Weekly Roundup
Steakhouse work trip: great for getting fed, not so hot for getting up to date on posts, especially when combined with my internet bombing out on Wednesday. This is late as hell, so will be a lazy/quick update as regards descriptions. For your miki stuff, check under this post for the Miki Festival!
Not the best of weeks, and man did I throw out a ton of my shortlist on the second listen. Maybe I'm just grumpy. Did get a whole ton of covers, though.
【巡音ルカ】absolute【オリジナル】
(Absolute (ep0d), Luka, Pop)
Absolutely gorgeous Luka track, this is easily my favorite track of the update. The guy who did the bizarre Au Pas Camarade brings us a fine Luka track full of style and a terrific acoustic solo.
【初音ミク】Heart Groove【オリジナル曲】
(Heart Groove (suketch), Miku, Club Pop + JRAPPIN')
I was already sold on this track from the upbeat poppy intro that promised suketch style club beats. Then the fantastic guitar kicked in and I was even more pleased. Then a crazy jrapper popped in to give me some phat rhymes and well that just made my day.
【GUMI】 グリーンストレート 【オリジナル曲PV付】
(Green Straight (raibu), Gumi, Pop, PV)
Maybe I'm spoilt, but Gumi's voice seemed kind of lacking here? The song's great, though, bongos are guaranteed to make me feel better, especially when combined with a great piano and a crescendo-filled track.
【初音ミク】 days 【オリジナル曲】
(Days (oga), Miku, Acoustic Pop)
It's hard to get any more cheering than this - a super clear Miku and strong vocals over an acoustic guitar and piano for a gentle pop song. Lovely.
【GUMI】嘘とダイヤモンド【オリジナル曲PV付】
(Lie and Diamond (yucha), Gumi, Rock, PV)
This feels a lot cleaner than Green Straight, at least in terms of Gumi's voice, as she accompanies a waltzing toe-tapping rock track.
【巡音ルカ】 cry 【オリジナル】
(Cry (yuyoyuppe), Luka, Hoarse Screamer Thrash Metaaaaaaaaaaaaal)
Well, it's been a while since we've had something this purely dramatic. Hoarse autotuned screaming takes up a huge chunk of this thrashing track before Luka blasts in for a more melodic second half.
【初音ミク】 どうしてちゃんのテーマ 【オリジナルPV】
(Doushite-chan's Theme (pinokio), Miku, ?!?!, PV)
What the hell, pinokio.
【初音ミク・鏡音レン】幻覚カタストロフィー【オリジナルPV】
(Hallucination Catastrophe (putin), Miku + Len, Emo Rock...? Maybe?, PV)
What the hell, putin.
初音ミクdeオリジナル曲「シンカーソングライター」
(Eh, Whatever (oichan), Len, Rock, PV)
Oichan's responsible for this weird and wacky Len tune, a kind of mashup of rock and chiptune combined with a lot of side effects and a very silly video. It works far better than you'd expect.
【初音ミク】カロン【オリジナルPV】
(Charon (KulfiQ), Miku, Pop)
A piano-centric pop song. Very pleasant sound, but be aware that - just like most of KulfiQ's work - this features a very, very soft Miku that may not be to everyone's taste.
初音ミクdeオリジナル曲「シンカーソングライター」
(Sinker Songwriter (AETA), Miku, Pop)
In much the same style as Karon, this is another soft pop track that floats along with a high Miku, but swapping the piano for bells and drums and a lot of backing singers trying to decide whether to croon or chant.
【初音ミク】オレンジゾートロープ【PVつきオリジナル曲】
(Orange Drop (mikkusumodan), Miku, Mediterranean Easy Listening, PV)
Let's get French. Calm and smooth jazzy bell tones and plucky bass give a distinctly European feel to yet another super-soft Miku track. This one, out of all of them, might be taking things a bit too far on that score.
【MEIKO】ダンスはやめられない【モーツァルト！】
(Can't Stop Dancing (根気), Meiko, Emopera)
Totally linking this if only for the completely adorable Meiko Birthday Preparation banner.
