My Top 20 BiS Songs

Well, the deed is done. BiS has disbanded. It was a sad day for many a BiS fan, but slightly less sad upon finding out that all the members were doing stuff post-disbandment. Still, it's not the same as seeing them all together in BiS releasing unconventional singles and doing strange things. How I will miss them...

I admit, the disbandment's been easier to deal with than I'd thought it would be. I think maybe because I've been busier than I expected this month? But I do feel a pang of sadness when I'm planning out things to review. Still, just because BiS has no future doesn't mean I can't dwell on their past! For a fairly short tenure, BiS left behind a large number of songs, music videos, and crazy stunts. Yesterday, I was trying to tally up how many songs BiS has released since their formation. Technically, they released three albums and ten singles of music. But they also did a boatload of collaborations with other artists from Vampillia to Dempagumi.inc to Hijokaidan to Dorothy Little Happy! The total number of BiS songs I was able to come up with was over sixty. They've were around from late 2010 to July 2014 and in that time they release over sixty songs. To put in in perspective, Perfume major debuted in September 2005. From September 2005 to May 2009, they released twenty-eight songs. I am downright grateful for the amount of music BiS released before they left. They could have been one of those groups that barely released anything before dropping off the face of the planet. Like amU...

So as you can imagine, with over sixty songs, BiS has some released some pretty amazing music. They've also released some pretty terrible music. But when have you heard of an idol group that hasn't? Besides, I'm not here to focus on the low points of BiS. They were one of my favorite idol groups, and I need to pay respects to them. And since I can't draw, the only way I know how is by writing about them! I think a top 20 list for BiS is long overdue anyways. From nearly the get-go, I've sung my praises about BiS on the Wonderland. I've loved them for their unconventional image, their many, many strange music videos, and most of all, their really good music. BiS music varies from pop rock to ska to death metal to even electronica. The only consistency is a level of energy that I wish I'd hear in more idol groups. So after much internal deliberation, I have come up with my favorite 20 BiS songs. They have so many great songs to pick from that narrowing it down to 20 was a challenging feat! For that reason, here are a few honorable mentions:

animal
Blew
I'm coming!!
I wish I was Special
nasty face
Teenage Flavor

And now let's get to the good stuff! The following twenty are my favorite BiS songs, and while they may be my personal favorites, I highly recommend you all listen to them. Hell, if you haven't listened to BiS, then do it! If you can get past their visuals, you might find some pretty good music! And then you too can experience crushing sadness over their disbandment! Fun for the whole family!

20. Demo Sayonara

I have and always will find Get You to be the weirdest BiS single, even if technically it was a collaboration with Dorothy Little Happy. But that's where most of the weirdness stems from! Dorothy Little Happy is about as cookie cutter as idol groups get, and if you like that sort of thing, this group is your cup of tea. Personally though, Dorothy Little Happy is my cup of blandness. And I don't drink tea. Anyways, for Get You, BiS and Dorothy Little Happy each covered one of each other's songs. Dorothy Little Happy covered Nerve and handled it pretty well, and in turn, BiS covered Demo Sayonara. The original Demo Sayonara is just as boring as everything else I've heard from Dorothy Little Happy, so hearing BiS cover it was definitely weird. Luckily, the BiS version changes so much of Demo Sayonara and ends up sounding nothing like the original! BiS's Demo Sayonara goes heavy on the synths, and I love it. Demo Sayonara reminds me of most of Ash and Error, but the added appeal comes from the fact that Demo Sayonara is a cover. BiS's cover has such energy and loudness to it. I'm not sure if they performed it at concerts much, but when they did, I'll bet it was awesome. Really though, all the songs on this single are good. Demo Sayonara's just my favorite!

19. Gugigi

I'm not sure if Gugigi is even a real word. But the song is cool! I love all the songs off the Nerve single, and I'm coming!! was so close to making it on the list. What I like about Gugigi is that it's one of the more pop-sounding songs from BiS. I love their alternative and rock songs, but their pop songs are just as strong! And I just feel very refreshed when I listen to Gugigi. It's such a happy song! BiS has a ton of abrasive and serious songs, but there's this very laidback happy sound that Gugigi has. There are even parts where the song sounds kind of bubbly! I don't know, there's not much else I can say about Gugigi. Insert something about nice composition or arrangement. Honestly, I just get good vibes whenever I listen to Gugigi. It's a nice B-side! Something that disappointed me about BiS's B-sides is that very few of them made it to their albums, especially for Brand-new Idol Society and Idol is Dead. Who Killed Idol? got a few. It really is a shame, because BiS released some strong B-sides. And there's such a nice variety with the B-sides too! Not every BiS B-side worked, but they all stand out. Gugigi stands out as one of BiS's happier, calmer songs. Gugigi isn't even the strongest B-side on this list! It is one of many to come so let us proceed onward!

18. Split Brain Syndrome

See? I told you there were more B-sides to come. This one's from My Ixxx! The title alone is enough to land Split Brain Syndrome in my top 20 BiS songs. But there's more to it than just a cool name! Over BiS's tenure, a lot of the songs I liked best from them were their rock-oriented. There aren't anywhere near as many alternative/rock idol groups as I would like, and BiS stood out in that respect. So yes, Split Brain Syndrome follows in the trend BiS's other rock-ish songs like Blew and PPCC and Lullaby. I always liked the vocals of Split Brain Syndrome. The girls sound so energetic when they sing this song, although that's partially thanks to a fast arrangement. My favorite parts of Split Brain Syndrome are when the singing speeds up in the chorus. I think it gives this sporadic, crazy feel to the song, and a song like Split Brain Syndrome needs a little bit of craziness. I like that Split Brain Syndrome doesn't sound too insane either, like StupiG did. Good god, that song is a mess. Back to Split Brain Syndrome, this song has all the energy that made BiS work so well and just a hint of the craziness that would come back in their later B-sides. It's my favorite B-side of the three on My Ixxx (honorable mention to Animal though) and definitely one of BiS's B-sides I'd recommend!

17. Our Song

Another cover (there are several on this list), although thankfully not a cover of the Taylor Swift song of the same name. No, this Our Song was originally by Osawa Shinichi. I actually love the original version, but I never would have known it even existed without hearing BiS's version. What I always liked about BiS's covers (even the ones that didn't make it to this list) is how BiS puts their own spin on each one. Like Demo Sayonara, had the gritty synths, and DenDen Passion had more of a hard rock edge then the original. And you know, BiS didn't sing it like chipmunks. Back to Our Song, BiS's version is a lot less upbeat than the original. Their version also sounds very muddled and noisy. Our Song sounds like a mishmash of grunge and dream pop, and to me, it's one of BiS's most distinctive songs. The song sounds so downtrodden and pretty at the same time, and back in 2012, I was kind of going through a grunge phase. And Our Song takes me back to when I was waiting for the entire Idol is Dead album to leak. I remember going crazy wanting to hear the album. Our Song was one of the first songs off the album that was leaked in full, and for some reason, that's a very clear memory of mine. I guess because that was when I really became a fan of BiS.

16. Thousand Volts

BiS's first album Brand-new Idol Society took awhile to grow on me. It's not that I thought it was a bad album, but I was much more impressed with Idol is Dead. And so Brand-new Idol Society kind of got cast off to the side. In recent months, I have listened to the album more, and it's really grown on me! One of my favorite songs off the album is Thousand Volts (or Southern Bolt depending on which romanization works). The general sound of Brand-new Idol Society is definitely closer to pop than their other two albums, but Thousand Volts is one of the more rock-ish songs on the album. Yeah, it's still pop rock, but that doesn't mean it isn't fun! Thousand Volts has a few quirks to it, like the record scratches thrown around in the instrumental. The song brings me back to early 2000s pop rock for some reason like Smash Mouth... Did I really just compare a BiS song to Smash Mouth? Whatever Thousand Volts sound similar to, I still think the song is fun! And while I love BiS's serious and edgy songs, I also like their lighter songs too! Thousand Volts sounds so easygoing and fun. That's the vibe I get from a lot of the songs off of Brand-new Idol Society. Thousand Volts is a personal favorite of mine, simply because I enjoy listening to it.

