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Post subject: Well, I guess Mika is one of ours...
 Posted: Mar 19, 2007 - 11:14 AM
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Joined: Sep 06, 2006
Posts: 1195
Location: Valhalla Mountains, British Columbia, Canada
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"My sexuality is in my music
Quote:
Pop sensation Mika is baffled by critics' claims he is hiding his sexuality -- insisting his preference is obvious to anyone who listens to his songs.
[...]
He says, "People say, 'You don't talk about sexuality because you're worried about success in the US.' "I say, 'Have you heard the f**king album?' There's a song about a married man who has a homosexual affair. There's no enigma."
This is good; I've only heard the one song so far, but I quite liked it. Very Freddy Mercury-ish. (No boom-boom-boom-boom, though Fer -- sorry.) |
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"The dignity of an animal is measured by his capacity to revolt in the face of oppression." -- Mikhail Bakunin
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Post subject:
Posted: Mar 21, 2007 - 11:11 PM
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Joined: Sep 06, 2006
Posts: 1195
Location: Valhalla Mountains, British Columbia, Canada
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Well, I just heard my second song by Mika -- "Lollipop". OMG it's total pop bubblegum, and infectious as hell. I can tell this guy is gonna become one of my secret guilty pleasures. 
Ooops! I gues it's not a secret any more.  |
_________________
"The dignity of an animal is measured by his capacity to revolt in the face of oppression." -- Mikhail Bakunin
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Post subject:
Posted: Mar 22, 2007 - 03:18 AM
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Joined: Sep 06, 2006
Posts: 1754
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| Now all he has to do is come out. "Closet Pop" is not one of the genres on my current playlist. |
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"If you want the freedom, the abilities, you have to find a way. Just don't be so passive. We are capable of so much more." -- Larry Kramer
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Post subject:
Posted: Mar 24, 2007 - 04:03 PM
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Joined: Sep 06, 2006
Posts: 1754
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Pop star Mika gets gay death threat
Quote:
The Beirut-born pop singer has revealed that he gets hate messages and even a death threat.
"It was over whether I am gay or not. He wasn't happy that I won't talk about my personal life like that. Sometimes I think that I have made it, other times it is a bit worrying," he told thisislondon.co.uk
It's all just vague enough to be... vague. People shouldn't send other people death threats... it's illegal and wrong.
Quote:
"I never talk about anything to do with my sexuality. I just don't think I need to. People ask me all the time. But I just don't see the point," he said, according to contactmusic.com
"In order to survive I've kind of shut up different parts of my life, and that's one of them, especially this early in my career.
"I don't really feel that it's necessary to know in terms of my music. Some people make records that are defined by their sexuality but mine really are not.
Herein lies the confusion (and cruel it is, too, for PinkNews to be combining quotes from different sources and different interviews on different subjects -- naughty, naughty).
Mika says he's had to shut up different parts of his life "in order to survive." Time will tell just which other parts of his life need to be squirreled away "in order to survive." My guess is that the list of "different parts of my life" includes only one real entry. Then he switches gears to go on about his records. Quite apart from whether his records are or are not "defined by their sexuality," this isn't about records. It's about this notion that some parts of one's life need to be shut up "in order to survive" and the message that holding this position sends. |
_________________
"If you want the freedom, the abilities, you have to find a way. Just don't be so passive. We are capable of so much more." -- Larry Kramer
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Post subject:
Posted: Mar 28, 2007 - 07:00 AM
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Joined: Sep 06, 2006
Posts: 1754
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'berto wrote:
"Lollipop". OMG it's total pop bubblegum, and infectious as hell.
I actually bought this song today. I found it more than a little heterosexual, but I can see how one might get infected by it if they were able to overlook it's laser-like focus (not that I can actually imagine being able to do anything of the kind). It's quite catchy -- rather like Cyndi Lauper's rendition of "Iko Iko." (This is a compliment, by the way -- a bit of an inside joke that maybe three people in the world would get. None of the three are especially fond of "Iko Iko" -- this would be because of my excessive fondness for the tune.)