【初音ミクオリジナル】I don't need anymore【あぺじ】
(I Don't Need Anymore (AGP550), Miku, Rock, PV)
A lot less angsty than you'd expect, this is a straight up and fairly traditional piece of Miku Rock. Miku grates a little, but otherwise it's good work.
【Lily】 FATAL MOMENT 【オリジナル】
(FATAL MOMENT (古墳), Lily, OONTZ OONTZ OONTZ OONTZ)
My god... it's full of Eurobeat.
Other / Covers:
初音ミク - エレクトリック・ラブ MMDPV
(Electric Love (hachioji), Miku, Club Pop, MMD PV)
From the same guy who did last update's Monochro Blue Sky, a seriously shiny Electric Love PV. Less ridiculous dancing in this one, it's a calmer affair... and I think that works a lot better. Less waggly hips in MMD videos, guys.
Liaの「鳥の詩」を猫村いろはで。
(Bird Song (Lia), Iroha, Pop)
I still can't really get over catbot's voice. This cover of the famous AIR track is pretty damn stunning.
【GUMIカバー曲】指輪（坂本真綾）
(Finger Ring (ES CAY FLOW NAY), Gumi, Soft Pop)
It's a criminal shame that this song is recorded at far too low a quality, and too low a volume - Gumi's cover of an Escaflowne theme sounds absolutely amazing, and I'd love to hear it more clearly.
ワールズエンド・ダンスホール リン・レンver【DIVA2-PV】
(Worlds End Dancehall (Diva2 PV) (wowaka), Len + Rin, Wowaka, PV)
Exactly what it says on the tin, this is a surprisingly badass cover. The twins' voices have some problems with the source material but it's still very solid.
【ＫＡＩＴＯ】初音ミクの激唱【カバー】
(The Cry of Hatsune Miku (cosMo), Kaito, Whatever The Heck This Genre Is)
Kaito gives Gekishou an honest-to-god try. He doesn't exactly match up to the music very well, but it's far better than it could otherwise be and he's pretty clear.
Not the best of weeks, and man did I throw out a ton of my shortlist on the second listen. Maybe I'm just grumpy. Did get a whole ton of covers, though.
【巡音ルカ】absolute【オリジナル】
(Absolute (ep0d), Luka, Pop)
Absolutely gorgeous Luka track, this is easily my favorite track of the update. The guy who did the bizarre Au Pas Camarade brings us a fine Luka track full of style and a terrific acoustic solo.
【初音ミク】Heart Groove【オリジナル曲】
(Heart Groove (suketch), Miku, Club Pop + JRAPPIN')
I was already sold on this track from the upbeat poppy intro that promised suketch style club beats. Then the fantastic guitar kicked in and I was even more pleased. Then a crazy jrapper popped in to give me some phat rhymes and well that just made my day.
【GUMI】 グリーンストレート 【オリジナル曲PV付】
(Green Straight (raibu), Gumi, Pop, PV)
Maybe I'm spoilt, but Gumi's voice seemed kind of lacking here? The song's great, though, bongos are guaranteed to make me feel better, especially when combined with a great piano and a crescendo-filled track.
【初音ミク】 days 【オリジナル曲】
(Days (oga), Miku, Acoustic Pop)
It's hard to get any more cheering than this - a super clear Miku and strong vocals over an acoustic guitar and piano for a gentle pop song. Lovely.
【GUMI】嘘とダイヤモンド【オリジナル曲PV付】
(Lie and Diamond (yucha), Gumi, Rock, PV)
This feels a lot cleaner than Green Straight, at least in terms of Gumi's voice, as she accompanies a waltzing toe-tapping rock track.
【巡音ルカ】 cry 【オリジナル】
(Cry (yuyoyuppe), Luka, Hoarse Screamer Thrash Metaaaaaaaaaaaaal)
Well, it's been a while since we've had something this purely dramatic. Hoarse autotuned screaming takes up a huge chunk of this thrashing track before Luka blasts in for a more melodic second half.
