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New song: Modern Times


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8 hours ago, krysady said:

This was my first thought as well: U2. Exactly the same sound! 

Probably the reason why I prefer the musical parts ( specificaly the end ), than the "urban" begining .

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10 hours ago, carafon said:

 

Same for me after just 1 play , but I have to listen to it better several times and my mind may change  .

 

We'll see how it sounds on the album.  But one thing is sure, I've had the run run run tune in my head for quite a while after listen the song :naughty:

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3 hours ago, Mikasister said:

But one thing is sure, I've had the run run run tune in my head for quite a while after listen the song :naughty:

 

I have it stuck in my head since this morning, but not the run run part but alternatively the one with modern times or the verse with the "let me tell you where...", it's one of those songs that just sneaks into your brain and stays there, whether you want it or not. :roftl: But I certainly don't mind my brain being full of Mika songs. :wub2: :teehee:

 

I wonder if that's the one he's planning to perform at Eurovision? Would fit to the sun stage. :biggrin2:

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19 hours ago, holdingyourdrink said:

 

Let me tell you where, where the sun

Where the sun goes

Every time you’re feeling where the boys

Where the boys go

Looking for your fun for the sun

On a dark night

Everybody is looking 

But it doesn’t even feel right

Let me tell you where, where the night

Where the night goes

Rising from the ocean every morning 

Like a big ball

Let me tell you where, where the fun(?) 

Where the run(?) go

Back into the ocean where the boys

Where the boys go 

 

Run run run run 

Faster than the fading sun

And if you keep on running out of bed

Just before our love’s begun

We’ve gotta find a reason 

For this life

Hyperlove living 

Just about(?) the modern times

 

Let me tell you where, where the sun

Where the sun goes

Let me tell you here where the boys

Where the boys go

Looking for your fun, for your fun

On a dark night

Everybody is looking 

But it doesn’t even feel right 

Let me tell you where, where the night

Where the night goes

Rising from the ocean in the morning

Like a gold ball

Let me tell you where did ….?…. 

Where did…..?…. go

Back into the ocean where the boys

Where the boys go

 

Run run run run 

Faster than the fading sun

If you keep running out of bed 

Just before our love’s begun

We’ve gotta find a reason 

For this life

Hyperlove living 

Just to try(?) the modern times

All this hyperlove living

Just about(?) the modern times

 

Every morning where the ….?…. go

 

Run run run run 

Faster than the fading sun

If you keep running out of bed 

Just before our love’s begun

We’ve gotta find a reason 

For this life

Hyperlove living 

Just to try(?) the modern times

Hyper love, baby 

Justify(?) the modern times

 

 

I just listened again with my good headphones and I think in fact he always sings "justify the modern times". I had been wondering about this line all day, heard the same as you, "just about", but something didn't seem right about it. Justify makes sense. Also I'm not sure if it's "we gotta find a reason" or "we can't find a reason"? But I don't understand the last part of the verse either, it sounds like "where the raw go", but that doesn't make sense. Also in the first chorus I think I hear "running out of breath", but in the others it's clearly "bed" - would both make sense, but I suppose it's the same in every chorus, so probably bed is right in the first one too.

 

 

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9 hours ago, mellody said:

 

I just listened again with my good headphones and I think in fact he always sings "justify the modern times". I had been wondering about this line all day, heard the same as you, "just about", but something didn't seem right about it. Justify makes sense. Also I'm not sure if it's "we gotta find a reason" or "we can't find a reason"? But I don't understand the last part of the verse either, it sounds like "where the raw go", but that doesn't make sense. Also in the first chorus I think I hear "running out of breath", but in the others it's clearly "bed" - would both make sense, but I suppose it's the same in every chorus, so probably bed is right in the first one too.

 

 

It could very well be, listening to it more carefully.

Also “dark night” could also be “tight knot”. I heard “tight knot” in Amanda’s video and “dark night” in Nina’s! 
 

I wouldn’t be surprised if he would change it up at future gigs :biggrin2:

Edited by holdingyourdrink
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I love that song. It's hypnotizing :lustslow:

Now that we have good sound and that I can hear clearly Mika's voice over the music I'm in love :wub2: I have it on repeat and I love driving and playing top loud in my car. I can't wait to hear it at a concert, it's one of those songs that makes you want to dance for ever :wootjump:

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Finally ! :wub2:

 

I like this song. I immediately loved the "run, run, run" part and all the second part is great !  At the beginning I was surprised by the urban vibes, and I wasn't especially fan of the first part. But I had the same sensation with "Celebrate" when I heard it the first time, so I knew it would grow in me. And that's the case. Now I'm not surprised anymore, I really love all of the song :wub2:

 

The song reminds me "China boy", it made me remember when  he sang it as Celebrate's intro at Colmar in 2013, though I didn't think of that for a long time. Also I see a little of the instrumental part of the live version of "Love today" from the Revelation Tour in the instrumental part there, not the melody or something, but the vibes (and the fact that's instrumental) I also appreciate the "rock" vibe the instrumental gives me. Though I'm curious to hear the studio version, I think that's really the perfect song for live. That would be nice if I could hear it this summer, though I don't have any illusions on the subject. 