15. MMGK

Admittedly, Who Killed Idol? is probably my least favorite of BiS's three albums. Don't get me wrong, it's still got a few highlights. One of them being MMGK. MMGK dabbles into a more electronic sound for BiS, and I think it works really well. The riff at the beginning makes for such a strong opening and the rest of the song maintains a high level of energy. What I always liked about BiS is that they balanced electronica and rock really well in their songs, and that especially stands for MMGK. I also love the pacing of MMGK. The vocals go by really fast, and it's like you're getting swept up into this wave of crazy electronic rock music. I'll bet this was one of the crowd-pumping songs at concerts! I jam enough to MMGK in my car, can you imagine how crazy it must be with other people around? MMGK goes hard but not to the point where it's abrasive. My biggest problem with the other electronic songs on Who Killed Idol? (mainly StupiG and Error) was how abrasive they sounded. Like someone was mashing a hammer against my skull. MMGK is just right. It's not too messy, still maintains an earworm of a melody, and is long enough to hold my attention. Of the album tracks on Who Killed Idol?, MMGK is definitely the top one I'd recommend.

14. Ash

Speaking of electronica!BiS, here's Ash! A lot of what I said about MMGK can also be applied to Ash. But I think Ash is a little more all-over-the-place than MMGK is. I mean, I'm not even sure how the hell to describe Ash. Yes, it's got a ton of synths but there are also parts where it sounds closer to metal? All I know is that Ash reminds me of something I'd hear out of a cypberpunk movie. Which is pretty damn cool. Ash is such a hectic, energetic song. The song is frighteningly loud and doesn't relent on that loudness until the song stops playing. While BiS's more hardcore/metal songs usually didn't resonate with me, I took to Ash much better than I thought I would. I think that may be because there is still a clear melody to Ash that's buried under synths and growls and loud noises jam-packed into three minutes and twenty-five seconds of insanity. There's a lot of energy to Ash too, which is always something I admire in a song. The song sounds effing crazy, and the music video doesn't let up on the craziness. Ash is crazy in the same way that watching an explosion is crazy. And then Ash ends all that craziness with what? A fart noise! It's equal parts hilarious and stupid, but I think that describes a lot of BiS's antics. I may never know what to completely make of Ash, but I love listening to it all the same.

13. Mirror Mirror

Technically, this song isn't a BiS release. The song was a collaboration between BiS and alternative/experimental/orchestral band Vampillia for their album, The Divine Move. For the album, Vampillia collaborated with a variety of unconventional artists, including Togawa Jun! BiS contributed their vocals to two of the album songs, this one and Oops we did it again. Of the two, I prefer Mirror Mirror. I'm not even sure what to categorize Mirror Mirror as. The song is five minutes long and crams in so many different sounds and vocals; it's beautifully chaotic. Mirror Mirror starts out sounding like a church chorus, but then the song swings back and forth between soft delicate melodies and brutal screams and snarling. It's a little unsettling. I'm pretty sure that's what Vampillia was going for! Mirror Mirror took awhile to grow on me because of how dissonant it sounds, but over time, I really appreciated the whiplash of sound. I wish BiS had done more collaborations with Vampillia. I think they could have produced some pretty amazing stuff if Mirror Mirror's anything to go by. Oh well, as things are, Mirror Mirror is calculated chaos, the kind that you can't bring yourself to get away from. The collaboration with Vampillia makes Mirror Mirror one of BiS's most original songs.

12. Elegant no Kaibutsu

So has anyone heard of vaporwave? I swear it must be a buzzword these days, because I keep bumping into that term everywhere. Maybe that's because I've been listening to a lot of Especia these days... Anyways, I still don't 100% get vaporwave. From what I've read, it's a tongue-in-cheek approach to 80s pop and features album art that looks like it was created with Photoshop and Microsoft Clip Art. Anyways, I bring this up because I just found out a few months ago that Elegant no Kaibutsu is a vaporwave song. And I think Teenage Flavor is too, but that song didn't make the list. Elegant no Kaibutsu is a cover originally by an also-defunct band called Spank Happy. Funny enough Pour Lui covered Elegant no Kaibutsu as a solo single before going on to form BiS. I don't have the original to compare BiS's Elegant no Kaibutsu to, but I love the BiS version. At the time, I liked Elegant no Kaibutsu because it sounded so different compared to the other songs on Brand-new Idol Society. It had a funkier, quirkier sound, like something I'd hear from Cyndi Lauper. Then came my aforementioned discovery of vaporwave. I may not have a firm grasp on vaporwave, but I do think that Elegant no Kaibutsu is a cool song that would fit right in with an 80s hairspray commercial.

11. Tofu

BiS was never big on releasing digital singles, but of the few they did, Tofu was my favorite! Yum, Tofu. Honestly, I am not a big fan of tofu, but I love the song! Tofu's a pop rock song, like many BiS songs. And... that's pretty much all I have to say about it. I like how Tofu sounds, and it's a happy song from BiS. Yep. Very articulate song description, I know. Well, one other thing I do like about Tofu is the lineup around this time. If I recall correctly, UK had just left the group leaving BiS a trio yet again. Yufu was one of my favorite members of BiS, and I love hearing her voice in Tofu. It really is a shame that she and Pour Lui got along so poorly. Then came the Avex label and two new members; the five-member lineup of Pour Lui, Nozomi, Yufu, Mitchel, and Wacky is my favorite BiS lineup. I do get nostalgic thinking about the one around Tofu though. I think Idol was around the time when BiS started experimenting more and more, and Tofu's one of their last safer-sounding songs. Safe doesn't always equate to bad, and I enjoy listening to Tofu a lot. It's a happy song that gets me nostalgic for the older BiS. Although now I think many of BiS's songs are going to invoke nostalgia in me. Overall, Tofu's just a sweet, likable pop rock song from BiS.

10. Yah Yah Yah

I swear Yah Yah Yah is the last cover on this list! From here on out, it's original BiS music! Yah Yah Yah was originally by Chage and Aska, a duo formed in 1979. Their version of Yah Yah Yah was released way back in 1993, and it's a fun song! The two guys singing the song sound really into it. A lot of the covers I've listed on here I liked because they sounded so different from the original version. But BiS's cover of Yah Yah Yah retains pretty much the same upbeat nature of the original.  I can't spot many differences between the original and the cover. There are probably some compositional differences, but I don't have the ear trained to listen for those. As much as I loved hearing BiS put their own spin on various songs, Yah Yah Yah is refreshingly close to the original song. I don't even think I'd want BiS to change much about Yah Yah Yah, because the original version is a really great song. It's a bright, sunny rock song, and BiS's version puts me in a great mood. And it's easy to sing along to. Most of the song is pretty much just singing "Yah Yah Yah." Even a non-Japanese speaker can learn that! Primal was one of BiS's best singles, and Yah Yah Yah is one of two B-sides on it that particularly stand out to me. It's one of BiS's more feel-good songs, which is nice!

9. Mura-Mura

DiE is a decent BiS song but pales in comparison to B-side Mura-Mura. And that's not even factoring in the music video. Mura-Mura's PV was definitely one of the stranger ones from BiS. It involve satirizing the Minegishi Minami shaved head scandal and then kidnapping a random fan. And a face in a Pour Lui's crotch spewing out white liquid. The song does mean "horny" in Japanese... In their later years, BiS branched out to a lot of different sounds and gimmicks. Some didn't work as well as others, but they were always interesting. Mura-Mura is BiS's foray into ska. I haven't listened to a ton of ska, but I have listened to enough to enjoy the genre of music. And hearing BiS take on ska was something I never thought I'd hear them do! The final result was immensely enjoyable, entertaining too! Mura-Mura sounds equal parts playful and energetic and a little crazy. That brass in the instrumental fuels on the energy, which is part of what I think made Mura-Mura work so well. I love how the song starts by pretty much bursting to life then stays that way until the very end! Special mention again to the batshit-crazy music video. It's definitely not for everyone to watch but it does leave an impression... But hey, so does the song! Mura-Mura is a ton of fun, and if you like ska, check it out!

