MikuMatsuri, First Pass!
Ker-Miku. Here are my picks from her birthday tags; I'm kind of rushing this to get it up before the day's over in the UK, so if you've got any you particularly like that aren't here, link them up! And don't forget to contribute to the primary Miku Birthday post below with your all-time bests.
初音ミクオリジナル曲 「初音ミクとあそぼぅ！！(LONG VERSION)」
(Let's Play With Hatsune Miku!! (CosMo), Big Band Pop)
What the hell, cosMo? I don't even-- starting off with a rousing march straight out of some uplifting rocket launch video or mech series - until you notice it's a remix of Disappearance - we bounce straight into a Yukkuri introducing the song and then into a bizarre, wild ride through a completely ridiculous and bombastic big band track with warring, gunfire, random asides, the other vocaloids arguing over it... it's just all insane. The hell.
【初音ミク】 Rule 【オリジナル】
(Rule (M@satoshi), Club Pop)
Hitting all of my weak points, Rule is the token headbopping, foot-tapping club track of this update. Miku's kind of drastically high and that's going to put some people off - heck, the whole song is - but for me it's worth it for the cheesy electrodancepop with the beat I can't help but move along to.
初音ミク オリジナル曲 『Weather Report』
(Weather Report (Heavenz), Rock)
Heavenz possibly steals the show just for the Miku tuning here. It's bizarre but works really well - low but harmonizing with herself throughout this grinding track full of hard guitar sections that repeatedly split off into soft whistling chirps and quiet, careful piano.
【初音ミク(ma10a)】 ne★gi 【オリジナル曲】
(ne★gi (ma10a), Acoustic Pop)
Probably best if you take your eyes off the, er, video and just listen to the surprisingly good vocal track that's on offer here. It's nothing incredibly special, it's pretty generic Miku pop - but it's executed well and the acoustic track below it is certainly good enough for me.
初音ミクappend - Sehnsucht
(Sehnsucht (yatsuhashi), Piano + Drums + Acoustic)
I still really don't like this kind of high, super-breathy Miku coding, it sets my teeth on edge something fierce... fortunately, I'm a super for these very slightly minimalistic tracks, especially when they're full of lovely twinkling piano notes and a gorgeous bit of guitar work.
【初音ミク】 color 【そらいろくらぶ】
(color (yuxuki), Floaty Pop)
More high and soft Miku, but this is just as good if not better than Sehnsucht above - soft guitar and thumping drums over 霜村's trademark gentle, pastel animations. Possibly a little too floaty for some, but then if that were a problem you probably skipped right over this paragraph when you saw the name 'yuxuki'.
WAVEFILE/初音ミク
(WAVEFILE (lamaze), Electropop)
A delightfully generic bit of cheesy electro pop, there's nothing here you haven't heard before but it's bouncy, upbeat, and all of a minute-and-a-half of your time. Quintessential Miku, it's just a shame that it's a little too quiet and not very punchy, but Miku's voice is pretty great.
【初音ミク】 アラビアン・レスポンス 【オリジナル曲】
(Arabian Response (CleanTears), Ethnic Trance)
I love a bit of Clean Tears; they regularly provide me with awesome dance and trance and I'm pleased to see they've popped out another for Miku's birthday. Take their usual style and beats and cram it into a track alongside some fantastic little arabian and eastern catches and solos and THEREMINS. Yesssss, theremins.
【初音ミク】サマーデイ・レクイエム【オリジナル】
(Summer Day Requiem (夕闇), Club Pop)
Yet more! If you found Rule to be far too high, and if you found Arabian Response to be a bit too heavy, then try this track. It's lighter and lower and something closer to approaching a happy medium between the two, marred only by the odd Miku twinge and making up for it with an array of synth violin to mark out the melody.
初音ミクのオリジナル曲 人形と左目 -Full ver.-
(Doll and Left Eye (deadball), Traditional? Ethnicy?)
Surprisingly soft and lacking in deep angst given the title, what could have been a deep and harsh song suddenly blossoms into a dreamy vocal track with canastas and a gentle sound. Not quite a Miku Birthday track, but it's been hanging around on my list and is well worth a listen.
