Weekly Roundup
ughagahg why is it 1:30am when I'm starting this post edit: and 3:45am when I finish
Don't forget that the recommendations post is still up, and if you haven't already be sure to check out the AC post. We're also thinking about having a general chatpost for random sharing of anything that doesn't really fit into its own post, and possibly we might get off our backsides soon and actually update the comm template to reflect all these posts goin' on. If you've got comments or other ideas, let us know in the comments.
This was a badass week. Lots of non-Miku and non-Gumi this week as yuukiss leads the way. If that weren't enough, the genres this week are also all over the place. It's a nice change of pace from the Miku/Gumi onslaught we've been having recently... though I did feel like a bit of a grouch this week, as quite a few songs fell by the wayside due to some really wonky mixing issues.
Videos
【GUMI（40㍍）】 晴れのち桜 【オリジナル】
Sunny Sakura (40m, Gumi, Pop)
I'm really enjoying how punchy and upbeat 40m's songs have been recently; for a producer who can fall prey to pigeonholing himself, his more recent tracks have been absolutely solid. His latest one is no different, pop with some gorgeous piano and an energetic tempo paired with some top-class Gumi.
【初音ミク】メテオ【オリジナルPV】
Meteor (john, Miku, Orchestral Trance)
Channeling the spirit of shigotoshite, perhaps, or maybe even marasy. Either way, this Miku track is full of haunting piano, just a little gregorian chanting, and a lovely soft tempo that sent it rocketing up Nicovideo's daily rankings last week. Then at three minutes or so, the track really gets going, gaining a jaunty piano trance element and kicking off into a sharper style.
【KAITO】 FLOWER TAIL 【民族調オリジナル曲】
Flower Tail (yuukiss, Kaito + Kaito + Kaito + Kaito + Kaito + Kaito + Kaito + Kaito + ..., Ethnic)
This is another of those times when I really have to kind of wonder at the thought process behind some of these videos. I mean, sure, throw out an excellent traditionalist kaito track with some amazing chanting and Kaito tuning. That much, I can deal with. Adding fully twenty-five Kaitos seems like it might... be a little over the top, perhaps. I mean, that is a whole lot of Kaito.
【オリジナル曲PV】 orange 【鏡音レン】
orange (少年Ｔ, Len, Ridiculously Heartwarming Pop)
It's Len! Look, he's still alive, guys! That's almost enough to propel him out of the cut in and of itself, but this toe-tapping track, just slightly removed from the softest pop-rap you've ever heard, is an excellent way to make his return. Has perhaps the best acoustic guitar this entire update.
【巡音ルカ】大丈夫だ、問題ない。【GUMI】
It's Okay, No Problem (owata, Luka + Gumi, Speed Pop)
Truth be told... I'm only putting this at the top out of trust for owata. This has the potential to be a really great track, with some neat effects and a great energy and speed to it, but... this is one of the tracks where I had real trouble with mixing issues? It feels like I can barely hear the song, or they're at the bottom of a well, or something. Make sure you have your volume way up for this.
初音ミク - メイドインヘヴン(オリジナル曲 PV)
Made In Heaven (kyoton, Miku, Electropop / Chiptune)
This track was all but made to hit my personal preferences. What starts as a slow and gentle piece of plinky piano pop suddenly opens up halfway through into a chiptune styled remix of itself and I have to admit to being a sucker for square waves. An adorable little song.
【MEIKO】E.O.S. -Vocal mix- / shu-t【オリジナル】
E.O.S. -Vocal Mix- (shu-t, Meiko, Club Pop)
It's fantastic to hear shu-t grace our ears once again. He's straight back in there with another signature piece of excellently coded Meiko club music, catchy and sweeping in scope. Some great chords in here and it's the perfect track to bop along with, though Meiko isn't quite as good as shu-t is capable of making her sound.
【初音ミクAppend】 Mr. Wonder 【オリジナル曲】
Mr. Wonder (takamatt, Miku, R+B)
It's been a while since we've heard from takamatt, and suddenly up he pops with this gentle piece of melodic R+B covered with soft, jumping synth chords and silky smooth lyrics. Woah woah woah~
【初音ミク】change my world【オリジナルPV】
【初音ミク】口舌エゴイズム【オリジナル】
Respectively Change My World and Quarreling Egoism (u-ske, Miku, R+B Pop)
Oh, but we're not done riding on this crazy R+B train just yet, no. More perky and jumpy than Mr. Wonder, there's something immensely charming about both of u-ske's tracks this update, and I'd like them more overall if it weren't for the very soft Miku that tends to put me off songs. It's immensely hard to go wrong with either of them, though, from Change My World's soft style to Egoism's plucked tones.
【KAITO】Jarring【オリジナル】
Jarring (新城, Kaito, Synth Pop)
Don't pay any heed to the title; this is anything but, at least initially. Some great choral Kaitos working together along with synth scales and break-beats and then the smoothest piano and double bass around for a jazzy style in the mix.
