AKB48 is not a band, or even a pop group: AKB48 is a hate crime. With "Koko ni Ita Koto," pop music has reached its lowest ebb. And that is precisely why this album is not my favorite of the year, but the one I think is the most important.
You could almost forgive AKB48's relentlessly manipulative marketing (faux-breastfeeding in an Web service provider ad, anyone?) if the music wasn't so hollow, but "Koko ni Ita Koto" exists to generate money, not fun.
"Ponytail to Chocho" throws syrupy and uninspired vocal melodies over cheesy keyboards and a flat, lifeless "rhythm," and exists only as an excuse to fill a seven-minute pop video with young girls stripping in a locker room and prancing around in bikinis. "Heavy Rotation" does the same job sonically, but its raison d'etre is six minutes of lingerie and girls kissing.