Weekly Roundup #HolyGodSoMany
I'm pretty stoked about this one, folks.
See, most of this week has been... kind of mediocre. I didn't like it much, so I lowered my standards and started shortlisting some songs to get myself to the normal levels. Then I loaded up today's top 100 and promptly found that everyone and their dog had brought out a bevy of absolutely incredible tracks! Best of all they wouldn't be on the ranking yet, so I could totally score the scoop ahead of the charts. The only trouble is that thanks to this, my shortlist prior to trimming down has a scrollbar. Expect a whole lot of gush.
It's fair to call this week's post the onset of spring: gone are the angsty or slow tracks of winter, and in their place come a series of gentler, happier, bouncier, higher-energy ones.
【初音ミク】泣き虫と花束【オリジナル】
(Crybaby and Bouquet (kous), Miku, Pop)
We'll start the week off with this one, shall we? Lord knows I'm not the biggest kous fan, but this track gripped me by the throat and wouldn't let go. Full of soft guitars and a breezy, gentle, summery sound, it's the perfect track to unwind and drift off to, haunting and melodic and absolutely awesome. It's far and away my favorite this week.
初音ミクオリジナル曲 「初音ミクの戸惑（LONG VERSION）」
(The Confusion of Hatsune Miku (cosMo), Miku, CRAZED)
Immediately evoking Disappearance and effectively its spiritual sequel, this track doesn't let up with a crazy speed and amazing style, Miku going hell-for-leather. While I don't want to spoil the effects, I will say it's more tuneful and listenable than Disappearance to my ears - I'm pretty sure I prefer it. However you match it up against the predecessor, though, it's an absolute must to watch.
【KAITO】「つけるよ。」【オリジナル曲】
(That Condom Song (suketch), Kaito, Pop)
I know, it's got an actual name, but I can't help but apply that one to it, even now. No doubt you've seen this on the ranking already, but if you haven't, don't be put off by the thumbnail - for all that I want to dislike it for the obvious reason, the song itself is both hilarious and amazingly cute, full of gorgeous acoustic guitar and chords and a bouncy, jaunty style that I can't help but fall in love with. You're pretty much certain to be pleasantly surprised.
【鏡音リン】 告白センセーション 【オリジナル曲PV付】
(Confession Sensation (raibu), Rin, Rock)
It's nice to see some high-energy happy rock tracks from Rin, compared to the angry or angsty ones I'm kind of used to seeing. There's nothing particularly special about this thumping, triumphant track that makes it absolutely stand out from others of the genre - it's just a great song that I'm having a hard time getting tired of. Great one for headbanging, too, a mad drummer in full swing really helping the beat along.
【初音ミク】エレディーヌST85錠【オリジナル】
(Eledine ST85 Lock (kaosu), Miku, Very Silly Rock)
I'm clearly missing some jokes in this video from the looks of the wwwwww's - not to mention half the damn translation of the title - but honestly I don't care, because I'm completely in love with the crazy-ass guitar line. A chaotic, wonderful track that splits off into rock solos and jazz and spanish guitar and then squeaking high notes and then back to a high-flying and highly bopping chorus. Fantastic.
巡音ルカオリジナル 日本語を練習中の巡音ルカが「花のかをり」を練習中！
(Luka's Japanese Practice (AVTechNo), Luka, Lounge)
So, uh, yeah. Just in case you weren't completely convinced about AVTechNo's ability to do absolutely goddamn anything, here's AVTechNo doing Luka doing a very lounge singer track consisting mostly of tinkling piano and seriously muted synth guitars and a completely bizarre, unexpected AVTechno style. It's not the best ever - definitely not up to par to AV's techno or club tracks - but what a change.
【GUMI】ホシメグリ【PV付オリジナル】
(Star Pilgrimage (miyum), Gumi, Pop)
Gumi's gotten pretty good treatment this week: duets with Rin and angsty solo songs - even if they did kind of make me claw my ears out - and now this lilting Gumi-version of a Miku yesteryear track that well upholds the spirit of the week - poppy happy music full of violin-style synths and warbly notes and a very starry atmosphere.
鏡音リン「Fate of Soul～ピリオドの向こうの闇～」【オリジナル曲】
(Fate Of Soul (samfree), Rin, Slightly Goth Rock)
A pretty epic production from samfree, here - massive piano scales and chords combined with a thumping track, some gorgeous guitar, and a astoundingly pretty PV. Rin sounds solid despite some occasional problems, the track isn't too cloying or overly mopey, it's all just balanced nicely.
