Music Video for Apocalypse Calypso

[QueenBigFat]

When you compare what Mika charges for a concert it is clear that he is not materialistic. Seems he would rather people would be able to afford to see him! Cares more about his fans than money.

[jajinka5]

Hello Mikafans,  _.mikafanpage recorded Mika-streaming yesterday, I didn't find it here. I asked her if I can post the video here and she said yes...this link is for her IG account

https://instagram.com/_.mikafanpage?igshid=YzAwZjE1ZTI0Zg==

[dcdeb]

OK, I could have gone overboard with multi-quoting, but decided to rein myself in a bit. You all said a lot that I want to reply to! I'll start with the simplest thing first:

 

22 hours ago, CharlotteL said:

I mean that's a rule we / the mods came up with ourselves though (right?). I've also been thinking about asking this in the lyrics discussion. What I'm a bit confused about is "on baise" is fine because it's in French but the literal translation "we f***" needs censoring because it's in English? And for example in popular "sh*t" is censored but the f-slur is spelled out?! All seems a bit arbitrary to me. Which I understand that's what rules are and you have to draw the line somewhere especially if you're in a space that's supposed to be inclusive to people of all ages. But at the same time I think there's also value in being able to quote lyrics as they are and freely discussing songs that are about sex.

 

So... not that you want a history lesson, but I guess that's what I'm going to give you. As Karin already said, back in the old days, we got a lot of spam here, and using seemed to attract a lot of porn and other other undesirable posts. Remember also that initially this was a mostly English forum. Started by English fans, moderated by English moderators, all speaking English. Mika was an English artist whose popularity hadn't really spread globally the way it has now, so all the English bad words were censored -- not by me, by the founders of this forum. So if you tried to type out w**ker or f**k or some other words, the system automatically supplied the **** censoring. Personally, I don't mind having the words censored, if many people find them offensive. But I can change/add/delete which words are bleeped out if we decide we want to do that going forward.

 

Now... on to the video discussion 

 

I agree with some of the points you all have made and disagree with others -- no surprise there, as we all must have our interpretations! For instance, I don't see Mika with the car in flames as a "hell boy" at all -- to me, the car symbolizes how you can be driving along the road, minding your own business, and suddenly your life can just burst into flames and everything is ablaze all around you (metaphorically speaking, of course). Like an apocalypse. Someone close to you dies. You lose your job. Your country goes to war. Your world blows up. And so you continue driving on, your car on fire, because you have no other choice but to continue.

 

To me the clones and also the painting of the yellow suit, sort of refer back to his earliest days, when record label executives wanted to turn him into the next generic pop star. I remember the little cartoon teaser for the first album that showed all the generic pop stars, and then the one stand-out, Mika! And I mean, the guy is quite literally white-washing Mika in the suit-painting scene, changing him from a brilliant yellow into a bland off-white.

 

I also think if the video's portraying Mika as any sort of angel, it's as a FALLEN angel -- the world has very clearly fallen on top of him, pinning him in place. Yes, he has his hands on it, but he's not holding it up, or lifting it, otherwise he surely would have just rolled it off and walked away. No, I think he feels the weight of it, and in the end it crushes him. In that last scene, I don't think he's sleeping.

 

But beyond that, rather than picking the video apart piece by piece and looking at each part under a microscope, I FEEL the video on a more macro level, I see it as a whole. From that point of view, it seems to me to represent the main concept of the song -- which is basically fighting against the odds, and saying "F*** you" to whatever might be trying to hold you back or bring you down, by continuing to do what you want to do, and who you want to do it with.

