Can't Think, Too Worried

Since I currently have the attention span of small dog [squirrel!] and I really want to post something up in this here blog, I'm copying and pasting a review of "The Boy Who Knew Too Much" that was published in the Washington Post Tuesday that made me smile with happiness. I should point out that the Washington Post and I rarely agree on most things (movies, television, dvds, music, the meaning of life) so the fact that I agree with this review is quite something. Anyway, here it is for your enjoyment. I'm going to go freak out over the fact that I'm leaving for London in a week.

Without a hit single in the United States it's hard to make a big splash in pop music. But no pop album in 2009 sounded better, start to finish, without a true hit single, than Mika's "The Boy Who Knew Too Much," the follow-up to his 2007 debut, "Life in Cartoon Motion." With a sound that brings to mind some wild amalgamation of Rufus Wainwright, Elton John and Electric Six, Mika managed to be both out there and entirely accessible at once. The nonstop hooks and joyous beats pulled you in and the smart wordplay kept your attention throughout.

Mika is also a bit of a style hog. He channels his inner Kate Bush* on the dreamy "By the Time," visits campy torch territory with "Pick Up Off the Floor" and delivers his Broadway show tune best on "Toy Boy." Yes, it's all a bit over the top, but it's also magical. If Mika's music were simply pure pop pep, that would be enough. But each song tells a story, amuses, amazes and confidently makes its point.

"He's got looks that books take pages to tell/He's got a face to make you fall on your knees," the 26-year-old Londoner sings on "Blame It on the Girls," a bedazzling, boisterous track that somehow chastises ingrates and celebrates life all at once. The song is typical of Mika's fare: exuberant but also layered; candy-coated but also loaded with meaning. Few modern pop stars have achieved anything close.

-- Joe Heim

Recommended tracks

"We Are Golden," "Blue Eyes," "Blame It on the Girls"

Alright, I don't agree with "Blue Eyes," or the fact that there was no "one hit single" (there are many) but he got everything else right in my opinion

*Kate Bush via Imogean Heap, which is clear as glass if you've ever heard an Imogean Heap song and/or have looked at the Wikipedia article on this album.