XL REPUBBLICA - how Mika keeps himself busy ;-) - part 2

[tiibet]

 

Not because of this column though. Regardless of the truth, the way this column was written is very clever. By approaching it in this way, he is normalizing homosexuality and still linking the whole thing to gay rights. With all the remarks in there, about a large variety of topics, this might be his most political column to date, but because of the way he writes it, the way he makes the whole thing feel so brutally honest, it doesn't seem that political at all. It's almost like some of his songs. They seem nice and innocent, but they really aren't. Probably that is the reason I love this column so much.

 

I totally agree. I love the way he combines his personal aspect and politics. His thinking is so extremely clear. And yet people still think he doesn't have logic in everything he does

[smokesignal]

Let's be fair, anyone who still believed he was as straight as a line should be slapped out of their fantasy world.

 

I had both his albums, but it took me about five or six years to actually google Mika (and end up here). In all that time, I never once cared about his sexual orientation. This column is not just read by hardcore fans. I would imagine that a lot of casual readers that might have seen Mika in an X-factor snippet once or twice don't have too much of an opinion about him or his sexual orientation

[smokesignal]

I totally agree. I love the way he combines his personal aspect and politics. His thinking is so extremely clear. And yet people still think he doesn't have logic in everything he does

 

I have no problem writing a coherent piece of text (you might not believe it, but in real life I can do it). I wouldn't say there's much logic to anything I do though

[IngievV]

I had both his albums, but it took me about five or six years to actually google Mika (and end up here). In all that time, I never once cared about his sexual orientation. This column is not just read by hardcore fans. I would imagine that a lot of casual readers that might have seen Mika in an X-factor snippet once or twice don't have too much of an opinion about him or his sexual orientation

 

I was more hinting at some 'hardcore' fans who were, even after he said "I'm in love with a man", convinced he was not gay.

[tiibet]

I have no problem writing a coherent piece of text (you might not believe it, but in real life I can do it). I wouldn't say there's much logic to anything I do though

 

Totally know what you mean. Even I can write some clear text if I just want to (in my own language) and I'm mostly a mess But it's not just writing. I genuinely think he is very intelligent.

[DerMoment1608]

the way this column was written is very clever. By approaching it in this way, he is normalizing homosexuality and still linking the whole thing to gay rights. With all the remarks in there, about a large variety of topics, this might be his most political column to date, but because of the way he writes it, the way he makes the whole thing feel so brutally honest, it doesn't seem that political at all. It's almost like some of his songs. They seem nice and innocent, but they really aren't. Probably that is the reason I love this column so much.

 

Interesting thoughts - and, yes, you are totally right.

 

I loved reading this column because it feels so genuine and it seems that he shares part of his inner self here with us. And this inner self of him is just so special and fascinating, thoughtful and emotional.

 

And some classic quotes are in there as well

Edited September 4, 2013 by DerMoment1608

[Zimwana]

Let's just say he's probably pretty high up the scale, somewhere between 5,9 and 6 or so

 

Not because of this column though. Regardless of the truth, the way this column was written is very clever. By approaching it in this way, he is normalizing homosexuality and still linking the whole thing to gay rights. With all the remarks in there, about a large variety of topics, this might be his most political column to date, but because of the way he writes it, the way he makes the whole thing feel so brutally honest, it doesn't seem that political at all. It's almost like some of his songs. They seem nice and innocent, but they really aren't. Probably that is the reason I love this column so much.

 

Exactly

 

I love the way you describe this column, I think you're wright and it's why it's so touching.

[Christine]

Let's just say he's probably pretty high up the scale, somewhere between 5,9 and 6 or so

 

Not because of this column though. Regardless of the truth, the way this column was written is very clever. By approaching it in this way, he is normalizing homosexuality and still linking the whole thing to gay rights. With all the remarks in there, about a large variety of topics, this might be his most political column to date, but because of the way he writes it, the way he makes the whole thing feel so brutally honest, it doesn't seem that political at all. It's almost like some of his songs. They seem nice and innocent, but they really aren't. Probably that is the reason I love this column so much.

 

I agree on all points.

 

I genuinely think he is very intelligent.

 

No one is questioning Mika's intelligence when they dislike his decisions. Even the smartest people make dumb choices and Mika has proven to be illogical in some of his ideas (the Catholic church anyone?) Everyone is flawed in this way to some degree or another. It's how the human mind works. We're not computers, using algorithms to come up with the right answers.

