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Oh Hell, Why Not Just Keep Doing IVOLVE?

/ Homicidol Maniac / Leave a comment

From the time that IVOLVE was launched to the first time that I felt moved enough to write anything about them was literal months, I think; months again passed after that moment before they again appeared in this feed. It was a two-fold problem, I think: They didn’t have a blow-out kind of debut, and they weren’t explicitly a loud unit of any particular stripe, either.

On the latter, that still holds true, but the last few months have proven to be good and cool and active ones for IVOLVE, and I had to curb my own worst impulses* to hit the play button when these showed up on Soundcloud the other day. The thing is, I’ve been doing a lot of IVOLVE, and Homicidols Dot Com likes to cast wide nets for all but the most momentous of idol happenings, so would I really want to do more IVOLVE when there are other things on like heavy rotation at the moment?

Absolutely!

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Your Homicidols Weekender #100

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Good morning! Well, we made it here. This is the 100th Weekender. I’d like to have something profound to say, but let’s be real: There’s no good point to it. Kerrie, though, in a side conversation the other day, summed it up when she said that she wanted her fill-in Fun to be #IdolIsBeautiful. There’s a lot of idol, both in the underbelly and right out there in the open, that’s a lot less than beautiful. But, at the end of the day, the sheer joy that idol can give you? The almost unlimited creativity that it allows? That really is a beautiful thing, and it’s been a hell of a journey to get here. Here’s to keeping it going.

Now, I did say that I was going to do a thing in honor of the occasion. The gist is, I’m not a collector of idol stuff and in fact sometimes make fun of others’ wanton collectioneering, and I’m not yet ready to part with some of the genuinely unique things that I’ve acquired by various means over the past couple of years. I am, however, going to part with a couple of particular items, and in addition to that do a very low-level creative thing. And that is why I’m temporarily backing off the full spectacle, because the creative thing isn’t ready. Instead, I think I’ll try to work it into the Best of 2018 stuff. Maybe it’ll be cool anyway!

At any rate, this is deliberately the biggest Weekender in history, as befits the occasion. Play the Fun, and then enjoy!

Congrats, I Guess

I can think of no better kickoff for a milestone like this than the star of the last thing to make it to 100 iterations, the ex-Co3, showing those chops:

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Your Homicidols Weekender #99

/ Homicidol Maniac

Hello friends! Let me tell you something: During my little break, I missed the usual daily up-and-down of idol, but what I really missed was doing the Weekender. Why? Because part of what makes idol fun is how incredibly random and diverse and preposterously self-aware it is, and the Weekender is as near a celebration of that as anything. The process of putting it together week after week is like a daily exercise in getting reacquainted with a bunch of stuff you love.

Now, this is the 99th Weekender. The 98th, the Team put that together, and I must high-five their effort. The 97 before that, they took on a certain character over time, which is funny when you consider that the entire point of the Weekender was to give myself less to do. That’s what you call dramatic irony, you know? But we’re now coming up on close-proximity milestones, the 100th iteration and the commemoration of two full years’ worth of weekly posts of catch-all idol stuff. I thought, I should do something cool and special for #100. And I think I will, still.

This is actually a shorter edition because my personal week was pretty short, so I’ll just pad it out for a minute and mention some other housekeeping. Like, hey, can you imagine that it’s almost time to gear up for the Best Of 2018? We’ll do another quick call for nominations in which I imagine is not a ton of time from now, and then do some light culling, but be warned in a simpler process that will hopefully avoid pissing off too many people. One thing that I’d like to do this year is feature more voices from the community in picking out individual winners, so maybe think about why you think what is the best whatever. Hint.

That being said! Let’s get down to it. I’m still catching up and have just so much damn crap to get out, if to have a post on record if nothing else, so bear with me and don’t sweat if something takes a day or so longer than usual to wend its way through to publication. In fact, mind your own business and go play the Fun instead!

Oh Wow, This Really Is That Short

I still have no idea what this project is, but gosh darn do I love this song:

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Check out This New One from 143

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So what I was saying yesterday about getting back through all of the things that I had wanted to try to cover in very short bursts while I was out? This was the literal #1 on that list. It got superseded because, as a proper idol fan, I do play favorites, but let us not pretend for a second that what I did didn’t have some semblance of injustice to it.

143! I love you! Among the I’ll-never-stop-talking-about-it Class of 2018, this may have been the group that had the best rollout, or at least the most deliberate. When they landed, it at least seemed to have imprimatur. Your mileage may vary! To say that the momentum, emotionally et al, was unsustainable without regard for the normal pace of idol debuts would be an understatement. So no, we wound up with a group that debuted and did some solid things in that crucial opening window, and then mostly settled into place, as idol, following Newton’s laws, is wont to do.

