Weekly Roundup
Uggggh why is it Thursday already, I'm tired and just want to go to sleep. ps Dead Island is pretty great if you like smacking an endless array of zombies in the head.
News
- Most of the news this week is just continuation of other news from last week. Gumi for Vocaloid 3 out in October, potential Gachapoid Vocaloid 3 (?!), and the Vocalawson event continues apace. Where appropriate I'll be linking videos rather than sticking them at the top this time, but if you want to check out all the Vocalawson stuff just hop on over to the Mylist for it.
- Not strictly a video since I think it's been sourced from a stream, but here's a look at new Vocaloid 3 Mew performing Line from the Vocaloids album. Unfortunately, the quality on the video is really low, and it's hard to pick out specifics in the voice to set it apart from Luka, who it most resembles to my mind. A slightly crisper sound, perhaps, and a slightly higher timbre? Poor Luka gets no luck at all. :(
- Anyone using Mikubook want to tell us how the beta's progressing? It still refuses to let me make an account without signing up for Twitter or Facebook, and I enjoy being a luddite. Soon, it will break me no doubt. Until then I will rely on other people's trip reports.
- Apropos of nothing here's a picture of a Miku scarecrow. aaaaaaaaa
Videos
【GUMI】 Cosmos 【オリジナル】
Cosmos (otetsu, Gumi, Rock)
As we all know, I'm a complete whore for anything with a good bit of chiptune in it, so I was completely hooked on this new otetsu track from the very introduction, and then the pianos kicked in and, well, I suddenly wasn't going to be going anywhere for a while. A lighter track than usual from otetsu, this is considerably less on the emo side and turns instead to a more upbeat, jangly type of rock, with pauses in the guitars picked out by heavy-handed piano scales.
【オリジナル曲】夜空に華咲くお願いサマー！【男性ボカロ】
A Wish Blooming in the Summer Night Sky (pantan, Kaito + Len + Gakupo + Kiyoteru, By Jove!)
The sheer, raw manliness coming off this track in waves brought a single crystalline tear to my eye; it was so beautiful I had to lift my top hat and retract my monocle in order to let it fall like a beautiful flower to properly convey my feelings for it. By which I mean 'kyaaaaaaaa'.
【初音ミク】 CRAZY 【オリジナル】
CRAZY (tarou 16bit, Miku, Rock)
This track definitely lives up to its name, with a jumping hoppy track that wavers back and forth between punkish distortions, vaguely jazzy melodies, and almost big band-style showboating. It's going to be a little strange and not entirely to everyone's taste, but stick with it - if the fantastic video doesn't suck you in, some staggeringly good Miku coding might just do so instead.
【GUMI】 格子の心臓 【オリジナル曲】
Lattice Heart (TOKOTOKO, Gumi, Pop)
It should be no surprise that this producer is high up the list - consistently providing quality tracks time and time again, TOKOTOKO is always a reliable bet. This track's no different, some solid soft pop which, while rather generic, is still a blast to listen to. Gumi's throatiness is kind of in full effect here, which means it loses a couple of points for me, but it should in no way detract from giving this track a try.
【初音ミク】ここにあること【オリジナル】
The Things That Remain Here (fuwari, Miku, Pop)
Fuwari blasts back into style with an absolutely excellent soft pop track; arguably the master of the genre after tracks like Wish, this is a stellar piece with a perfectly gentle Miku and a lovely relaxing air to it. If that weren't enough, the tags aren't kidding when they timestamp the latter parts of the track - be sure to stick around for them, as the last verses and outro are simply amazing.
【GUMI】 GIFT 【オリジナル】
GIFT (Dios, Gumi, Clubby Pop)
Dios continues his romp through perky summer pop from Gumi with GIFT - the intro, with its twangy synth notes, will give you the perfect idea of what you're in for with the rest of this track, and it wastes no time getting into headbobbing, foottapping beats with a touch of violin behind them. Not as much of a showstopper as Tropical Summer was, but a great track if you just want to clap your hands and bop around the room.
【初音ミク】Loto【オリジナル】
Loto (赤髪, Miku, Epic Pop)
Anthemic pop in the true sense of the word, this track has a feel very much like some of toku's works in as much as it's very fond of soft verses that lead into massive crescendos in the chorus, with a lot of heavy piano and guitar backing to provide a suitably thrumming and epic feel.
【KAITO】Pane dhiria (SPTM mix)
Pane Dhiria (SPTM Mix) (yanagi, Kaito, Traditional)
A fantastic remix of an already iconic Kaito song. If you at all liked the original - and I know plenty of people on this comm did - I implore you to check out this mix and not be awed.