 

Also, don't know how to explain it, but even if this song is definitely not at all like "Tiny Love", it gives me the same sensation of "concept song". Like, I saw the "Tiny love" melody like if I felt all nuances of love in it, there, I really feels the frantic, though sometimes dull, "modern times" in the melody and the music. It feels like there's the sang lyrics, but we understand the lyrics without actually know its though the piano. It's hard to explain, because well, what I say is what music is, but I feel it's somehow different and more explicit there, like it was in "Tiny love", at least from my feelings. 

 

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14 minutes ago, Presci1108 said:

Also I see a little of the instrumental part of the live version of "Love today" from the Revelation Tour in the instrumental part there, not the melody or something, but the vibes (and the fact that's instrumental) I also appreciate the "rock" vibe the instrumental gives me.

 

Same, I also thought of Love Today when I heard that part. 

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1 hour ago, Presci1108 said:

Like, I saw the "Tiny love" melody like if I felt all nuances of love in it, there, I really feels the frantic, though sometimes dull, "modern times" in the melody and the music

 

As I said in one of my previous posts, I also get the feeling of the meaning in the music of this song, as you say frantic and sometimes dull, I described it as dissatisfying and empty - and all of that is also in the lyrics. I wouldn't have put it in one league with Tiny Love, but you're right, it's the same principle. Just a very different topic. I thought of Underwater, where the part with "underwater, underwater, I can live underwater" has these background sounds like air bubbles underwater - in the symphonic version it's even stronger, when the long "underwaateeeer" feels like waves building up and breaking over you. I get goosebumps just thinking about it. That's really perfection in songwriting and production, if you are able to get the point of the song across to anyone who doesn't listen to or can't understand the lyrics. :mikalove:

In any case, Modern Times feels authentic to me. You compared it with Celebrate, and I gotta say, although I liked dancing to Celebrate at the gigs, I was disappointed by the commerciality of it when I first heard it, it felt forced to me and not authentic at all. Meanwhile I think I understand what Mika wanted to say with the lyrics, and since then I really enjoy listening to it again, because unlike I first thought it's not just about partying and having a good time, but the lyrics are rather personal (at least from how I interpret them). 

 

Anyway, Modern Times might sound like other songs you hear on the charts these days, but not in a forced way, not like "I want to make a song that has to be a hit", but one that hits the zeitgeist really naturally, because the artist can relate to it and dares to be authentic and honest, just say things like they are and be critical. Not only in the lyrics, but also with the sound. I don't know if a song that gives you the feeling of frenzy and dissatisfaction can be a hit, but it's not the point of this song to be a hit - still you can't get it out of your head, and maybe exactly this combination might make it a hit. And if not, who cares. I'm looking forward to hear it at the gigs (and the melodic ones too, lol! :teehee:)!

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Listening to this song again and for the first verse I don't hear "Looking for your fun for the sun", I hear "for your son" at the end. Which makes me wonder if the second line for each verse has the word son instead of sun, however the first line of each verse could still be sun. I also think at the end of the chorus that it is "justify the modern times" rather than "Just about the modern times". I'm usually pretty good at picking up lyrics but for the second verse near the end I'm not sure either if he sings "raw go" or "where did they all go?", even with enhanced audio on my phone I can't tell.

 

   I've listened to it quite a few times now and I thought I'd share a bit more about my own interpretation of the song. As I've said before I feel that it's mainly about Mika's younger years and how he may have struggled to find a place to belong. The lines "Where the boys go, Looking for your fun, for your fun, On a dark night" make me think of the times Mika has spoken about going to gay bars and clubs and just letting himself be who he wants to be and live in the moment. The song seems to reflect how Mika wanted to be amongst others like him to be part of a community.
   The chorus indicates a sense of running away, maybe even hiding from something or more likely someone. The line "running out of bed, Just before our love’s begun" makes me think of how some people rush into things too soon, especially relationships, and then those people are unsure of where to go next (metaphorically speaking). It definitely reflects the fastness of dating in "Modern Times"! However the next line "We’ve gotta find a reason, For this life", comes away from not wanting to hide anymore, whether Mika means life in general or love life, I'm not sure, but it could relate to either or both. I think the chorus bridges the gap between once being part of an older generation and then understanding a newer one. It also gives a sense of holding onto a relationship and finding that reason to make it work.
   Modern Times also reminds of Bronksi Beats 'Smalltown Boy', not the music or melody but the story behind it. Smalltown Boy is about struggling to fit into society when you're different from everyone else, i.e part of the LGBT+ community, both songs reference running away from something but also wanting to be part of something new.
  It also reminds me of Good Guys, however now instead of asking where the gay guys have gone Mika is telling the story of where they go.