8. hide out cut

I am a sucker for pianos. The prettier they sound, the faster they're going to reel me in. Even shitty piano songs still appeal to me just a little bit. Hide out cut is my second favorite BiS B-side and mainly because of that beautiful instrumental. I wish I had sheet music to Hide out cut, because I would love to learn that melody. And the rest of the song is beautiful. Hide out cut isn't exactly a ballad; the tempo's too quick to be one. Hide out cut is an emotional song, and I think that's propelled by the vocal delivery of the girls of BiS. The original song has a little more of an impact than the re-recorded Who Killed Idol? version, but both recordings still sound emotional. The only off-putting aspect of Hide out cut are the lyrics. BiS released a few songs that they sang in English, Hide out cut included. The only problem is the English lyrics... make absolutely no sense. Like seriously, look. Parts of it I get but other parts just need to be re-worked entirely. When I first reviewed Hide out cut, the lyrics really bothered me. Now though, I don't care. I still love this song, strange, nonsensical lyrics and all. The composition of Hide out cut is pretty enough to transcend the lyrics. So if you can get past those lyrics, I strongly recommend listening to Hide out cut, especially if you're looking for a prettier BiS song.

7. PPCC

Ah, memories. I remember the teaser videos for PPCC involves the girls dancing in underwear labeled "PPCC." Those were later revealed to be swimsuits, but nobody realized that at the time. PPCC was BiS's first side under a major label, and I was so worried at the time how switching to Avex would affect their sound. Luckily, PPCC was a much-needed confirmation that the BiS we knew and love wasn't going anywhere. This song rocks. There are many BiS songs that do, but PPCC gets a special trophy for being a song that rocks. And PPCC does it so effortlessly. PPCC has an amazing buildup to an even more amazing hook. Pero-Pero-Chuu-Chuu (I can't say it out loud, I have to sing it out loud) is such a perfect hook. And the rest of PPCC is just as great as that chorus hook. It's fun, it rocks, and did I mention the music video? I can't talk about PPCC without talking about the music video. It's one of my favorite BiS PVs and one of my favorite summer PVs in general. While Final Dance was a good effort from BiS, the PV for PPCC is bloody, violent, and the first introduction of BiS's spiked baseball bats. It's probably the most un-summer summer PV an idol group's released, but that's part of its charm. PPCC was BiS's entrance to a major label, and it was a memorable one.

6. Hitoribocchi

BiS didn't release a ton of ballads, but of the few they did, I like them all. I've always said what I like in a ballad is emotion. Don't give me something that sounds soft and full unless I want to fall asleep. I like my ballads to have some life in them. And I think that's why I love Hitoribocchi so much. The song is definitely a rock ballad, which also plays to my favor. I think it may even be more of an alternative-rock ballad. I'm reminded of The Smiths or The Cure during parts of Hitoribocchi which isn't a bad thing at all. What carries Hitoribocchi though is the vocal delivery. To put it plainly,  the girls sing their hearts out. They carry such clear, unbridled emotion when they sing Hitoribocchi, especially in that final chorus. Even the music video is about them trying to complete a 100km and the obstacles that come with that. Hitoribocchi is a loud ballad, yet there is this strange tenderness to it. The quieter bits in Hitoribocchi give me chills, like the singing before the final chorus. Hitoribocchi is raw and emotional but also a beautiful ballad. I think the members of BiS writing the lyrics to Hitoribocchi adds to the emotion of the song as well. I've heard a lot of J-pop ballads, and Hitoribocchi is ones of my favorites, maybe even more now that BiS has disbanded.

5. Chelsea

There are so many great album tracks off of Idol is Dead. Hell, I probably could have just put the whole album in this list. But my absolute favorite song off the album is Chelsea. Chelsea is fast-paced, fun, and freaking crazy. If you like punk, I enthusiastically recommend checking Chelsea out. Chelsea is BiS at their punk-rockest, and they completely own this song. I do wish BiS had done more punk songs. The sound really worked for them. The chorus of Chelsea is the best part of the entire song. It is insanely catchy. The best part though is the final rendition of the chorus when the key changes, and the song starts building up and sounding even crazier. The final thirty seconds of the album is pretty much the girls just screaming and ad-libbing whatever they want. It's amazing; I could bang my head to that last part all day. And then the song is over. Chelsea is around three-minutes long but feels more like a minute and a half. I think the length of the song works. Chelsea's meant to be a fast song! Idol is Dead had a ton of memorable songs on it, but Chelsea was the first one that instantly stuck in my memory. The song is equal parts fun and crazy, and that was when BiS's music worked best. Who knows who Chelsea is, but the song is the bomb.

4. Eat it

I wish this B-side made it onto one of BiS's albums. Even their best-of album would have sufficed. Eat it doesn't deserve to be only a B-side off of Primal. Okay yeah, BiS Kaidan covered it, but that doesn't count. You know how I was saying that Chelsea had the buildup of craziness? Well, Eat it also has one and bumps it up to eleven. With BiS's crazy songs, even their more disturbingly crazy songs, despite being somewhat terrified, I could never pull myself away from them. Eat it starts out with an eerie music box accompanied by static, my first sign that this song was going to be freaky. But then as the song goes on, Eat it sounds catchy and has a strong chorus and buildup. Then very slowly, the song gets weirder and weirder. After the second chorus, there's this creepy chanting. Topping it all off, the members of BiS spend the end of the song screaming their heads off. Then it's over. Eat it sounds like the kind of song I'd hear in a horror film. An exploitation horror film like Planet Terror or something. And yet... I love this song. There is something about Eat it that keeps me coming back. Maybe it's the delivery. Maybe the energy. Maybe the sheer freakiness. It's one of the BiS songs I could more easily see Togawa Jun singing. Actually... maybe that's why I love Eat it so much.

3. Nerve

From here on are all the songs that I included on my 50 favorite idol songs list. I know, kind of a spoiler, but what can I do? I do feel like I'm repeating myself at this point though. Besides, what can I really say about Nerve that hasn't already been said? Well... BiS did a Nerve dance video project! Via Youtube, various idol groups (and random people) all uploaded videos of themselves dancing to a snippet of Nerve. Even groups like Bellring Shoujo Heart and Tokyo Girls' Style got in on the action! I may have even done a video... Anyways, watching all these different idol groups dancing to Nerve was so heartwarming. I think it was a fun little sendoff to BiS. And what other song would they have used than Nerve? I think every idol group has that one song that's their "staple." This staple is either a fan-favorite, gets performed at concerts a lot, has many different version, or some combination of those three (for instance: Perfume's Polyrhythm, Morning Musume's Love Machine). Nerve is BiS's staple song. And I can see why. It has a fun, swinging beat and a melody that stays with you. Nerve did start getting a little overemphasized towards BiS's disbandment, but in the end, I still love Nerve. I love every incarnation of it, from the very first one to the final lineup version.

2. My Ixxx

My Ixxx was the first BiS song I ever listened to. Also, it was the first music video I ever saw from them. Together, My Ixxx left a very strong impression on me. My Ixxx showed me that there are more to idol groups than just AKB48 and Hello! Project. There's a complete underbelly of idols all over the spectrum, from conventional and friendly to strange and grotesque. BiS often leaned toward the latter, but had I never discovered BiS, I may have never even branched out into looking at the weirder idol groups on the market. Even without the nostalgia of My Ixxx, I still love the song. My Ixxx doesn't pull as many sounds out as some of the songs on this list. In comparison, My Ixxx is actually one of BiS's tamer songs. It's pop-rock, a genre of music that can either sound completely generic or surprisingly pleasant. My Ixxx just works well. The vocals are weirdly laidback, with the instrumental sounding more driven, and that all works. The song goes really well with the music video. Despite all the controversy surrounding it, I always liked the PV for My Ixxx. Was it controversy-invoking? Sure, but I found it to be very artsy. And the girls looked so carefree in it! My Ixxx is a song that strikes a lot of memories for me, while also being a great song. That is why My Ixxx is one of my favorites.

1. Primal

And at number one is Primal. God, I love this song. I really love this song. Obviously, that's a no-brainer, but sometimes I sit back and think to myself, "Man, Primal is a wonderful song." But why do I love Primal so much? Because it sounds so raw, so powerful. The riff in the beginning sets the serious, emotional tone, and the rest of Primal is the girls singing like the world is going to end. The vocals or Primal are what make the song. The way the girls sing it hits me with such emotion. I get chills when I listen to Primal; even after playing it a bajillion times, I still do. When I listened to Primal, that's when I knew that I wanted to be a fan of BiS. Primal is BiS at their most brutal and most vulnerable. The music videos emphasizes that. The PV for Primal stands out just as much as the song with too-close-for-comfort home footage and the girls shoving cameras down their throats. It's disturbing and poignant at the same time, and I don't think BiS was ever able to capture that in a music video again. BiS has done crazy and weird, but Primal feels like something much more raw. For that, I love Primal. It's my favorite BiS song and ultimately, one of my favorite idol songs. Even if you never listen to another BiS song in your life, I at least recommend listening to this one.

