Weekly Roundup
It's update time. Of course, the biggest news this week probably has to go to the unveiling of the Rin and Len Append designs - see here - and I am astounded to admit that I think for the first time in a while Crypton has done something right. The original, but improved. Easy. Why was this so hard for Miku, Crypton, why did you have to go the floating swimsuit tie route?
In the wake of the MMD Cup announcement a slew of MMD videos have crawled out of the woodwork, so many in fact that I've been forced to hold off on linking some of them lest there be more other tracks than there are original songs. Match that against a general dip in the number of new songs - presumably as people gear up both for Comiket and for a massive Christmas bomb of cheesy cheesy pop - and it's a slightly unbalanced week.
Videos:
【鏡音リン】Super☆すとろべりぃ♪【VOCALOIDオリジナル】
Super Strawberry (Tes., Rin, Ska Pop)
Blasting out of the gate this week is Rin, and not because of any Append or huge track; instead, her brand new release from Tes. is this fast-paced ska number, gaining top slot for being the most gleeful, energetic ride it could possibly be, full of uplifting sax and wild cheering and catchy guitar. I can't overstate how much I love Tes.' ability to make a track pure fun. It's in serious danger of usurping this entire update because I just can't turn it off.
【オリジナル曲PV】 Christmas Morgue 【初音ミク】
Christmas Morgue (hachi, Miku, Carol Rock)
... this wasn't exactly the cheery introduction to Christmas that was I was quite expecting, but it's still really cool and if you were expecting anything happy from hachi then I'm not quite sure what to tell you. A twisted carol, the Miku in this track is very floaty but pitched just slightly at a list, ably succeeding along with the music at hinting of darker things and some atonal strangeness.
GUMIオリジナル曲「ヒステリ」
Hystery (kuwagata, Gumi, Rock)
Kuwagata rolls on! I don't have a lot to say about this one as it's a perfectly solid vocarock track, slightly upbeat pop rock with a side order of excellent Gumi tuning and the usual notes about great guitar; if you know kuwagata's work you'll probably have heard this style plenty of times before, but even then it never disappoints.
【井の頭】カシオペイア【初音ミクオリジナル曲PV付き】大百科
Cassiopeia (井の頭, Miku, Soft Rock)
Angsty, angsty pop rock! Sad Mikus in Snow everywhere you look in this very slightly torturous but mostly excellent love track with a deeply 'awwww' ending. As I say, it's a little overwrought in places but rallies well with some great piano and guitar riffs.
【巡音ルカ】 One Night Disco 【オリジナルPV】
One Night Disco (nana, Luka, Electropop)
What is the obsession with nights and discos in club-style Japanese music? Clearly nana's been taking leaves from BETTI's book here as Luka throws out a distinctly Easypop track with a catchy beat and a catchier chorus. This kind of genre is nana's expertise and it really shows; top stuff.
【歌愛ユキ】innocent girl【オリジナルグランプリ曲PV】
innocent girl (kagome, Yuki, Rock)
I really, honestly hope that kagome never stops doing songs like this for Yuki, because even if they sound kind of rough thanks to Yuki's voice and her inability to sing in English, the general sound is so good. A thumping beat and wailing guitars round off a glorious video as Yuki blasts her way through a distinctly dangerous song.
【初音ミク】 ぶっ飛ばしてやろうか！ベイベー 【オリジナル曲PV】
I'll Strike! Baby! (実谷なな, Miku, Rock)
Just harsh enough to be interesting without being unpleasant, this track has a lot going for it. The chorus and some of Miku's tuning might not be to everyone's taste, but a very well produced track and a striking video combine along with PELIE's guitar skills to make quite the spectacle.
【巡音ルカ】 チェリーハント 【オリジナル曲PV】
Cherry Hunt (Citruscat, Luka, Blues Rock?)
A highly swinging Luka track, jazzy and straight out of a 1930s casino and full of ridiculous piano solos and woodwinds and a dozen joyous little touches, the music in this track is positively top-notch. Unfortunately, the same can't be said for Luka's voice - she's very hit and miss, going from a beautifully held-note to a wobbly cracking phrase of Engrish often in a matter of seconds.
