Weekly Roundup
A tiny week for you. A number of factors have probably contributed to this - not least of which being Nicofarre and the various conventions and lives taking over airwaves something fierce, and everyone kind of collectively sighing a breath of relief as the rapid-fire news of the last few months comes to an end.
There's also Nicovideo's problems; it's going to be working on a string of upgrades and improvements throughout the month and this has caused quite a bit of instability from time to time. As mentioned last roundup, I've heard tales of success regarding trying to access the site via the Polsy player or else Nicoviewer.
MMD 7th Cup previews are due to be going up in a week's time, which will probably do an excellent job of stealing traffic away from Gakupo's birthday on July 31st. As mentioned in the post below this one, the SP rankings are up and we have a number of them transcribed: awesome thanks to everyone who's chipped in. I think I missed checking for a couple days this week, so if I've missed anything, please do leap in with links of your own.
Videos:
【初音ミク（40㍍）】 からくりピエロ 【オリジナルPV】
Mechanical Clown (40m, Miku, Pop)
40m returns to his roots, bouncing back from Gumi to Miku for a fantastic track that's blown away all competition this week. A jumpy and very slightly jazzy track with a catchy chorus and an absolutely perfect Miku, it's avoided the most common 40m flaw; while he's usually prone to making songs too low-key or low-impact, this is right up in your face and forcing you to dance along.
【鏡音リン】 トゥインクル 【オリジナルPV付】
Twinkle (Junky, Rin, Pop Rock)
There's really no need to restate just how much I am in love with Junky's Melancholic - I've gushed about it many times in this journal. Fortunately, I can now annoy everyone by telling them how much I love this track instead - very much from the same stable, there's a lot of the same guitar and sliding pop style, with a soaring guitar solo that takes the breath away. It suffers from a muted encode, but this is one track I cannot wait to get my hands on on a CD.
【巡音ルカ】 ハローハロー 【VOCALOID】
Hello Hello (emon, Luka, Pop)
Oh look, Stelas is linking an emon track above the cut. What a terrible surprise, you say to yourself. But wait, I say! What if I told you that this isn't quite emon's usual style, and his hyper-pop has been replaced with a dreamy floating track that starts out like the most adorable of Katamari Damacy tracks, then falls off into choruses full of xylophones and gorgeous soft strings, while still being full of emon's usual fun style?
【初音ミク】夢と葉桜【オリジナル曲】
Dreams and Cherry Trees (青木月光, Miku, Traditional / Ethnic)
It's been a while since we've had a traditional vocal track that's grabbed me this hard, and Nicovideo agrees as this has handily crept its way up the ranking throughout the week. Miku's voice is clear and crisp as she sings her way through a folksy Japanese ballad with a minimum of instrumental backup beyond some violins and drums. It's a very pleasant and relaxing listen without any missteps.
【鏡音レン】messiah or desire【オリジナルPV】
Messiah or Desire (maya, Len, Rock)
Perhaps I can best explain this track as an upbeat rock Venomania except Gakupo already got assassinated by Jrocker Spice Len who promptly took Luka for his own nefarious needs, that'll do it. Len belts out a hell of a song while accompanied with an extremely shiny video which, it must be said, is not exactly unsafe for work but not very safe for work either. By which I mean: Len is copping one hell of a feel on Luka. If nothing else, it's hilarious to see the screen explode in wwwwwwww's whenever it happens.
初音ミク（Θ）ALYSS
ALYSS (kuchibashi, Miku, Very Very Pop)
Cripes. Expect something of a cacophony when you listen to this and you won't be too disappointed - this is an insane ride of a song, melding together orchestral style with rapid-fire beats, the occasional burst of chiptune or big band music, a strong learning on janky harpsichord synths, and a super cheesy melody line during the chorus. Words can't really do it justice.
【KAITO】水尾【オリジナル】
Waterway (銀鱗, Kaito, Crooner)
Let's bring the tempo back down - quite considerably, actually - with some fantastic Kaito traditional crooning. Beyond the fact that the intro immediately and irrevocably reminds me of Scarborough Fair every time I hear it, there's nothing too outstanding and dramatic to comment on here; it's a substantial and solid piece of Kaito coding and singing with Meiko running backing vocals and a an extremely good listen if you're into slower tracks.
【GUMI】I【オリジナル】
I (faye, Gumi, Pop)
I have to admit, I didn't think much of this when I first heard it. I love piano and all, but this seemed to smother the track below it. Of course, then the solo hit and I decided I liked it more than enough to include, because I am a gigantic wuss for piano-central pop tracks. Gumi's voiced well, but as I say it's a little lost and a little wobbly.