 

Long interpretation I know! I sometimes have a habit of overthinking things 😅 

 

  When I first heard Modern Times I did mention that I thought it could be the song from the snippet Mika shared a while back, because of similar lyrics.

 

@crazyaboutmika shared the snippet on page 2 if you want to give it a listen.

 

However I realise now that they do sound different but it has made me think of something. Mika has spoken of having two halves of himself, he his doing two different tours and writing two albums. At first I thought that one album will be studio recorded and the other live or symphonic. 
Now, however, I'm wondering if both albums will be studio albums, each reflecting two different sides to Mika. Each song on one album could have a counter song on the other, and you would have to flip between both to understand the meaning behind them. I don't know if an artist has done anything like that before, and Mika did say "Change in every way", you never know, this idea could be something Mika is already working on! 😁

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1 hour ago, TinyLove_CJ said:

Listening to this song again and for the first verse I don't hear "Looking for your fun for the sun", I hear "for your son" at the end. Which makes me wonder if the second line for each verse has the word son instead of sun, however the first line of each verse could still be sun.

Well, I wonder if it is a “potatoes or potatoes” thing (wow written down the point really does not come across AT ALL :lol3: but you know what I mean!). I wondered the same about “like a big ball”. If you listen to it the first time, it could also be bowl. However it didn’t make sense lyrically wise, so I assumed it was ball
 

It’s like Mika singing “Unterwater” with a clear “t” (more British, if I may say so), but says “matter” without the overly pronounced “t” (more American). I think he just pronounces it the way he does and makes us discuss it on the forum :lol3:

Edited by holdingyourdrink
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1 hour ago, TinyLove_CJ said:

Now, however, I'm wondering if both albums will be studio albums, each reflecting two different sides to Mika. Each song on one album could have a counter song on the other, and you would have to flip between both to understand the meaning behind them. I don't know if an artist has done anything like that before, and Mika did say "Change in every way", you never know, this idea could be something Mika is already working on!

 

Wow, that's a brilliant idea! I'd love that. He has done something a little bit like that with Make You Happy, not his 2 sides but his and his partner's, same song with different lyrics and production, the LA and the Miami version. Who knows, maybe you're right and he extended this idea. Would definitely be interesting!

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Thinking about it some more, the lyrics of WAG come to my mind, 'running from running' ... and also, in the one video with Amy, he said "Mika Holbrook", maybe that was a hint to something like @TinyLove_CJ suggested? Iirc that was the song with "tell me why the door is still unopened / why are your clothes still on the floor", something like that, so it's more about someone who does NOT leave Mika's bed before love begins, kinda like the other side of it...? Ok it's getting complicated, lol! But I love it to have the feeling that a puzzle is slowly starting to show an image - even if I might be wrong and will have to rearrange the pieces in my mind when we get more info. :lol: But it's fun.

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1 hour ago, holdingyourdrink said:

Well, I wonder if it is a “potatoes or potatoes” thing (wow written down the point really does not come across AT ALL :lol3: but you know what I mean!). I wondered the same about “like a big ball”. If you listen to it the first time, it could also be bowl. However it didn’t make sense lyrically wise, so I assumed it was ball
 

It’s like Mika singing “Unterwater” with a clear “t” (more British, if I may say so), but says “matter” without the overly pronounced “t” (more American). I think he just pronounces it the way he does and makes us discuss it on the forum :lol3:

Of course he does it on purpose :naughty: It's the same in his interviews because he loves to keep the subs team busy as well :lmao: so we can watch his videos again and again and discus about what word he really meant (aka "a little money" that sounded like "a little bunny" ) my theory being a burp came in the way and turned the little money into a little bunny :lmao:

I even told him that once in one of my yearbook "message to Mika" but I am afraid he didn't follow my advice :shun:

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Okay okay!!! You can hear the instruments better in this one and it sounds a lot more interesting as it has more depth now in terms of instrumentals. Also Mika saying 'And it has ONE fan!!' cracked me up. The poor guy must've been so nervous. I feel he's always quite anxious about performing new material. Back in 2010 they played the record version of Kick-Ass after the concert, and my Mother and I saw him peak through the curtains, looking at peoples reactions to the song. His whole body screamed anxiety. 

 

I also feel like the 'urban' parts will have a mic effect, a more radio tone if that makes sense? And it'll then switch to his own regular voice in the chorus parts.

Edited by Maaikie...
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