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SPIEGEL review


violet_sky

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a nice article also containing beautiful pics on the site

 

http://www.spiegel.de/kultur/musik/0,1518,475416,00.html

 

Mika admits not to be particularly good at ball games but he also says he's quite good at waterskiing.

 

Is that supposed to mean...

 

...new material for the official body hair thread? :roftl:

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:blink: thought he was afraid of water..guess he has to be really good at it then, so he doesn't fall into the water :mf_rosetinted:

AHA! Well spotted Kata. I knew there was something that didn't quite make sense about him liking waterskiing. Wonder if he meant it as a joke..

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:roftl: :roftl: :roftl:

 

I have to add that in the same article they also told that odd story with Freddie Mercury's piano

 

(...that MIKA borrowed it to increase his inspiration and stuff....)

 

so watch out!

 

But I thought the pics were nice :wink2:

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yeah great pic thx 4 posting but i cant read it either, weird bout the water-ski, not a good idea if you dont like water. I hate water, i cant even swim!! so no water-ski 4 me!!!

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I thought he just didn't like the water because of the fish and whats below the sea and stuff maybe he waterski's somewhere else?

 

Could anyone translate this article or tell us any more interesting facts that they mention?

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Same here <3 He's DELISH!

 

And isn't his real name mica? Will we ever get a straight answer???

 

It IS Mica.. He said that himself, and in old things about him (for example on the musical page from 2002) it says Mica

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a nice article also containing beautiful pics on the site

 

http://www.spiegel.de/kultur/musik/0,1518,475416,00.html

 

Mika admits not to be particularly good at ball games but he also says he's quite good at waterskiing.

 

Is that supposed to mean...

 

...new material for the official body hair thread? :roftl:

 

I've some problems with deutch...but pics are wonderful...:punk:

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I'll do the second part tomorrow :wink2:

 

MIKA – GREAT WITH HOPE

 

Too colorful for Pop?

 

German review by Jan Kedves

 

The international pop circus is marveling at a new gaudy attraction: UK’s future’s name is Mika, currently impressing by his exalted air and a voice that suits the opera.

If the world actually was as colorful as according to young pop singer Mika’s debut album cover, we could also expect a black and white cinema revival as well as the comeback of the twelve note music, what is by no means supposed to indicate that his music sounded unbearable. However it should be mentioned that it is by far not mean, neither in the visual nor in the acoustic sense, with what English pop language states as “too much".

 

Newcomer Mika: "The time is right to become a pop star."

 

"Too much", this is the essence of camp of course, that Susan Sontag once analyzed to the spot as a remarkably cultural sensitivity. Camp pleasurably obverts traditional values and for recent observers of the pop business it is clear: The time is right for camp. The Darkness, Scissor Sisters, Robbie Williams, they are all known for exalted gestures, for crazy costumes and dramatically exaggerated falsetto. And everybody thinks it is great.

 

"The time is right to become a pop star.", also Mika, 23-year old lanky lightheaded guy states. His songs are catchy to an extend that initially gives the impression of cover versions. Mika remains untouched by the crisis the whole music industry is currently supposed to be suffering from. These days his single “Grace Kelly” is No. 10 in the German single charts, which must be rather a defeat for him for in the UK he was on top with the same song in the middle of January already. Since then, Mika can claim himself the first artist ever to make it to the top of the charts in the UK without physical release. This is due to a change of rules conducted early this year, permitting the consideration of digital downloads.

 

The man with the Mozart curls

 

Mikas civil name is Michael Penniman. (*Not true, I know but I'm just the translator :wink2:* )Son of an American father and a Lebanese mother, he is nothing less than the latest pop miracle. The road out of nowhere to stardom led the williwaw from Beirut via Paris and his mother’s chanson collection (Tino Rossi, Nana Mouskouri) as well as a late obsession for the ragga-macho Shabba Ranks (Mr. Loverman) right into London’s Royal College of Music, where he trained his opera falsetto. But not for long: Mariah Carey’s ex husband and former Sony boss Tommy Mottola signed him for his

label Casablanca records.

 

Most obviously Mottola was impressed by the mozart-curled boy’s way of writing his own songs, producing them by himself, performing on the piano and as well drawing his own cartoons. Is there anything at all, Mika is not good at? „Ball games” the singer admits during the interview. „But I’m good at waterskiing!“ However, instead of talking about his private life he prefers stating his pride to be currently the only artist signed under Casablanca.

 

We remember that Casablanca Records once brought the world Kiss’ hits, as well as those by Donna Summer and the Village People. Therefore it seems to be the right place for Mika’s universal pop mix. It is not surprising that this kind of music polarizes: A critic of the british „Guardian“ refused to detect anything artful, but just pure copying. In his review he only conceded one out of ten points to the album "Life In Cartoon Motion". This evoked Oueen veteran Brian May’s protective instinct immediately. He took sides with Mika and proposed the newspaper critic to play the tambourin in future for he had missed his calling.

 

 

***

this is to be continued with part two...

Good night :wink2:

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Look forward to the second part.

You don't only waterski in the sea you can do it on lakes too, they have waterski parks just outside of Reading (you can see it from the M4 on he way to London) and one close to me on the other side of Cirencester in Gloucestershire, and I'm pretty sure they don't have fish in them.

I love the way they make Mozart references to Mika. I went to Mozarts house when I went to Vienna a while back, and it's not that big, but it's quite impressive. If he hasn't already, Mika should go there and soak up the atmosphere, he could write a song about Mozart, like Falco did!

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Cartoons and confetti aces

 

"Relax, take it easy", that’s what Mika could have warbled right into the faces of those quarreling gentlemen. It is the title of one of his songs, proving that there is not the slightest trace of fear using a key word which has been supposed to be lost forever for the pop vocabulary since Frankie Goes To Hollywood ("Relax, don't do it!") and the Scissor Sisters ("Relax, I need some information first!). Mika says "I don’t think it is difficult to write inventive songs – nowadays there are so many things you can get inspired by though!”

 

So stoppages are completely alien to the newly minted great with hope. He personally jets to Silicon Valley in order to discuss iTunes development manager’s persistant disability of integrating gaudy flash booklets into their online shop. In between he poses for Paul Smith’s latest campaign and rents Freddie Mercury’s original piano in order to get inspired (*I’m just the translator*) And then – click! – he checks his proper myspace profile to jolly his fans along by short messages (*I’m not sure if here instead of short messages IMs are meant*). It is a matter of fact that these days Mika hardly gets around to relaxing and taking it easy, which is just boosting his hyperactivity on stage.

 

Mika tells us: "My ideal live show is lika a colorful circus, containing all the characters I have invented for my artwork. The Royal Sympathy Band, Lollipop Girl or Big Girl. I want them all to be in there!" Cartoon characters dancing around confetti canons and actors in bear costumes walking among the audience to appal the public.“ Pop, especially pop of the camp sort can really do with exaggerations like these. “As soon as I am successful in Germany and have the opportunity to perform in large concert halls, I’ll take along the whole circus,“ he promises.

 

That may sound like a threat. But it is a matter of fact already that this year won’t get any more colourful than with Mika.

 

 

***

 

That’s it, I think it is quite compleasant, althought there’s again a lot of false gossip in there like the stuff with Freddie’s piano…. The waterskiing, well, I can imagine he has said that, but whether it is true or was a joke is hard to say – I haven’t been there…

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