2&

The Case of 2& and the Mysteriously Sound-alike Song

/ Homicidol Maniac

[Ed. note: Too many beans were spilled! This post has been updated to keep people out of hot water. Homicidols Dot Com regrets the error.]

For those of you who haven’t been hiding under a professional boulder like me, you’re probably aware of a certain alleged case of musical plagiarism that hit loudol last week. Effectively, fans of the most recently crowned Queen of the Scene and Therefore Official Oshi of Homicidols Dot Com Saki of Guso Drop and 2& fame noticed that a recently debuted unit called Kaiju by Me’s new single had a certain striking similarity to 2&’s “Machigai Darake”.

Now, I’m a generous sort. I tend to believe that people, until proven otherwise, go about their business in good faith and with good intentions. I was somewhat incredulous when I first heard of the plagiarism. This, I thought, must be one of those everybody’s-right situations: Maybe the song’s kind of a rip-off, but not consciously so, or not deliberately consciously so, like not Vanilla Ice adding a little hitch to a vintage Queen bass line and pretending like it’s something new, more that someone had a tune in their head and wound up writing it and then it turned out that there was a great reason that the tune was in their head (they used to listen to the song a lot!) and whoopsie daisy, well now the ship has sailed, let’s all move on with our lives.

Except no omg holy shit this is some of the worst plagiarism I’ve heard since Led Zeppelin. Check this out: Continue reading →

Let’s All Listen to the Trailer for the New 2& Album Together

/ Homicidol Maniac

The unyielding mess that is human existence in this the Year of Pour Lui 2020 has given us some nice things, you must admit. People liked “Tiger King,” you know? And I used the personally got a bunch of things in order, started working on some cool projects that will hopefully bear fruit soon, got some new toys. Good stuff. On the idol front, despite everything, 2020 has ably followed the every-even-numbered-year-has-lots-of-great-debuts trend, and without saying what they are I’ll say that a few records have even entered my all-time idol top 10, which is very cool. Good things are indeed afoot.

And speaking of good things and all-time favorites, let’s check in on one of the chika scene’s greats and … a new compilation album that releases imminently!

I share this with the caveat that Saki has technically not been one of those idol things in quite some time. Does that bother us? Absolutely not! Have I delivered this same spiel before? Probably! Does it matter? No! Let’s listen to the dang thing! Continue reading →

Weekend Livestream Spotlight: MANACLE Debut, 2&, a NECROMA Birthday and Depression Fest

/ DAEMON

The latest trend in idol lives is to not announce livestreaming options until the in-person show is sold out. While I’m sure this makes good financial sense to manager-san, it creates nothing but headaches for fancy idol bloggers trying to put together a robust weekend livestream  preview. Luckily, there is also The Calendar which receives constant updates as last-minute livestream announcements come to light. In the meantime, here’s some notable shows we’re aware of that are coming your way this weekend via various streaming media platforms. 

ZOMBIE POWDER kick off the weekend, sharing the stage with the hardest working unit in chika idol, Dan te Lion and others in the 41st volume of the excellent Diffusion Φ Brightness taiban series.

https://twitter.com/ZomPow_official/status/1303722560060682241

If shoegaze and dreampop are more your style, the incomparable LiLii Kaona, cana÷biss and more are performing in a line up headlined by electro pop artist Mariko Takei.  Continue reading →

Hey! Enter This Contest for 2& Stuff

/ Homicidol Maniac

So as mentioned in the Weekender, this was a busy last few days for pretty much everybody on Team Homicidols. I espied this all the way back on Monday, in fact, when I was at Peak Busyness, and really just wanted to get it out the door, only for, well, everything else to intervene. Nonetheless! It must be done, as the subject of this post, our very own Yes She’s Still the Official Oshi She Won the Contest Saki from/who is 2& has a contest in honor of, well, just read the tweet:

Do it. And because I have nothing else worthwhile to add, enjoy this photo of Saki’s forehead:

Saki Has a New Single!

/ Homicidol Maniac

One of my greatest regrets from the past year has been the effective abandonment of the Oshi Digest and the regular celebration of our latest Official Oshi, Saki of 2&, whose final showdown with Necroma’s Himari during Queen of the Scene last year ended in a tie. The reason that most of you don’t know that is: I never published the final post, because the 2018 QOTS was the swan song of Maniac doing Homicidols the way he always had and wishes he always could. Alas.