【初音ミク】キミのマボロシ【オリジナルPV】
Your Vision (u-ske, Miku, Floaty Pop)
Today, we've replaced our regular kous with Folger's Instant u-ske. From the hie video right down to the floaty style of music and the high Miku append voicing, this could really have come straight from kous' stable, and the only hint it hasn't is a far faster pace than he'd normally go for. u-ske's latest track shares many of the same hallmarks: it's well done, though not quite my cup of tea, and the video is nothing short of breathtaking.
【MEIKOオリジナル曲】残光
Afterglow (gozen, Meiko, Rock)
I dare you to listen to the first ten seconds of this track and not want to listen to the rest. A storming guitar solo leads into a fast paced, rocketing song and a polished bit of Meiko. Triumphant in timbre, the track suffers a little during the choruses but rallies very well.
【初音ミクAppendオリジナル曲】永久と刹那【キセノンP金属系】
Eternity and a Moment (SHO, Miku, Rock)
And if you haven't quite had enough badass rock this post, here's SHO to come along and help you out. While most of the track is a fairly standard though well-tuned Miku angsty dark rockfest, I have to say that more songs need to split off into a full minute of epic instrumental solos.
歌手音ピコ「ピコピコ☆レジェンドオブザナイト」【オリジナル曲】
Piko Piko ☆ Legend Of The Night (samfree, Piko, Eurobeat)
Another new vocaloid, another rendition of samfree's famous Gerund Gerund * Adjective Of The Time Of Day series. At this point you should pretty much know what to expect - very straight-laced eurobeat full of synth chords and hot blooded fiyah. Piko's version I would place as better than Lily but worse than Iroha; maybe I'm a little jaded about this series after so many in rapid succession.
【GUMI】リトルエミーと星の手紙【オリジナル曲PV付】
Little Emmy and the Star's Letter (scop, Gumi, Ambient Pop)
Hmm. I have to say that I feel a little cheated by this track; it's unusual to hear something so... well... standard from scop? Gone are the neat piano tricks that are his usual hallmark, and instead we have a track full of very heavy synth tones that often fight with each other for dominance and regularly run the risk of running straight over a too-quiet Gumi.
【鏡音リン・レンAppend】power「下剋上」【デモソング】
Uprising (chanosuke, Rin + Len, Ethnicish Swing)
A tantalizing preview of a Twins append song. If anything, this has cemented in my mind the differences between Miku Append and the Twins - the Twins sound more like their original versions, while Miku concentrated on new styles. I get the feeling that Crypton were mostly happy with Miku, so branched her out, while most of the concentration on the Twins is with shoring them up. Or I could be talking rubbish.
【初音ミク】プレゼント【オリジナル】大百科
Present (fuwari, Miku, Pop)
Awwww. This is more like it - as we go into the end of the post, those of you out there jonesing for some deeply cheesy christmas pop can stop worrying, as fuwari is here to fulfil your immediate needs. Full of happy-go-lucky piano and bells and hints of the rest of the christmas trapping just around the corner, this isn't the most holiday-based song out there but is a great start.
【初音ミク】Highway【オリジナル曲】
Highway (SmileR, Miku, Pop)
I have a feeling that SmileR will become something of a guilty pleasure of mine, and here they are back at the bottom of the post with a catchy, eager pop track to see us out. There's nothing major to see here - a slightly summery jpoppish track in the oldschool vocaloid vibe that latched onto my brain.
Covers / PVs / MMD / Other:
Koman deserves special mention for producing an astounding amount of piano covers this past week; no fewer than four equally amazing versions of songs, all of which are hauntingly pretty. In order: Mosaic Role, Matryoshka, Campanella, Just Be Friends.
【初音ミク】 秘密警察 【PV作ってみた】
Secret Police (buriru, PV: ke-san, Miku, Rock)
ke-san's fantastic PV for buriru's recent smash hit. If you've ever wanted a version of the Secret Police video where Gakupo, Luka, Gumi and - of all people - Sensei show up, then here's your link.