【鏡音リン】 boring bowling 【鏡音レン・初音ミク】
Boring Bowling (sunzriver, Rin + Len + Miku, ?!)
I love this song something fierce. It's dumb as hell, but the scrappy crazy quality just translates into a fantastic heartwarming sound courtesy of the strums of guitar and brass appeals. Len and Miku's interjections have some great timing and fantastic cues on the video, and then the whistling and claps start up and it's so completely charming you'd forgive it anything.
【巡音ルカ】 フォール イン ラブ 【オリジナル曲】
Fall In Love (Betti/Easypop, Luka, Dancepop)
I have to agree with Nicovideo here, sadly. While this track might be just as jumpy and catchy as any other Easypop track, it just doesn't stand up to the likes of Happy Synthesizer or My Room Disco Night. The break into different styles, including a snatch of steel drums, is a welcome way to space the track out - but the whole thing is marred by a rather wobbly Luka who just doesn't feel up to par.
【鏡音レン】孵化する冷笑【オリジナルPV】
Hatching Ridicule (minus, Len, Emo Rock)
... heavens. I'm not quite sure what happened to Len here, but thanks to minus he's throwing an angsty, angry rock track full of thundering drums and atonal squealing synth scales and discordant snatches of guitar and somehow I really rather like it. The video doesn't hurt - it's kind of scattered but very effective and then suddenly, cheesecake Len out of nowhere. Also scores points for effective use of what is either a sitar or a mandolin or I honestly don't know what.
【巡音ルカ】夏風【167】
Summer Wind (irona, Luka, Crooner)
This isn't the best of songs this week, but I'm including it because it's been a while since I've heard a track I could so thoroughly attribute to the 'Lounge' genre if I really wanted to. Luka schways her way through a slow, ponderous and terribly suave electric piano track full of twangs and wobbleboards. Very likely to be far too slow for most people, but there's something nice about her using a singing voice that isn't high pitched or fast for the first time in a while.
【初音ミク】ELECTR●CK DiSCO【オリジナル】
ELECTR●CK DiSCO (junk, Miku, Electrorock... Disco.)
Pretty much exactly what it says on the tin, with a side order of Kinetic Typography.
【初音とミクと、時々ルカ】 ウインター・リバース remix
Winter Reverse Remix (sat, Miku + Luka, Breakpop)
Out of the tracks this week, this one's probably the one that made me smile the most in a sort of cheery, what the hell is this kind of way. What was once a heartful pop original has turned into a bouncy two-steppish breakbeated house track, Miku leading the way as Luka raps and supports in the background. A great transformation.
Other:
【初音ミクAppend】Os-宇宙人を歌ってもらった【電波女と青春男】
Os-Alien (takaokamizuki, Miku, Cover)
I meant to link this last week, as it's been riveted near the top of the rankings for nigh on a week and a half by now, but it managed to totally pass my notice by for one very good reason. While the cover is technically stunning and amazingly realistic to the point of being nigh-indistinguishable - here's the real version for comparison - it's still a song that makes my ears crawl out of their sockets and try to hide under the couch.
【鏡音リン・レン】疲れ目注意な アンハッピーリフレイン【手描きPV】
Unhappy Refrain (Len + Rin ver.) (giga, PV: 姉を見事に使いこなす妹, Len + Rin, Cover)
If I was really forced to pick which version of Unhappy Refrain I preferred, I think I'd have to cave and say it was the staggering Len and Rin version linked some time ago. Well, now that specific version has its own scorching and fabulous PV, full of handdrawn craziness and style. (If I really, really had to pick - I think it'd be Len's entire section.)
【MMDFes2011】Just Be Friends -DIVA-【巡音ルカ】
Just Be Friends (dixieflatline, MMDPV: dyuran, Luka, Pop)
Eeh. Sometimes, I really wish I had more to say about MMDFes. I'm all for MMD tournaments; I love the MMD Cup and Dance Climax Motion, and the occasional memetic exhibitions are always great fun. But MMDFes always seems to have the worst timing, placing itself barely a week before the 7th previews are due to go up, and as a result, well... it always seems a little lacking in effort. There's nothing wrong with this treatment of the Diva JBF dance; it's just lacking compared to what I'd expect from an event's high-view video. The best one you could pick is the HD Opening, but we've seen that before.
[PV] 桜前線異常ナシ [初音ミク]
All's Quiet On The Sakura Front (wataru, MMDPV: Thanks, Miku, Traditional)
Cast your mind back to April 2010 when this flute-and-stomp track with a Touhou vibe and fantastic energy got an above-the-cut link. Now it has an MMD video from one of the more famous Daniwell MMDPVers and, while I might not think much of the Miku motion here, that's absolutely not the reason I'm watching the video: just look at that background, from the crystalline trees to the fireworks show halfway through. Fantastic.