Which is to arrive at the point: 143 did a new song a couple of weeks ago! Continue reading →

Here’s Another New One from OWA YORU

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And in my last bit of sharing for the day, I’d like to revisit Daemon’s reveal of part of the post-Candye Syrup world, which is OWARANAIDE, YORU, about which Starlight Signal-senpai themself has been kind enough to reach out.

Like the others, we’re looking at an instrumental, and all composed by the same cat (Kouichi), who is also the same cat behind Candye Syrup and SENANAN. This unofficially places Kouichi in the same realm as, say, syva, in the totality of range to be employed. May the day come when we good-naturedly complain about the emergence of Kouichicore, thankful nonetheless for an overall-delicious body of work while griping for the sake of having something to gripe about.

That I very much like where this is going should surprise nobody — if we split the hair finely enough, we can determine idorock, idol rock, idol rock that is really good rock, and idol rock that is really good rock that Maniac in particular like because it agrees with his biases — and, really, I just want the whole tracks out, vocals added, and a good multimedia debut to show us what this group can be about.

Here’s Your Chance to Embrace Wagamama Kiite

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Their plan to secure 500 RTs and release the MV for their upcoming single release worked like a charm, and the world was greeted today by maybe the best thing that Wagamama Kiite has done to date:

I don’t have the depth of experience with the group that Kerrie does, but I know what I know, and I know that right there is some darn tasty idol rock that somehow also includes percussion from a hardcore breakdown. It honestly reminds me a lot of OG Himekyun Fruit Can, and yes that’s a big compliment. Kerrie says that it tops anything on the record that she sleepily reviewed, and who am I to argue? This is the kind of material that I signed up for … lordy, it’s been four years.

Anyway! The single is out on Oct. 10, and I’m heartily recommending that you pick it up. Here’s the B-side:

On pace to be re-recorded, I’m guessing

Not all loudol has to be all that loud, and quality rock songs need to be appreciated, particularly when they make you feel like you can conquer the world.

Your Homicidols Weekender #96

/ Homicidol Maniac

Hello friends! I’ll keep the intro to a minimum; there are lots of people, including people we care about, who are either right in the path of monstrous natural disasters, or they’re feeling the effects. Idol can be a nice palliative in tough times, but I daresay that a lot of people just don’t have the option right now. If you have been and/or will be spared the worst, consider a donation to the relief organization of your choice.

Do It to It

Somebody get BURST GIRL the hell away from Instagram filters:

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I’m Here for This New IVOLVE Song

/ Homicidol Maniac

A funny moment on Saturday: Within a few hours’ time of saying not-great things about IVOLVE’s new MV, I fumbled around with Soundcloud while looking for a good soundtrack for a bunch of housework and boom, right there at the top of the feed, a fresh track from … the same IVOLVE that I’d just kind of dismissed. Funny!

It doesn’t appear on the new single, but was instead announced at their one-man the other night, from which they’ve also released a ton of live video: Continue reading →

Your Homicidols Weekender #95

/ Homicidol Maniac

Man, what a terrible week. I usually like to be forward-looking and optimistic once Saturday rolls around, but the past seven days included a massive typhoon and then a massive earthquake in Japan, no shortage of celebrity deaths, a news cycle gone completely haywire and, because why not, we’re currently soaking up some of the remnants of Tropical Storm Gordon in the National Capital Area and may yet be facing down Hurricane Florence next week. We’re starting autumn off right!

That said, while it’s still plenty summery out there for many folks, and just feeling like summer is a good excuse to eat ice cream and visit a beach and pound beers with hamburgers, yes, I’m personally preparing myself the ever-exciting autumnal months ahead. Football? You bet! Breads and stews and stuff? Out of this world! Cider? I brew my own! There are three fun-time seasons of the year, and of them autumn is the best thanks to its combination of indoor and outdoor options, plus a whole mess of awesome holidays. And if/when you’re looking at indoor prospects, there ain’t nothing finer than digging into some good music and ever-plucky idol styles.

So get yourself started with the below, take a few minutes to play the Fun and think ahead to the good times waiting right around the corner.

Somebody Tell This Idiot That It’s Still Summer for Two More Weeks

We won’t be calling sugartrap by that name for much longer:

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This Is the GANG PARADE I Was Looking For

/ Homicidol Maniac / 2 Comments

So GANG PARADE released the MV for their new single the other day, and it’s a nice song and all, but — likely due to the fact that it’s a theme song — kind of tame by the group’s recent-ish standards. Perhaps in the vernacular of today’s youth: It doesn’t so much slay as lightly buffet. A little disappointing!

Of course, as we know ’round these parts, the B side is the best side, and the companion track from the single is unexpectedly exactly what I needed not just from this record, but from like all of idol in the past several months:

Oh my goodness. Oh my. Oh. Continue reading →