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Topic: Mike in The Times< Next Oldest | Next Newest >
Korgscrew Offline




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Posted: Feb. 29 2008, 17:47

Tomorrow's edition of the UK newspaper The Times has an interview with Mike about Music of the Spheres and his regaining the rights to Tubular Bells.

Thanks, David
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Tati The Sentinel Offline




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Posted: Feb. 29 2008, 18:33

Journalists should first learn how to interview MO first.This one here really made Mike quite bored...I'd act the same way if I were on his position.

And Mike's replies regarding personal stuff rocks  ;)

Let's see if there'll be other interviews which are much better to read...


--------------
"But it's always the outsider, the black sheep, that becomes the blockbuster." - Mike Oldfield, 2014

"I remember feeling that I'd been judged unfairly and that I was going to prove them wrong." - Peter Davison, 2011
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Ray Offline




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Posted: Mar. 01 2008, 03:41

“I find that intrusive. Delving into people’s private lives… It’s too personal. I’d feel myself to be very rude if I put the same thing to you.”

Rock on - Exactly what i think too.  

Journalists should stick to the professional side of what they are interviewing the guy for.

I wouldn't say he bored Mr O looks more like he P***ed him off, and was given a early warning shot!

R  :cool:


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Looking out over the harbour in Peel.......
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TOBY Offline




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Posted: Mar. 01 2008, 06:58

I thought it was a pretty good and revealing short article personally, it wasn't critical of him and the guy had obviously read Changeling which was good homework. The article just shows more of the paradoxical Mike. I think any good journalist has their work cut out when they interview him. On the one hand he seems very open if not out right enthusiastic when talking about highly personal things from his 70's life but then obviously gets really offended about recent personal matters being discussed. All the journalist did was to say he must be very proud of his new marriage/family and then for Mike to turn round and get prickly about discussing personal matters after quite openly discussing his mothers possible suicide is perhaps quite confusing for some - I sympathize with the Journalist.

And as for punk rock being the root cause of the UK's violent society - talk about having a chip on your shoulder.
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Tati The Sentinel Offline




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Posted: Mar. 01 2008, 07:29

Well,his attitude regarding his recent marriage I understand perfectly - back in 2001,things between him and Fanny were quite stressful and overexposed on the UK papers(a research job would help newbies to find it out),than on 2002,they got back together,in 2003 the wedding...people would judge Mike's attitudes regarding why he and Fanny are together after the 2001 episodes,and now he has learned not to overexpose his personal life too much.It took a while really,but I feel he feels more confortable.

I had myself a similar situation with a former boyfriend regarding overexposure,and I remember when we've got back together again,we both adopted the same policy Mike has got with Fanny,and it worked quite fine 'til we splitted.And now I do adopt also with my current boyfriend,I don't overexpose our relationship to anyone,and it works quite fine for me.

This particular quote from Mike,"I find that intrusive. Delving into people’s private lives… It’s too personal. I’d feel myself to be very rude if I put the same thing to you." it's Mike's reply to this voyeuristic culture we've been facing off nowadays.Only Mike knows what he should say about his personal life,not anyone.

I caught me thinking here...it wasn't necessary putting that toliet part,it doesn't work fine for Mike's personal marketing really.

BTW,what I do care is the fact he's happy regarding family life,which is so good to hear from him,after all the previous stuff he's experienced in the past.And of course,Tubular Bells's back on his hands  :)


--------------
"But it's always the outsider, the black sheep, that becomes the blockbuster." - Mike Oldfield, 2014

"I remember feeling that I'd been judged unfairly and that I was going to prove them wrong." - Peter Davison, 2011
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TOBY Offline




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Posted: Mar. 01 2008, 07:50

Quote (Tati The Sentinel @ Mar. 01 2008, 07:29)
Well,his attitude regarding his recent marriage I understand perfectly - back in 2001,things between him and Fanny were quite stressful and overexposed on the UK papers(a research job would help newbies to find it out),than on 2002,they got back together,in 2003 the wedding...people would judge Mike's attitudes regarding why he and Fanny are together after the 2001 episodes,and now he has learned not to overexpose his personal life too much.It took a while really,but I feel he feels more confortable.