BiS went through a lot of changes in their career from lineups to labels to music. Going through the songs on this list, I realized that the many faces and sounds of BiS were what helped make them such a great group. I'm gonna miss their variety. So how you other BiS fans holding up post-disbandment? And what are your favorite BiS songs? While we're at it, what your least favorite BiS songs?

The Conventions of Unconventional Idols

It's tenth-grade biology class again, and you, reader, have been assigned with your lab mates to dissect a frog. So you get out your lab manual, follow the instructions, and everything is going according to the teacher's plan as it has every year the tenth-grade biology class does this experiment. But then you look over to the table in the back corner and notice something odd. A few of your classmates aren't dissecting the frog, as per the lab instructions. Instead, they've attached wires to the frog and are attempting to bring it back to life a la Dr. Frankenstein. Blood spatters everywhere, utensils fly across the floor, yet this group of students remain completely enthralled with their little experiment. You yourself cannot understand why these students decided to completely ignore the instructions and wreck havoc on the classroom, but they aren't interrupting your group's experiment, so you do your best to ignore them. Other classmates express their outrage and annoyance, and a few classmates even admire this strange little group of lab mates trying to resurrect their dead frog buddy. For better or worse, they have left one hell of an impact on the lab assignment today.

I like to think of unconventional idols as that frog-resurrecting lab group.

Ah, unconventional idols. They're almost as divisive as Youtube idols! But what exactly is an unconventional idol? According to the Miriam-Webster dictionary, the definition for unconventional is:

"very different from the things that are used or accepted by most people; not traditional or usual; not conventional"

So the very broad definition of an unconventional idol could be an idol who is different from the traditional idols. When I say "unconventional idols" I'm simply referring to idols that purposely defy the current standards set by popular idol groups. Said idol groups being AKB48 and all its sister groups. However, I should also distinguish that when I say unconventional idols, I'm not talking about idol groups like Momoiro Clover Z and Dempagumi.inc. While both those groups do have a lot of quirks and rather unconventional idol music, neither one of those groups is constantly and intentionally trying to defy the traditional concept of idols. They're playing with the concepts, yes, but in a safe and market-friendly way. Actually, there are a lot of idol groups today that are straying away from the "pop" sound that's defined idol music (in other words, everything that AKB48's been releasing). And in that special little niche are the idol groups produced to have a sound and image about as far from friendly as possible. I'm talking about the idol groups like Alice Juban, Bellring Shoujo Heart, Babymetal, and of course, Brand-new Idol Society. You know, those idol groups that make everyone uncomfortable!

Something really cool about the idol industry of today is that a lot of idol groups are backed by producers willing to experiment in different sounds, such as popular producer Hyadain who's produced both Momoiro Clover Z and Dempagumi.inc just to name a few. Other groups like Rhymeberry and Tokyo Girls' Style also have very distinct music styles that don't fit with popular idol music. My point is this era of idols is a producer's playground for music styles and gimmicks. I like to think of these producers as artists with the idol groups they produce being their canvases. So with all the different sounds to try out on a pile of girls who have little to no creative control, why produce them with a more unconventional sound? I'm going to ignore the obvious answer that it's to make money, because everything in the idol industry exists to make money. I swear to god, if I hear that complaint one more time from an idol fan, I am going to set something on fire. Idols are products and if you can't wrap your head around that, you are following the wrong industry. I think there may be some self-produced indie idols you can find if you look hard enough, but at the end of the day this industry is not known for being one with self-control.

Anyways, back to unconventional idols. I think it's pretty easy to understand the appeal of traditional idols. They represent an idealistic portrayal of youth, the purest and cleanest facets of adolescence. For young girls, idols are role models; for older men, they're a picture of innocence hung against the backdrop of harsh reality. The objective of an idol is to stir feelings of hope and happiness in people. Many idol songs convey some form of positivity whether it be in love, friendship, perseverance, etc. Said positivity is typically presented through catchy pop songs meant to appeal to wide demographic. Idol groups like Super Girls and of course, AKB48 exemplify these traits. Even if Super Girls is more-or-less a punchline on my blog, I can at least acknowledge that they embrace all the cliches of idol music and imagery with such commitment. And AKB48 is the most popular idol group on the market right now, even if their welcome may be overstayed depending on whom you ask. As the most popular idol group (at least for female idol groups, male idol groups are not my department), AKB48 sets a precedent for other companies looking to cash off idol groups the same way AKS has.

Unlike Super Girls and all those other idol groups that look and sound exactly like them, unconventional idol groups exist to defy the norms of idol music from the look to the music to even the objective. Traditional idols represent a positive, innocent set of ideals so that they can appeal to a wide range of demographics. But unconventional idols often do the opposite. They're not trying to be positive or be role models or roll with the tropes of traditional idolry. Most of these idol groups have very small niches and never achieve widespread success. They're a stark contrast, and for a lot of people, it's a contrast that's too different and sometimes too disturbing. Sometimes the lengths an unconventional idol group goes to be unconventional can be too much. After all, is an idol group really an idol group if they exist only to subvert every common element of idol groups? So what is the appeal then? Even as someone with a tendency to gravitate toward unconventional idols, I couldn't really figure out an answer to this question for such a long time. Now I'm not even sure if I have the right answer. I think trying to fully dissect the appeal behind unconventional idols and why they exist is the equivalent of opening Pandora's box. It won't be easy fully explaining why, but as someone who is a fan of more unconventional idol groups, I want to at least try.

To understand where the concept of an unconventional idol originated, we have to dig into a little history. The Japanese idol concept originated in the 1960s, but really hit its boom in the 1980s. So much that the 1980s is referred to as "The Golden Age of Idols in Japan." Left and right were idols debuting, some of them never to be heard from again. Others quickly rose to the top of the idol hierarchy. And the golden girl perched at the top was Matsuda Seiko. Even if you're like me and don't look into older idols, you've probably heard her name before. With more than seventy-five singles under her belt and a string of high-charting singles, Matsuda Seiko is one of the best-selling idols in Japan. While she isn't anywhere near as successful today, in the 1980s, Matsuda Seiko owned the idol industry. There's a reason that she's called "The Eternal Idol" and Oricon ranked her as the number-one everlasting idol in Japan. Matsuda Seiko was the quintessential, girl-next-door, smiling, shining idol in the 1980s. Even when her popularity started waning after the 1980s, Matsuda Seiko still maintained a legacy as the face of this "Golden Age" for idols.

I've listened to a few Matsuda Seiko songs from when she was in her prime, and I can see why she was so popular. She had a very sweet voice, with just enough power to carry her songs. And her songs are just a nice as her voice. Matsuda Seiko's songs have all the sugary sweetness that you can find in idol pop. Watching her performances, I get a sense of deja-vu. Because her demeanor and performance style is so reminiscent of many idols of the future. Take this performance of her debut single, Hadashi no Kisetsu. So many idols of today are probably crafted around that same approachable friendliness that Matsuda Seiko popularized in the 1980s. And at the time, Matsuda Seiko helped set the standard for what the conventional idol was at that time. An idol was pure, but not distant the way they were in the 1970s. Idols of the 1980s were mostly sweet in that girl-next-door kind of way. And there are many idols in the 1980s vying for that top spot. As many as 60 idols could debut in a year and be gone the next. I can imagine that this time period is similar to the boom of idols today. So surely not all idols during this Golden Age were cookie-cutter copies of Matsuda Seiko, right? Wasn't there at least one idol trying to defy the norms of the Golden Age of Idols?

Enter Togawa Jun.