 

Let's see if I can explain better: He chose to do the video at Studio Job, with Job and his wife looking on. He's standing amidst lots of things that Job has created, many of those things specifically for Mika and his stage sets. We might have expected the video to have some dreamy, sensual love scenes, or some perfect romantic setting, with blue skies and green grass and fluffy white clouds. But instead we see an industrial warehouse with gray cinder block walls and concrete floors and a welder spewing sparks in one of the most unromantic settings you could imagine. So to me the whole video is about *making* the video or more specifically making *art*, with people he trusts looking on -- it's something that he loves to do, and he's doing it with people he loves working with, in a safe space, while who-knows-what turmoil is going on in the outside world. That is the ultimate poetic resistance, as he has talked about it before -- it is in a way akin to making love in the middle of an apocalypse to make yourself feel immortal or indestructible. And it is precisely because it is the extreme opposite of what we all might have been expecting from the lyrics and melody of the song that it works. It's Mika in a nutshell. IMO.

 

On 11/3/2023 at 4:19 PM, holdingyourdrink said:

His work has (always? I can’t answer this; I haven’t been a fan for long enough to know) been about poetic resistance rather than making a very specific statement. He answers with beauty, lyrics and imagery that is completely open to interpretation and in this way also inclusive; in the poetic sense of the word. That’s how I interpret his work anyway.  

 

I think that's very true. He very rarely will come right out and say, "This is what I meant by that." I think he prefers to let everyone interpret things the way they feel -- there's no "right" or "wrong" interpretation. For example, when people used to ask him what the song "Relax" was about, he would say it was about the bombings in London on July 7, 2005. While I'm sure that may have been the inspiration for the song, the starting point, I really don't think that's what the song is *about.*  What it's about he hasn't really said, it's up to you to decide for yourself. (Yes, of course I have theories! )

 

 

On 11/3/2023 at 4:00 PM, holdingyourdrink said:

I do have to admit that not being able to understand everything right away due to the language barrier is a little hurdle I have to overcome to get a feel for the song. However, thanks to Mika I am embracing the French language more and much faster. It’s already enriching me! 
 

So when the tour comes I can actually say more than just “bonjour” and “baguette” 

 

The language thing gets in my way more than a little bit, I can't deny it. And I am struggling to learn French. That's why I do appreciate this video so much -- it stimulates my imagination and creates more of a feeling for me, so that not fully understanding the words doesn't matter as much. Now if he can only make a similar video for each song on the album for me...

 

[Vero Bott]

I really like how everyone's perception of the video differs, it feels somewhat enriching  
Speaking for myself, it gives me positive vibes. As Mika lies under the glitter globe, I feel like no matter how hard you're knocked down, you can still "move the (your) world", in the right direction and desired speed.
Similarly with the scene with the fire behind the curtain - Mika comes out of there, strong, like a phoenix if you will.
The scene where he's being covered with the white paint - it looks a little bit like concrete to me - and again, even if it's hard, you can move your body and keep going.
In this golden scene, he seems fragile in the beginning, as if lacking love, but then again, he bursts into dance. 
Overall, to me, the video is packed with sensual, positive and hopeful atmosphere 🧡

I might be totally off, but that's just how the video and the song speak to me 

[QueenBigFat]

11 minutes ago, dcdeb said:

OK, I could have gone overboard with multi-quoting, but decided to rein myself in a bit. You all said a lot that I want to reply to! I'll start with the simplest thing first:

 

 

So... not that you want a history lesson, but I guess that's what I'm going to give you. As Karin already said, back in the old days, we got a lot of spam here, and using seemed to attract a lot of porn and other other undesirable posts. Remember also that initially this was a mostly English forum. Started by English fans, moderated by English moderators, all speaking English. Mika was an English artist whose popularity hadn't really spread globally the way it has now, so all the English bad words were censored -- not by me, by the founders of this forum. So if you tried to type out w**ker or f**k or some other words, the system automatically supplied the **** censoring. Personally, I don't mind having the words censored, if many people find them offensive. But I can change/add/delete which words are bleeped out if we decide we want to do that going forward.