【GUMI】ローレライの衣【オリジナル曲PV付】
Lorelei Clothing (bekkoo, Gumi, Big Band Bop)
I know I mentioned a change of pace at the top of the post, but if you're really looking for one, you could do worse than load up this video. A relaxed, orchestral affair that's two steps removed from jazz and loaded up with some great little touches of scat from Gumi.
初音ミク（Θ）すてねこっと
Abandoned Stray (kuchibashi, Miku, Pop)
Some extremely cheesy hyper pop from kuchibashi here. Nothing much too notable to comment on here - it's a very traditional Miku song, with a breakneck pace and happy, shiny, chirpy singing all over the place.
【GUMI】くれよん【オリジナル曲】
Crayon (konata, Gumi, Pop)
Alternatively, if you'd prefer your super-perky generic sugarpop to be Gumi-styled instead of Miku, well, we have you covered.
【猫村んとこの姐さん】 御蕎麦屋さん 【ヲタPオリジナル】
Honourable Soba-san (akiba ota, Iroha, Rock)
(╬ಠ益ಠ)
【リン・miki・Lily・VY1】 chill out! 【オリジナル】
Chill Out! (todo, Rin + Miki + Lily + VY1, ?!?!)
I wouldn't exactly call this song a pleasure to listen to with some really funky coding over the place, but it certainly is an experience. 80s-tastic in the extreme, this eurobeatish, rappish, popish, clubbish track is a bizarre swing through a whole bunch of different styles and vocaloids. I have to admit to being taken with the chorus and the catches therein, though.
【GUMI】 再生 【オリジナル】
Reincarnation (鬱, Gumi, THRASH EMO)
Okay, okay, I'll bite. It's been a while since I've linked a track that's this balls-to-the-wall thrash emo, but it's a great example of the genre, full of grungy scratchy sections that give way to some great power rock.
【がくっぽいど】 Rejection 【オリジナル】
Rejection (otetsu, Gakupo, Rock)
If you're looking for a more traditional rock, though, otetsu has you covered. Turning his prodigious skills to a solidly tuned Gakupo, this is a fantastic fusion of racy, dramatic piano and excellent guitars.
【miki】 桜吹雪にさようなら 【オリジナル曲】
Goodbye to the Sakura Storm (mazo, Miki, Ethnic Pop)
A stunning example of how good Miki can really sound, here she is with her sound quality almost indistinguishable from a Miku or solid Iroha. Holding notes expertly throughout this slow, gentle piece of traditionalist pop, it's a great surprise and kept me hooked.
【初音ミク】lifeworks【オリジナル】
lifeworks (powapowa, Miku, Breakpop)
Chaotic and crazed, I'm not really sure how to classify this one. It's certainly interesting, and it's done very well this week in terms of views, but a sky-high Miku may put listeners off if the distorted, scattered-tempo track doesn't. It's likely to be a very acquired taste.
【初音ミク】MORNING【オリジナルPV】
MORNING (u-ske, Miku, Happy Hardcore Pop)
Astoundingly, we're not even done with u-ske's influence this week, as the guy's been busy at a feverish rate. Still, I figured this should probably go down the bottom of the post as this is really not going to be to everyone's taste. A trueblue piece of Happy Hardcore right down to a guy randomly yelling 'Are you ready?', this stomps and barges its way into your head with an infectious beat, though not the best Miku coding.
Other
ねんどでボカロ
Vocaloid in Clay (milo, Ensemble, Various)
Holy adorable claymation, batman. Almost casually thrown out this last week is a video with a whole bunch of clay models from songs such as Nyanyanyanya, 256 Faces, Nekomimi Switch and more. Just, y'know. Just happened to have the models lying around, no biggie.
【MikuMikuDance】Heart Beats踊らせてみた【巡音ルカ】
Heart Beats (Tes., MMDPV: tksk, Luka, Club Pop)
Okay, so the model's a little funky, but I really liked this. Heart Beats is one of my favorites, and the dance is fun and not one of the endless rehashes of Yellow or Torinoko City, instead traced from this pretty joyful odottemita. I'm sold.
【MMD】「Packaged」 Full Ver.-PV風-
Packaged (kz, MMDPV: haikikku, Miku x 3, Club Pop)
The definitive shiny MME video for Packaged? ... well... no, not really, because I've never liked the MMD version of the dance when stacked up against the Diva version. Still, it is at least pretty damn shiny.
【MMD】ミク、ちび、ぷちで「Alright ハートキャッチ プリキュア!」
Alright! Heartcatch Precure! (MMDPV: tiger-and-dragon, Miku + Chibi Miku + Petite Miku, AnimeOP)
So... yeah. Just making a point that if you expected the Precure MMDPVs to ever dry up: good luck, there. Good luck.
