GO TO THE BEDS Was Just Pulling Our Legs!

So if you recall from … not long ago, there was some trepidation among WACK wota when GO TO THE BEDS did a little promo clip of themselves in gasp! frilly little tradol outfits with egads! lame-ass boring tradol music tinkling in the background, and they were doing the ganbare fists and stuff. I think Coco may have blown a kiss at the camera unironically! For about 45 seconds, people were deeply concerned. Had Watanabe finally lost it?

And then people who were alive in 2012 and/or know anything about the history of the company that GO TO THE BEDS is part of and recall their past forays into revisiting music video content from said company’s legacy acts speculated that perhaps this was a play on the famed “IDOL” incident from 2012, and there was much nodding in agreement among us. We won’t be fooled by any simpering sparkly idols! Continue reading

This Is the GANG PARADE I Was Looking For

So GANG PARADE released the MV for their new single the other day, and it’s a nice song and all, but — likely due to the fact that it’s a theme song — kind of tame by the group’s recent-ish standards. Perhaps in the vernacular of today’s youth: It doesn’t so much slay as lightly buffet. A little disappointing!

Of course, as we know ’round these parts, the B side is the best side, and the companion track from the single is unexpectedly exactly what I needed not just from this record, but from like all of idol in the past several months:

Oh my goodness. Oh my. Oh. Continue reading

Oh Good, Now Coco Needs to Run a Solo Marathon

Stop Watanabe before he kills again:

This is technically happening as a result of her not-great finish in the WACK Election, but I like to think that this is punishment for the glorious stink-eye ol’ Coco gave the boss after the last(?) time GANG PARADE was forced to participate in a marathon spectacle. She is no doubt much pleased. Continue reading

GANG PARADE’s ‘Beyond the Mountain’ MV Is Like Burying the Body

So:

Okay. Continue reading

And as Far as Punning on Titles Goes, It’s Actually Opposite Day for GANG PARADE

Yep, this would be one of those releases that I expected today; GANG PARADE getting out the MV for their new single, which, help me out, I thought was called “BODY & 7SOUL” but this is “FOUL,” so is this a B-side? I don’t care. They could call it “Ham Sandwich” and I’d be okay with it.


Also, ham sandwich

After “Plastic 2 Mercy,” this is a nice next step. Continue reading

The Denpa Is Strong with GANG PARADE’s B-side

Although they were upstaged by an old friend last week, The Artists Formerly Known as POP still put out a pretty nice single that grows on you the more you listen to it. Unlike their most recent releases, though, it sounded like they were shifting gears again, getting away from the denpa-inspired pop of “Happy Lucky Kirakira Lucky” and “Queen of POP” to return somewhat to their Pla2me roots.

The B-side on the “WE ARE the IDOL” disc, though, is not like that at all!

I remain consistently confused by this group.

I Think GANG PARADE Just Went Full Pla2me

When this first hit Twitter about 45 minutes ago, I was like, “Oh great, another weird swerve for the Artists Formerly Known as a Couple of Different Things.”

But after listening to it a few times and going back through GANG PARADE‘s Soundcloud, is “WE ARE the IDOL” a return to form?

A few synth sections aside, there’s nothing denpa-y about this one; it has energy much more akin to “Plastic 2 Mercy” from back in the day (well, a year ago), a traditional pop ballad. It’s a nice song. Continue reading

Guess Who’s Going by GANG PARADE Now

The announcement teased last night had me interested in at least getting a substantial announcement, if not an MV or something (which, please, it’s S-L-O-W in Idolville right now); I did not expect this:

If you have a reaction to this bit of news, a thread just opened up in the forums — and you OG Pla2me people might have a good time with it!

Yes, the group formerly known as Pla2me has now rebranded twice in a year and will now be known as GANG PARADE going forward (Twitter typos notwithstanding).

For those keeping score at home, here’s a rough timeline: Continue reading

Just to Show You They’re Serious, TIF Invites Trouble Back on Stage

A few days late to this party, but the Tokyo Idol Festival (a cesspool of scum and villainy) has been releasing its schedule so far. Here’s how I reacted to some of the news as it came out on Friday.

See, TIF is kind of a big deal. Like, the biggest idol festival. The one that can catapult you to national, even international, attention. It’s no place for the kinds of ruffians that inhabit this domain. Continue reading

POP Checks off One More Idol Thing from Their List

POP, aka Period of Plastic 2 Mercy, aka the continuation/successor of Pla2me, aka once upon a time the most promising alt-idol duo in the game, just put another notch in their belt:

Continue reading