【鏡音リンレンGUMI】フロールサイン【オリジナル曲】
Floral Sign (L-Tone, Rin + Len + Gumi, Rock)
I've got a sneaky suspicion that I might have mucked up that translation, so if anyone has any better ideas I'd love to hear them. Anyway, L-tone continues to go from strength to strength - each track has been a marked improvement over the last, and we're now getting beyond it just being my own personal favorites at play here. The voices are sometimes pitched way too high, but that's easily coped with in the face of the rest of the track.
ＧＵＭＩオリジナル曲 「ディストピア・ジパング」
Dystopia Zipangu (cosMo, Gumi, Rock)
Not exactly what I was expecting here - after the short video and the Gakupo song showcasing the rest of his circle series, I was kind of expecting one of those to be his next release on nicovideo. Instead, we get a breakneck track with some fantastic guitars and a decent Gumi singing over the top. It's good, but compared to the crazy-ass songs he's been doing recently, this can feel a little empty.
【MEIKO】Umi-Kaze / shu-t【オリジナル】
Umi-Kaze (shu-t, Meiko, Dance)
It's a little known fact that I'm contractually obliged to link any and all shu-t tracks. Because if I didn't, poor Meiko would never get anything. It's not shu-t's best work, but I'll let that slide.
【初音ミク】vocandroid【オリジナル】
vocandroid (lumo, Miku, Happy Breakcore)
I don't know where to begin in describing this track - a cross between heavy breakcore and happy hardcore, this track would have a really nice melody if it actually left the melody in the song for a period of more than a second at a time. Instead, the track feels like you're sticking your fingers in and out of your ears at a rapid rate - perhaps not the sort of track for someone with a headache, though there's something terribly catchy to it.
【初音ミク】BLACKBIRD【オリジナル曲PV付き】
Blackbird (koman, Miku, Rock)
Though this track is certainly eyecatching in its own right, I can't say it's anywhere near the fantastic ride that was BadBye; I had a difficult time getting into it, thanks mostly to a rather fuzzy Miku encode that kind of killed a lot of the melody for me. The last minute or so shows some real promise in places as the track gets into full swing, but it can't make up for a start and middle that felt lacking.
【SONIKA + LUKA オリジナル曲】 RAIN
RAIN (NIYMORIY, Sonika + Luka, Chillout)
I still don't know what the hell you're doing, niymoriy, but please do feel free to keep doing it.
【初音ミク】intention【オリジナル曲】
intention (u-ske, Miku, R+B)
What an odd little number! You'd think that would be obvious given that I'm talking about u-ske, but I think this even manages to outstrip his previous songs for being so surprising and yet so delightful to listen to. A soft Miku croons her way through a rhythmic ballad while brass instruments blare cheerily and acoustic guitars twang their way in to the sound of synth clapping; as with all u-ske songs, the final result is a heartwarming and tremendously fun track that can't sit still.
MMD/Vocaloid Other:
【PV】Ur-Style【Winter wood】
Ur-Style (DATEKEN, PV: Winter Wood, Rin, Ambient Pop)
I love Ur-Style, as I'm sure I've mentioned before. I think it's a fantastic track, and it's had some fantastic mixes and videos done for it. None have quite blown me away like this one has, though; a huge amount of work has gone into this dreamlike, scattered, wonderful spectacle of AviUtl. If you can, watch this out of economy or via a player - the incredibly smooth artwork will get slaughtered otherwise.
【VY1】なんて淫らなシーケンサーだPV【パンツ】
What an Indecent Sequencer! (lamaze, PV: 砂吹, VY1, Pop)
I... don't think I ever linked this when it first came out in September 2010 - one of the first major VY1 songs, this was lamaze throwing out his usual style of super perky pop; now it's been done up with a full PV in a fun and incredibly vibrant style, with some fantastic animation to boot. May confuse anyone who expected VY1 to be professional as per Yamaha's designs.
【第7回MMD杯Ex】 Runaway -逃亡者- 「ちょっとしたお話」
Runaway (Short Story) (MMDPV: Kararaist, Miku + Meiko + Kaito)
'Making of' videos are common in the weeks after MMD Cup - you'll tend to see a lot of them under the catchall 'MMD Ex' tag. Rarely do they have the level of aplomb shown in this jokey run-down of the effects used in the Equilibrium parody of the recent Cup, however. From Miku talking to a guard about how she knew where to shoot, to the reveal that Kaito can't actually hit the broad side of a barn door and Meiko was busy helping him out from the shadows, this is very well done and delightfully tongue-in-cheek.