 

In any case even if Mika has reasons that are 100% correct for him doesn't mean that it is what I want to see him do or that it is going to help him achieve the goals we thought he had set for himself at the start of his career. Mika could have some totally legitimate reasons for selling all his worldly possessions, retiring from his career and joining a monastery. It doesn't mean his fans have to be excited about the prospect of losing the artist that they love. He is not my son, he is a musician and if he is not doing the things that musicians do I am not interested. If he made a musical or got a really good acting gig I could get on board with that. But I do not even have a television set because I hate all these crap shows. Mika appearing on them isn't going to make them worth watching IMO.

[Christine]

Someone asked me about the Kinsey scale so I thought I'd mention here that it's actually 0 = 100% heterosexual and not 1. Sorry I have not read up on this since I was studying psych 20 years ago.

 

More info here if you're wondering wth Nas and I are talking about:

 

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kinsey_scale

[willywonka]

MIKA, POP UP XL 89 (ENGLISH VERSION): “AN OPEN LETTER TO MY OLDER SELF (TURNING THIRTY)” (SEPTEMBER 2013)

 

 

 

I hope things are still green and there is still winter and summer.

 

 

Awwwww, he'll still like fresh products when he turns 80...

 

 

One thing, I hope your not bald, if so, wear a hat.

 

 

 

 

What did i ever say???

 

What did i ever say???

 

 

He's getting bald and he's giving us a hint...

[tiibet]

In any case even if Mika has reasons that are 100% correct for him doesn't mean that it is what I want to see him do or that it is going to help him achieve the goals we thought he had set for himself at the start of his career. Mika could have some totally legitimate reasons for selling all his worldly possessions, retiring from his career and joining a monastery. It doesn't mean his fans have to be excited about the prospect of losing the artist that they love. He is not my son, he is a musician and if he is not doing the things that musicians do I am not interested. If he made a musical or got a really good acting gig I could get on board with that. But I do not even have a television set because I hate all these crap shows. Mika appearing on them isn't going to make them worth watching IMO.

 

I understand your point, of course. I know we see things differently. You see him as a musician and you want only his music and the best for his career. I want to see him also as a person, even the reason I am a fan is his voice, song writing skills and his stage performing. It's just important for me to see people as persons. I do want the best for him too, so I want him to achieve what is really important for him. But he is 30 and he can think very clearly, so in my opinion he should make his decisions himself listening to only people he can trust and who know him and his situation/life really well even I'm aware there are also professionals who could help him with his career. I'm not interested in only his career but also his general happiness as well. He is not my son and for me it works the opposite way. I give career advices only to my sons. I feel it's my responsibility as a mother. And all I tell even to them is to do their school well and find and concentrate on what they love (so as adults they can do work they enjoy and be whatever they want to be).

 

I don't think anyone likes his decision to go to these talent shows. I guess we all would rather see him doing something creative, whatever it is. Personally I'm worried how he can enjoy being a Voice judge and listening to all those poor singers. So many poor singers I hope there are also some good ones and that he can be excited about it and find it inspirational.

 

It's still really important for me to stay positive and supportive for his decisions. He deserves that people believe in him and I wish I could tell him that there are a lot people who trust him and his thinking and wait for his new music. He can do amazing music If these other projects are somehow beneficial/useful he needs to do them. The judge work will be fine. He will work hard as always and do it well. The contestants will love him (I wonder if they know how lucky they really are).

 

I'm going to follow these television shows as much as I can (sadly not much from abroad). I don't care about the show concepts either, but I want to see how he is/his working. Of course I have the same feeling we are losing him as an artist for while, simply because these projects will take a lot of his time and mean more waiting and for me just ending the tour was sad. But as an emotional person I don't want to give feelings like that too much space, I rather see his music as a source of energy and inspiration. It's a good thing to keep eyes open and experience different kind of things, for all of us. This is a new experience for him and he will meet a lot of new people. I hope it will give him a lot of ideas and material for new songs.

 

Edit: And I can see I somehow managed to mix two different issues/threads, lol! My thinking is obviously not very clear. Sorry. Oh, someone can delete my post if needed.

Edited September 5, 2013 by tiibet

[mer]

The letter seems to be written by a fan to Mika.En first I feel like if I write mostly in what he says ...

 

You would write it all Mika so if you knew more than 15 years ...

 

It's very emotional, full of actualida on the subject of Obama and Russia ..