There's also Nicovideo's problems; it's going to be working on a string of upgrades and improvements throughout the month and this has caused quite a bit of instability from time to time. As mentioned last roundup, I've heard tales of success regarding trying to access the site via the Polsy player or else Nicoviewer.
MMD 7th Cup previews are due to be going up in a week's time, which will probably do an excellent job of stealing traffic away from Gakupo's birthday on July 31st. As mentioned in the post below this one, the SP rankings are up and we have a number of them transcribed: awesome thanks to everyone who's chipped in. I think I missed checking for a couple days this week, so if I've missed anything, please do leap in with links of your own.
Videos:
【初音ミク（40㍍）】 からくりピエロ 【オリジナルPV】
Mechanical Clown (40m, Miku, Pop)
40m returns to his roots, bouncing back from Gumi to Miku for a fantastic track that's blown away all competition this week. A jumpy and very slightly jazzy track with a catchy chorus and an absolutely perfect Miku, it's avoided the most common 40m flaw; while he's usually prone to making songs too low-key or low-impact, this is right up in your face and forcing you to dance along.
【鏡音リン】 トゥインクル 【オリジナルPV付】
Twinkle (Junky, Rin, Pop Rock)
There's really no need to restate just how much I am in love with Junky's Melancholic - I've gushed about it many times in this journal. Fortunately, I can now annoy everyone by telling them how much I love this track instead - very much from the same stable, there's a lot of the same guitar and sliding pop style, with a soaring guitar solo that takes the breath away. It suffers from a muted encode, but this is one track I cannot wait to get my hands on on a CD.
【巡音ルカ】 ハローハロー 【VOCALOID】
Hello Hello (emon, Luka, Pop)
Oh look, Stelas is linking an emon track above the cut. What a terrible surprise, you say to yourself. But wait, I say! What if I told you that this isn't quite emon's usual style, and his hyper-pop has been replaced with a dreamy floating track that starts out like the most adorable of Katamari Damacy tracks, then falls off into choruses full of xylophones and gorgeous soft strings, while still being full of emon's usual fun style?
【初音ミク】夢と葉桜【オリジナル曲】
Dreams and Cherry Trees (青木月光, Miku, Traditional / Ethnic)
It's been a while since we've had a traditional vocal track that's grabbed me this hard, and Nicovideo agrees as this has handily crept its way up the ranking throughout the week. Miku's voice is clear and crisp as she sings her way through a folksy Japanese ballad with a minimum of instrumental backup beyond some violins and drums. It's a very pleasant and relaxing listen without any missteps.
【鏡音レン】messiah or desire【オリジナルPV】
Messiah or Desire (maya, Len, Rock)
Perhaps I can best explain this track as an upbeat rock Venomania except Gakupo already got assassinated by Jrocker Spice Len who promptly took Luka for his own nefarious needs, that'll do it. Len belts out a hell of a song while accompanied with an extremely shiny video which, it must be said, is not exactly unsafe for work but not very safe for work either. By which I mean: Len is copping one hell of a feel on Luka. If nothing else, it's hilarious to see the screen explode in wwwwwwww's whenever it happens.
初音ミク（Θ）ALYSS
ALYSS (kuchibashi, Miku, Very Very Pop)
Cripes. Expect something of a cacophony when you listen to this and you won't be too disappointed - this is an insane ride of a song, melding together orchestral style with rapid-fire beats, the occasional burst of chiptune or big band music, a strong learning on janky harpsichord synths, and a super cheesy melody line during the chorus. Words can't really do it justice.
【KAITO】水尾【オリジナル】
Waterway (銀鱗, Kaito, Crooner)
Let's bring the tempo back down - quite considerably, actually - with some fantastic Kaito traditional crooning. Beyond the fact that the intro immediately and irrevocably reminds me of Scarborough Fair every time I hear it, there's nothing too outstanding and dramatic to comment on here; it's a substantial and solid piece of Kaito coding and singing with Meiko running backing vocals and a an extremely good listen if you're into slower tracks.
【GUMI】I【オリジナル】
I (faye, Gumi, Pop)
I have to admit, I didn't think much of this when I first heard it. I love piano and all, but this seemed to smother the track below it. Of course, then the solo hit and I decided I liked it more than enough to include, because I am a gigantic wuss for piano-central pop tracks. Gumi's voiced well, but as I say it's a little lost and a little wobbly.
【鏡音リン】 boring bowling 【鏡音レン・初音ミク】
Boring Bowling (sunzriver, Rin + Len + Miku, ?!)