【巡音ルカ】 act. 【オリジナル】
(act. (yazuki), Luka, Rock)
Possibly I shouldn't like this one as much as I do. There's no denying that something's off here, Luka's voice is kind of way-too-high-up-there and breaks a couple times, the music's overtaking her volume a little, it's kind of scrappy and wonky... but I just love it. Maybe it's the twangy and breathtaking guitar riffs going on, and the sheer exuberance of the solos.
【初音ミク】Emotion&Reason【オリジナル・再うｐ】
(Emotion & Reason (yuyoyuppe), Miku, Vocaloud)
I'm not usually one for Vocaloud, but yuyoyuppe's latest was surprisingly pleasant to my ears. It doesn't hurt that it's got some delightful soft sections, and even the loud bits aren't too loud or grating. Combine it with a lovely PV and I'm really quite happy.
Perfect Days【MEIKOオリジナル曲】
(Perfect Days (gozen), Meiko, Rock)
This track takes a little while to get going, so don't give up on it straight away. What is a reasonably listenable Meiko track is marred, however, by a couple of flaws - including some inadvertent noises from Meiko that sound unfortunately like choking. The track itself is pretty interesting, though; piano and drums are the forefront, with a guitar hiding somewhere at the back, and it makes for a kind of refreshing change from the usual rocky sounds of squealing guitar.
【巡音ルカ】Flaps the Wings / shu-t【SweetAnn】
(Flaps The Wings (shu-t), Sweet Ann + Luka + Big Al, House)
I have nothing to particularly add to this beyond the fact it's Luka, Sweet Ann and Big Al doing a fantastic house track that makes me grin and grin and grin. I really can't make the description any fuller than that, honestly.
どうでもいい！【PVのようなもの】
(Don't Care! (PV) (buriru), Miku, Pop)
An extremely silly song, now coupled with an extremely silly PV.
センチメンタル散歩 ／歌愛ユキ オリジナル曲・PV（VOCALOID）
(Sentimental Stroll (A0010), Yuki, Chillout)
Let's bring this post back down to earth with a few sad vocaloid in rain tracks, shall we? Starting with this one if only because it's Yuki and she still hasn't got that much exposure yet. I still am not a tremendous fan of her voice, but she's well-suited to this quiet and kind of droopy track.
【鏡音リン】 ｍ９ 【オリジナル】
(m9 (raibu), Rin, Easy Listening)
Another one from raibu, and it's another Rin track, if a decidedly softer and slower one. I can't really comment on the video itself - while it's the usual absolutely amazing NEGI work, I have no clue what m9 is exactly. The track itself is smoother than a bald guy in a shoe polish factory, though; sliding organs, some great saxophone, a whole shedload of style.
【古川本舗】ピアノ・レッスン asp-mix【初音ミク】
(Piano Lesson asp-mix (Furukawa), Miku Append Dark, Chillout)
The styling on this track actually reminds me of Rin's *tear* versions - this is a soft and gentle vocal track framed with the occasional extra tones or quiet snares or organ chords, and not a lot else. Rather bucking the trend of the week, it's a little overly soft and runs the risk of feeling a bit empty - Miku Append's voice is clear and perfect, though, and nicely sets off the rest.
【重音テト】twice【オリジナル曲・PV】
(twice (kino), Teto, Angst Pop)
Kino's been running around doing a host of UTAU originals with awesome videos recently - clicking his tag will take you to artifact, which I found too late to really include in the week's post, and a host of neat songs besides. While this Teto track doesn't have the sheer power of voice of some of the other recent UTAU offerings, it's still crisp and clean and a great listen.
BONUS VIDEO!
【ニコニコメドレー】 ニコってる？！ 【第4弾】
Kind of a little not safe for work at a couple points, unless your boss is totally cool with wrestlers and mildly bad taste in Vocaloid PV pictures
This is not strictly on-topic, but it does involve little singing robots to a great extent. The latest in the series of gigantic and wonderful Nicomedleys, this massive mix takes 100 of the top anime, videogame, meme and vocaloid music scores around and mashes them together into a non-stop breathless and wonderful mix. I'm always a sucker for these things, but this is the best one yet for a crazy mix of styles, going from Popipo at 1 minute to music box versions of smoooooochA to goth rock Blue Oni and onto Jazz and Big Band Mario. A brief moment of baaaaw as they mix Clannad and somehow make it even more teary, and then into a massive 6 minute speedmix including possibly the biggest blob of vocaloid tracks around. It's absolutely stunning and I was grinning like a moron at the end of it. For the love of all the gods out there do yourself a favour and click. (And don't forget to see how many you can name.)