【初音ミク】 恋するミュータント 【オリジナルPV】
(Love Mutant (pinokio), Pop)
G-gwuh. I'm not really sure what to make of this one. A rather atonal Miku sings her through a rather atonal pop song that changes beats and bounces back and forth and generally goes all over the place. The end result is a pretty neat, laid-back and chaotic affair, but it really needs to be very careful - it skirts the edges of Intrument Salad more than once.
初音ミクオリジナル「エンカウンター」
(Encounter (Re:nG), Rock)
You might be forgiven for jumping at that thumbnail with thoughts of World is Mine or Romeo + Cinderella in your head... and sadly, you'd be kind of disappointed, as this is more of an opera-rock track with a focus of vocals. To be honest, it doesn't really grab me; despite the array of names behind it, it feels a little muted and lacking, but it's scoring well so I'm prepared to chalk it up to my own taste.
初音ミクオリジナル曲 「Flowering」
(Flowering (malo), Vocal)
I've got to admit this is clambering up the views remarkably quickly, mostly thanks to malo's lineage as The Hajimete No Oto dude. It's a decent enough snare-and-piano march, but that's quiet and definitely a background for Miku's vocal melody. Which is fine enough - she's decently tuned, in the main part - except that I cringe every time she slides up and down scales.
【初音ミク MEIKO】あなたのいる場所 / shu-t【double M】
(Important Place (shu-t), Miku + Meiko, Pop)
To finish up, here's shu-t: Still not getting the recognition he deserves, damn man. This track's perfect to drift off to, Miku and Meiko chilling out on a hill and dueting their way through a soft track that's pretty much a complete departure from his dance tracks. It shows: it's a little rough in places, and Meiko doesn't sound nearly as good as normal, but it's a fun song with some fine woodwind.
And Finally:
【パラパラマンガ】ローリンガール【転がってみた】
(Rolling Girl (Flipbook Art PV) (wowaka), Wowaka Pop)
Yeah, uh. You know Rolling Girl? That powerful, harsh, cutting song? Yeah, uh, no. Watch this amazing hand-drawn animation and witness as it turns into an incredibly delightful romp down a hill. Make absolutely sure that you watch right up to the end - the artwork here is fantastic and the expressions and finale are absolutely top-notch. I can't lavish enough praise - and laughter - on it.
初音ミクオリジナル曲 「初音ミクとあそぼぅ！！(LONG VERSION)」
(Let's Play With Hatsune Miku!! (CosMo), Big Band Pop)
What the hell, cosMo? I don't even-- starting off with a rousing march straight out of some uplifting rocket launch video or mech series - until you notice it's a remix of Disappearance - we bounce straight into a Yukkuri introducing the song and then into a bizarre, wild ride through a completely ridiculous and bombastic big band track with warring, gunfire, random asides, the other vocaloids arguing over it... it's just all insane. The hell.
【初音ミク】 Rule 【オリジナル】
(Rule (M@satoshi), Club Pop)
Hitting all of my weak points, Rule is the token headbopping, foot-tapping club track of this update. Miku's kind of drastically high and that's going to put some people off - heck, the whole song is - but for me it's worth it for the cheesy electrodancepop with the beat I can't help but move along to.
初音ミク オリジナル曲 『Weather Report』
(Weather Report (Heavenz), Rock)
Heavenz possibly steals the show just for the Miku tuning here. It's bizarre but works really well - low but harmonizing with herself throughout this grinding track full of hard guitar sections that repeatedly split off into soft whistling chirps and quiet, careful piano.
【初音ミク(ma10a)】 ne★gi 【オリジナル曲】
(ne★gi (ma10a), Acoustic Pop)
Probably best if you take your eyes off the, er, video and just listen to the surprisingly good vocal track that's on offer here. It's nothing incredibly special, it's pretty generic Miku pop - but it's executed well and the acoustic track below it is certainly good enough for me.
初音ミクappend - Sehnsucht
(Sehnsucht (yatsuhashi), Piano + Drums + Acoustic)
I still really don't like this kind of high, super-breathy Miku coding, it sets my teeth on edge something fierce... fortunately, I'm a super for these very slightly minimalistic tracks, especially when they're full of lovely twinkling piano notes and a gorgeous bit of guitar work.
