Welcome to another edition of Reader’s Best. This time, we’re turning over the blog to Karli who will tell us what good music sounds like in ten short tunes. The best part of this whole exercise of collecting reader’s favorite songs has been that, with each list we publish, I am discovering at least one great new track to add to my playlist. Karli’s picks are a perfect case in point: the majority of these songs weren’t released as singles or featured in MVs. They are mostly b-sides or deep cuts off of full albums, a couple of which I had never even heard before. Good stuff. Let’s go!!
Karli’s 10 Favorite Idol Songs
10. KAQRIYOTERROR, Makafushigism
I avoided this group like a plague for over two years after I saw their top song on Spotify was called “The Forbidden Masturbating” and immediately decided they weren’t for me. What a grave mistake. A couple months ago, after I saw more and more people attest to how great Kaqriyo are, I decided to give their discography a good try and boy was I surprised by how much I actually liked their stuff, especially “Makfushigism”. This song is just a testament to the fact that if you see a bunch of people talk about how good a group is, they’re probably right.
9. nuance, harbor moon
One of my favorites by a group originally created to help promote a local shopping event themed around chocolate. Love them!
8. Koutei Camera Girl Drei, Toronto Lot
This song is so good bro, have you tried it? You gotta try it.
7. DAI DAI DAI, TENPENCHii!!
One of the best songs to touch the stove to.
6. EMPiRE, LiTTLE BOY
Not only one of my favorite songs of theirs, but the first time I watched a live performance of this song was truly an enlightening experience when I was first getting into them. Seeing the members put their all into the performance in the 7th hour of a 24 hour graduation live was just something else man.
5. There There Theres, There’s something behind
Simply a great song that got me into the greater Crow Girls multiverse (Bellring Shoujo Heart, There There Theres, and NILKLY), definitely one of my favorite musical discoveries from 2021.
4. Maison book girl, Kanashimi no Kodomotachi
Such a fantastic song by a fantastic group. As one of the first groups I looked into after almost fully submerging myself in the dumpster behind the WACK company offices, Maison book girl were such a great introduction to what the rest of idol offered and could be.
3. Atarashii Gakkou no Leaders, Okami no Uta
They were the very first non-traditional idol group whose discography I fell in love with at first listen. At the time I first listened to “Okami no Uta” and their first album, I didn’t even realize idol music could fall into a genre that didn’t fit into a “-pop” box, so I mistook them for a band for a while… I often miss Real Music.
2. BiSH, Help!!
This song got put on my Spotify Discover Weekly back in June 2018. I loved it then, but never looked too deep into the group until 2019. Though, every time I thought “hey y’know that ‘Help!!’ song is kinda great”, I dipped my toes into BiSH’s discography little by little until I fully plunged myself in at the end of 2019. This was the song that ultimately got me into “alternative” idols and I’m so grateful for that. I still love it to this day and it’s definitely one of BiSH’s best b-sides, no doubt about it.
1. SPARK SPEAKER, paradigm shift
SPARK SPEAKER were /the/ first group I got into after diving head first into the world of WACK groups. “paradigm shift” has to be my favorite song off their album THE WORLD IS MINE, my all time favorite idol album. It’s a great idol metalcore song from an album that hits an emo-tinged, nostalgic sweet spot for me, personally.