I'm not trying to defend the journalist's intrusiveness but I am defending his naivety and the fact that interviewing Mike is never black and white it seems. As far as Mike is concerned obviously he was very stressed out at the time of the interview because he was expecting a baby at any moment so its understandable he was more prickly than usual. But for that reason I also wouldn't start criticising the journalist because I bet you  anything there will be other interviews with Mike done over the next few months where he will be happy to discuss pretty much anything. I mean despite his perceived privacy he's actually usually pretty open during interviews and certainly more open than other more amiable artists I've read interviews with over the years.

As for the going to the toilet reference. I think the punk rock thing is actually much more likely to have people laughing at him thinking he's completely out of touch.
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Tati The Sentinel Offline




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Posted: Mar. 01 2008, 08:29

The baby factor made the the difference here,for sure,it's really really painful for a dad waiting anxiously for his baby to born.

Quote (TOBY @ Mar. 01 2008, 09:50)
But for that reason I also wouldn't start criticising the journalist because I bet you  anything there will be other interviews with Mike done over the next few months where he will be happy to discuss pretty much anything. I mean despite his perceived privacy he's actually usually pretty open during interviews and certainly more open than other more amiable artists I've read interviews with over the years.


Oh yes,that's really true,and I'm waiting for it.
I can remember of some past interviews that were good enough - "Virtuoso Reality"(2002) and "The Virgin Millionaire"(2006) where Mike did talk about a wide range of subjects regarding his life.


--------------
"But it's always the outsider, the black sheep, that becomes the blockbuster." - Mike Oldfield, 2014

"I remember feeling that I'd been judged unfairly and that I was going to prove them wrong." - Peter Davison, 2011
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Matt Offline




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Posted: Mar. 01 2008, 09:16

Interesting interview. But what I really want to be hearing about in questions by interviewers and answers from Mike is about Music! Tell us more about where the themes for Music of the Spheres came from. Any enthusiasm for doing similar? Would you like to work with Karl again? How about another song with Hayley? Do you think your experience mixing MOTS would change the way you would approach composing another similar piece? What instruments of an orchestra do you enjoy the sound of the most? TALK ABOUT MUSIC PLEASE, THAT'S WHAT WE ARE HERE FOR! (Sorry for shouting...)

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"I say I say I say I say, what's got three bottles and five eyes and no legs and two wheels"
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Dirk Star Offline




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Posted: Mar. 01 2008, 10:35

Quote (TOBY @ Mar. 01 2008, 06:58)
I thought it was a pretty good and revealing short article personally, it wasn't critical of him and the guy had obviously read Changeling which was good homework. The article just shows more of the paradoxical Mike. I think any good journalist has their work cut out when they interview him. On the one hand he seems very open if not out right enthusiastic when talking about highly personal things from his 70's life but then obviously gets really offended about recent personal matters being discussed. All the journalist did was to say he must be very proud of his new marriage/family and then for Mike to turn round and get prickly about discussing personal matters after quite openly discussing his mothers possible suicide is perhaps quite confusing for some - I sympathize with the Journalist.

And as for punk rock being the root cause of the UK's violent society - talk about having a chip on your shoulder.

That pretty much hits the nail on the head for me Toby.The problem is of course once the interviewer has put that question out there people are gonna` be left wondering..."Ok so what`s the deal with the Hergerland kids etc?" It`s only human nature unfortunatly.Although obviously rather like most of these newspaper articles there`s very little musical discussion other than the impact of Tubalar Bells and the new album.Much the same as it`s been for the last 30 years really.It still never fails to dissapoint me though.