Although both terms seem to be juxtaposed n in the War Espionage and Syria.

Transport me other cities...

I love it because in the end there is if it really is Mika who writes a few sentences ..

as bottle cast into the sea and coming to where your friend is ...

Or what of the times spent in the city they visited and now is highly contrary to gay marriage.

 

As for my feelings about writing. Is that all we want to know like the writer if he does well bad, if you have children and if you can expect to recover the past.

I am writing this from the basement of my house in London's World's End. There's a car engine making noise outside. My mother has just popped over to have a cup of tea and my dog ​​is asleep in the corner. They will all be gone When you read this. I have never faced death, you have. How lucky you must think I am to Have those I love around me in the flesh. Do not romanticise too much however. They are not so perfect up close you know? So far I have seen horrible things happen to people I love dearly, but I've never lost any of them. You have and I'm sorry for the pain it Caused you. I'm sure you've made some pretty amazing friends though. Not just the famous glamorous ones. Those ones I know Already, come and go so fast, but real friends. I hope they are strange and keephttp://xl.repubblica.it/articoli/mika-pop-up-xl-89-english-version-an-open-letter-to-my-older-self-turning-thirty-september-2013/5551/ you weird. Please stay weird.

Comment to http://xl.repubblica.it/articoli/mika-pop-up-xl-89-english-version-an-open-letter-to-my-older-self-turning-thirty-september-2013/5551/

Edited September 5, 2013 by mer

[mamiam]

I understand your point, of course. I know we see things differently. You see him as a musician and you want only his music and the best for his career. I want to see him also as a person, even the reason I am a fan is his voice, song writing skills and his stage performing. It's just important for me to see people as persons. I do want the best for him too, so I want him to achieve what is really important for him. But he is 30 and he can think very clearly, so in my opinion he should make his decisions himself listening to only people he can trust and who know him and his situation/life really well even I'm aware there are also professionals who could help him with his career. I'm not interested in only his career but also his general happiness as well. He is not my son and for me it works the opposite way. I give career advices only to my sons. I feel it's my responsibility as a mother. And all I tell even to them is to do their school well and find and concentrate on what they love (so as adults they can do work they enjoy and be whatever they want to be).

 

I don't think anyone likes his decision to go to these talent shows. I guess we all would rather see him doing something creative, whatever it is. Personally I'm worried how he can enjoy being a Voice judge and listening to all those poor singers. So many poor singers I hope there are also some good ones and that he can be excited about it and find it inspirational.

 

It's still really important for me to stay positive and supportive for his decisions. He deserves that people believe in him and I wish I could tell him that there are a lot people who trust him and his thinking and wait for his new music. He can do amazing music If these other projects are somehow beneficial/useful he needs to do them. The judge work will be fine. He will work hard as always and do it well. The contestants will love him (I wonder if they know how lucky they really are).

 

I'm going to follow these television shows as much as I can (sadly not much from abroad). I don't care about the show concepts either, but I want to see how he is and how he is working. Of course I have the same feeling we are losing him as an artist for while, simply because these projects will take a lot of his time and mean more waiting and for me just ending the tour was sad. But as an emotional person I don't want to give feelings like that too much space, I rather see his music as a source of energy and inspiration. It's a good thing to keep eyes open and experience different kind of things, for all of us. This is a new experience for him and he will meet a lot of new people. I hope it will give him a lot of ideas and material for new songs.

 

Edit: And I can see I somehow managed to mix two different issues/threads, lol! My thinking is obviously not very clear. Sorry. Oh, someone can delete my post if needed.

 

Thank you Nina - you said it all

 

Love,love

me

[cathouzouf]

I understand your point, of course. I know we see things differently. You see him as a musician and you want only his music and the best for his career. I want to see him also as a person, even the reason I am a fan is his voice, song writing skills and his stage performing. It's just important for me to see people as persons. I do want the best for him too, so I want him to achieve what is really important for him. But he is 30 and he can think very clearly, so in my opinion he should make his decisions himself listening to only people he can trust and who know him and his situation/life really well even I'm aware there are also professionals who could help him with his career. I'm not interested in only his career but also his general happiness as well. He is not my son and for me it works the opposite way. I give career advices only to my sons. I feel it's my responsibility as a mother. And all I tell even to them is to do their school well and find and concentrate on what they love (so as adults they can do work they enjoy and be whatever they want to be).