 

Now... on to the video discussion 

 

I agree with some of the points you all have made and disagree with others -- no surprise there, as we all must have our interpretations! For instance, I don't see Mika with the car in flames as a "hell boy" at all -- to me, the car symbolizes how you can be driving along the road, minding your own business, and suddenly your life can just burst into flames and everything is ablaze all around you (metaphorically speaking, of course). Like an apocalypse. Someone close to you dies. You lose your job. Your country goes to war. Your world blows up. And so you continue driving on, your car on fire, because you have no other choice but to continue.

 

To me the clones and also the painting of the yellow suit, sort of refer back to his earliest days, when record label executives wanted to turn him into the next generic pop star. I remember the little cartoon teaser for the first album that showed all the generic pop stars, and then the one stand-out, Mika! And I mean, the guy is quite literally white-washing Mika in the suit-painting scene, changing him from a brilliant yellow into a bland off-white.

 

I also think if the video's portraying Mika as any sort of angel, it's as a FALLEN angel -- the world has very clearly fallen on top of him, pinning him in place. Yes, he has his hands on it, but he's not holding it up, or lifting it, otherwise he surely would have just rolled it off and walked away. No, I think he feels the weight of it, and in the end it crushes him. In that last scene, I don't think he's sleeping.

 

But beyond that, rather than picking the video apart piece by piece and looking at each part under a microscope, I FEEL the video on a more macro level, I see it as a whole. From that point of view, it seems to me to represent the main concept of the song -- which is basically fighting against the odds, and saying "F*** you" to whatever might be trying to hold you back or bring you down, by continuing to do what you want to do, and who you want to do it with.

 

Let's see if I can explain better: He chose to do the video at Studio Job, with Job and his wife looking on. He's standing amidst lots of things that Job has created, many of those things specifically for Mika and his stage sets. We might have expected the video to have some dreamy, sensual love scenes, or some perfect romantic setting, with blue skies and green grass and fluffy white clouds. But instead we see an industrial warehouse with gray cinder block walls and concrete floors and a welder spewing sparks in one of the most unromantic settings you could imagine. So to me the whole video is about *making* the video or more specifically making *art*, with people he trusts looking on -- it's something that he loves to do, and he's doing it with people he loves working with, in a safe space, while who-knows-what turmoil is going on in the outside world. That is the ultimate poetic resistance, as he has talked about it before -- it is in a way akin to making love in the middle of an apocalypse to make yourself feel immortal or indestructible. And it is precisely because it is the extreme opposite of what we all might have been expecting from the lyrics and melody of the song that it works. It's Mika in a nutshell. IMO.

 

 

 

 

Wow.

[Anna Ko Kolkowska]

I have a deja vu from our discussion about Tiny Love video meanings 

Each of us has our own interpretation and as Deb said - there no wrong one or the only good one.

All is depending on our education, culture, religion, believes, life experiences ect.

And I am sure that Mika does it on purpose. And it's great that what he is doing is so multi dimensional and not straight forwarded. 

C'est la vie , c'est la vie la vie dam dam.

 

I have several different interpretations about any of his "characters" because symbols can have several meanings depending of the story we want to tell 

Edited November 4, 2023 by Anna Ko Kolkowska

[dcdeb]

2 hours ago, Anna Ko Kolkowska said:

I have a deja vu from our discussion about Tiny Love video meanings 

Each of us has our own interpretation and as Deb said - there no wrong one or the only good one.

All is depending on our education, culture, religion, believes, life experiences ect.

And I am sure that Mika does it on purpose. And it's great that what he is doing is so multi dimensional and not straight forwarded. 

C'est la vie , c'est la vie la vie dam dam.

 

I have several different interpretations about any of his "characters" because symbols can have several meanings depending of the story we want to tell 

 

Yes, and I should have added that I love reading everyone else's interpretations, because they help me and inform my own opinions in new ways. So thank you all for sharing!

