AND HERE'S A BIT OF REPETITION...MIKA @ THE CULTURE SHOW

Current mood: PLASTIC GAY
Category: PLASTIC GAY Music

If you've been reading me for more than a couple of months, I most likely want to marry you. But if you're new why not read this old review, whilst i spend some quality time knocking up new ones??

MIKA @ THE CULTURE SHOW

Mika is a phenomena in waiting...

At least this is the hype.

So when I found out he was to appear on my weekly free lig, BBC2's The Culture Show, I was well pleased with my luck. You see, there's nothing more likely to enable the shrewd appraisal of a musical phenomena than catching them in person and on stage before the hype and the hooha gets too far out of hand.

Mika the Innocent

Innocence - This is how so many people enter the music business...The innocence and the naivety that their golden and creative soul is going to triumph over the world - that their creative genes are to be roundly lauded and loved into the history books...

Mika arrived on the Annex 2 set with a record company retinue: There was a man who's job it was to fluff his afro, a woman to maintain his makeup. There were 3 tall and instituionally, yet cleverly pretty PR girls and a few others who milled about and watched and answered phones and made plans for world domination...

Mika himself was smiling in light blue jeans. He was confident, calm and assured. He knew his moment was now - that everybody was talking about him and pointing 'There he is!' He knew he was about to perfom Grace Kelly, the song he'd written about how he'd been shunned by the very people that were now queueing up to love him. Better still, he knew he was to perform it via the medium of TV to the kind of culture vultures who could make him credible as well as a popular success...In short: He knew he was on a great big fucking wave.

And with all this weighing his shoulders, Mika appeared to be a complete sweetheart. He had the joy of performing and the excitement of doing exactly what he'd always wanted to do flowing through his veins. He knew he'd proved the doubters wrong and that he was about to start rubbing their faces in it. He didn't need the vice, depression and drugs of the seasonned hit maker, he was clean and fresh and running off endorphins and bright blue reality..

Once at the piano, Mika was consumate. He had time for banter with the sound guys, time for banter with the audience and time for banter with the presenter.

Innocence doesn't mean inadequacy. Mike had a savvy and a definite knowing about dealing with the questions posed in the pre-playing interview. He had the anecdotes about when Simon Cowell rejected him. He also knew that allying or comparing himself with any former melodic and operatic forerunnner like Freddie Mercury would be used a s a noose for his own neck.

He either knew or had been schooled in these things.

When he got down to playing, the acoustic version of Grace Kelly worked well. It was the first time I'd heard the song and since hearing it more or less everywhere since, it has my full support as a number one..

But is Mika good enough to be a phenomena??

Well, it's a few weeks since I saw him live and since then I've listened through the album Life in Cartoon Motion 5 or 6 times and I can't say I hear much that's phenomenal. It's too cabaret and just a little contrived for my liking.

Indeed, with the exception of Grace Kelly there aren't really any stand out tracks at all. Furthermore sickly sweet sacharine tracks like Lollipop are the sort of musical crime that makes you want to become a regular viewer of Songs of Praise...

Life in Cartoon Motion will certainly sell by the crate load, because when the music biz decides it has a phenomena, it keeps on rattling on about it until the records have sold and the artist appears grinning in photos with Elton John and is said to be loved by the surviving members of Queen. But whether Mika is and will last as a musical and creative force remains to be seen.

As far as i can see, though he might be talented, clever, well promoted and make millions, nothing he's doing musically is exciting or raw or vital. Furthermore it's just too plain and fluffy.

There's that saying that a country gets the politicians it deserves. Well, I reckon a country most likely gets the pop music it deserves too and Mika is right on the nail of that. We live in a time completely owned and run by banks, plastic gayness and celebrity love. Mika is a cabaret singer son of a banker. Lollipop is plastic gayness at it's absolute peak and Mika is gonna be a star....

Currently listening : Life in Cartoon Motion By Mika Release date: By 27 March, 2007

03:05 - 7 Comments - 6 Kudos - Add Comment - Edit - Remove

	Vasco	Mika is probably one of the most annoying characters that has recently arrived to the music scene. Does the world need a one man Scissor Sisters? I don't think so. Especially considering the aforementioned are appaling themselves. I don't get the whole Scissor Sister thing. People love them but if you mention to all Scissor Sisters fans stuff like Bee Gees, Supertramp or Elton John they will say that it's naff, considereing that well, considering that Scissor Sisters are ripping those people off completely. Another thing, please we don't want more male singers with screeching falsettos. Mika sometimes is the human equivalent of fingernails scratching the blackboard. The same goes to Jake Shears. I don't have anything with male singers that sing in falsetto, after all I love Curtis Mayfield's vocals. Good on you to remark about the ongoing victory of naffness and blandness. Posted by Vasco on Wednesday, May 16, 2007 at 12:03 [Remove] [Reply to this]

	The Paul Giovanni Music Blog...	Well, I dont mind The Scissor Sisters first album, but the second was close to awful...They're on next weeks Culture Show so I'll have a live report coming up on them next week.. You're absolutely right about them being a rehash of earlier stuff tho. This so, the disco cover of Comfortably Numb was one of my favourite cover versions of the year... I don't mind a good falsetto from time to time. There's some great Reggae with falsetto vocals.. Posted by The Paul Giovanni Music Blog... on Wednesday, May 16, 2007 at 15:31 [Remove] [Reply to this]

	Bubbles	I decided to buy the Mika album on it's released date, more out of curiosity than anything else. I have to confess to liking it immensely upon first listen. I listened to it again, and have to confess to finding it the biggest bag of wank I have ever had the misfortune to buy. Posted by Bubbles on Wednesday, May 16, 2007 at 15:21 [Remove] [Reply to this]

	The Paul Giovanni Music Blog...	I think the single is great, but the album repulses me. I think he definately has something to offer, but I'm not sure what... Posted by The Paul Giovanni Music Blog... on Wednesday, May 16, 2007 at 15:26 [Remove] [Reply to this]

	Bubbles	The single is great, and I still like that. (Grace Kelly). The album isn't repetitive and has lots of different styles, but I think that's part of the problem, he has no definition. Nobody requires definition, but I personally think the guy is trying too hard to copy too many different successful acts. He should concentrate on being himself and not "trying a little Freddie" Posted by Bubbles on Wednesday, May 16, 2007 at 15:32 [Remove] [Reply to this]

	The Paul Giovanni Music Blog...	Yep, I think you've nailed it there...The album is one track Queen, another Scissor Sisters doing Elton John, another something completely different again. He's young and if the record company gives him a chance to develop his own sound, there's a chance he could come up with somethng more decent in years to come. Watching him up close said he has plenty of musical and perfoming ability... Posted by The Paul Giovanni Music Blog... on Wednesday, May 16, 2007 at 15:39 [Remove] [Reply to this]

michelle

loved by the surviving members of queen- oh jesus how accurate you are. i can't even stand the single- it's too sweet even for the states & every time it comes on i change the channel. i would rather listen to cats fucking then mika & the sound of cats fucking is a pretty god damn awful sound. Posted by michelle on Wednesday, May 16, 2007 at 19:35 [Remove] [Reply to this]