【初音ミク】 color 【そらいろくらぶ】
(color (yuxuki), Floaty Pop)
More high and soft Miku, but this is just as good if not better than Sehnsucht above - soft guitar and thumping drums over 霜村's trademark gentle, pastel animations. Possibly a little too floaty for some, but then if that were a problem you probably skipped right over this paragraph when you saw the name 'yuxuki'.
WAVEFILE/初音ミク
(WAVEFILE (lamaze), Electropop)
A delightfully generic bit of cheesy electro pop, there's nothing here you haven't heard before but it's bouncy, upbeat, and all of a minute-and-a-half of your time. Quintessential Miku, it's just a shame that it's a little too quiet and not very punchy, but Miku's voice is pretty great.
【初音ミク】 アラビアン・レスポンス 【オリジナル曲】
(Arabian Response (CleanTears), Ethnic Trance)
I love a bit of Clean Tears; they regularly provide me with awesome dance and trance and I'm pleased to see they've popped out another for Miku's birthday. Take their usual style and beats and cram it into a track alongside some fantastic little arabian and eastern catches and solos and THEREMINS. Yesssss, theremins.
【初音ミク】サマーデイ・レクイエム【オリジナル】
(Summer Day Requiem (夕闇), Club Pop)
Yet more! If you found Rule to be far too high, and if you found Arabian Response to be a bit too heavy, then try this track. It's lighter and lower and something closer to approaching a happy medium between the two, marred only by the odd Miku twinge and making up for it with an array of synth violin to mark out the melody.
初音ミクのオリジナル曲 人形と左目 -Full ver.-
(Doll and Left Eye (deadball), Traditional? Ethnicy?)
Surprisingly soft and lacking in deep angst given the title, what could have been a deep and harsh song suddenly blossoms into a dreamy vocal track with canastas and a gentle sound. Not quite a Miku Birthday track, but it's been hanging around on my list and is well worth a listen.
【初音ミク】 恋するミュータント 【オリジナルPV】
(Love Mutant (pinokio), Pop)
G-gwuh. I'm not really sure what to make of this one. A rather atonal Miku sings her through a rather atonal pop song that changes beats and bounces back and forth and generally goes all over the place. The end result is a pretty neat, laid-back and chaotic affair, but it really needs to be very careful - it skirts the edges of Intrument Salad more than once.
初音ミクオリジナル「エンカウンター」
(Encounter (Re:nG), Rock)
You might be forgiven for jumping at that thumbnail with thoughts of World is Mine or Romeo + Cinderella in your head... and sadly, you'd be kind of disappointed, as this is more of an opera-rock track with a focus of vocals. To be honest, it doesn't really grab me; despite the array of names behind it, it feels a little muted and lacking, but it's scoring well so I'm prepared to chalk it up to my own taste.
初音ミクオリジナル曲 「Flowering」
(Flowering (malo), Vocal)
I've got to admit this is clambering up the views remarkably quickly, mostly thanks to malo's lineage as The Hajimete No Oto dude. It's a decent enough snare-and-piano march, but that's quiet and definitely a background for Miku's vocal melody. Which is fine enough - she's decently tuned, in the main part - except that I cringe every time she slides up and down scales.
【初音ミク MEIKO】あなたのいる場所 / shu-t【double M】
(Important Place (shu-t), Miku + Meiko, Pop)
To finish up, here's shu-t: Still not getting the recognition he deserves, damn man. This track's perfect to drift off to, Miku and Meiko chilling out on a hill and dueting their way through a soft track that's pretty much a complete departure from his dance tracks. It shows: it's a little rough in places, and Meiko doesn't sound nearly as good as normal, but it's a fun song with some fine woodwind.
And Finally:
【パラパラマンガ】ローリンガール【転がってみた】
(Rolling Girl (Flipbook Art PV) (wowaka), Wowaka Pop)
Yeah, uh. You know Rolling Girl? That powerful, harsh, cutting song? Yeah, uh, no. Watch this amazing hand-drawn animation and witness as it turns into an incredibly delightful romp down a hill. Make absolutely sure that you watch right up to the end - the artwork here is fantastic and the expressions and finale are absolutely top-notch. I can't lavish enough praise - and laughter - on it.