While Daemon is living his best life seeing MELON BATAKE A GO GO, I’m in charge of the weekender!
We published a trilogy of articles having Nonamera as a pivot: one about her solo album, one on KAQRIYO TERROR’s newest release and finally, a piece of Kyunchi’s collaboration with her. That’s a whole lot of content for a week!
But what else happened in the idol world?
You’ll Melt More!
The Contenders: Team Homicidols Best of 2022 (So Far)
We lost so many veteran and A-list talents last year that there were thoughts that 2022 would have a dearth of compelling new chika idol releases. To our surprise, the first several months of this new year have instead seen veteran idols producing some of their best ever work while new units have been dropping captivating releases from the word, “Go!” We usually wait until much later in the year to start tossing around contenders for “Best of the Year” nods, but Team Homicidols is finding ourselves so overwhelmed by the volume, diversity and quality of new music that we felt it was important to make some mid-year citations for posterity.
Chip Chop! – Nerun Poku Poku’s adventures with blades and potatoes
It’s a busy time for You’ll Melt More!‘s Nerun. Fresh from releasing a new mini-album and MV with the rest of the group, she has seemingly undergone successful separation surgery from her conjoined twin Nani, with whom she was formerly fused at the kawaii, and has now launched a solo project – Nerun Poku Poku – with three simultaneous singles.
YOU’LL MELT MORE! Break Out and Celebrate 47 Cities in the East!
We’re fast approaching a new era for Yurumerumo! as Kechon (A founding member!) and Chiffon (A member since 2013!) prepare to graduate in October! Let’s face it, it’s a seismic shift for this legendary idol unit as it passes the torch to an entire pack of “Pupil More”s. Nani and Nerun, who only joined last year, are going to be the veteran members! So the next year of YMM! will be one of growth and finding their footing as the unit steps up into something new and also continues the legacy of the past.
So here we have the first live-action MV featuring all the fresh new upstarts, and what is quite possibly the final video for Chiffon and Kechon. The song is called “47 Cities in the East” and it’s just what we love about this group. Let’s watch!
The 50 Greatest Alternative Idol Albums of the Last Decade: #1 – 10
Here it is!! The final top ten in our countdown of the 50 Greatest Albums of the last decade. Be sure to let us know the albums you feel we were criminally negligent to exclude, and the punishment you think we deserve. We are collecting your feedback for our follow-up article: “Albums We are Awful for Leaving Off the Greatest Albums List”.
While we know that our imperfect process (and questionable taste) has overlooked some stellar albums and deserving units, we hope that you have still found the exploration worthwhile. I know I have enjoyed revisiting some classic albums that I haven’t listened to in years and even discovered a few new favorites. We may try the exercise again, perhaps with the “50 Greatest MVs”. If we do, we’ll find a way to incorporate community participation in the selection next time.
Without further ado:
The 50 Greatest Alternative Idol Albums of the Last Decade: #11 – 20
We have reached the second-to-last week of our Top 50 countdown featuring the albums that placed 11 – 20 plus one honorable mention that didn’t quite make the final list of 50.
“Why the honorable mentions?”, no one asked, “Why not just make it a top 55 or 60?”
There are a few reasons such as we had to draw a line somewhere, and also because we wanted to respect our quasi-democratic process. The primary reason though is because, when we first took a look at the final top 50, we were surprised by a few things that weren’t there. This week’s honorable mention is a prime case in point:
The 50 Greatest Alternative Idol Albums of the Last Decade: #31 – 40
Welcome to week two of our latest project where we blatantly rip off Rolling Stone’s Greatest of All Time lists. These imperfect and perpetually recurring features from the Gray Lady of rock journalism have a special place in my heart. As a young teen who only knew David Bowie from “Let’s Dance” and Labyrinth, my first browse through Rolling Stone’s inaugural best rock album list introduced me to The Rise and Fall of Ziggy Stardust and the Spiders from Mars. The encounter was genuinely life changing.
Hopefully, through this exercise of recognizing some of the most influential underground, indie and alternative idol albums of the last decade, you will not only encounter many of your personal favorites, but make some new discoveries as well.
Greet / Escape: YMM! announce new members, new MV
Unofficial Homicidols house band You’ll Melt More! have been uncharacteristically quiet of late. Perhaps our marathon coverage of them last year scared them away? I can’t think of anything else on this hapless planet that could account for it. But now they’re back, back, back and 75% bigger besides. Three more recruits have been promoted from the Pupil More! subs bench, so it’s hello to Heso (orange), Matsuri (yellow) and Meari (blue) who was formerly known as Waka.
Neither New Nano-Nani’n’Neruns Nor New “Naughty Naughty” Near Nasty!
Today is January 6th, celebrated by many as the feast of Epiphany, commemorating the time when the Three Kings from the East brought gifts of Gold, Frankenstein and Meh to the God-cub Jesus, asleep in the hay. And today you, dear reader, get to feel two-thirds as special as the Holy Baby, for Two Queens from the East now shower you with two valuable presents.
Your Homicidols Guide to Tokyo Idol Festival Online 2020
Attending the Tokyo Idol Festival has always been on my bucket list. The primary barrier for me had been, having grown up in the Sonoran desert, a complete lack of tolerance for the humidity levels of Odaiba during Japan’s late summer. Hope was kindled in my desert rat heart when it was announced that TIF 2020 would be held in October when the heat and humidity is much less gruesome. This hope was, of course, dashed completely by the COVID crisis. TIF organizer’s decision to deliver the festival entirely online for 2020 has generated a new kind of hope. This livestream format gives many of us foreigners the opportunity to check “Attended Tokyo Idol Festival” off our bucket lists, even if the accomplishment will have a COVID-shaped asterisk next to it.
https://twitter.com/TIP_TIF_staff/status/1306865546625859586?s=20
Whether you have already invested in tickets to Tokyo Idol Festival Online or are considering the reasonably hefty purchase, we have prepared the following resources for you. Continue reading
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