See, most of this week has been... kind of mediocre. I didn't like it much, so I lowered my standards and started shortlisting some songs to get myself to the normal levels. Then I loaded up today's top 100 and promptly found that everyone and their dog had brought out a bevy of absolutely incredible tracks! Best of all they wouldn't be on the ranking yet, so I could totally score the scoop ahead of the charts. The only trouble is that thanks to this, my shortlist prior to trimming down has a scrollbar. Expect a whole lot of gush.
It's fair to call this week's post the onset of spring: gone are the angsty or slow tracks of winter, and in their place come a series of gentler, happier, bouncier, higher-energy ones.
【初音ミク】泣き虫と花束【オリジナル】
(Crybaby and Bouquet (kous), Miku, Pop)
We'll start the week off with this one, shall we? Lord knows I'm not the biggest kous fan, but this track gripped me by the throat and wouldn't let go. Full of soft guitars and a breezy, gentle, summery sound, it's the perfect track to unwind and drift off to, haunting and melodic and absolutely awesome. It's far and away my favorite this week.
初音ミクオリジナル曲 「初音ミクの戸惑（LONG VERSION）」
(The Confusion of Hatsune Miku (cosMo), Miku, CRAZED)
Immediately evoking Disappearance and effectively its spiritual sequel, this track doesn't let up with a crazy speed and amazing style, Miku going hell-for-leather. While I don't want to spoil the effects, I will say it's more tuneful and listenable than Disappearance to my ears - I'm pretty sure I prefer it. However you match it up against the predecessor, though, it's an absolute must to watch.
【KAITO】「つけるよ。」【オリジナル曲】
(That Condom Song (suketch), Kaito, Pop)
I know, it's got an actual name, but I can't help but apply that one to it, even now. No doubt you've seen this on the ranking already, but if you haven't, don't be put off by the thumbnail - for all that I want to dislike it for the obvious reason, the song itself is both hilarious and amazingly cute, full of gorgeous acoustic guitar and chords and a bouncy, jaunty style that I can't help but fall in love with. You're pretty much certain to be pleasantly surprised.
【鏡音リン】 告白センセーション 【オリジナル曲PV付】
(Confession Sensation (raibu), Rin, Rock)
It's nice to see some high-energy happy rock tracks from Rin, compared to the angry or angsty ones I'm kind of used to seeing. There's nothing particularly special about this thumping, triumphant track that makes it absolutely stand out from others of the genre - it's just a great song that I'm having a hard time getting tired of. Great one for headbanging, too, a mad drummer in full swing really helping the beat along.
【初音ミク】エレディーヌST85錠【オリジナル】
(Eledine ST85 Lock (kaosu), Miku, Very Silly Rock)
I'm clearly missing some jokes in this video from the looks of the wwwwww's - not to mention half the damn translation of the title - but honestly I don't care, because I'm completely in love with the crazy-ass guitar line. A chaotic, wonderful track that splits off into rock solos and jazz and spanish guitar and then squeaking high notes and then back to a high-flying and highly bopping chorus. Fantastic.
巡音ルカオリジナル 日本語を練習中の巡音ルカが「花のかをり」を練習中！
(Luka's Japanese Practice (AVTechNo), Luka, Lounge)
So, uh, yeah. Just in case you weren't completely convinced about AVTechNo's ability to do absolutely goddamn anything, here's AVTechNo doing Luka doing a very lounge singer track consisting mostly of tinkling piano and seriously muted synth guitars and a completely bizarre, unexpected AVTechno style. It's not the best ever - definitely not up to par to AV's techno or club tracks - but what a change.
【GUMI】ホシメグリ【PV付オリジナル】
(Star Pilgrimage (miyum), Gumi, Pop)
Gumi's gotten pretty good treatment this week: duets with Rin and angsty solo songs - even if they did kind of make me claw my ears out - and now this lilting Gumi-version of a Miku yesteryear track that well upholds the spirit of the week - poppy happy music full of violin-style synths and warbly notes and a very starry atmosphere.
鏡音リン「Fate of Soul～ピリオドの向こうの闇～」【オリジナル曲】
(Fate Of Soul (samfree), Rin, Slightly Goth Rock)
A pretty epic production from samfree, here - massive piano scales and chords combined with a thumping track, some gorgeous guitar, and a astoundingly pretty PV. Rin sounds solid despite some occasional problems, the track isn't too cloying or overly mopey, it's all just balanced nicely.