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Togawa Jun is an artist that started out as a idol in the early 1980s. Outside of her solo work, she participated in a variety of side projects, including lead vocalist for band Guernica and lead vocalist for Yapoos in the late 80s and early 90s. In her idol career, she was never the universally adored dream idol that Matsuda Seiko was in the 80s. However, Togawa Jun did have a large underground fanbase who admired and respected her work. Why? Because her music was insane. Togawa Jun wrote about murder, parasites & insects, sadomasochism, even menstruation, and a plethora of other dark, bizarre topics all while maintaining a grim sense of humor. Her debut album, Tamahime-sama is basically an exploration of insects and the human body, and you should all totally listen to it. And she was the same age as Matsuda Seiko when she did all this. There's a live performance on Youtube showing her performing the title track from Tamahime-sama, clad in insect wings and twitching around like a dragonfly squished by a boot. I think it sums up pretty well her angle of approaching the idol industry. Togawa Jun was (and probably still is today) strange, grotesque, and most importantly, unconventional. Can you guys think of any idol groups today that are strange and grotesque? I'll give you a hint: they're about to disband soon.

Back to Togawa Jun for a moment though. In my opinion, Togawa's album that most clearly twists the concepts of being an idol is Suki Suki Daisuki, released in 1984. While her previous three albums forayed into rock, enka, and even electronic, Suki Suki Daisuki had a much more pop-oriented sound. However, combined with that saccharine pop is Togawa's theatricality and strangeness. The songs range from the sarcastically straightforward Angel Baby to Osozaki Girl which is about "late blooming" if you catchy my drift to Sayonara wo Oshiete which is about Togawa loving a boy so much she swears to come back from the dead as a ghost to be with him. But the standout track of Suki Suki Daisuki has got to be the song that shares the title of the album. There's a reason BiS Kaidan covered it! Suki Suki Daisuki is probably my favorite idol song, if you can count it as one. I suppose that's a little ironic, considering how the song is mocking every idol long written ever. But Suki Suki Daisuki goes from cutesy and adorable to harsh and operatic so quickly, I think it really showcases how well Togawa Jun plays with the conventions of idol music back then. Compare the chorus of Matsuda Seiko's Akai Sweet Pea to Suki Suki Daisuki.

Kiwi Musume's translation of Matsuda Seiko's Akai Sweet Pea:

"I will follow you 

I want to follow you 

I will follow you

Even though I'm a bit weak-willed 

Because you're a wonderful person 

My red sweet pea 

Growing on the shore of my heart"

Jun Togawa Collective's translation of Togawa Jun's Suki Suki Daisuki:

"Kiss me like thumping, as blood clots on my lips 

Hold me, as my ribs breaking 

I love you so much 

I love you so much 

I love you so much 

Say you love me or I'll kill you!"

In the 80s, Nakamori Akina was always pushed as the "rival" to Matsuda Seiko, for her more mature and sensual image being the opposite of Seiko's sweet and innocent image. But I think Akina doesn't quite serve as the complete antithesis to what Seiko stood for in her peak days. I think Togawa Jun takes up that role. What makes Togawa Jun so unconventional is that the conventional standard of that time was a stark contrast from the way she presented herself. Honestly, Togawa Jun seems like a very interesting person. No doubt an eccentric person, but still fascinating. I've read several of her translated interviews, and she just has so much interesting stuff to say. Even better, I think Togawa Jun presented herself the way she did because she wanted to. Not because some management company realized "Hey, anti-idols make money!" and produced her with that image. And I think that's what separates her from the idols of today. Sure, Babymetal and BiS and Bellring Shoujo Heart can be as unconventional as they like, but at the end of the day they're still idols produced to maintain a certain image that appeals to a certain demographic. That doesn't mean it doesn't work for them, but compared to Togawa Jun, all the unconventional idol groups of today seem downright tame.

So let's fast-forward to the present day. AKB48 sits at the top of the idol pyramid with all its sister groups (and Nogizaka46) not far behind. Just below them is Momoiro Clover Z and then below them all the other idol groups ranging from mildly popular to practically nonexistent. My point is that AKB48 is in a position where they've set new precedents and enforced old ones for new idol groups. It's the same position that Matsuda Seiko was in during the 1980s. What an unconventional idol relies on is taking whatever is currently popular/standard in the idol industry and doing the opposite. Brand-new Idol Society exists to be the "anti-idols" but ironically, if idol groups like AKB48 weren't around, then neither could BiS be, at least not with the concept they have now. Same for Babymetal. The difference between BiS and Babymetal are their gimmicks, with BiS actively defying idolry and Babymetal embracing it, only adding metal and headbanging. However, both exist under the umbrella of unconventional idol groups that have been emerging these fast few years. In fact, I think that BiS and Babymetal actually helped kickstart that. After the controversial My Ixxx music video, BiS got a lot more attention than previously, and ever since then, they've been getting crazier and crazier going more and more out of their way to maintain unconventionality.

In the wake of BiS and Babymetal's debuts, a slew of other idol groups created with similar unconventional gimmicks have also popped up, such as New Idol Order, Death Rabbits, Passcode, Fruitpochette, Next Shoujo Jiken, and my personal favorite (and the only one that really interests me) Bellring Shoujo Heart. I am noticing a pattern in a lot of these unconventional idol groups that have emerged though. A lot of them either copy the aesthetic of Babymetal or BiS. New Idol Order for instance, defines themselves as a strictly "metal" group, a Babymetal sans the idol pop. Death Rabbits has pretty much the same description. These groups are all described nearly the same with a few different spins like "Lolitas and metal" or "a metal duo" or something of that nature. Generally, all these new unconventional groups are abrasive, morbid, and weird. They hold live concerts with blood and dead animals and other crazy antics that separate them from the "conventional" idol groups their producers are satirizing. But here's what happens when a group of people trying to be different do the same thing: they create a new set of conventions to abide by. It's kind of a paradox.

And it brings up another question: is an idol still an idol if they're doing everything that idols weren't conceived to do? Or are these unconventional idol groups changing the criteria for what an idol has to be? How much can you strip away from the standards of being an idol until you've created a shell that's only an idol in name only? The answer is debatable. BiS is not a well-liked group in Japan. Oh yes, they have their fanbase, but they still get a lot of flack for their concept and performances. Just go and look at any of the comments sections on their Youtube videos to see what I mean. So why go to so much trouble to attract fans when there are easier and more conventional ways of doing so? I know what draws me in personally to BiS and other unconventional idol groups is the sheer audacity of them. It's interesting seeing an idol group strive not to be like an idol group. To see all these creative variations and odd songs and music videos. And I have to think that there are BiS fans out there who feel the same way I do. BiS (and every other unconventional idol group I've mentioned) will always be divisive for disturbing concert performances, un-idol like behavior, and taking risks. But even if it's all manufactured like every other aspect of the idol industry, unconventional idol groups still draw me in at least a little bit.

I don't think unconventional idols will ever have real, breakthrough success the same way idol groups like AKB48 and Morning Musume and Onyanko Club have. So why do the producers of today go to so much trouble to create an unconventional image for certain idol groups when the alternative is much more marketable? Well, obviously there is at least a small niche for unconventional idol groups. I mean, look at Babymetal. They started out as a subgroup from Sakura Gakuin, then blew up over the Internet, and now they're performing in Europe and Canada and all over the world. As of now, they might even be more well-known than Sakura Gakuin. Sure, Babymetal's international recognition primarily stems from the mindset I like to call, "Look at this weird Japanese thing!! Hot diggity-dog, Japan is so gosh darn wacky and strange!" But attention is attention, regardless of where it stems from. And these unconventional idol groups do garner a good deal of attention. It's not always positive attention (BiS for instance is not a revered group amongst Japanese otaku). Nonetheless, it's enough attention for these unconventional idol groups to carve niches for themselves. And sometimes, that all producers strive for. Not every idol group needs to sell millions to stick around.

What I'd like to see is another idol like Togawa Jun. No, not a rip-off of Togawa Jun but an idol with her own vision of being an idol that's maybe a little weird and a little strange but nonetheless her own idea. As of now, this is the best time to try out these more different idol groups. The market is ripe with other idol groups trying out different music and concepts. Self-produced idols may not be the most well-known, but they're out there doing their own thing. BiS wouldn't even exist if Pour Lui hadn't the idea of making her own idol group. I'm not just sad that BiS is disbanding because I enjoy their music and style. I'm sad because of what they represent in the current idol industry. They weren't always great, but they were always interesting and vivacious. And they kept me sane when AKB48 was driving me crazy with all their bland music. Unconventional idol groups can be hit-or-miss with idol fans and for good reason. But I find something exciting and intriguing in listening to idols like BiS and Bellring Shoujo Heart and Togawa Jun. And maybe hardly anyone else does, but I don't care. At the end of the day, it's my own personal taste. I do hope that unconventional idols can always find a niche though.