But yes, technically Saki is still our official Oshi, so imagine my delight in seeing that she was up to some sharable things lately, and then getting that outcome to pay off yesterday, when she released her new single and this MV to go with it:

Krv used to provide some truly great insights into Saki and the progression of 2& since she left Daichi and connected with new management. Plus: She made it to the West! Minus: I guess it depends on where you, as an older or newer fan or just benign passerby, fall re: Saki’s music now vs. her earlier work, and if you’re a “2&” person or a “DOUBLE AND” person, and things like that. I personally enjoyed the track and am effectively overjoyed that we have 2& in our lives for the foreseeable future. 2& Day is only a couple of months away now!

Tickets Are Now on Sale for the Most Indie, Idol and Infamous Tour in the UK

/ Homicidol Maniac

How conveniently named then!

Yes friends, the thing that you should be incredibly hype for if you’re able to go, and at least somewhat hype for just because it exists, is now something that you can officially purchase a ticket for, which you should undoubtedly do, and soon:

Continue reading →

Importing the Kawaii Underground

/ DAEMON / 5 Comments

Meet the people bringing Japan’s most compelling music acts to the West

For those Westerners who have fallen down the JPop rabbit hole, there are a few common stages that just about everyone goes through. Somewhere after devouring any English-language sites Google can find and consuming all unblocked videos on YouTube, comes the burning desire to see our newfound musical idols live. North America and Europe have been fortunate the last few years to see almost annual tours by BABYMETAL, Perfume, One OK Rock and Hatsune Miku, but for those whose tastes are a bit less mainstream, the chance to see independent and alternative artists usually involves pricing plane tickets to Japan.

Fortunately for us, a small group of fans-turned-promoters have taken it upon themselves to bring live underground idol and alternative JRock to the West. A few of these intrepid souls were gracious enough to answer our questions about why they decided to jump into the business of international music booking and promotion, the biggest challenges they encounter, and what plans they have for the future.

Continue reading →

Prepare Yourselves, UK: There’s Idols Coming to Town

/ Homicidol Maniac / 2 Comments

The good folks at ORIONlive UK have been busy! Hot off the heels of announcing Metal Matsuri, they’re dipping into the idol well again from last year’s (what I gather must have been quite) successful Black Winds Over Albion tour and bringing 2& back to English shores, and this time with a couple of other (deeply disturbing!) friends:

Good. Lord. Continue reading →

Oshi Digest #47: Trepid

/ Homicidol Maniac

In case you didn’t know, friends, our relatively new Oshi is facing a challenge. Yes, on Wednesday, she’ll find out who her opponent will be on Friday in the final match-up of Queen of the Scene, with the winner carrying the Official Oshimen of Homicidols Dot Com forward into the future. That means being the star of the Oshi Digest, which is an honor not to be discarded by anybody who likes it when literally dozens of foreign people consider that to be a big deal.

Saki’s so distraught that she’s showing off her forehead:

Continue reading →

It’s Time for Another Episode of Queen of the Scene!

/ Homicidol Maniac / 1 Comment

INT. DARK ELEMENTARY SCHOOL RESTROOM – NIGHT

A few flickering candles illuminate the room, the light doubled and re-doubled by the mirrors above each sink. Two of the three stall doors are closed, but the third, the middle, is OPEN. SAKI (20) stands in a CIRCLE OF PROTECTION on the floor.

Saki: Hanako-san. Hanako-san. HANAKO-SAN!

The 14TH GENERATION HANAKO OF THE TOILET (eternal, also like 14) APPEARS IN THE OPEN STALL!

Hanako-san: Who calls!

Saki: It’s just me, Hanako-san.

Hanako-san: Oh. Why the theatrics? You have my LINE.

Saki: Maniac said that it’d play better this way.

Hanako-san: Oh, that guy. So?

Saki: Well, you know that I stole the Homicidols Queen of the Scene title from Sari while we were in the United Kingdom.

Hanako-san: I do at that.

Saki: And I know that you helped to arrange for that with your selflessness during the Corenament.

Hanako-san: Indeed.

Saki: Maniac told me that I’ll need to defend my title this week.

Hanako-san: I see.

Saki: Right. So, from what I remember, you were promised something.

Hanako-san: I was.

Saki: Can I ask what that is?

Hanako-san: Unfortunately, I don’t actually know what it is. Sister Jean was very cryptic about it. All she said was that “no good deed goes unpunished.”

Saki: That could mean anything.

Hanako-san: It could also be that she was just acting as a cypher for the jerk in charge and was using a well-known nihilistic idiom.

Saki: Well, do you think that you’ll be able to help me? I’ve only been the Official Oshimen for a few weeks, and I’d like to be able to continue.

Hanako-san: Prophesy is tricky, especially for toilet ghosts like me. Ask me to show you the blackest chaos of your psyche, no problem; I can’t see the future, though, only what’s possible.

Saki: It’s going to be a long week. Continue reading →