Hello, Worker 【PVつけてみた】
Hello, Worker (KEI, PV: yuui, Luka, Pop)
Man, that didn't take long at all. I surely don't need to give you a refresher on how good Hello, Worker is - well, here's a solid PV from yuui. It could do with a bit more movement and force behind it but it's still absolutely great, and any excuse to listen to the song again is fine by me.
【MMD】アキコロイド【モデル配布】
Akikoloid (Vocalawson MMD) (mashishi, Akikoloid)
Jesus god, guys, you finished a Vocalawson model already? That's good work but isn't that a little faaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa. (If you must know: here is the slightly more legit version.)
【MMD】あのミクさんを召喚するアイテム風のアクセサリを作ってみたよ
We've Created A Stylish Accessory That Summons Miku (MMDPV: donburiroom, Miku + Everyone)
This is a little bit silly! Everyone's been going a little wild this week over videos that show how to make a large-scale transparent projection of Miku in the comfort of your own home, sometimes using a motion detecting pair of glasses to rotate the view according to your position. So someone decided to make a screen to do the same in MMD. As you do.
And Finally...
【MMDタイバニ】Next Or White
Next Or White (Tiger+Bunny, Michael Jackson)
I would pay cash money to see this MMD video get finished.
News
- Most of the news this week is just continuation of other news from last week. Gumi for Vocaloid 3 out in October, potential Gachapoid Vocaloid 3 (?!), and the Vocalawson event continues apace. Where appropriate I'll be linking videos rather than sticking them at the top this time, but if you want to check out all the Vocalawson stuff just hop on over to the Mylist for it.
- Not strictly a video since I think it's been sourced from a stream, but here's a look at new Vocaloid 3 Mew performing Line from the Vocaloids album. Unfortunately, the quality on the video is really low, and it's hard to pick out specifics in the voice to set it apart from Luka, who it most resembles to my mind. A slightly crisper sound, perhaps, and a slightly higher timbre? Poor Luka gets no luck at all. :(
- Anyone using Mikubook want to tell us how the beta's progressing? It still refuses to let me make an account without signing up for Twitter or Facebook, and I enjoy being a luddite. Soon, it will break me no doubt. Until then I will rely on other people's trip reports.
- Apropos of nothing here's a picture of a Miku scarecrow. aaaaaaaaa
Videos
【GUMI】 Cosmos 【オリジナル】
Cosmos (otetsu, Gumi, Rock)
As we all know, I'm a complete whore for anything with a good bit of chiptune in it, so I was completely hooked on this new otetsu track from the very introduction, and then the pianos kicked in and, well, I suddenly wasn't going to be going anywhere for a while. A lighter track than usual from otetsu, this is considerably less on the emo side and turns instead to a more upbeat, jangly type of rock, with pauses in the guitars picked out by heavy-handed piano scales.
【オリジナル曲】夜空に華咲くお願いサマー！【男性ボカロ】
A Wish Blooming in the Summer Night Sky (pantan, Kaito + Len + Gakupo + Kiyoteru, By Jove!)
The sheer, raw manliness coming off this track in waves brought a single crystalline tear to my eye; it was so beautiful I had to lift my top hat and retract my monocle in order to let it fall like a beautiful flower to properly convey my feelings for it. By which I mean 'kyaaaaaaaa'.
【初音ミク】 CRAZY 【オリジナル】
CRAZY (tarou 16bit, Miku, Rock)
This track definitely lives up to its name, with a jumping hoppy track that wavers back and forth between punkish distortions, vaguely jazzy melodies, and almost big band-style showboating. It's going to be a little strange and not entirely to everyone's taste, but stick with it - if the fantastic video doesn't suck you in, some staggeringly good Miku coding might just do so instead.
【GUMI】 格子の心臓 【オリジナル曲】
Lattice Heart (TOKOTOKO, Gumi, Pop)
It should be no surprise that this producer is high up the list - consistently providing quality tracks time and time again, TOKOTOKO is always a reliable bet. This track's no different, some solid soft pop which, while rather generic, is still a blast to listen to. Gumi's throatiness is kind of in full effect here, which means it loses a couple of points for me, but it should in no way detract from giving this track a try.
【初音ミク】ここにあること【オリジナル】
The Things That Remain Here (fuwari, Miku, Pop)
Fuwari blasts back into style with an absolutely excellent soft pop track; arguably the master of the genre after tracks like Wish, this is a stellar piece with a perfectly gentle Miku and a lovely relaxing air to it. If that weren't enough, the tags aren't kidding when they timestamp the latter parts of the track - be sure to stick around for them, as the last verses and outro are simply amazing.
