Episode 66: Femcel, Femcel Burning Bright

On this lucky double six episode, I bring back Idolcast ringer Brigit (Episodes 39, 40, and 44) to talk about one of the most tedious books on idols I’ve encountered… Idol Burning by Usami Rin.

We touched on the novel a bit in Episode 56 but spent most of that episode on the (in my opinion) far better Y/N by Esther Yi. I would have been happy to forget about Idol Burning but I kept seeing the title pop up (check out the K-Pop Bookshelf episode!) and wondered if maybe I was missing something. So, I called for back-up and Brigit and I go deep into what it means to be an idol fan, our experiences stanning, the dubious “feminist” reading of the novel, and much, much more!

Some of the things we mention:

• “Not with a bang but a whimper” is the ending of “The Hollow Men” by T.S. Elliot

This is the way the world ends

This is the way the world ends

This is the way the world ends

Not with a bang but a whimper

• The novel I couldn’t remember the name of with the rotting house and the dead mother-in-law was Lala Pipo.

• Caroline Knapp (RIP) wrote Drinking: A Love Story and Appetites, both of which I highly recommend.

• Brigit brings up The Temple of the Golden Pavilion by Yukio Mishima (金閣寺; Kinkakuji)

• John Hinkley, Jr. was the Jodie Foster stalker; he now has a YouTube channel.

• Mr. Casaubon and the Key To All Mythologies from Middlemarch is a frequent touchpoint of mine.

• The Righteous Gemstones is excellent! Danny McBride, Adam Devine, John Goodman, Edi Patterson, come on it’s so good!

• Brigit mentions being “KY” which is slang for 空気読めない (Kuuki Yomenai) or being unable to read the room.

• I harp on the YA (“Young Adult”) framing of the novel in English, which is a familiar argument for anybody in book/literature circles. The whole thing is way too big to TL;DR but the incident a few years ago when grown ass, allegedly professional authors bullied a college student over her opinions on YA literature should give you a taste of it.

• Inohara and his Hot Dad Glasses is a meme:

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The songs played are:

1. 感謝カンゲキ雨嵐 by Arashi

2. せんせい by 森昌子 (Sensei by Mori Masako)

3. IDEA by Taemin (Official MV)

4. “What Kind of Girl Do You Think We Are?” by Frank Zappa and the Mothers of Invention (Live At the Fillmore East 1971)

5. 会いたかった by AKB48 (Aitakkatta; 2013 Dome Live)

6. 思い出に間に合いたくて by 松任谷 由実 (Omoide ni ma ni aitakute by Matsutoya Yumi; “Missin’ the train of memories”)

7. 燃えろいい女 by ツイスト (Moeru ii onna by Sera Masanori and Twist; “Burning woman”)

8. エキセントリック by 欅坂46 (Eccentric by Keyakizaka46)

9. レッツゴーKY by ゴールデンボンバー (“Let’s Go KY” by Golden Bomber)

10. “Lay Down (Candles In the Rain)” by Melanie and the Edwin Hawkins Singers

11. 怪・セラ・セラ by 山下智久 (Que Sera Sera by Yamashita Tomohisa; I miss the Yamapi Art Pop era.)

12. こっから by SixTones (Official MV)

13. サマー☆★げっちゅー by The SUPER FRUIT (Summer☆★Get’you by The SUPER FRUIT) (Official MV; STAN THE SUPER FRUIT)

14. ホテル・カリフォルニア by タンポポ (“Hotel California” by Tanpopo)

15. OTAGAI☆SUMMER! by 河合郁人 (Kawai Fumito Solo and check out my Good-Bye post)