【MMD】リンAppendモデルでリンリンリンってしてくりん♪
Rin Append does Rin Rin Rin Whatsit Thingy (jiibanni, MMDPV: mqdl, Rin, Pop)
Jesus christ, that was a quickly-made model, but it looks fabulous.
【MMD】うちのミクさんも躍ってくれました「Yellow」
Yellow (kz, MMDPV: Lat, Lat!Miku, Electropop)
Ugggghhhhh okay I guess I have to if only because this video has been at #1 all week. Here is Lat's take on the current MMD meme, the Yellow dance, using a modified version of the Lat!Miku model and a staggering amount of MME. I will admit it is highly shiny, and the effects used are pretty top-notch, but if anything I'm more iffy than ever about the model itself; it's some combination of how much younger and too-single-tone-shiny she looks compared to other models, and she comes off looking plastic - a different sort of plastic to the Dreamy Theatre models, but still pretty plastic. Normal, Diva or XS 4 lyfe, yo.
Other Yellows this week include Zatsune Gundamiku, Lat!Neru, Yuyuko Saigyouji and, er... OK Go.
[MMD] 真剣白刃取り
Real Sword Practice (yuji, Miku + Chibi Miku + Petite Miku + Hachune + Haku, MMD)
Moving on to happier things! Such as sight gags, as Haku and Miku get their Blade Catching on. There's a lot of build-up to the main gag here, and you certainly can see the musical cameo coming a mile-off, but the whole thing's very well animated and kind of delightful.
【MMD】ちびとたこが雪山まで冒険
A Young Girl and Octopus' Snowy Mountain Adventure (Black Knight, Ensemble, MMD)
Chibi Miku and Giant Takoluka decide that the best of all possible plans would be to climb a gigantic mountain before Rin does. Far more fun than it has any right to be, this is low on gags but high on absurd as a very slick animation leads them to ally with Solid Snake and take on the Crusaders and an evil masked vizier. As you do.
【MMD】ワールズエンドダンスホール MMEで更に増やしてみました5004人
World's End Dancehall 5004 Member Ver. (wowaka, MMDPV: sera, Home Haruka x 5001, Pop)
I... I can see forever.
In the wake of the MMD Cup announcement a slew of MMD videos have crawled out of the woodwork, so many in fact that I've been forced to hold off on linking some of them lest there be more other tracks than there are original songs. Match that against a general dip in the number of new songs - presumably as people gear up both for Comiket and for a massive Christmas bomb of cheesy cheesy pop - and it's a slightly unbalanced week.
Videos:
【鏡音リン】Super☆すとろべりぃ♪【VOCALOIDオリジナル】
Super Strawberry (Tes., Rin, Ska Pop)
Blasting out of the gate this week is Rin, and not because of any Append or huge track; instead, her brand new release from Tes. is this fast-paced ska number, gaining top slot for being the most gleeful, energetic ride it could possibly be, full of uplifting sax and wild cheering and catchy guitar. I can't overstate how much I love Tes.' ability to make a track pure fun. It's in serious danger of usurping this entire update because I just can't turn it off.
【オリジナル曲PV】 Christmas Morgue 【初音ミク】
Christmas Morgue (hachi, Miku, Carol Rock)
... this wasn't exactly the cheery introduction to Christmas that was I was quite expecting, but it's still really cool and if you were expecting anything happy from hachi then I'm not quite sure what to tell you. A twisted carol, the Miku in this track is very floaty but pitched just slightly at a list, ably succeeding along with the music at hinting of darker things and some atonal strangeness.
GUMIオリジナル曲「ヒステリ」
Hystery (kuwagata, Gumi, Rock)
Kuwagata rolls on! I don't have a lot to say about this one as it's a perfectly solid vocarock track, slightly upbeat pop rock with a side order of excellent Gumi tuning and the usual notes about great guitar; if you know kuwagata's work you'll probably have heard this style plenty of times before, but even then it never disappoints.