Who knows? Perhaps someday a crazy idol like Togawa Jun will come along.

A Nerve-Striking Final Dance

Dammit, this is the last BiS single I'll ever be able to review. If I'd known they were gonna disband sooner, I could have taken time to review more of their singles... But oh well, the past is in the past, and I can at least review their final single. Or should I say... final dance?

Released on May 28 was BiS's last single, Final Dance/nerve. It was a very sad day for many a BiS fan, myself included. Luckily, we still have their best-of album, Uryaoi!!! to look forward to in July, but after July 8, BiS is going to that great concert hall in the sky. Figuratively speaking, I have no idea what any of the current members have planned after BiS, sans Pour Lui. I'd like to think that they all have future plans in the entertainment industry though, whether it be as performers or behind-the-scenes jobs. I am but a simple J-pop reviewer, so all I can do is give the group's last single a review. I may also review Uryaoi!!! even though technically it's a compilation album. I've just been very sad lately about the prospect of not having anything by BiS to review anymore, save for Time Capsule Reviews. They're one of my favorite idol groups, and it's always such a treat to review anything by them because at the very least, I can count on it being interesting. So here we are to Final Dance/nerve, a single consisting of a new final swan song and an old callback to BiS's earlier days. Is is an appropriate single for BiS to go out on? Or could they have done more? I'll be the judge of that. Let's do this!

Covers/Outfits

I already went over in my PV review of Final Dance how the Limited CD cover parodies AKB48's Manatsu no Sounds good! covers, but did I mention the rest of these covers? There are a lot of them, another facet of idol groups being selling ten different version of the same single. But all the covers for Final Dance/nerve are stealth parodies of the common idol summer single. In fact, if you didn't know who BiS was, these covers would probably look perfectly normal. But that's what makes them so hilarious! It's just context that makes the covers of Final Dance/nerve so amusing. I think mainly the group BiS is satirizing is AKB48 and all its sister groups, but I'm certain other idol groups have done the same type of covers. It features all the members of BiS doing fun summer things and fun idol poses, as if they were a regular idol group. I mean, honestly, they kind of work as regular idol covers too. The members of BiS all look strangely normal, but they also look cute!

Final Dance

The covers for Final Dance/nerve may be deceptively cute, but the first A-side has all the punch that you can find in a BiS song. Oddly enough, Final Dance is actually pretty tame for the unconventional idol group. When I first heard it, I was actually a little taken aback at how nice it sounded. Don't get me wrong, Final Dance still has all the energy that I love about BiS songs, but compared to some of their other A-sides, it's surprisingly conventional. Final Dance is BiS's take on a summer song (unless you count PPCC), and it sounds like a summer song. The chorus is fun and catchy in the way that so many idol summer songs are, and even the vocals are very idol-y. There's no screaming or strange vocal effects. It's one of the most straightforward idol songs BiS has released in a long time. It doesn't reach the same degree that the parody version of Idol does, but Final Dance is still pretty idol-y. Which makes since I suppose. BiS is an idol group. And Final Dance isn't a generic, lifeless summer song unlike several summer songs that I've reviewed that start with Sayonara and end in Crawl. The instrumental to Final Dance is very loud, even if the vocals are a lot more docile compared to other BiS songs.

What prevents Final Dance from being a forgettable song is the delivery. The girls of BiS sing their hearts out in Final Dance. Vocals have never been the strongest point of BiS as a group, but I love the way they sing Final Dance. I'll bet it's an even better song at concerts! I don't quite know how to explain it, but when I listen to Final Dance, it feels like a goodbye song. The vocals, the arrangement, hell, I'll bet even the lyrics have a sense of farewell-ness to them. Actually, I wonder what the lyrics to the song are. If anyone has a translation, I'd love you dearly if you'd share it with me. Not knowing what the lyrics are about, I still think Final Dance is a pretty strong final song for BiS. I wouldn't have expected them to go out on a summer song (especially one as tame as Final Dance), but BiS rocks Final Dance. And I guess I kind of like them going out with a more energetic song than a ballad or something really super weird like StupiG or BiSimulation. Because at the end of the day, BiS is an idol group. In that respect, having them release a slightly more conventional song like Final Dance feels like a callback to their roots of being an idol group. I think once BiS has disbanded, I'll look back on this song with nostalgia and maybe even a little sadness.

For real sadness though, I'll just watch the PV for Final Dance! I already ripped my heart in two in my full PV review of Final Dance, so I'll redirect you to that. If you were too lazy to actually click on that link, here's a brief recap of the music video for Final Dance: it's a trip down nostalgia lane disguised as a summer PV. And it will crush you. To elaborate, the PV for Final Dance compiles clips from all of BiS's previous PVs from Nerve onward along with several concert performances. Personally, I like this touch. I wanted the PV for Final Dance to include some kind of callback to BiS's previous songs, and including clips is an good way of doing that. Maybe not as creative as Kyarypamyupamyu's Yume no Hajima Ring Ring, but arguably more effective. Seeing clips from the BiS of the past alongside the BiS of the present is especially poignant when you think of all the lineup changes they've been through and how far they've come in the past four years. I think it's crazy that BiS has only been around for four years, and they've released so much material. At least they're leaving the idolsphere with a good number of memorable songs and PVs under their belt, and Final Dance's PV helps emphasize that.

But Final Dance's PV isn't just a glorified clip show! There's other stuff to it. Mainly Final Dance is a summer PV BiS style. Actually, if it weren't for the clips Final Dance would be one of the most conventional PVs BiS has ever done. Like the covers, the PV for Final Dance also satirizes the traditional idol summer PV. You know, the music videos that often take place on the beach and feature idols doing ridiculously simple dances in bikinis along with several pandering shots that highlight said bikinis. It's a staple in the idol industry, and it makes sense that BiS would poke fun at it at some point. It's a little weird that they chose their last single to do it, but I guess it fits. After all, BiS is still an idol group at heart. And it's weirdly refreshing seeing BiS act so normal. It's also extremely funny seeing them reenact the popular idol summer PVs, such as AKB48's Ponytail to Shushu. If this PV had just been satirizing a summer PV alone, I'd still think Final Dance was a good music video. But combining that with all the clips from older BiS videos (and a very heart-rending shot of the iconic spiked baseball bats falling down one by one) make Final Dance a touching (and heartbreaking) sendoff for BiS.



So with all this mind, I stand by the same rating I gave Final Dance in my PV review and give the song four and half apples. It isn't my favorite BiS song, but as a last song, I think it's pretty good. I'll probably cry listening to this song once BiS has finally disbanded. As for now, I still have a few weeks to cope with the inevitable. So I'll just listen to Final Dance and enjoy it, along with all of BiS's other songs!

Nerve

What is this, Nerve #4 now? Or is it Nerve #3? If you wanted to argue what BiS's most popular song is, Nerve, in all its renditions would be a good contender. So it makes sense to have a re-recorded version on BiS's final single. Honestly, I'm a little split on the decision to have yet another recording of Nerve, especially in lieu of a different song. I mean, I think Nerve is a great song, one of my favorite idol songs in general. But I do get the smallest vibe that it's starting to overstay its welcome. It'll never get past this point, because BiS is disbanding, and I don't think I'll grow tired of Nerve. But I've heard two different versions of this song already, and I didn't really need a third. However... it's still a great song. The arrangement is still intact, and it has all the fun of the past recordings. The only thing different about this recording is, once again, the vocals. This version of Nerve features Tenten, Uika, Saki, and Megumon. They all sound fine on the recording too. It's not like Hide out cut where the new vocals awkwardly replaced the old ones. Everyone fits. Even Tenten, whose vocals were the most forced on Hide out cut, sounds really good here. And as always, Uika rocks her parts. And Pour Lui and Nozomi's vocal are still on the track.