Also that`s the second time I`ve heard Mike make that punk rock analagy and the first time I simply tried to ignore it.Deep down inside he honestly really can`t believe that can he?Sometimes you`ve just got to laugh really or you`d be left in permanent despair I guess.On the plus side though he has impeccable taste in rolling tobacco.If only they still allowed advertising the guy could be coining it in...

Amber Leaf
I rolled this morning
Amber Leaf
clear,bright and warming..
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TOBY Offline




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Posted: Mar. 01 2008, 10:53

Quote (Dirk Star @ Mar. 01 2008, 10:35)
Amber Leaf
I rolled this morning
Amber Leaf
clear,bright and warming..

:D Good poem chap.

As far as interviews in general with Mike go I think everyone has to bare in mind there's a difference between the sort of interview fans want to read, having read zillions of them before, and the sort of interview your average newspaper reader wants to read, probably never having read one before. I agree with Matt a few more insightful musical questions wouldn't go amiss but remember this is the Times we're talking about and newspapers always go for the personal angle rather than anything approaching a technical musical one. Also on top of all that Mike as we all know does not like the whys and why nots of his music making. I dare say he would have rather talked about his marriage rather than answer the question 'why did you make Music of the Spheres?  See what I mean by there being a lot to contend with for your average journalist interviewing him, even on a good day.
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Harmono Offline




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Posted: Mar. 01 2008, 20:35

If you look back at some interviews that Mike has done in past decades, you'll clearly see that he has been very willing to answer questions regarding his music: about his use of instruments and gadgets, what inspires him and what he wants to tell us with his music. I even remember him talking about some chords he has used  - that's something you don't see very often, and that is of course because journalists never ask about those things, at least not frequently enough. He is, imo, a prime example of a celebrity who wants to be noticed, but NOT because of his unessential qualities.

About punk. Well, Mike is obviously not 100% right about punk's role in turning some kids into gangstas that they nowadays are(are they worse than in his childhood, maybe just different?). Even if he blamed rap and metal too, he'd be quite wrong. It's surely not that simple. However, I couldn't care less about punk as I see it as unmusical and not at all efficient in bringing its ideals to reality.
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HuanCry Offline




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Posted: Mar. 02 2008, 05:40

Would someone put a scan of the Times article on-line please i.e. the newspaper version not the on-line version ...there's usually additional photo's / text

Neil   :)
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moonchildhippy Offline




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Posted: Mar. 06 2008, 18:59

Interesting article, but I do think that perhaps some of the questions were a bit too personal.  

From The Times online article, I gather these are Mike's words from Changeling.Of the introduction to narcotics, he wrote in his book,
“My life as it is – Tubular Bells and everything else – I wouldn’t put down to my drug experiences, but they made me who I am, and made the music the way it was.” Tonight he says of the latter, “I put all my energies into it. The nuclear intensity of all my psychological problems turbo-charged my creativity.”

I'm wondering if it wasn't for  Mike's use of LSD or pot if there'd wver have been a Tubular Bells, Hergest Ridge or Ommadawn.  I'm not advocating drug use, as I can see negative effects of drug use in that it can cause psychosis, but I can see positive benefits if used medicinally, as cannabis is a painkiller , and can stop muscle spasms in people with disabilities such as MS, I used to care for an MS sufferer 24/7 365. Oh sorry I've gone off on a bit of a tangent there, but I just wanted to emphasise both what I consider the positive and negative effects of cannabis.

It would appear from Mike's words that his drug use " made the music the way it was.” So yes drugs did help in the creation of his work. However I do feel there's a difference between using drugs on a daily basis and having an occaisional trip, unfortunately there's too many rock stars 6foot under due to drug use, admittedly these are the hard drugs, which I am very anti.


--------------
I'm going slightly mad,
It finally happened, I'm slightly mad , just very slightly mad

If you feel a little glum to Hergest Ridge you should come.


I'm challenging  taboos surrounding mental health


"Part time hippy"

I'M SUPPORTING OUR SOLDIERS

BRING OUR TROOPS HOME NOW!!
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