I perscribe a liberal application of Spoilsport's Frosted. It'll clear that nasty infection right up.  Peto-a-go-go's "Sugarcoated" will probably work as well, as will Jonny McGovern's "Soccer Practice." |
_________________
"If you want the freedom, the abilities, you have to find a way. Just don't be so passive. We are capable of so much more." -- Larry Kramer
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Post subject:
Posted: Mar 29, 2007 - 09:08 AM
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Joined: Sep 06, 2006
Posts: 1195
Location: Valhalla Mountains, British Columbia, Canada
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I heart "Soccer Practice".  |
_________________
"The dignity of an animal is measured by his capacity to revolt in the face of oppression." -- Mikhail Bakunin
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Post subject:
Posted: Mar 29, 2007 - 09:18 AM
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Joined: Sep 06, 2006
Posts: 1754
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LOL
I'm downloading the entire "Dirty Gay Hits" album from iTunes right now.
All that heterosexual lollipopping is rotting my brain. I'm afraid it's metastisized into the Archies' "Sugar Sugar" (though at least it's an electronica re-mix). |
_________________
"If you want the freedom, the abilities, you have to find a way. Just don't be so passive. We are capable of so much more." -- Larry Kramer
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Post subject:
Posted: Mar 29, 2007 - 09:27 AM
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Joined: Sep 06, 2006
Posts: 1195
Location: Valhalla Mountains, British Columbia, Canada
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| Question: is it possible to buy these tunes w/o a credit card? And how much do they charge per tune? |
_________________
"The dignity of an animal is measured by his capacity to revolt in the face of oppression." -- Mikhail Bakunin
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Post subject:
Posted: Mar 29, 2007 - 09:47 AM
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Joined: Sep 06, 2006
Posts: 1754
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Why yes.
There are pre-paid gift cards. In my neck of the woods they are available in any music store, pharmacy, or grocery store. They were available in the last gas station I had the occasion to visit, though I don't know how universal that trend is (not having a car and so not having many occasions to visit various gas stations). Your mileage may vary (living in a Megalopolis has a few virtues). The denominations commonly sold here are $15 and $25, though I imagine they may sell them in other values as well.
The charge is a hideously oppressive US$0.99 per tune. Most albums cost around $10, though some sell for much more. Most albums are also available by the song, and since most albums are also at least 30% toad poo, it's generally a fine thing to just snag the tunes you want. (Mika's album, as it happens, is only partly available as individual songs -- If you want the entire thing, you must buy it from some other venue. Yeah, right... like I'll be leaving the house to pay money for "take a look at the girl next door.")
The software is a monstrous download (took me about 6 hours), though the Mac version may be lighter. Of course, it's entirely worth it, because then you can buy Jonny McGovern's NEW album in addition to his old one. |
_________________
"If you want the freedom, the abilities, you have to find a way. Just don't be so passive. We are capable of so much more." -- Larry Kramer
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Post subject:
Posted: Mar 29, 2007 - 10:17 AM
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Joined: Sep 06, 2006
Posts: 1195
Location: Valhalla Mountains, British Columbia, Canada
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| As ever, you are a positive FONT of information, dear boy. *mmmmwwwaaahhhh* |
_________________
"The dignity of an animal is measured by his capacity to revolt in the face of oppression." -- Mikhail Bakunin
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Post subject:
Posted: Mar 29, 2007 - 10:19 AM
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Joined: Sep 06, 2006
Posts: 1754
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I am NOT a font.
I am a faucet... a faucet that occasionally drips. |
_________________
"If you want the freedom, the abilities, you have to find a way. Just don't be so passive. We are capable of so much more." -- Larry Kramer
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Post subject:
Posted: Mar 29, 2007 - 10:20 AM
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Joined: Sep 06, 2006
Posts: 1195
Location: Valhalla Mountains, British Columbia, Canada
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Quote:
The software is a monstrous download (took me about 6 hours), though the Mac version may be lighter. Of course, it's entirely worth it, because then you can buy Jonny McGovern's NEW album in addition to his old one.
Well, I have the option to download it on high-speed at my buddy's office, burn it to disc and then load it onto my home computer, so that would be kewl. |
_________________
"The dignity of an animal is measured by his capacity to revolt in the face of oppression." -- Mikhail Bakunin
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Post subject:
Posted: Mar 29, 2007 - 10:22 AM
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Joined: Sep 06, 2006
Posts: 1195
Location: Valhalla Mountains, British Columbia, Canada
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Quote:
I am NOT a font.
