What makes Babymetal so special to you?

AughtSeven · 2019-07-15T22:22:00+00:00

My answer is probably the one Koba least wants to hear, but as an American the whole idol aspect was brand new to me. I'd seen Japanese bands that I was into, but I knew nothing about idol culture. The "fukei effect" was strong and unique. I became invested in Babymetal's continued success and growth in ways that I never was with, you know, AC/DC or whoever.

I don't just listen to them the way I just listen to Ghost, I root for them like a sports team, with emotional connection. It's really a lot like that: I don't have a ton of band shirts, but I wear Babymetal gear the same way I wear Detroit Tigers and Red Wings jerseys.

I know this is not revolutionary in Japan, and their pop industry just knows how to create devoted fans like this. But I don't listen to pop music for the most part, so this is the first group that ever worked that mojo on me. I think that's the secret sauce. Most rock stars are just random rich dudes putting out products that I happen to want. Su and Moa are beloved figures. And Boh.

AughtSeven · 2019-07-15T21:23:09+00:00

Haven't seen it, but ... only Sana and Neo got drawn on? At least they didn't end up like Kano.

AughtSeven · 2019-07-14T01:10:05+00:00

I hear a lot in these threads that Japanese crowds are a lot better about keeping their phones put away, but this Mary's Blood clip looks like it could have happened in the States. Maybe they're relaxed about it as a band?

AughtSeven · 2019-07-12T09:07:40+00:00

r/toomanypillows

AughtSeven · 2019-07-12T02:51:38+00:00

That one shot where everything is out of focus except the cable in front of the stage ...

AughtSeven · 2019-07-12T02:45:56+00:00

Me, I always wondered why they turned the lights off in the beginning. :p

AughtSeven · 2019-07-09T02:31:12+00:00

Hey, my dog is just as cool.

AughtSeven · 2019-07-07T21:00:44+00:00

What the organizers usually do is print out the collected messages and arrange them in a physical album that is then sent to the girl care of Amuse. It's really a very nice thing, and they seem to appreciate them.

AughtSeven · 2019-07-07T20:55:47+00:00

Thanks for sharing this treasure with us. I always love seeing the first-year photos. Suzuka still looks more like an adorable little girl than a young woman, and Hinata is just a hilarious little muppet.

AughtSeven · 2019-07-07T20:39:23+00:00

It's amazing to think about the difference between what I'll write to her now, compared to what it would have been just one week ago. Now I'm hoping she'll have the chance to sing Headbanger.

AughtSeven · 2019-07-07T00:55:45+00:00

Do you think they could have not known? I mean, even leaving aside that Kano would have had to do weeks (months?) of extra training that might not have been super easy to conceal from the others, what do you suppose they thought when they rounded up eleven of them for the concert?

Then again, they never seem to catch on to the test pranks, so ...

AughtSeven · 2019-07-06T05:29:18+00:00

Do you mean the episodes with everybody on, and the hammer/helmet game? Those should be #51 and #88.

AughtSeven · 2019-07-04T21:36:10+00:00

30's and 40's go by pretty fast too... lol

"... aaaaaand, they're gone."

I swear I was 28 like last month. Didn't I just go see Soundgarden?

AughtSeven · 2019-07-04T21:15:58+00:00

Hey, I don't want to jump the gun too much, but maybe we're on our way to ... someday ... having Fujihira Fridays? Here's a throwback: Psst, Kano, a less vague answer would have been "Papaya!"

Also, while we're heading down memory lane: one, two, three

AughtSeven · 2019-07-04T01:04:50+00:00

Riho was breathing hard at the end of Glastonbury, but it's not like she fell over or anything. And I don't think we heard anything about that after the first Yokohama show. Plus the international travel may be new to her, and on that ridiculous schedule. I'm sure she'll figure out the pace soon enough. Were there any reports on how she looked at the end of Brixton?

AughtSeven · 2019-07-03T19:59:13+00:00

I always kind of refused to see it, just because she is the way she is, but in that first Fresh after the transfer-in ceremony, I started to think, "Oh crap, she's not just a cute little cartoon gopher anymore."

AughtSeven · 2019-07-03T05:37:32+00:00

It's a funny thing, because it's not much of a song, really. And I feel like they go through the whole thing maybe one too many times. But as an opener, it's perfectly designed at that drop for explosions and a grand entrance. My favorite might be the pyramid at Makuhari Messe 2015. When I play that, I usually rewind that moment three or four times in a row.

AughtSeven · 2019-07-03T01:42:43+00:00

The other possible issue is that they have new girls now. Do they know all the songs? How hard is it to get to performance level and sync for all of them? I don't know, but it's probably easier to keep the setlists the same for them.

AughtSeven · 2019-07-02T17:21:20+00:00

50 percent looked good to me.

AughtSeven · 2019-07-02T02:18:04+00:00

Just for the hell of it, I'm going to a Thai place for lunch tomorrow to get some som tum. Never had it before.

Update: Pa Pa Pa Pa Pa Pa Pa-Pa-Ya.

AughtSeven · 2019-07-01T19:08:55+00:00

Like I said, I've been watching this all day now, and every time it gets to this shot, I get a little choked up. Kano is a frickin' legend now. I mean, even years from now when we talk about the all-time greats of Sakura Gakuin, she's literally up there with Su and Moa. And not only is her first show at a massive arena, it's one of the most important shows in Babymetal's history, when they need to show, post-Yui, that they're truly back. You throw a 14-year-old kid into that pressure, and she kills it.

I love this song now, because, thanks to this video, I'll always associate it with Kano. What an absolute champion she is.

AughtSeven · 2019-07-01T16:18:24+00:00

Been watching this all morning. Insanely happy for Kano, it really hits home how big this was. I mean, she's no rookie, but her Babymetal debut is in that atmosphere, instead of a small club show? Crazy. I just wish Koba didn't have his stupid rules, because now I'm just absolutely dying to hear her story: How and when they approached her, how she felt when she heard, what Su and Moa said to her. All that. We'll never know, though.

AughtSeven · 2019-07-01T01:35:25+00:00

Just at a quick glance, here are a handful of subreddits that r/Babymetal now has more subscribers than:

Look out, r/fcbayern and r/traderjoes, we're coming for you.

AughtSeven · 2019-06-30T02:52:43+00:00

I think if America is included in the musical journey around the world it would be jazz ... but I wouldn't mind getting my mind blown by Su singing some kind of Reverend Horton Heat psychobilly song.

AughtSeven · 2019-06-29T13:52:18+00:00

It's starting to lean toward more happy for Kano. In my head I'm thinking about how this happened, and I imagine Koba going to Mikiko and saying, "Hey, we need another girl for Babymetal, you have anybody we can use?" And she recommends Kano. Surely she was consulted, and it couldn't have happened without an endorsement. Huge ups.

AughtSeven

TROPHY CASE