Know Your BiStory #9: Suki Suki Daisuki

For being an idol group, BiS broke the pop music mold more than their fair share of times. Coming in at song number nine in our BiStory countdown is a song which smashed the mold into a million tiny pieces and burned those pieces to a crisp. "Suki Suki Daisuki" has the distinction of being my personal first-ever BiS song, as well as one of my absolute favorites. The collaboration with legendary harsh noise group Hijokaidan to cover Jun Togawa's classic pop hit came as a massive shock to even the most hardcore of BiS fans, especially considering how little the fanbases for noise and pop music actually overlap. Even today, the majority of people who stumble onto the wild music video accompanying this song are blown away by the sheer destructive force of BiS Kaidan.

Even in the 80s, Jun Togawa's original single was an anomaly for your average pop idol. To Westerners it may sound tame, even cute, but delving into the lyrics reveals a much darker side to the Queen of Underground Idols. "Say you love me, or I'll kill you!" exclaims Togawa. That sounds all the more threatening when screamed over a wall of abrasive feedback and agonizing screeches. And yet, underneath all of that furious noise lies an unmistakable melody, some sense of sweetness in all the chaos. This song is just as catchy as it is terrifying.

Suki Suki Daisuki is definitely not for everybody; hell, it's barely for ANYBODY. Still though, it's an incredible meeting point for two polar opposite genres. This isn't your father's noise pop, there's no shoegaze to be found within the confines of Hijokaidan's all-out auditory assault. This is simply one of the most unique (and dare I say, important) idol songs of all time. The influence of this song lives on today in countless idol groups, each one promising to be more hardcore than the last. The only question is, who will be the next group to fall into the clutches of Hijokaidan?

-Justin

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