I think final opinion of Nerve boils down to which version of the song you like best. If you were around when BiS first formed, and this was one of their first songs, you probably still like the original version best. I, however, became a fan of BiS a little before their major debut, around the time Yufu was added, then Wacky and Michel. When the re-recorded Nerve was released on Idol is Dead, that was the version that my ears grew used to. Hence that version of Nerve is my personal favorite. Even then though, I like all the different renditions of the song. I guess that says something about the quality of the song. Nerve is just one of those songs that works for whomever sings it. I mean, unless you can't sing Japanese. Who knows though? Maybe even then, Nerve would still sound good! Nerve is just one of those songs that works astonishingly well. I can see why BiS re-records it so much, besides just to accommodate the member changes. Nerve is a playful, catchy song and one of my personal favorite BiS songs. This version of Nerve isn't much different from all the other versions, but objectively, it's still pretty darn good.

Contrary to my own assumptions, Final Dance ended up not being the final music video for BiS. Nerve got a PV! And I think there may be one more new music video on their upcoming best-of album, but don't take my word for it. In spite of Nerve giving me one more opportunity to review a BiS PV, I've opted to just go over it in my single review. Because there's not really much material for me to write into a full-blown PV review. I still like the PV though! I think that's more out of sentiment though. The music video is pretty basic. Tt's just a dance shot with a few different angles. Even Hello! Project has music videos with a little more than that! Anyways, in the PV for Nerve, girls are dancing on a plain white background in two different outfits. They don't even show clips from previous BiS videos! What they do instead is callback to several costumes from BiS singles and albums. Other than a completely new outfit (which they used in a TV performance of Final Dance) BiS wears the swimsuits from PPCC. The only difference is the members wearing them and which member gets which color. It's a nice little callback to BiS's previous summer single. Even if there's no fighting and no spiked baseball bats. Nothing's perfect.

The best part of this PV for Nerve is the final chorus. Nozomi and Pour Lui sing in the center wearing their old outfits from the original Nerve. See this for reference. It's a sweet moment seeing how Nozomi and Pour Lui are the only original members left in BiS. Then after the song is over and it looks like the PV has ended, there's one last little part! All the girls are lined up wearing various costumes from older releases, including Idol is Dead, Mura-Mura, Primal, Fly, and StupiG. That was a pleasant surprise enough, but you know what was even more pleasant? They sang the opening choral bit from Mirror Mirror! For those of you who have no idea what I just mentioned, Mirror Mirror was a song BiS recorded with orchestra band Vampillia for their album, The Divine Move. Other artists featured on that album include Tujiko Noriko and coolest singer on earth Togawa Jun. Anyways, Mirror Mirror is a really good song, and you should all go listen to it. Especially if you're craving BiS music. The inclusion of Mirror Mirror at the end of Nerve was one hell of a surprise, but an exciting, jubilant one. The review in me wants to say that the music video for Nerve was simple and basic with not much to it. But the fan in me wants to say that this was a sweet, sentimental music video. I guess it can be both!



I am still gonna give Nerve four apples. I get the sentiment of having Nerve on BiS's final single, but I've heard Nerve so many times now. And my favorite recording is still the Idol is Dead version. It is nice hearing the final lineup of BiS cover one of their more well-known songs though. And they do the song justice. In the end, how much you like this version of Nerve is up to you.

The Verdict

I don't know about other BiS fans, but for the most part, I am satisfied with Final Dance/nerve. I think the only real thing I'd complain about it is maybe not as much new material as I would have liked. I love double A-sides, and I'm not against having Nerve be one of those A-sides. But I would have liked maybe one B-side on this single as well. If there was one thing I liked about BiS's older singles it was the abundance of songs on them. You'd get three or four different songs along with the A-side. Then again, I'm complaining about things that aren't there. The material that is present on Final Dance/nerve is pretty solid. I wasn't expecting BiS to disband so soon, and I definitely wasn't expecting their last single to be a summer single. Not that I'm against summer singles, but I do feel like they leave more constraints than an idol single released at some other time of the year. Then again, BiS is BiS and I doubt they'd let the conventions of the average summer single dictate what would be on theirs. Final Dance is definitely one of BiS's safer songs, but I think there's enough heart and conviction in it to be a suitable goodbye song.

As for Nerve, what else can I say about it that hasn't already been said? I think it's a great song, regardless of which lineup of BiS sings it. And while I'd have preferred a new song in lieu of a re-record, I still think this rendition of Nerve stands well. Now I have to figure out which version of Nerve to listen to though! I think what works with the A-sides on Final Dance/nerve is that they both represent BiS well. Final Dance is the fun, enthusiastic farewell song that balances the more conventional idol sound with BiS's unrestrained unconventional sound. And Nerve is a staple in BiS's discography, so it's perfectly appropriate that they'd have the song they started with on the single they're ending with. Listening to both songs makes me realize how much I'm going to miss BiS. Okay, I've been feeling that with every BiS song I've listened to lately. But Final Dance/nerve is the last single. As soon as I hit Publish on this review, this will be the last new BiS single I ever get to review. And I'm gonna miss doing this. I'm gonna miss anticipating what crazy thing BiS will do next, how their next song will sound, what's going to be in their next music, I am gonna miss BiS so much. And I know all their other fans will too.

And so I bring out my apples one last time for BiS and give Final Dance/nerve four and half apples. This single isn't their best, but it is pretty darn close. Both A-sides on Final Dance/nerve are worthwhile listens, for new BiS fans and old. All I can do now is dread July 8. Until then, I'm gonna do everything I can do enjoy BiS while they're still around, and I highly recommend you do the same.

BiS Takes One Final Dance

God, I'm gonna freaking cry. I can't believe this is the last BiS PV I'll ever get to review.

Unless the new version of Nerve gets a PV as well. Which would be nice. I suppose I can still include BiS's material in Time Capsule Reviews, but it won't be the same as reviewing new songs and music videos. Well, at least they're going out in true BiS fashion, by satirizing the long-established summer single! I mean, look at the cover, it's clearly a parody of AKB48's Manatsu no Sounds good! covers. But that's just one of the many elements of Final Dance that pokes fun at idol summer singles! Ah, idol summer. You're all familiar with what I'm talking about, right? The time of year when idol groups released summer themed singles full of music videos of dancing on the beach, fruity nonalcoholic drinks, and shameless fanservice! It's a not-so-long-standing tradition in the idol industry, and idol summer releases can range from being entertaining music videos that emphasize the best aspects of summer... or absolute pieces of trash. For instance, the previous summer PV I reviewed this year is one of those unfortunate summer PVs that doesn't work at all. But let's not broach that piece of dog poop again. Now it's Brand-new Idol Society's time to shine! Even if this is the last time...

I will admit, I was a little taken aback when I first heard Final Dance. I was also watching the music video though, and it's a little difficult trying to take in a music video and the song at once then trying to generate an opinion of one or the other. Listening to just the song, I can say that Final Dance is definitely... not quite was I was expecting as the final BiS song. Okay, yes, there's also nerve but that's a re-record that I'll talk about in the single review. Then again, I'm not sure what I was expecting for BiS's final single. Would it be something strange and unconventional? Or something more traditional-sounding with a more subtle twist of unconventionality to it? I mean, their last single before this one was StupiG, and that was just about their strangest A-side I've heard. Final Dance sounds like a conventional idol summer song twisted into a BiS summer song. The way the vocals are structured reminds me very much of one of AKB48's summer songs, but the instrumentals on top of it are thankfully a lot more bombastic and interesting than any of AKB48's recent summer songs. Still, I'm curious to hear the acappella version of Final Dance. I get the feeling it'll sound a little more conventional than some of BiS's other songs.

Final Dance has grown on me a lot since I first heard it. I think it's a nice blend of BiS's crazier, over-the-top sound and the more pop side of their music. And I admit, in perspective it's kind of nice having something a little more straightforward from BiS as their last new song. I mean, StupiG was a batshit crazy song, and a lot of their recent songs have just been crazier than they were when BiS started out. But with Final Dance, it feels like BiS is embracing the idol sound and then bending that ever-so-slight to fit their own unconventional sound. Final Dance is a pop song at its core, but it's the kind of pop song that BiS would do. And I think what also makes Final Dance a good song is that there's a lot of emotion in it. I know that's kind of a silly thing for me to say. I mean, how can I possibly tell that when I can't even speak Japanese? I think it has to do with the way the girls sing it. They just sound like they're giving it all, as though this is the last new song that they'll ever record. I wonder what went on in the studio when BiS recorded this song. Were the girls emotional? Even if they were faking it, Final Dance still sounds like an earnest goodbye song.