[QueenBigFat]

I have changed some about this song and video. It is still not my favorite Mikamelody, but it has taken its place in the earworm farm. His early explanation of the title, which had upset me, well, truly, I have not seen him describe its meaning in exactly the same way since, with the same emphasis, so I wonder if  it was just a translation issue. And I agree with dcdeb in that the video, while not containing any of the romantic or sexual aspects that the lyrics are about, is layered with complex issues that may represent his view of the apocalypse. So….the title’s concepts are split, lyrics vs visuals, with seemingly no relationship between the two, no allusion, even, one to the other. Not the relationship he suggests when he talks about the song. A juxtaposition, really. Contrast. I do not see this as a song about how wonderful making love during the apocalypse is, as much as it is about making love in spite of it, to separate, to disconnect. He sings above what we see happening to him.

 

But here is what it comes down to for me, at this moment: he is thrilled and delighted. I don’t have to love the song to love that.

Edited November 5, 2023 by QueenBigFat

[tiibet]

16 hours ago, holdingyourdrink said:

I’ve just read @tiibet’s Facebook post and she mentioned that Mika being surrounded by golden things symbolizes materialism to her (if I’m saying this wrong, please correct me, Nina!). Surrounding himself with expensive looking things, enjoying it in a way, but in the end also walking away from it at the end of the video. I actually tend to agree with her. The worth of life is not in materialism, in the end is love - what the song is ultimately about, even though it gets quite physical. 

Oh thanks for reading my rambling Saturday afternoon thoughts! I wasn't actually thinking of the word "materialism" at that point, I was simply looking at him in the middle of those items that are painted golden and wondered if they represent something that is real gold (something that is genuinely valuable) or something that is made to look like gold (maybe something expensive that people seem to want). And he was dancing there and seemed to enjoy himself and then he left the room.

 

@dcdeb  I agree with you about the fallen angel, that was my first thought as well. He looks exactly like fallen angels in films and I thought I watch too much Netflix but I guess someone else does as well, they made him look so exact. I would really like to see the wings on stage but of course, who knows what he plans.

 

More than the angel theme the scene makes me think of our moral decisions. Whatever took him in a situation where he feels the world is crushing him was still something he knew is the right thing to do because that's what guides his actions. Also, I guess I want to think the ending a bit differently. Mika can occasionally feel that world is crushing him but I want to believe in the end he's the one who is holding it. He does what he feels is right and in the end he holds the world in his hands.

 

The video is basically a music video filmed in an art exhibition but I really like the result. They have managed to create several scenes  that can be seen so differently. Very thought-provoking, love it when he does that. I've always liked this collaboration, very good quality. 

[holdingyourdrink]

11 hours ago, dcdeb said:

To me the clones and also the painting of the yellow suit, sort of refer back to his earliest days, when record label executives wanted to turn him into the next generic pop star. I remember the little cartoon teaser for the first album that showed all the generic pop stars, and then the one stand-out, Mika! And I mean, the guy is quite literally white-washing Mika in the suit-painting scene, changing him from a brilliant yellow into a bland off-white.

This is a very interesting interpretation. I agree with the feeling you get seeing the “army of Mika’s” (can you imagine? One Mika is truly more than enough!!), that he needs to conform. However, given todays society and the demands that are being made - especially with people from the entertainment industry - you need to be everywhere at once, be amazing always and consistently delivering….otherwise you’re out. You can only do that if you clone yourself. 
 

11 hours ago, dcdeb said:

I also think if the video's portraying Mika as any sort of angel, it's as a FALLEN angel -- the world has very clearly fallen on top of him, pinning him in place. Yes, he has his hands on it, but he's not holding it up, or lifting it, otherwise he surely would have just rolled it off and walked away. No, I think he feels the weight of it, and in the end it crushes him. In that last scene, I don't think he's sleeping.

I also agree with him portraying a falling angel there. He is succumbing to the weight of expectations, demands and hopes from everything and everyone. From family to friends to the record company to promoting companies and also fans from all over the world.

 

The more I think about it. 
 