I love this song something fierce. It's dumb as hell, but the scrappy crazy quality just translates into a fantastic heartwarming sound courtesy of the strums of guitar and brass appeals. Len and Miku's interjections have some great timing and fantastic cues on the video, and then the whistling and claps start up and it's so completely charming you'd forgive it anything.
【巡音ルカ】 フォール イン ラブ 【オリジナル曲】
Fall In Love (Betti/Easypop, Luka, Dancepop)
I have to agree with Nicovideo here, sadly. While this track might be just as jumpy and catchy as any other Easypop track, it just doesn't stand up to the likes of Happy Synthesizer or My Room Disco Night. The break into different styles, including a snatch of steel drums, is a welcome way to space the track out - but the whole thing is marred by a rather wobbly Luka who just doesn't feel up to par.
【鏡音レン】孵化する冷笑【オリジナルPV】
Hatching Ridicule (minus, Len, Emo Rock)
... heavens. I'm not quite sure what happened to Len here, but thanks to minus he's throwing an angsty, angry rock track full of thundering drums and atonal squealing synth scales and discordant snatches of guitar and somehow I really rather like it. The video doesn't hurt - it's kind of scattered but very effective and then suddenly, cheesecake Len out of nowhere. Also scores points for effective use of what is either a sitar or a mandolin or I honestly don't know what.
【巡音ルカ】夏風【167】
Summer Wind (irona, Luka, Crooner)
This isn't the best of songs this week, but I'm including it because it's been a while since I've heard a track I could so thoroughly attribute to the 'Lounge' genre if I really wanted to. Luka schways her way through a slow, ponderous and terribly suave electric piano track full of twangs and wobbleboards. Very likely to be far too slow for most people, but there's something nice about her using a singing voice that isn't high pitched or fast for the first time in a while.
【初音ミク】ELECTR●CK DiSCO【オリジナル】
ELECTR●CK DiSCO (junk, Miku, Electrorock... Disco.)
Pretty much exactly what it says on the tin, with a side order of Kinetic Typography.
【初音とミクと、時々ルカ】 ウインター・リバース remix
Winter Reverse Remix (sat, Miku + Luka, Breakpop)
Out of the tracks this week, this one's probably the one that made me smile the most in a sort of cheery, what the hell is this kind of way. What was once a heartful pop original has turned into a bouncy two-steppish breakbeated house track, Miku leading the way as Luka raps and supports in the background. A great transformation.
Other:
【初音ミクAppend】Os-宇宙人を歌ってもらった【電波女と青春男】
Os-Alien (takaokamizuki, Miku, Cover)
I meant to link this last week, as it's been riveted near the top of the rankings for nigh on a week and a half by now, but it managed to totally pass my notice by for one very good reason. While the cover is technically stunning and amazingly realistic to the point of being nigh-indistinguishable - here's the real version for comparison - it's still a song that makes my ears crawl out of their sockets and try to hide under the couch.
【鏡音リン・レン】疲れ目注意な アンハッピーリフレイン【手描きPV】
Unhappy Refrain (Len + Rin ver.) (giga, PV: 姉を見事に使いこなす妹, Len + Rin, Cover)
If I was really forced to pick which version of Unhappy Refrain I preferred, I think I'd have to cave and say it was the staggering Len and Rin version linked some time ago. Well, now that specific version has its own scorching and fabulous PV, full of handdrawn craziness and style. (If I really, really had to pick - I think it'd be Len's entire section.)
【MMDFes2011】Just Be Friends -DIVA-【巡音ルカ】
Just Be Friends (dixieflatline, MMDPV: dyuran, Luka, Pop)
Eeh. Sometimes, I really wish I had more to say about MMDFes. I'm all for MMD tournaments; I love the MMD Cup and Dance Climax Motion, and the occasional memetic exhibitions are always great fun. But MMDFes always seems to have the worst timing, placing itself barely a week before the 7th previews are due to go up, and as a result, well... it always seems a little lacking in effort. There's nothing wrong with this treatment of the Diva JBF dance; it's just lacking compared to what I'd expect from an event's high-view video. The best one you could pick is the HD Opening, but we've seen that before.
[PV] 桜前線異常ナシ [初音ミク]
All's Quiet On The Sakura Front (wataru, MMDPV: Thanks, Miku, Traditional)
Cast your mind back to April 2010 when this flute-and-stomp track with a Touhou vibe and fantastic energy got an above-the-cut link. Now it has an MMD video from one of the more famous Daniwell MMDPVers and, while I might not think much of the Miku motion here, that's absolutely not the reason I'm watching the video: just look at that background, from the crystalline trees to the fireworks show halfway through. Fantastic.