【井の頭】カシオペイア【初音ミクオリジナル曲PV付き】大百科
Cassiopeia (井の頭, Miku, Soft Rock)
Angsty, angsty pop rock! Sad Mikus in Snow everywhere you look in this very slightly torturous but mostly excellent love track with a deeply 'awwww' ending. As I say, it's a little overwrought in places but rallies well with some great piano and guitar riffs.
【巡音ルカ】 One Night Disco 【オリジナルPV】
One Night Disco (nana, Luka, Electropop)
What is the obsession with nights and discos in club-style Japanese music? Clearly nana's been taking leaves from BETTI's book here as Luka throws out a distinctly Easypop track with a catchy beat and a catchier chorus. This kind of genre is nana's expertise and it really shows; top stuff.
【歌愛ユキ】innocent girl【オリジナルグランプリ曲PV】
innocent girl (kagome, Yuki, Rock)
I really, honestly hope that kagome never stops doing songs like this for Yuki, because even if they sound kind of rough thanks to Yuki's voice and her inability to sing in English, the general sound is so good. A thumping beat and wailing guitars round off a glorious video as Yuki blasts her way through a distinctly dangerous song.
【初音ミク】 ぶっ飛ばしてやろうか！ベイベー 【オリジナル曲PV】
I'll Strike! Baby! (実谷なな, Miku, Rock)
Just harsh enough to be interesting without being unpleasant, this track has a lot going for it. The chorus and some of Miku's tuning might not be to everyone's taste, but a very well produced track and a striking video combine along with PELIE's guitar skills to make quite the spectacle.
【巡音ルカ】 チェリーハント 【オリジナル曲PV】
Cherry Hunt (Citruscat, Luka, Blues Rock?)
A highly swinging Luka track, jazzy and straight out of a 1930s casino and full of ridiculous piano solos and woodwinds and a dozen joyous little touches, the music in this track is positively top-notch. Unfortunately, the same can't be said for Luka's voice - she's very hit and miss, going from a beautifully held-note to a wobbly cracking phrase of Engrish often in a matter of seconds.
【初音ミク】キミのマボロシ【オリジナルPV】
Your Vision (u-ske, Miku, Floaty Pop)
Today, we've replaced our regular kous with Folger's Instant u-ske. From the hie video right down to the floaty style of music and the high Miku append voicing, this could really have come straight from kous' stable, and the only hint it hasn't is a far faster pace than he'd normally go for. u-ske's latest track shares many of the same hallmarks: it's well done, though not quite my cup of tea, and the video is nothing short of breathtaking.
【MEIKOオリジナル曲】残光
Afterglow (gozen, Meiko, Rock)
I dare you to listen to the first ten seconds of this track and not want to listen to the rest. A storming guitar solo leads into a fast paced, rocketing song and a polished bit of Meiko. Triumphant in timbre, the track suffers a little during the choruses but rallies very well.
【初音ミクAppendオリジナル曲】永久と刹那【キセノンP金属系】
Eternity and a Moment (SHO, Miku, Rock)
And if you haven't quite had enough badass rock this post, here's SHO to come along and help you out. While most of the track is a fairly standard though well-tuned Miku angsty dark rockfest, I have to say that more songs need to split off into a full minute of epic instrumental solos.
歌手音ピコ「ピコピコ☆レジェンドオブザナイト」【オリジナル曲】
Piko Piko ☆ Legend Of The Night (samfree, Piko, Eurobeat)
Another new vocaloid, another rendition of samfree's famous Gerund Gerund * Adjective Of The Time Of Day series. At this point you should pretty much know what to expect - very straight-laced eurobeat full of synth chords and hot blooded fiyah. Piko's version I would place as better than Lily but worse than Iroha; maybe I'm a little jaded about this series after so many in rapid succession.
【GUMI】リトルエミーと星の手紙【オリジナル曲PV付】
Little Emmy and the Star's Letter (scop, Gumi, Ambient Pop)
Hmm. I have to say that I feel a little cheated by this track; it's unusual to hear something so... well... standard from scop? Gone are the neat piano tricks that are his usual hallmark, and instead we have a track full of very heavy synth tones that often fight with each other for dominance and regularly run the risk of running straight over a too-quiet Gumi.
