The first thing about this new song from maybe the most exciting punk rock idol project debut in a long-ass time is that I probably enjoyed it the least out of everything they’ve put out so far, and it’s still a far cry better than a lot of what else winds up on the idol stage:

Also, re: the title of this post, it’s an terrible joke, I’m sorry.

It’s funny. In the critical critical few years at the very outset of the millennium, when pop punk ruled the rock airwaves and I retreated ever further into nu-metal haze to escape it (I MAKE GOOD LIFE CHOICES), I was convinced that the worst of all possible musical outcomes had been reached. WHY MAKE PUNK POP WHAT THE HELL IT’S A LITERAL CONTRADICTION. People have since tried gamely to set my mind right on this issue — Andy, your efforts were heroic — but I still have this visceral hate reaction to the likes of Switchfoot and Blink-182; at least stupid junk like Jimmy Eat World had the decency to give me something catchy to get nostalgic about, whereas you dumb jerks with your constant straining for credibility just make me want to punch babies.

ANYWAY, this is supposed to be about idols, so: I hated pop punk, in fact still do hate pop punk for the most part, but take away the “punk” posture and just hand fun, bouncy, energetic music over to a bunch of idols, and it’s like a match weirdly made in heaven. Like, this is probably my least favorite Shuuengo Buppan song so far, and it’s still oozing fun. I want to be able to join them on stage for those silly little “whoa-oa-oa” bits, and also to deliver awkward high-fives because I’m probably a foot taller than the members.