Of course, that could be because it is a goodbye song. Final Dance is half of the last single that BiS will ever release. And listening to it, I feel kind of sad. I mean, this is the final song before the curtain drops. I think at least part of me seeing Final Dance as emotional farewell stems from my own emotions regarding BiS's upcoming disbandment. I haven't really talked about BiS disbanding, because I've just kind of hoped that the news would go away. But I don't think it is, and if Final Dance is going to be the big finish for BiS, I think it works. I do think they might have been able to do something a little less summery, but as far as summer songs go, this one's the bomb. PPCC is still my favorite BiS summer song, but Final Dance isn't half bad either. It has just enough style and emotion to avoid the pitfalls of many idol summer songs, and I think as the years go by, nostalgia will definitely kick in with Final Dance. I mean, it will with all of BiS's songs; I can just feel it. Final Dance wasn't quite the type of song I expected BiS to go out with, but in my opinion, they pull it off well. And isn't it fitting that they go out with a more idol-oriented song. Their goal from the start has always been to satirize idol groups, so the summery pop rock sound of Final Dance is both poignant and fitting.

But that's just the song. No way does BiS's satire of the idol summer single stop with the song. No, it wouldn't be a satire if you didn't satirize the idol summer PV. So is Final Dance's PV a clever satire or does it fall flat on its face harder than Ayaman Japan's Poi Poi? As long as it doesn't have harassment and childish sexual innuendos left and right, I think I'll survive.

This wouldn't be an idol summer PV without the bikinis!

Okay, Round 1 of Guess the Reference! Can you guess what shot this satires?

It's the same as the aerial shots used in AKB48's Ponytail to Shushu!

And look, the iconic spiked baseball bats. How I'll miss them.

I've seen this pose and glittery backdrop in so many idol PVs I can't even list them all!

Ditto for this pose.

It's actually ironically refreshing to see BiS wearing such normal clothes. Especially Tenten. I hope she goes places after BiS.

The dance is simple to the point of hilarity. Look at all those different poses!

Time for Round 2 of Guess the Reference! Can you guess what this is referencing?

Super Girls' Puripuri♥Summer Kiss! Of course I'm sure Super Girls copied it from some other idol group.

I know it's meant to be satire, but everyone just looks so nice!

I hope Uika goes places too.

Oh, look it's DiE. That was one hell of a PV. Ah, good times...

And BiSimulation! Also very good times... weird times... but good times...

I'm not sure if this is idol-y or BiS-y.

Aw, it's Mitchel. I hope she found a job somewhere.

Look, it's early BiS! That was their first PV ever!

Man, the lineup has changed so much in four years...

Dammit, this PV's making me nostalgic. And sad. Stop that, PV!

...I'm gonna miss BiS.

See? Even the members of BiS look like they're gonna miss BiS!

My Ixxx was the first BiS PV I ever saw. I guess it fits that it's in one of the last PVs.

I think my biggest regret will be not being able to go to a BiS concert.

Idol. Wouldn't it have been awesome if they included the joke Idol PV in Final Dance?

The spiked baseball bats. I'm gonna miss those too. I'm gonna miss... so much...

Oh hey, look at Uika making fun of idol summer poses!

Don't focus on BiS disbanding... don't... focus...

Oh god, it's really happening. They're disbanding.

No more PVs. Or songs. Or concerts. It'll all just... end like that.

Gosh darn it, they've come so far. I don't want them to stop now.

Oh well, I guess they'd have to disband eventually-

Annnnd the bats fell down. I think I need to lie down.

You may think that last shot is of the ocean, but really it's all my tears. You know what's so awful about this PV? It sucks you into thinking it's just going to be another BiS-style parody of other idol PVs, but then halfway through it punches you in the stomach with clips from all their past PVs. Do not watch this PV. Actually, do watch. Or don't. You probably shouldn't listen to me, I'm kind of just now realizing that BiS will be gone after July 8. Honestly, I never pegged BiS to be the first idol group I reviewed to disband. I always thought it'd be... well, I didn't know, but I didn't think BiS would be the first. Technically, Bump.y is also disbanding, but I'm only a casual fan of them. I've been a fan of BiS since My Ixxx. I may not have been there at the very beginning, but I still followed BiS through lineup changes, switching to a major label, singles and albums, the 100k marathon, the failed Budokan pursuit, so many things. And one of my favorite aspects of BiS has always been their music videos. Sure, sometimes they could get graphic or inappropriate or downright uncomfortable, but they were always so interesting. And for better or worse, they grabbed my attention! If My Ixxx hadn't been such a controversial PV, I may have never even discovered BiS.

I bring this all up, because I think to really appreciate the PV for Final Dance, you have to do two things. First,you need to be a fan of BiS. The longer the fan, the better, but if you're looking to become a fan of BiS, just start watching their music videos. They're on Youtube. And Jpopsuki. And then try finding their albums, along with their singles. Once you've done that then the PV for Final Dance will be all the more wonderful and soul-crushing. Second, you need to know the formula for the idol summer PV. Otherwise, this music video is just going to look like a group of girls prancing around in bikinis. Final Dance combines the traditional idol summer PV concept with clips from previous BiS music videos and concerts. In doing so, Final Dance is just about as close as BiS has come to really satirizing an idol PV while at the same time being a painful yet heartwarming trip down the group's history, from the very first rendition of Nerve all the way to StupiG. I was so surprised when the clips started showing up halfway through Final Dance. It was very disorienting, and when I saw all those BiS clips jammed together in one PV, it really hit me that this truly is the final dance for BiS. And that makes me very sad.

Final Dance could have worked as just a parody summer PV. It's set up perfectly to be one. I laughed when I saw the girls dancing around in colorful bikinis, doing all those dance poses, and generally normal idol summer things. In a weird way, it was even kind of refreshing. When BiS does so many abnormal things for idols, the weirdest thing that they can do turns into the most normal thing a conventional idol group can do. And the satire works so well, to the point that it's almost subtle. There are so many summer PVs that BiS is satirizing in this PV, to the point where I can't even name them all. That's partially because Final Dance is a satire of so many general concepts in idol summer PVs that it's hard to peg down specific music videos. That's why you need to be familiar with the idol summer PV. Anyways, BiS could have just left Final Dance as a fun parody, but then they twisted that into a chance to play back all their past releases. And I love that they covered pretty much everything, even their indie releases like My Ixxx and Idol. Although I'd like to take this moment to say, I never saw Yufu once in any of those clips. I can only imagine why. Still, Final Dance is such a frustratingly poignant PV and makes for a fitting last music video from BiS...

...if it is their last music video.

I'm certain you all noticed the "to be continued..." in my very last screencap. I think that may indicate a PV for the Final Version of Nerve, the other A-side off of this single. I'm not sure though, since no PV has been released on the Avex Youtube channel. The only music video on the DVD versions of the single is Final Dance. But there was also a tweet about another PV, so by this point, I have no expectations. If a final PV comes, I welcome it with open arms. But if Final Dance is meant to be a send off for BiS, then I think it works pretty well. I'm a little unsure about the decision to make it a summer PV, but Final Dance/nerve is a summer single. And I think it kind of fits with BiS's entire concept. Watching Final Dance has made me realize how much I'm gonna miss BiS and how much I don't want to see them go yet. I guess it's better for them to go out with a bang like Final Dance than something mediocre, right? Still, part of me says it feels too early. But then another part of me says that it's time for BiS to go. Pour Lui wants them to go out before they start to decline, and if that's what she wants, so be it. But it still hurts. I wish all the best to the former and current members of BiS. They're leaving us in true BiS fashion, with a satisfying conclusion to the four years of running around nude, spiked baseball bats, and fake blood. How I will miss it.

Final Dance isn't perfect, but it is near-perfect. Four and half apples near-perfect. The song is a little tame for BiS, but still has all the energy and heart to make for a strong sendoff. The PV is heavily nostalgic, especially if you've been a fan of BiS for some time. Even if not, Final Dance still makes for a great music video that's both a great satire of summer PVs and a bittersweet retrospective of everything BiS has accomplished. All I can ask of you readers is that you please check out BiS. They're a wonderful group, and I hope that after they've disbanded, they'll still carry on as a legacy.