 

I don't think anyone likes his decision to go to these talent shows. I guess we all would rather see him doing something creative, whatever it is. Personally I'm worried how he can enjoy being a Voice judge and listening to all those poor singers. So many poor singers I hope there are also some good ones and that he can be excited about it and find it inspirational.

 

It's still really important for me to stay positive and supportive for his decisions. He deserves that people believe in him and I wish I could tell him that there are a lot people who trust him and his thinking and wait for his new music. He can do amazing music If these other projects are somehow beneficial/useful he needs to do them. The judge work will be fine. He will work hard as always and do it well. The contestants will love him (I wonder if they know how lucky they really are).

 

I'm going to follow these television shows as much as I can (sadly not much from abroad). I don't care about the show concepts either, but I want to see how he is and how he is working. Of course I have the same feeling we are losing him as an artist for while, simply because these projects will take a lot of his time and mean more waiting and for me just ending the tour was sad. But as an emotional person I don't want to give feelings like that too much space, I rather see his music as a source of energy and inspiration. It's a good thing to keep eyes open and experience different kind of things, for all of us. This is a new experience for him and he will meet a lot of new people. I hope it will give him a lot of ideas and material for new songs.

 

Edit: And I can see I somehow managed to mix two different issues/threads, lol! My thinking is obviously not very clear. Sorry. Oh, someone can delete my post if needed.

 

It's pretty clear to me!

[guylainem123]

Too bad the 80 year old Mika can't write to the 30 years old one

[Christine]

It's just important for me to see people as persons. I do want the best for him too, so I want him to achieve what is really important for him.

 

It is not that anyone does not want Mika to achieve what is important to him, it's the fact that what is important to Mika seems to have changed so dramatically. It is very difficukt for me to pretend that this is not a shift from maintaining artistic integrity at all costs (like walking away from a record deal as he claims he did once) to making money and becoming a celebrity. You can't expect people to support you because of the principles you represent and then be equally supportive when you go out and do the exact opposite.

 

But he is 30 and he can think very clearly, so in my opinion he should make his decisions himself listening to only people he can trust and who know him and his situation/life really well even I'm aware there are also professionals who could help him with his career. I'm not interested in only his career but also his general happiness as well. He is not my son and for me it works the opposite way. I give career advices only to my sons.

 

I am not telling Mika to listen to me. I am not giving Mika any kind of advice whatsoever. I am not even saying that Mika is making a mistake. I am certainly not saying that Mika is incapable of making smart decisions. If his goal is to make lots of money he is doing a bang up job. I'm sure he makes more money in a year than I will make in the rest of my life.

 

All I'm saying is that I don't like his choices. Why can I not simply say that I don't like his choices without being accused of trying to control Mika's career or deny him happiness or being told I should have faith in him? Trusting Mika is not going to change how I feel about what he's doing. Mika is receiving huge incentives to abandon what he claimed were his principles in order to do these shows. I on the other hand have no incentive whatsoever to get on board with some TV shows that are so obscure from my perspective I wouldn't even know they existed if it weren't for Mika.

 

It's still really important for me to stay positive and supportive for his decisions.

 

Mika can do whatever he wants and obviously I hope it brings him whatever he is looking for. But I do not need to watch it or post on the internet that I am happy about his decisions. Doing that is not going to make one whit of difference to Mika and it will make me feel like I am compromising my own beliefs.

 

Maybe if Mika was doing a show in Toronto I would feel differently and would go to the studio to show some support in a tangible way. But I am thousands of miles away and how I feel about this doesn't make any difference to Mika so it is absurd to me to pretend I agree with what he's doing or delude myself into thinking that if I just trust him that I will be happy with the outcome.

 

He deserves that people believe in him and I wish I could tell him that there are a lot people who trust him and his thinking and wait for his new music.

 

I tweeted and wrote on Facebook that I thought X Factor was beneath him but I have not said anything since. Silence on the subject is the best I can do I'm afraid. I am not a hypocrite and am not going to say things I don't believe.

[Christine]

Too bad the 80 year old Mika can't write to the 30 years old one

 

Indeed!!

[crazyaboutmika]

Wh-what does he mean...he won't ever have hooked up with a chick? D-does that mean he is.....g-gay?

 

 

Just kidding. It was a great column, well-written and clever!

 

I love you Ingie

Maybe we should get married?