He starts off with just him and the piano. His fabulous pink suit and a piano with wings: he is free to move and create. There is nothing around him, just emptiness and it’s just him and his own energy.

 

Then comes the scene with him as a tin man like discoball, being created into a shining popstar.

He then enters the darkness.

 

He is still creating behind his piano, but in the meantime he is being molded more during the scene with the paper mache and the man painting his face. His movements are more restricted but he tries to still move around and break free. His spirit still very much there.

 

Then comes all the gold and all the shiny things. He is being pulled into a small hole and sits alone on the golden couch with golden things around him. He is being rewarded with materialism, but he is dancing alone. 
 

Then it switches between all scenes and the car with fire is introduced, the army of Mika’s is introduced and it’s all fabulous and amazing and fast and great.

 

Then there is a scene with Job and later with Job and his wife. They are there and spectators. Mika sat with Job without all fabulousness. Like a quiet place that he can trust.

 

In the ends he succumbs under the world. Very glittery. But he succumbs. 

[holdingyourdrink]

1 minute ago, tiibet said:

Oh thanks for reading my rambling Saturday afternoon thoughts! I wasn't actually thinking of the word "materialism" at that point, I was simply looking at him in the middle of those items that are painted golden and wondered if they represent something that is real gold (something that is genuinely valuable) or something that is made to look like gold (maybe something expensive that people seem to want). And he was dancing there and seemed to enjoy himself and then he left the room.

I love reading your ramblings! All ramblings really, that’s why this forum is so great to exchange and put our own perspective to it.

Something that is genuinely valuable or make to look expensive - I can totally see that and that’s actually very interesting: because whatever it is, in the mass of things. You just get blinded by the shininess.
The way I interpret it is that he leaves the room because he got bored with it. It’s nice to dance around shiny things, but it’s not there to stay - only when the light shines on it. 
 

5 minutes ago, tiibet said:

Also, I guess I want to think the ending a bit differently. Mika can occasionally feel that world is crushing him but I want to believe in the end he's the one who is holding it. He does what he feels is right and in the end he holds the world in his hands.

Oh I like this ending much more. I just watched it again and yes, it’s more open and not definite. 
Maybe he is just snoozing 

[carafon]

15 hours ago, dcdeb said:

 

To me the clones and also the painting of the yellow suit, sort of refer back to his earliest days, when record label executives wanted to turn him into the next generic pop star. I remember the little cartoon teaser for the first album that showed all the generic pop stars, and then the one stand-out, Mika! And I mean, the guy is quite literally white-washing Mika in the suit-painting scene, changing him from a brilliant yellow into a bland off-white.

 

The fact that the yellow suit seems to be in plastic made me think that they are trying to replace it with a more recyclable substance (seems to be "papier maché" ) because..... "plastic is not fantastic" 

( Statement that only French speaking people can understand and refering to this song that has nothing to do whith ecology .....  )

 

Back to the AC video ....

The fact that he's not totaly  covered by the white stuff may mean that it's too late or impossible to be 100% plastic free

 

Another idea was that it could be plaster and could explain that part of his neck is covered too . ....trying to repair his body 

15 hours ago, dcdeb said:

Let's see if I can explain better: He chose to do the video at Studio Job, with Job and his wife looking on. He's standing amidst lots of things that Job has created, many of those things specifically for Mika and his stage sets. We might have expected the video to have some dreamy, sensual love scenes, or some perfect romantic setting, with blue skies and green grass and fluffy white clouds. But instead we see an industrial warehouse with gray cinder block walls and concrete floors and a welder spewing sparks in one of the most unromantic settings you could imagine. So to me the whole video is about *making* the video or more specifically making *art*, with people he trusts looking on -- it's something that he loves to do, and he's doing it with people he loves working with, in a safe space, while who-knows-what turmoil is going on in the outside world. That is the ultimate poetic resistance, as he has talked about it before -- it is in a way akin to making love in the middle of an apocalypse to make yourself feel immortal or indestructible. And it is precisely because it is the extreme opposite of what we all might have been expecting from the lyrics and melody of the song that it works. It's Mika in a nutshell. IMO.

