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Pleasure Principled
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Think about it: when is the last time you watched a Morning Musume, Berryz Koubou, C-ute, AKB48, or Perfume video with a male in it? (Don’t answer that yet.) Stretching it even further, out to the less mainstream idol groups, most of which have ceased to exist - when did a male ever enter a PV for, say, Whiteberry? The answer isn’t “never,” but “almost never,” which is close enough.
pengie considers where the boys aren’t in the no man’s land of idol promotional videos.
Art and creation existed before the muses, but they were instrumental in aiding its creation by mankind. Such is the way of Morning Musume. If we treat Tsunku as Zeus and Heike Michiyo as Mnemosyne, the offspring of their shared time would be Morning Musume.
Vee indulges in some striking comparative mythology.
The 2005 en masse shuffle group and the super-publicizing of Koharu Kusumi as a new “ace” seemed, even from a fan’s perspective, to be dying grabs at something transformatory. It’s rather easy to switch the blame around, and say that Hello!Project began to decay and the humor suffered from it, rather than what I believe: that the humor faded from Hello!Project’s idols, and the group began to decay.
Vee considers how some Hello! Project youngsters usher in a return to the good old fashioned value of childish fun…
Much like the H!P girls, Perfume’s members don’t write lyrics or work on composition, simply sing what they are told and perform dance routines for PVs or concerts. But their singing is processed in such a way that any flaws can go unnoticed, and furthermore, they don’t often sing live at their concerts. So instead of reaching the level of authenticity that H!P has, in that their members will get on stage for a concert and perform every song live, both singing and dancing, Perfume just dances and lipsynchs.
pengie explores her longstanding ambivalence to pop idols and how she came to terms with enjoying what they do.
American wotadom has been waiting a very long time for Morning Musume to perform outside of Asia - and now that it’s happening, many of us are saying we’re going to make it to see this momentous occasion. I have no idea how big this is going to be, but I suspect that this will be the largest gathering of wota to take place in America.
Babble babble babble, as Ray muses on what MM+AX can mean for overseas fans.
She is distant not only in space, but, as manifest to us in her screen and singing career, also in time. To pursue one’s suit, already hopeless, over the chasm of time, is the truest of all leaps of faith, and in direct proportion to its foolishness, so are its rewards great.
Quentin finds the deep underlying bonds between an American idol of yesteryear and the Japanese idols of today.
If you take “Taiyou no Namida” by NEWS, and “Naichau Kamo” by Morning Musume, the mood of each song is pretty similar, and so are the PV’s. They both have a dance shot, and they both have two different kind of close ups, and one shot from each PV involves getting wet somehow.
Misa considers how being a JE fan deepens her appreciation of H!P… and vice-versa.
I don’t blame these people for being initially wary of SweetS or Hello! Project. As is too often the rub with popular music, image comes before sound, and few can get past the “pedophilia parade”.
Vee discusses her personal experiences in promoting the joys of wota-dom to an otaku crowd.
2008 became a year for reflection. In the simplest sense much of it can be attributed to economic temperament, as not even this cultural phenomenon could escape its wrath. The history of idol groups has long seen the pitfalls and triumphs which follow trends, popularity, and other aspects that drive the community.
MorningBerryz looks at the significant shifts and persisting truths that defined the world of girl group idols this past year, and shares hopes for 2009.
He overemoted constantly, but without any intrinsic feel for the lyrics; the effect was like listening to a broken machine parroting human song. The words, intended for a young girl’s voice, seemed to warp and coarsen in the air. Towards the end he stood up and danced.
The conclusion of the story that began here.
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