【初音ミク】 どうしてちゃんのテーマ 【オリジナルPV】
(Doushite-chan's Theme (pinokio), Miku, ?!?!, PV)
What the hell, pinokio.
【初音ミク・鏡音レン】幻覚カタストロフィー【オリジナルPV】
(Hallucination Catastrophe (putin), Miku + Len, Emo Rock...? Maybe?, PV)
What the hell, putin.
初音ミクdeオリジナル曲「シンカーソングライター」
(Eh, Whatever (oichan), Len, Rock, PV)
Oichan's responsible for this weird and wacky Len tune, a kind of mashup of rock and chiptune combined with a lot of side effects and a very silly video. It works far better than you'd expect.
【初音ミク】カロン【オリジナルPV】
(Charon (KulfiQ), Miku, Pop)
A piano-centric pop song. Very pleasant sound, but be aware that - just like most of KulfiQ's work - this features a very, very soft Miku that may not be to everyone's taste.
初音ミクdeオリジナル曲「シンカーソングライター」
(Sinker Songwriter (AETA), Miku, Pop)
In much the same style as Karon, this is another soft pop track that floats along with a high Miku, but swapping the piano for bells and drums and a lot of backing singers trying to decide whether to croon or chant.
【初音ミク】オレンジゾートロープ【PVつきオリジナル曲】
(Orange Drop (mikkusumodan), Miku, Mediterranean Easy Listening, PV)
Let's get French. Calm and smooth jazzy bell tones and plucky bass give a distinctly European feel to yet another super-soft Miku track. This one, out of all of them, might be taking things a bit too far on that score.
【MEIKO】ダンスはやめられない【モーツァルト！】
(Can't Stop Dancing (根気), Meiko, Emopera)
Totally linking this if only for the completely adorable Meiko Birthday Preparation banner.
【初音ミクオリジナル】I don't need anymore【あぺじ】
(I Don't Need Anymore (AGP550), Miku, Rock, PV)
A lot less angsty than you'd expect, this is a straight up and fairly traditional piece of Miku Rock. Miku grates a little, but otherwise it's good work.
【Lily】 FATAL MOMENT 【オリジナル】
(FATAL MOMENT (古墳), Lily, OONTZ OONTZ OONTZ OONTZ)
My god... it's full of Eurobeat.
Other / Covers:
初音ミク - エレクトリック・ラブ MMDPV
(Electric Love (hachioji), Miku, Club Pop, MMD PV)
From the same guy who did last update's Monochro Blue Sky, a seriously shiny Electric Love PV. Less ridiculous dancing in this one, it's a calmer affair... and I think that works a lot better. Less waggly hips in MMD videos, guys.
Liaの「鳥の詩」を猫村いろはで。
(Bird Song (Lia), Iroha, Pop)
I still can't really get over catbot's voice. This cover of the famous AIR track is pretty damn stunning.
【GUMIカバー曲】指輪（坂本真綾）
(Finger Ring (ES CAY FLOW NAY), Gumi, Soft Pop)
It's a criminal shame that this song is recorded at far too low a quality, and too low a volume - Gumi's cover of an Escaflowne theme sounds absolutely amazing, and I'd love to hear it more clearly.
ワールズエンド・ダンスホール リン・レンver【DIVA2-PV】
(Worlds End Dancehall (Diva2 PV) (wowaka), Len + Rin, Wowaka, PV)
Exactly what it says on the tin, this is a surprisingly badass cover. The twins' voices have some problems with the source material but it's still very solid.
【ＫＡＩＴＯ】初音ミクの激唱【カバー】
(The Cry of Hatsune Miku (cosMo), Kaito, Whatever The Heck This Genre Is)
Kaito gives Gekishou an honest-to-god try. He doesn't exactly match up to the music very well, but it's far better than it could otherwise be and he's pretty clear.