 

I see it as kind of a bunker where each character takes what he thinks may help him to face the apocalypse ..........but at the end it didn't work because making love was the solution and none of them didn't realise in time

Edited November 5, 2023 by carafon

[crazyaboutmika]

 I came here to say that yesterday I took caps of Apocalypse Calypso video and that I fell in love

Mika looks like a million dollar in it and he smiles and looks 🔥 Maybe I was too distracted by the music or the video goes too fast for me but I officially adore it now

Here are my caps 

 

https://www.instagram.com/reel/CzQ9LVWtbWz/?igshid=MzRlODBiNWFlZA==

Edited November 5, 2023 by crazyaboutmika

[Anna Ko Kolkowska]

And here we have a Behind The Scenes!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

 

 

[krysady]

16 minutes ago, Anna Ko Kolkowska said:

And here we have a Behind The Scenes!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

And as usual, I love the BTS video much more! 

Edited November 5, 2023 by krysady

[Mikasister]

 

[Anna Ko Kolkowska]

21 minutes ago, Anna Ko Kolkowska said:

And here we have a Behind The Scenes!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

 

 

 

And the video from Instagram.

A little bit different and with French subtitles.

 

 

 

[mellody]

Ha, that bts video gave me a new idea, and actually it's because of a misheard word!  He talks about the synths in the video, but when watching for the first time, I thought he said sins. So I thought, maybe his 7 characters represent the 7 deadly sins? I can see how some of them fit, like the angel who "controls" the world could be pride, the golden props could be greed, maybe the paper maché suit in which he can't move would be sloth... anyway I realize that some would be a very free interpretation. But maybe it's one of the inspirations he or the director had in mind.

 

 

[TinyLove_CJ]

Hands up if this whole time you've been pronouncing Job with a hard J... no, just me? 

[dcdeb]

 

5 minutes ago, TinyLove_CJ said:

Hands up if this whole time you've been pronouncing Job with a hard J... no, just me? 

 

No, I knew it was "Yob" but only because I heard him or someone say it a long time ago. Until then I actually thought it was "Johb" with a long O sound, like in the Bible.

[holdingyourdrink]

16 minutes ago, TinyLove_CJ said:

Hands up if this whole time you've been pronouncing Job with a hard J... no, just me? 

Aww don’t worry, I didn’t know how to pronounce “Worcester” for the first two decades of my life!

[CharlotteL]

On 11/4/2023 at 10:11 PM, dcdeb said:

So... not that you want a history lesson, but I guess that's what I'm going to give you.

I always want a MFC history lesson!

Especially when I question why things are the way they are, that just makes sense... So thanks

 

17 minutes ago, TinyLove_CJ said:

Hands up if this whole time you've been pronouncing Job with a hard J... no, just me? 

Nope I have too even though the J is pronounced softly like this in German as well...

[mellody]

21 minutes ago, TinyLove_CJ said:

Hands up if this whole time you've been pronouncing Job with a hard J... no, just me? 

 

Even more embarrassing, I now remember that I had heard Mika say the name a few years ago but had forgotten how it's pronounced - so yeah, same. 🙈

[crazyaboutmika]

On 11/4/2023 at 9:49 PM, jajinka5 said:

Hello Mikafans,  _.mikafanpage recorded Mika-streaming yesterday, I didn't find it here. I asked her if I can post the video here and she said yes...this link is for her IG account

https://instagram.com/_.mikafanpage?igshid=YzAwZjE1ZTI0Zg==

Thanks a million for finding and sharing this precious video    

[Anna Ko Kolkowska]

 

Looking inside the piano you can see something like a round patch.

Should we expect a new magic piano with something hidden inside?