Don't forget that the recommendations post is still up, and if you haven't already be sure to check out the AC post. We're also thinking about having a general chatpost for random sharing of anything that doesn't really fit into its own post, and possibly we might get off our backsides soon and actually update the comm template to reflect all these posts goin' on. If you've got comments or other ideas, let us know in the comments.
This was a badass week. Lots of non-Miku and non-Gumi this week as yuukiss leads the way. If that weren't enough, the genres this week are also all over the place. It's a nice change of pace from the Miku/Gumi onslaught we've been having recently... though I did feel like a bit of a grouch this week, as quite a few songs fell by the wayside due to some really wonky mixing issues.
Videos
【GUMI（40㍍）】 晴れのち桜 【オリジナル】
Sunny Sakura (40m, Gumi, Pop)
I'm really enjoying how punchy and upbeat 40m's songs have been recently; for a producer who can fall prey to pigeonholing himself, his more recent tracks have been absolutely solid. His latest one is no different, pop with some gorgeous piano and an energetic tempo paired with some top-class Gumi.
【初音ミク】メテオ【オリジナルPV】
Meteor (john, Miku, Orchestral Trance)
Channeling the spirit of shigotoshite, perhaps, or maybe even marasy. Either way, this Miku track is full of haunting piano, just a little gregorian chanting, and a lovely soft tempo that sent it rocketing up Nicovideo's daily rankings last week. Then at three minutes or so, the track really gets going, gaining a jaunty piano trance element and kicking off into a sharper style.
【KAITO】 FLOWER TAIL 【民族調オリジナル曲】
Flower Tail (yuukiss, Kaito + Kaito + Kaito + Kaito + Kaito + Kaito + Kaito + Kaito + ..., Ethnic)
This is another of those times when I really have to kind of wonder at the thought process behind some of these videos. I mean, sure, throw out an excellent traditionalist kaito track with some amazing chanting and Kaito tuning. That much, I can deal with. Adding fully twenty-five Kaitos seems like it might... be a little over the top, perhaps. I mean, that is a whole lot of Kaito.
【オリジナル曲PV】 orange 【鏡音レン】
orange (少年Ｔ, Len, Ridiculously Heartwarming Pop)
It's Len! Look, he's still alive, guys! That's almost enough to propel him out of the cut in and of itself, but this toe-tapping track, just slightly removed from the softest pop-rap you've ever heard, is an excellent way to make his return. Has perhaps the best acoustic guitar this entire update.
【巡音ルカ】大丈夫だ、問題ない。【GUMI】
It's Okay, No Problem (owata, Luka + Gumi, Speed Pop)
Truth be told... I'm only putting this at the top out of trust for owata. This has the potential to be a really great track, with some neat effects and a great energy and speed to it, but... this is one of the tracks where I had real trouble with mixing issues? It feels like I can barely hear the song, or they're at the bottom of a well, or something. Make sure you have your volume way up for this.
初音ミク - メイドインヘヴン(オリジナル曲 PV)
Made In Heaven (kyoton, Miku, Electropop / Chiptune)
This track was all but made to hit my personal preferences. What starts as a slow and gentle piece of plinky piano pop suddenly opens up halfway through into a chiptune styled remix of itself and I have to admit to being a sucker for square waves. An adorable little song.
【MEIKO】E.O.S. -Vocal mix- / shu-t【オリジナル】
E.O.S. -Vocal Mix- (shu-t, Meiko, Club Pop)
It's fantastic to hear shu-t grace our ears once again. He's straight back in there with another signature piece of excellently coded Meiko club music, catchy and sweeping in scope. Some great chords in here and it's the perfect track to bop along with, though Meiko isn't quite as good as shu-t is capable of making her sound.
【初音ミクAppend】 Mr. Wonder 【オリジナル曲】
Mr. Wonder (takamatt, Miku, R+B)
It's been a while since we've heard from takamatt, and suddenly up he pops with this gentle piece of melodic R+B covered with soft, jumping synth chords and silky smooth lyrics. Woah woah woah~
【初音ミク】change my world【オリジナルPV】
【初音ミク】口舌エゴイズム【オリジナル】
Respectively Change My World and Quarreling Egoism (u-ske, Miku, R+B Pop)
Oh, but we're not done riding on this crazy R+B train just yet, no. More perky and jumpy than Mr. Wonder, there's something immensely charming about both of u-ske's tracks this update, and I'd like them more overall if it weren't for the very soft Miku that tends to put me off songs. It's immensely hard to go wrong with either of them, though, from Change My World's soft style to Egoism's plucked tones.
【KAITO】Jarring【オリジナル】
Jarring (新城, Kaito, Synth Pop)
Don't pay any heed to the title; this is anything but, at least initially. Some great choral Kaitos working together along with synth scales and break-beats and then the smoothest piano and double bass around for a jazzy style in the mix.
