Daemon is traveling this week, so as to not break the impressive streak of 352 consecutive weekends, I’m in charge of the weekender this week! It’s been a rocky week, so click through for some happy news, less happy ones and, as always, good music
Monster of Dolls
All Good Things Explode: BURST GIRL Announce Dissolution
In the latest episode of “COVID Ruins Everything”, BURST GIRL’s international debut has been postponed to never. The strongest and most crazy punk idols have unexpectedly announced that they will be disbanding two weeks from now on the third of October. While three years and eight months is not a bad run for a fully self-produced, self-managed idol unit, for many of us (and the world at large), the end is coming far too soon.
【爆裂女子から大切なお知らせ】
爆裂女子は2021年10月3日をもちまして
解散致しますことをご報告申し上げます。解散まで残りわずかな期間ですが
“最強で最狂。暴れまくりパンクロックアイドル”
爆裂女子として、最後まで爆裂して参りますので
最後まで温かい応援をいただければ幸いです。 pic.twitter.com/EKYpTIzKA4— 爆裂女子-BURST GIRL- (@burst_girls) September 18, 2021
Like many of you, we eagerly jumped on the BURST GIRL bandwagon from the moment of their creation having known Boss Rei, Miyako, Rinchama and Yurapico from the legendary indie-punk unit and Heaviest Idol in The World, Guso Drop. When manager and producer Daichi-san announced Gudro’s disbandment because he couldn’t figure out how to make money with the group, the four idols must have decided they could do a better job than that, and took things into their own hands. Continue reading
Yukueshirezutsurezure Annouce 3rd Album and Oneman Tour
Just when you thought 2020 was going to be a total waste, Yukueshirezutsurezure have given us something to look forward to. Following their no-audience live Friday night, the unit-also-known-as Not Secured, Loose Ends announced the release of their third full album this coming August 26th.
[解禁]
2020.08.26（wed）
3rd Full Album「タイトル未定」発売決定！#ゆくえしれずつれづれ #ystz #NSLEhttps://t.co/ONi6SJtE6z pic.twitter.com/8MrFS8Mir8— ゆくえしれずつれづれ (@yukuetsurezure) May 30, 2020
In an inspired fit of uncharacteristic optimism, Tsurezure also announced an extensive oneman tour starting in late July and wrapping up the day before Halloween.
The NECRONOMIDOL European Tour Experience: A Play in Three Acts
I’m deeply sorry, this thing wrote itself
Oh hey, look! It’s Necronomidol’s CHILDREN OF THE NIGHT MV – shot by… ME! Please enjoy. And thank you, Necroma, for letting me shoot this insane summer tour! https://t.co/LTnQnEigWl@NECRONOMIDOL
— Derek Vasconi (@DerekVasconi) October 25, 2019
[ANNOUNCEMENT] Not the one we’ve planned for 10AM, but we have to also tell you that #MonsterofDolls‘ setlist will endure a change: unfortunately Necronomidol will not be attending MoD2020; for info and updates on the new lineup, please refer to our site: https://t.co/qnNZdBfeAS pic.twitter.com/7eMnXynzv8
— Monster Of Dolls (@monster_dolls) October 26, 2019
You asked us to bring them back… and we listened! With great excitement we announce the return of some old friends for the next edition of #MonsterofDolls! @MELONBATAKEAGO2 will be joining #MoD2020 in May 2020, as part of the THUNDER STAGE! 🍈#めろん畑agogo #MonsterofDolls pic.twitter.com/GGZFlWazRB
— Monster Of Dolls (@monster_dolls) October 26, 2019
Wasn’t expecting an announcement regarding #MoD2020 today, but looks like one has been made regardless. We’ll release a statement later on. Just know – NECRONOMIDOL is fiercely loyal to our intn’l fans and expects a high level of professionalism from the events we perform at.
— リッキー〔覇〕ネクロ魔P (@NECRO_P) October 26, 2019
What next twist for our heroes?!
Burst Girl’s Super Revolution
Change sometimes happens with glacial slowness. Sometimes, it comes in waves. Burst Girl apparently prefers change at the pace of a meteor strike. If a die-hard Burst Girl fan was hit by a bus and spent the week in a coma, they would be forgiven for waking up this morning, seeing the new MV and asking, “Who are these purple-clad punks and why does the center’s smile look so familiar?”