【鏡音リン・レンAppend】power「下剋上」【デモソング】
Uprising (chanosuke, Rin + Len, Ethnicish Swing)
A tantalizing preview of a Twins append song. If anything, this has cemented in my mind the differences between Miku Append and the Twins - the Twins sound more like their original versions, while Miku concentrated on new styles. I get the feeling that Crypton were mostly happy with Miku, so branched her out, while most of the concentration on the Twins is with shoring them up. Or I could be talking rubbish.
【初音ミク】プレゼント【オリジナル】大百科
Present (fuwari, Miku, Pop)
Awwww. This is more like it - as we go into the end of the post, those of you out there jonesing for some deeply cheesy christmas pop can stop worrying, as fuwari is here to fulfil your immediate needs. Full of happy-go-lucky piano and bells and hints of the rest of the christmas trapping just around the corner, this isn't the most holiday-based song out there but is a great start.
【初音ミク】Highway【オリジナル曲】
Highway (SmileR, Miku, Pop)
I have a feeling that SmileR will become something of a guilty pleasure of mine, and here they are back at the bottom of the post with a catchy, eager pop track to see us out. There's nothing major to see here - a slightly summery jpoppish track in the oldschool vocaloid vibe that latched onto my brain.
Covers / PVs / MMD / Other:
Koman deserves special mention for producing an astounding amount of piano covers this past week; no fewer than four equally amazing versions of songs, all of which are hauntingly pretty. In order: Mosaic Role, Matryoshka, Campanella, Just Be Friends.
【初音ミク】 秘密警察 【PV作ってみた】
Secret Police (buriru, PV: ke-san, Miku, Rock)
ke-san's fantastic PV for buriru's recent smash hit. If you've ever wanted a version of the Secret Police video where Gakupo, Luka, Gumi and - of all people - Sensei show up, then here's your link.
【MMD】リンAppendモデルでリンリンリンってしてくりん♪
Rin Append does Rin Rin Rin Whatsit Thingy (jiibanni, MMDPV: mqdl, Rin, Pop)
Jesus christ, that was a quickly-made model, but it looks fabulous.
【MMD】うちのミクさんも躍ってくれました「Yellow」
Yellow (kz, MMDPV: Lat, Lat!Miku, Electropop)
Ugggghhhhh okay I guess I have to if only because this video has been at #1 all week. Here is Lat's take on the current MMD meme, the Yellow dance, using a modified version of the Lat!Miku model and a staggering amount of MME. I will admit it is highly shiny, and the effects used are pretty top-notch, but if anything I'm more iffy than ever about the model itself; it's some combination of how much younger and too-single-tone-shiny she looks compared to other models, and she comes off looking plastic - a different sort of plastic to the Dreamy Theatre models, but still pretty plastic. Normal, Diva or XS 4 lyfe, yo.
Other Yellows this week include Zatsune Gundamiku, Lat!Neru, Yuyuko Saigyouji and, er... OK Go.
[MMD] 真剣白刃取り
Real Sword Practice (yuji, Miku + Chibi Miku + Petite Miku + Hachune + Haku, MMD)
Moving on to happier things! Such as sight gags, as Haku and Miku get their Blade Catching on. There's a lot of build-up to the main gag here, and you certainly can see the musical cameo coming a mile-off, but the whole thing's very well animated and kind of delightful.
【MMD】ちびとたこが雪山まで冒険
A Young Girl and Octopus' Snowy Mountain Adventure (Black Knight, Ensemble, MMD)
Chibi Miku and Giant Takoluka decide that the best of all possible plans would be to climb a gigantic mountain before Rin does. Far more fun than it has any right to be, this is low on gags but high on absurd as a very slick animation leads them to ally with Solid Snake and take on the Crusaders and an evil masked vizier. As you do.
【MMD】ワールズエンドダンスホール MMEで更に増やしてみました5004人
World's End Dancehall 5004 Member Ver. (wowaka, MMDPV: sera, Home Haruka x 5001, Pop)
I... I can see forever.