【巡音ルカ】 act. 【オリジナル】
(act. (yazuki), Luka, Rock)
Possibly I shouldn't like this one as much as I do. There's no denying that something's off here, Luka's voice is kind of way-too-high-up-there and breaks a couple times, the music's overtaking her volume a little, it's kind of scrappy and wonky... but I just love it. Maybe it's the twangy and breathtaking guitar riffs going on, and the sheer exuberance of the solos.
【初音ミク】Emotion&Reason【オリジナル・再うｐ】
(Emotion & Reason (yuyoyuppe), Miku, Vocaloud)
I'm not usually one for Vocaloud, but yuyoyuppe's latest was surprisingly pleasant to my ears. It doesn't hurt that it's got some delightful soft sections, and even the loud bits aren't too loud or grating. Combine it with a lovely PV and I'm really quite happy.
Perfect Days【MEIKOオリジナル曲】
(Perfect Days (gozen), Meiko, Rock)
This track takes a little while to get going, so don't give up on it straight away. What is a reasonably listenable Meiko track is marred, however, by a couple of flaws - including some inadvertent noises from Meiko that sound unfortunately like choking. The track itself is pretty interesting, though; piano and drums are the forefront, with a guitar hiding somewhere at the back, and it makes for a kind of refreshing change from the usual rocky sounds of squealing guitar.
【巡音ルカ】Flaps the Wings / shu-t【SweetAnn】
(Flaps The Wings (shu-t), Sweet Ann + Luka + Big Al, House)
I have nothing to particularly add to this beyond the fact it's Luka, Sweet Ann and Big Al doing a fantastic house track that makes me grin and grin and grin. I really can't make the description any fuller than that, honestly.
どうでもいい！【PVのようなもの】
(Don't Care! (PV) (buriru), Miku, Pop)
An extremely silly song, now coupled with an extremely silly PV.
センチメンタル散歩 ／歌愛ユキ オリジナル曲・PV（VOCALOID）
(Sentimental Stroll (A0010), Yuki, Chillout)
Let's bring this post back down to earth with a few sad vocaloid in rain tracks, shall we? Starting with this one if only because it's Yuki and she still hasn't got that much exposure yet. I still am not a tremendous fan of her voice, but she's well-suited to this quiet and kind of droopy track.
【鏡音リン】 ｍ９ 【オリジナル】
(m9 (raibu), Rin, Easy Listening)
Another one from raibu, and it's another Rin track, if a decidedly softer and slower one. I can't really comment on the video itself - while it's the usual absolutely amazing NEGI work, I have no clue what m9 is exactly. The track itself is smoother than a bald guy in a shoe polish factory, though; sliding organs, some great saxophone, a whole shedload of style.
【古川本舗】ピアノ・レッスン asp-mix【初音ミク】
(Piano Lesson asp-mix (Furukawa), Miku Append Dark, Chillout)
The styling on this track actually reminds me of Rin's *tear* versions - this is a soft and gentle vocal track framed with the occasional extra tones or quiet snares or organ chords, and not a lot else. Rather bucking the trend of the week, it's a little overly soft and runs the risk of feeling a bit empty - Miku Append's voice is clear and perfect, though, and nicely sets off the rest.
【重音テト】twice【オリジナル曲・PV】
(twice (kino), Teto, Angst Pop)
Kino's been running around doing a host of UTAU originals with awesome videos recently - clicking his tag will take you to artifact, which I found too late to really include in the week's post, and a host of neat songs besides. While this Teto track doesn't have the sheer power of voice of some of the other recent UTAU offerings, it's still crisp and clean and a great listen.
BONUS VIDEO!
【ニコニコメドレー】 ニコってる？！ 【第4弾】
Kind of a little not safe for work at a couple points, unless your boss is totally cool with wrestlers and mildly bad taste in Vocaloid PV pictures
This is not strictly on-topic, but it does involve little singing robots to a great extent. The latest in the series of gigantic and wonderful Nicomedleys, this massive mix takes 100 of the top anime, videogame, meme and vocaloid music scores around and mashes them together into a non-stop breathless and wonderful mix. I'm always a sucker for these things, but this is the best one yet for a crazy mix of styles, going from Popipo at 1 minute to music box versions of smoooooochA to goth rock Blue Oni and onto Jazz and Big Band Mario. A brief moment of baaaaw as they mix Clannad and somehow make it even more teary, and then into a massive 6 minute speedmix including possibly the biggest blob of vocaloid tracks around. It's absolutely stunning and I was grinning like a moron at the end of it. For the love of all the gods out there do yourself a favour and click. (And don't forget to see how many you can name.)