【GUMI】ローレライの衣【オリジナル曲PV付】
Lorelei Clothing (bekkoo, Gumi, Big Band Bop)
I know I mentioned a change of pace at the top of the post, but if you're really looking for one, you could do worse than load up this video. A relaxed, orchestral affair that's two steps removed from jazz and loaded up with some great little touches of scat from Gumi.
初音ミク（Θ）すてねこっと
Abandoned Stray (kuchibashi, Miku, Pop)
Some extremely cheesy hyper pop from kuchibashi here. Nothing much too notable to comment on here - it's a very traditional Miku song, with a breakneck pace and happy, shiny, chirpy singing all over the place.
【GUMI】くれよん【オリジナル曲】
Crayon (konata, Gumi, Pop)
Alternatively, if you'd prefer your super-perky generic sugarpop to be Gumi-styled instead of Miku, well, we have you covered.
【猫村んとこの姐さん】 御蕎麦屋さん 【ヲタPオリジナル】
Honourable Soba-san (akiba ota, Iroha, Rock)
(╬ಠ益ಠ)
【リン・miki・Lily・VY1】 chill out! 【オリジナル】
Chill Out! (todo, Rin + Miki + Lily + VY1, ?!?!)
I wouldn't exactly call this song a pleasure to listen to with some really funky coding over the place, but it certainly is an experience. 80s-tastic in the extreme, this eurobeatish, rappish, popish, clubbish track is a bizarre swing through a whole bunch of different styles and vocaloids. I have to admit to being taken with the chorus and the catches therein, though.
【GUMI】 再生 【オリジナル】
Reincarnation (鬱, Gumi, THRASH EMO)
Okay, okay, I'll bite. It's been a while since I've linked a track that's this balls-to-the-wall thrash emo, but it's a great example of the genre, full of grungy scratchy sections that give way to some great power rock.
【がくっぽいど】 Rejection 【オリジナル】
Rejection (otetsu, Gakupo, Rock)
If you're looking for a more traditional rock, though, otetsu has you covered. Turning his prodigious skills to a solidly tuned Gakupo, this is a fantastic fusion of racy, dramatic piano and excellent guitars.
【miki】 桜吹雪にさようなら 【オリジナル曲】
Goodbye to the Sakura Storm (mazo, Miki, Ethnic Pop)
A stunning example of how good Miki can really sound, here she is with her sound quality almost indistinguishable from a Miku or solid Iroha. Holding notes expertly throughout this slow, gentle piece of traditionalist pop, it's a great surprise and kept me hooked.
【初音ミク】lifeworks【オリジナル】
lifeworks (powapowa, Miku, Breakpop)
Chaotic and crazed, I'm not really sure how to classify this one. It's certainly interesting, and it's done very well this week in terms of views, but a sky-high Miku may put listeners off if the distorted, scattered-tempo track doesn't. It's likely to be a very acquired taste.
【初音ミク】MORNING【オリジナルPV】
MORNING (u-ske, Miku, Happy Hardcore Pop)
Astoundingly, we're not even done with u-ske's influence this week, as the guy's been busy at a feverish rate. Still, I figured this should probably go down the bottom of the post as this is really not going to be to everyone's taste. A trueblue piece of Happy Hardcore right down to a guy randomly yelling 'Are you ready?', this stomps and barges its way into your head with an infectious beat, though not the best Miku coding.
Other
ねんどでボカロ
Vocaloid in Clay (milo, Ensemble, Various)
Holy adorable claymation, batman. Almost casually thrown out this last week is a video with a whole bunch of clay models from songs such as Nyanyanyanya, 256 Faces, Nekomimi Switch and more. Just, y'know. Just happened to have the models lying around, no biggie.
【MikuMikuDance】Heart Beats踊らせてみた【巡音ルカ】
Heart Beats (Tes., MMDPV: tksk, Luka, Club Pop)
Okay, so the model's a little funky, but I really liked this. Heart Beats is one of my favorites, and the dance is fun and not one of the endless rehashes of Yellow or Torinoko City, instead traced from this pretty joyful odottemita. I'm sold.
【MMD】「Packaged」 Full Ver.-PV風-
Packaged (kz, MMDPV: haikikku, Miku x 3, Club Pop)
The definitive shiny MME video for Packaged? ... well... no, not really, because I've never liked the MMD version of the dance when stacked up against the Diva version. Still, it is at least pretty damn shiny.
【MMD】ミク、ちび、ぷちで「Alright ハートキャッチ プリキュア!」
Alright! Heartcatch Precure! (MMDPV: tiger-and-dragon, Miku + Chibi Miku + Petite Miku, AnimeOP)
So... yeah. Just making a point that if you expected the Precure MMDPVs to ever dry up: good luck, there. Good luck.