagine how anyone could resolve that conflict in their belief system without rejecting the idea that the church is right - about homosexuality or anything else it teaches (good or bad).

 

But a church is more than a collection of values. I haven't attended mass in over a year, and if I do I don't necessarily agree with the contents (even though most priests here actually don't have that much of a problem with things like abortion or hoosexuality, and even if they do they're not quite so stupid to say so), but it still makes me feel a certain way, which goes beyond rationality.

 

A slightly weird comparison, and not saying a Mika gig is a religious experience, but you've probably been to a Mika gig where he messed up the lyrics or didn't quite hit all the notes right. I've noticed on several occasions with gigs I've been to while looking at vids that it was not as perfect as I remembered. But that didn't matter, and I didn't notice, because the experience is not just the sum of a good voice, well-crafted songs and the contents of the lyrics.

[mamiam]

Maybe sometimes irrational feelings are stronger than rational thoughts and you need much longer to choose .

 

Totally agree - and MIKA seems to be thinking about religion when writing songs - not only TOOL shows it, also "Holy Johnny"

 

Love,love

me

[Christine]

A slightly weird comparison, and not saying a Mika gig is a religious experience, but you've probably been to a Mika gig where he messed up the lyrics or didn't quite hit all the notes right. I've noticed on several occasions with gigs I've been to while looking at vids that it was not as perfect as I remembered. But that didn't matter, and I didn't notice, because the experience is not just the sum of a good voice, well-crafted songs and the contents of the lyrics.

 

But we're talking about crimes against humanity here. We're talking about political policies that destroy lives and generate hatred. How can any amount of personal comfort override that reality in your mind? Of course it does for many because it doesn't affect them so they turn a blind eye to it. But Mika is not blind to it.

 

I lived in South Africa just a couple of years after apartheid ended and all I ever heard about was what an idyllic life it was (if you were white of course). And I don't doubt that it was. Who wouldn't want to have servants do everything for you? Who wouldn't want a low rate of violent crime? Who wouldn't want all the resources in the country for themselves? But if you have any conscience you will admit that cheap labour is not a good thing if you are effectively enslaving people by disenfranchising them and ensuring they have no access to education. You will admit that controlling crime is not a valid reason to strip people of basic human rights like liberty to move around the country and live and work wherever they want. You will admit that taking all those resources by force is effectively theft.

 

This is not exclusive to Roman Catholicism of course. There are also protestant missionaries promoting violent homophobia in Africa.

 

Some values in these political systems (which is what churches are) are just so abhorrent that no warm and fuzzy childhood memories or comfort can justify supporting it.

[smokesignal]

But we're talking about crimes against humanity here. We're talking about political policies that destroy lives and generate hatred. How can any amount of personal comfort override that reality in your mind? Of course it does for many because it doesn't affect them so they turn a blind eye to it. But Mika is not blind to it.

 

I lived in South Africa just a couple of years after apartheid ended and all I ever heard about was what an idyllic life it was (if you were white of course). And I don't doubt that it was. Who wouldn't want to have servants do everything for you? Who wouldn't want a low rate of violent crime? Who wouldn't want all the resources in the country for themselves? But if you have any conscience you will admit that cheap labour is not a good thing if you are effectively enslaving people by disenfranchising them and ensuring they have no access to education. You will admit that controlling crime is not a valid reason to strip people of basic human rights like liberty to move around the country and live and work wherever they want. You will admit that taking all those resources by force is effectively theft.

 

This is not exclusive to Roman Catholicism of course. There are also protestant missionaries promoting violent homophobia in Africa.

 

Some values in these political systems (which is what churches are) are just so abhorrent that no warm and fuzzy childhood memories or comfort can justify supporting it.

 

Mika, or me for that matter, is not exactly a strong supporter of the catholic church just for attending mass every once a while. Or even by saying he considers himself a roman catholic and immediately adds the problems he has with that. There is a difference between the institution and the faith they claim to promote. I think he makes the distinction and personally I think it's important to make that distinction. Just like it is ridiculous to hold every muslim responsible for the atrocities of the taliban, you cannot hold every roman catholic (which is in the end someone that believes in that particular idea of a god, not necessarily someone who makes huge donations to the corresponding church) responsible for some idiots in Rome.

[Christine]

Just like it is ridiculous to hold every muslim responsible for the atrocities of the taliban, you cannot hold every roman catholic (which is in the end someone that believes in that particular idea of a god, not necessarily someone who makes huge donations to the corresponding church) responsible for some idiots in Rome.

 

The two situations are not comparable at all. The Taliban are extremists that once had control of one country. They are not and have not been the leaders of all Muslims in the world for centuries.

 

"The idiots in Rome" are setting policy and acting as spiritual leaders for local churches and Catholics all over the world. The negative results are evident everywhere - overpopulation from birth control policies, systematic child abuse all over the world where priests are protected all the way from the local churches to the Vatican, homophobia and misogyny that is preached to all Catholics, etc.

 

The church gets its power and its resources from its members. You can't absolve yourself from participating in this church by blaming it on its leaders. It's a voluntary participation. They are not radicals who took over the church or a state and forced people to live under their rules.

[Alie]

The Catholic Church teach good things too. Love each other and stuff like that. I understand Mika to still agree with the religion. It's not really about being atheist or not, it's to stick with what you learn when you are young. Parents don't teach their children to hate gay people, they learn them to pray God to keep your family safe and happy. If he decided to stop being catholic, I think he'll feel like he doesn't agree with that anymore.

 

He's like most of the Quebec population. Most of the population is Roman Catholic but the church are empty and we legalised the gay wedding. People still say that they are roman catholic.

Edited March 24, 2013 by Alie

[smokesignal]

The two situations are not comparable at all. The Taliban are extremists that once had control of one country. They are not and have not been the leaders of all Muslims in the world for centuries.

 

"The idiots in Rome" are setting policy and acting as spiritual leaders for local churches and Catholics all over the world. The negative results are evident everywhere - overpopulation from birth control policies, systematic child abuse all over the world where priests are protected all the way from the local churches to the Vatican, homophobia and misogyny that is preached to all Catholics, etc.

 

The church gets its power and its resources from its members. You can't absolve yourself from participating in this church by blaming it on its leaders. It's a voluntary participation. They are not radicals who took over the church or a state and forced people to live under their rules.

 

You're right, of course, but if I think of the catholic church I don't only think of their appalling policies, but also of the priest that was a good friend of my parents and traveled from the other side of the (admittedly small) country from the monestary he lived in just to pay them a visit when I was born, even though he was quite old at the time. A person who didn't have a problem with a fellow priest getting married, but did admit to having to get used to being introduced to his second wife after the guy got a divorce (did get used to it though). My mother converted as an adult and was baptized by him, while she was pregnant with me, and not married. And he knew that, but didn't think faith or belief was about those petty things. Considering he was born about a century ago, he was incredibly open-minded. That to me is the church as well, and that is a part I value.

 

I would have a problem funding the Catholic church, because of those policies, but they do not get any resources from me and I doubt they get any from Mika. Although some countries have state funding of churches depending on the number of members, mine doesn't and if I'm not mistaken those financial flows are also quite limited in the UK. So the power they get from that is extremely limited.

 

Edit: and what alie says

Edited March 24, 2013 by smokesignal