Yes that was a great column

[crazyaboutmika]

Let's just say he's probably pretty high up the scale, somewhere between 5,9 and 6 or so

 

Not because of this column though. Regardless of the truth, the way this column was written is very clever. By approaching it in this way, he is normalizing homosexuality and still linking the whole thing to gay rights. With all the remarks in there, about a large variety of topics, this might be his most political column to date, but because of the way he writes it, the way he makes the whole thing feel so brutally honest, it doesn't seem that political at all. It's almost like some of his songs. They seem nice and innocent, but they really aren't. Probably that is the reason I love this column so much.

Irene, you said it so well

[crazyaboutmika]

Awwwww, he'll still like fresh products when he turns 80...

 

 

 

 

 

 

What did i ever say???

 

What did i ever say???

 

 

He's getting bald and he's giving us a hint...

 

I kind of thought that too

I hope it's not true though

[tiibet]

All I'm saying is that I don't like his choices. Why can I not simply say that I don't like his choices without being accused of trying to control Mika's career or deny him happiness or being told I should have faith in him?

 

Of course you can I didn't mean to write like I'm accusing you of something. I was trying to show I can understand your point of view even I see things differently. Not much success with that, I guess.

[IngievV]

I'm just a bit tired of this whole 'we must support and believe in him regardless of the choices he makes'. If I hadn't believed in him, do you really think I would still be here? I can truky say that I have been a good supporter over the years and I'm sure others who are not fond of this all feel the same. Supporting him doesn't mean agreeing with all he does and says. He knows we support him and he's not made of sugar so I'm sure he can handle the criticism.

 

My main concern is that he wastes his time on these shows and then ****s off for another year doing nothing, which would mean all of the popularity gained is wasted. I am also not waiting for a lame rushed French single just to have something up in the charts, after which he won't release anything for another 2 years. It is a fast-paced industry and if he wants to get back up in the charts, he will have to work his ass off for it and it's not going to happen by solely relying on a reality show.

[Christine]

Of course you can I didn't mean to write like I'm accusing you of something. I was trying to show I can understand your point of view even I see things differently. Not much success with that, I guess.

 

It's okay Nina I just want to be clear that I have never said that Mika is incapable of doing what is best for Mika. The reason I say that Mika is not my son is not because I don't see him as a human being. Of course I want him to be happy and fulfilled in his life. But I am not part of the majority of Mika's life. We are only part of each others lives insofar as he is a musician. If Mika is off in the jungle doing humanitarian work for children of course that would be an admirable and womderful thing for him to do but it's got nothing to do with me. Mika appearing on foreign TV shows also has absolutely nothing to do with me and in this case I happen to think it's not such an admirable way to spend one's time.

 

I just find it bizarre if it's expected that to be Mika's fan means to tie your own happiness to his. Do I want Mika to be happy? Of course. Do I think Mika is capable of making decisions that will make him happy? Sure. Do I trust that no matter what Mika does it will make me happy? No. That is the domain of a mother to base their happiness solely on the happiness of another human being. Perhaps a wife or a sister or a daughter or a best friend too. But it's not what I do as a fan of a musician. Mika's happiness is not a factor in what I think and what I like and what makes me happy.

[Christine]

I'm just a bit tired of this whole 'we must support and believe in him regardless of the choices he makes'. If I hadn't believed in him, do you really think I would still be here? I can truky say that I have been a good supporter over the years and I'm sure others who are not fond of this all feel the same.

 

Yes and honestly I don't speak to anyone in private who supports it and they have less diplomatic things to say about it than anything posted here. People just don't want to talk about it anymore because speaking your mind has gone from causing the usual MFC drama to making you a target of incessant abuse on Twitter and Facebook. I have been called an asshole, a hater, a bitch and a cow just because I dared to voice the opinion that Mika is too good to waste a year on some lame TV shows.

[RAK1]

I'm just a bit tired of this whole 'we must support and believe in him regardless of the choices he makes'. If I hadn't believed in him, do you really think I would still be here? I can truky say that I have been a good supporter over the years and I'm sure others who are not fond of this all feel the same. Supporting him doesn't mean agreeing with all he does and says. He knows we support him and he's not made of sugar so I'm sure he can handle the criticism.

 

My main concern is that he wastes his time on these shows and then ****s off for another year doing nothing, which would mean all of the popularity gained is wasted. I am also not waiting for a lame rushed French single just to have something up in the charts, after which he won't release anything for another 2 years. It is a fast-paced industry and if he wants to get back up in the charts, he will have to work his ass off for it and it's not going to happen by solely relying on a reality show.

 

Well said