Mika, what are you doing?

[dhampyresa]

So I've been listening to Mika pretty much on repeat for the past couple of days. At some point, I realised that all the songs of his I had on my MP3 player were from either Life in Cartoon Motion (2007) or The Boy Who Knew Too Much (2009) and I asked myself, "What's Mika done since then?" Because I'd kind of lost track of what he'd been doing, aside from him coming out as gay at some point in the last five years. (Wow. Already?)

This is what he's been doing since then:

"MIKA - Boum Boum Boum" (Watch on YouTube)

So apparently Mika sings in French now? (I am impressed by his lack of accent. He even does the "r"s and the "u"s properly!)

I have to admit that I started to laugh at "les bourgeois du 16eme" and kind of haven't stopped since. He's a cowboy! He's James Bond! He's in a noir movie! He's Lawrence of Arabia! Everyone's having gunfights! I have no idea what's happening!

I have no idea why Mika is singing in French, or what's going on in that video (the lyrics, on the other hand, are very explicit), but I really don't care.  It's making me laugh and making me happy the way Mika's songs always do.

Rock on, Mika. Rock on.

Comments

[yuuago]

THIS IS DELIGHTFUL. I AM DELIGHTED.

I think I prefer him in French than in English... ahhh I'll have to seek out his other new stuff now, I completely forgot that he exists!

[dhampyresa]

I think Mika's whole schtick is LET ME BE DELIGHTFUL IN YOUR GENERAL DIRECTION. It's a schtick I wholly approve of.

I don't know which I like best, tbh.

[http://users.livejournal.com/_profiterole_/]

Oh, les paroles ! J'ai bien rigolé. XD

Son coming out gay me dit vaguement quelque chose. Pour le coup, même si c'est de la fiction, donc il peut jouer des scènes het s'il veut, c'est quand même dommage qu'il n'y ait pas un peu de m/m dans le clip. A moins qu'il y en ait dans d'autres de ses clips ? Je n'y connais pas grand chose en musique hors fanvids, je dois dire.

[dhampyresa.livejournal.com]

Oui, j'avoue que c'est un peu décevant de pas avoir de m/m (ou f/f) dans le clip. J'en ai pas vu dans ses autres clips, mais je regarde pas vraiment les clips: je les fais tourner en musique de fond.

[draycevixen.livejournal.com]

I think Mika lived in Paris until he was about 10? I have some vague memory of an interview where he said he was fluent in French because he'd first gone to school in Paris.

[dhampyresa.livejournal.com]

He might have. It would certainly explain the "r"s and "u"s. You know how there's this cliché/stereotype that the French can't pronounce "th"? It's the same for native Anglophones and "r"s and "u"s. Having them try to pronounce "serrurie" is a ball and a half and a good rebuttal to ze stupid French thing. /tangent

I admit that I don't pay attention to celebrity news, which means I do end up missing when new albums come out.

[draycevixen.livejournal.com]

I don't normally watch interview shows so... *g*

I think there are a lot of linguistic things where it can be difficult to pick up but never impossible because the voice box is the same the world over. I have a Japanese colleague who gets tired of the comments on a Japanese person's trouble with "r" and "l". Yes, it's difficult for a native Japanese speaker, but no, not impossible.

[dhampyresa.livejournal.com]

I'm not saying it's impossible, I'm just saying it's difficult, especially the older you get.

[draycevixen.livejournal.com]

I was actually responding to the "accusation" that the French can't pronounce "th." :D

I spent my formative years in South London. If I'm very tired "th" still comes out as "f" and "f" as "th." For instance, "thief" becomes "fieth."

[spywindow.livejournal.com]

Thank you for sharing this! I hadn't been keeping up with Mika's more recent stuff either, but wow, it's really catchy. (To the point where I've been listening to it and Elle Me Dit on loop for the past hour ....)

[dhampyresa.livejournal.com]

It's super catchy and also delightful. (The two I've been listening to on loop are this one and Popular Song.)