Make Believe Mailer Vol. 3: The Other Side (Of AKB)
I try my hardest to not write much about idol music much anymore, because...there isn't much to say at this point. After a few years where idol groups were everything, 2015 saw a shift away from mainstream attention, where AKB48 was mostly ignored by the public and niche groups continued moving towards corners. Beyond that, though, it at times just felt not worth it to try to approach idol music because, in my head at least, idol fans weren't going to listen. The whole point of the idol system is to create this (fake) bond between fan and performer, that tends to result in deep loyalties. No way a fan of a group like, say, AKB48, would ever speak ill of the group, right?
Then I found a blog called Antisure, which translates comments from beloved Japanese message board/anti-Korean hub 2ch related primarily to AKB48 from fans. And turns out actual supporters of the group are just as pessimistic as the rest of the world, with posts not even debating if AKB are on the decline, but starting from the prompt that they are failures in 2015. It's a goofy conclusion best fit for a very-special episode -- "wow, idol fans are human after all!" -- but skimming through all the pessimism coming from a world I thought was blindly loyal was weirdly refreshing. And almost makes me feel sorry for AKB48.
Even Mayu Watanabe, AKB48's first Vocaloid-wannabe member
Japanese Music Highlights From The Past Week
Historical blog fact of the week: the first full year I ran Make Believe Melodies, I named She Talks Silence's first album Noise & Novels my favorite of 2010 (still great!). Always great to hear from this project, and they shared a wonderfully unsettling song yesterday.
This week in women using rap, but who might not be "rap" -- Bonjour Suzuki! Her new Lollipop Syndrome mini-album is good (save for a too-earnest cover of "Loving You"), though the title track might be all you need.
This week in great SoundCloud finds: Native Rapper's "Water Bunker" and Beipana's "Cave Effect 2015."
Back to idols...I'm not big on You'll Melt More!, but their newest song "Only You" nails something that was actually intriguing about the recent idol boom that, in my mind, has vanished in 2015. It's ambitious, willing to go off in weird directions rather than settle trying to be B-rate Dempagumi.inc or another BiS-inspired "alternative" thing.
I don't want to excuse Perfume's new single "Star Train," as it is overall a pretty meh stab at being fun. Yet it was basically made to be ending-credit music for their movie, and it works well in the context of "welp, better sit through this to be nice." But given how some reactions to it have been "guhhhh Nakata has lost it, what has happened guhhhhh," it really isn't that bad given the reason why it exists at all.
Another thing that exists only because of their movie: "LA Cheeseburger Popcorn"
News And Views
In Japan, Hatsune Miku (and the Vocaloid software she stands in for) has been on a bit of a decline for the last couple of years. But maybe a headlining North American tour next year is all she needs to give her domestic career a (digital?) boost.
I feel confident telling you that you should not care about the results of the MTV Japan Video Music Awards. But if you do, here they are!
It has been a slow-ass news week for Japanese music. Thankfully, some burger store near Tokyo Dome is teaming up with K-Pop megastars Big Bang for some special eats.
One of the best online radio stations out of Japan right now is Datafruits, and this Sunday they'll be putting on a special show that already has an amazing page devoted to it.
Oricon Trail For The Week Of Nov. 2 - Nov. 8
Every week, I'll share the top-charting single from the Oricon Charts, a deeply flawed ranking system that favors groups who get fans to buy multiple copies of the same song, offering a warped view of what anyone actually listens to.
#1 EXO "Love Me Right ~romantic universe~ (146,892 Copies Sold)
Although the political situation between Japan and Korea (and China, for that matter) remains in a weird state of flux -- the last two months have seen a continued "thaw" between Japan and the other two East Asian nations, at least until the next day reveals that, whoops, they still hate each other -- K-Pop remains very profitable in the Japanese music industry. Despite being ignored by major Japanese TV channels and other media platforms, fans still flock to outfits such as EXO who, after delivering the best-selling Korean album of 2014 in Japan, followed it up with a massive three-day concert at Tokyo Dome and an Oricon-topping single.
There has been no shortage of speculation about why Japanese consumers flock to Korean boy bands, but I've always thought it has been pretty obvious. Compare the sleek "Love Me Right" with anything on the latest Arashi album, the nation's highest-selling album of the year. Plenty of people love Arashi, but what if you don't and want an alternative? In Japan, you could opt for another Johnny's boy band that sounds the same, or EXILE, which is a whole different sociological discussion for another newsletter. Or...you could opt for a group that looks and sounds insanely cool, like EXO. Plenty here still are.
Look At Me!
Went to Niconico's Choparty, wrote about it for MTV 81. I'll spare you my rant about Niconico vs. YouTube culture for another day.
Talked to a Japanese drone comedian trying to make the device have a better reputation in the country for The Daily Dot.
You should read Eater later for my report about the opening of Japan's first Shake Shack, should go up today. Aren't you glad you subscribed to this music-centric newsletter?
Next Time: How to get out of J-Pop's doomed middle class
Written by Patrick St. Michel (patrickstmichel@gmail.com)
Make Believe Melodies / Twitter / Facebook
Header by Alan Castree (AC Galaga)