Burst Girl’s revolutionary week started last Sunday when it was announced that they would be making their Western debut as part of Italian idol festival Monster of Dolls 2020 line-up.
Who are you? WE ARE BURST GIRL! @burst_girls is our second #InnerCircle guest! Get ready to have your lives rocked and your bones broken, the explosive girls are coming, they want you to come… and they absolutely won't take no for an answer! #MoD2020 #爆裂女子 pic.twitter.com/IakvWxKluy
— Monster Of Dolls (@monster_dolls) September 15, 2019
Then Monday saw the graduation of Zero-chan. Though I’ve been overusing the phrase this year, this graduation is an end of an era. Rei-chan was an iconic presence in chika idol and it is hard to remember a time when she wasn’t the BOSS, first of Guso Drop and then of Burst Girl.
Continue reading
Monster of Dolls interviews, Part 1: Sari
First, apologies that it’s a little short. Translation difficulties I alluded to elsewhere meant that the chat was not as free-flowing as I had hoped. But hey, isn’t this the first post-Necronomidol interview with Sari?I’m pretty sure it’s the first one in English, so let’s claim that. Friends, Romans, countrymen: Homicidols.com presents…
THE FIRST POST-NECRONOMIDOL INTERVIEW WITH SARI (in English)!
The Italian Job: One Englishman’s First Idol Concert
Our story starts on the morning of the concert. I had been doing a spot of sightseeing in Bologna…
LADYBABY Love You, but Have to Destroy You
I promise that I will never look away again.
On Team Homicidols, we’ve been distracted a lot lately by art house groups and hi-concept math-punk units or idols that make you stare at your shoes and weep. But now that we gazed so hard at ・・・・・・・・・ that they vanished back into the ether from whence they came, it might be best to sink back into basics for a little while. Like a nice, simple “you got chocolate in my peanut butter” blend of J-pop and Metal.
I wonder what LADYBABY has been up to?
DAAAAaaaaaammnnn… Continue reading
Making an Idol Monster: We Talk to the Creative Team behind Monster of Dolls
Just a few months ago, Homicidols published a profile of fans-turned-promoters bringing alternative idols to the Western World. Looking back now, the article is a bit embarrassingly anglo-centric. Unbeknownst to us at the time, a group of Italian-speaking fans were putting the finishing touches on their own considerable efforts to launch an alt-idol festival in Italy. When the final lineup for the event was revealed in mid-February, it was clear that there was a new and significant player in the business of importing underground Japanese idol to the West.
https://twitter.com/monster_dolls/status/1096753534014578688
Seemingly overnight, the hardol diaspora had grown another tendril.
On May 11th in Bologna, Italy, Monster of Dolls will play host to alt-idol A-listers LADYBABY, the Western debut of JyuJyu, and an appearance by the legendary Sari of NECRONOMIDOL fame. The event’s biggest coup, however, is scoring the first ever overseas live for perhaps the hottest chika idol act in Tokyo: Melon Batake a go go.
The appearance of this top-tier alt-idol festival, seemingly out of nowhere, was the most pleasant of surprises. Our curiosity was piqued, not just about the cost of plane tickets to Italy, but also about the festival itself, the brains behind it, and about the Italian-speaking fandom whose presence we had been totally ignorant of until now. So we reached out to our new Italian allies in the quest to bring alt-idol to the West in the hopes that we could learn all we could.
We think this is the beginning of a beautiful friendship.
Here’s All the Jazz with Monster of Dolls
Folks, a new idol event has sprouted from the fertile soil of Western music fandoms, and the time has arrived for all details to be known and tickets to be available.
Monster of Dolls, a one-day event (May 11) in Bologna, Italy, is bringing as fine an assortment of idols and personalities as you can shake a stick at:
MoD 2019!! ✨
THIS IS THE FINAL LINEUP! 🔥
FOLLOW THE LINK ON OUR FACEBOOK EVENT TO BUY TICKETS! ~ LET'S GO! 😎😎😎https://t.co/IGjJSYfCtf#MoD2019 #Monsterofdolls #idol #concert #event #アイドル pic.twitter.com/X8qHensqKi— Monster Of Dolls (@monster_dolls) February 16, 2019
You can actually skip the Facebook thing if you don’t like being part of a massive data-mining scheme and just click here for tickets. Continue reading