I beg to differ. Sans serif, unless I miss my guess.  |
_________________
"The dignity of an animal is measured by his capacity to revolt in the face of oppression." -- Mikhail Bakunin
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Post subject:
Posted: Apr 10, 2007 - 04:56 PM
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Joined: Sep 06, 2006
Posts: 1195
Location: Valhalla Mountains, British Columbia, Canada
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| Well, I just heard my third Mika tune on the radio yesterday afternoon -- Billy Something-or-other -- about a married guy who falls in love with another guy. Good enough topic, but (unfortunately) I didn't find the tune itself as "catchy" as that Lollipop one... |
_________________
"The dignity of an animal is measured by his capacity to revolt in the face of oppression." -- Mikhail Bakunin
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Post subject:
Posted: Apr 10, 2007 - 07:01 PM
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Joined: Sep 06, 2006
Posts: 1754
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'berto wrote:
Well, I just heard my third Mika tune on the radio yesterday afternoon -- Billy Something-or-other -- about a married guy who falls in love with another guy. Good enough topic, but (unfortunately) I didn't find the tune itself as "catchy" as that Lollipop one...
Indeed -- "Billy Brown." I'm guessing that this would be the tune the singer refers to in the following quote --
Quote:
He says, "People say, 'You don't talk about sexuality because you're worried about success in the US.' "I say, 'Have you heard the f**king album?' There's a song about a married man who has a homosexual affair. There's no enigma."
Yes... there's a song about a married man who has a homosexual affair, then flies off to an island off the coast of Mexico where he finds a "girlie" who appreciates that he shares "the burden of his mind" when he makes love.
How very 'gay,' how very un-enigmatic.
In any event, you shall not find any other tunes on "Life in Cartoon Motion" that are as 'catchy' as "Lollipop." You will find a few pleasantly dismal dirges... at least I like several of them. I don't at all regret buying the album.
I am perplexed by this canard that Mika will not discuss sexuality because he is "worried about success in the US." Such things have proven less than problematic for some musicians. If he will not discuss such things, I think it would be for other reasons.
If there is a barrier to Mika's potential popularity in the US, I hardly think it would be that his music is "too gay." Rather, I would think it would more likely be that his music is "too English." The singer relies quite heavily on the idioms of the English "music hall." Freddy Mercury employed these idioms as well, but not (as I recall) in very many of the songs that sold well. The same can be said for Elton John, and why wouldn't it? Music hall is an enduring strain of English folk music -- it would be remarkable if an English singer did not at least acknowledge these cultural influences.
Who can tell -- Gilbert and Sullivan are not without aficionados in North America, and Monty Python and Benny Hill are likewise hardly "unknown" in the US market. Still, the Bee Gees were able to resurrect "Sargeant Pepper's" with some commercial success -- it's just been a while since jaunty little ditties like this have been all that popular.
Who knows... maybe the Emo kids will really dig it. |
_________________
"If you want the freedom, the abilities, you have to find a way. Just don't be so passive. We are capable of so much more." -- Larry Kramer
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Post subject:
Posted: May 30, 2007 - 03:43 AM
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Joined: Sep 06, 2006
Posts: 1754
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Andy Towle is asking:
Quote:
Is pop star Mika's refusal to answer questions about his own sexuality rubbing one segment of his potential fanbase the wrong way?
Says Mika:
Quote:
"I don't understand it. I've never taken sides on any gender. I like to confuse people but it would appear that the gay scene hasn't embraced my sound, or indeed, my look."
So, in answer to Andy's question -- oh, yeah... at least for a segment of his potential fanbase. Neutrality is not a virtuous position to take on this point, and I am perplexed as to why someone would think it was one.
I don't think this particular issue (if it exists at all -- it has the smell of a public relations employee about it) has anything at all to do with Mika's sound or look. Based on my own hearing of his latest album, it's an issue of content; there just isn't anything there that I feel like embracing. Closet Pop is not among my favored genres. Perhaps, after he comes out, he'll produce a new album that I can relate better to. |
_________________
"If you want the freedom, the abilities, you have to find a way. Just don't be so passive. We are capable of so much more." -- Larry Kramer
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