【GUMI】 GIFT 【オリジナル】
GIFT (Dios, Gumi, Clubby Pop)
Dios continues his romp through perky summer pop from Gumi with GIFT - the intro, with its twangy synth notes, will give you the perfect idea of what you're in for with the rest of this track, and it wastes no time getting into headbobbing, foottapping beats with a touch of violin behind them. Not as much of a showstopper as Tropical Summer was, but a great track if you just want to clap your hands and bop around the room.
【初音ミク】Loto【オリジナル】
Loto (赤髪, Miku, Epic Pop)
Anthemic pop in the true sense of the word, this track has a feel very much like some of toku's works in as much as it's very fond of soft verses that lead into massive crescendos in the chorus, with a lot of heavy piano and guitar backing to provide a suitably thrumming and epic feel.
【KAITO】Pane dhiria (SPTM mix)
Pane Dhiria (SPTM Mix) (yanagi, Kaito, Traditional)
A fantastic remix of an already iconic Kaito song. If you at all liked the original - and I know plenty of people on this comm did - I implore you to check out this mix and not be awed.
【鏡音リンレンGUMI】フロールサイン【オリジナル曲】
Floral Sign (L-Tone, Rin + Len + Gumi, Rock)
I've got a sneaky suspicion that I might have mucked up that translation, so if anyone has any better ideas I'd love to hear them. Anyway, L-tone continues to go from strength to strength - each track has been a marked improvement over the last, and we're now getting beyond it just being my own personal favorites at play here. The voices are sometimes pitched way too high, but that's easily coped with in the face of the rest of the track.
ＧＵＭＩオリジナル曲 「ディストピア・ジパング」
Dystopia Zipangu (cosMo, Gumi, Rock)
Not exactly what I was expecting here - after the short video and the Gakupo song showcasing the rest of his circle series, I was kind of expecting one of those to be his next release on nicovideo. Instead, we get a breakneck track with some fantastic guitars and a decent Gumi singing over the top. It's good, but compared to the crazy-ass songs he's been doing recently, this can feel a little empty.
【MEIKO】Umi-Kaze / shu-t【オリジナル】
Umi-Kaze (shu-t, Meiko, Dance)
It's a little known fact that I'm contractually obliged to link any and all shu-t tracks. Because if I didn't, poor Meiko would never get anything. It's not shu-t's best work, but I'll let that slide.
【初音ミク】vocandroid【オリジナル】
vocandroid (lumo, Miku, Happy Breakcore)
I don't know where to begin in describing this track - a cross between heavy breakcore and happy hardcore, this track would have a really nice melody if it actually left the melody in the song for a period of more than a second at a time. Instead, the track feels like you're sticking your fingers in and out of your ears at a rapid rate - perhaps not the sort of track for someone with a headache, though there's something terribly catchy to it.
【初音ミク】BLACKBIRD【オリジナル曲PV付き】
Blackbird (koman, Miku, Rock)
Though this track is certainly eyecatching in its own right, I can't say it's anywhere near the fantastic ride that was BadBye; I had a difficult time getting into it, thanks mostly to a rather fuzzy Miku encode that kind of killed a lot of the melody for me. The last minute or so shows some real promise in places as the track gets into full swing, but it can't make up for a start and middle that felt lacking.
【SONIKA + LUKA オリジナル曲】 RAIN
RAIN (NIYMORIY, Sonika + Luka, Chillout)
I still don't know what the hell you're doing, niymoriy, but please do feel free to keep doing it.
【初音ミク】intention【オリジナル曲】
intention (u-ske, Miku, R+B)
What an odd little number! You'd think that would be obvious given that I'm talking about u-ske, but I think this even manages to outstrip his previous songs for being so surprising and yet so delightful to listen to. A soft Miku croons her way through a rhythmic ballad while brass instruments blare cheerily and acoustic guitars twang their way in to the sound of synth clapping; as with all u-ske songs, the final result is a heartwarming and tremendously fun track that can't sit still.
MMD/Vocaloid Other:
【PV】Ur-Style【Winter wood】
Ur-Style (DATEKEN, PV: Winter Wood, Rin, Ambient Pop)
I love Ur-Style, as I'm sure I've mentioned before. I think it's a fantastic track, and it's had some fantastic mixes and videos done for it. None have quite blown me away like this one has, though; a huge amount of work has gone into this dreamlike, scattered, wonderful spectacle of AviUtl. If you can, watch this out of economy or via a player - the incredibly smooth artwork will get slaughtered otherwise.
【VY1】なんて淫らなシーケンサーだPV【パンツ】
What an Indecent Sequencer! (lamaze, PV: 砂吹, VY1, Pop)
I... don't think I ever linked this when it first came out in September 2010 - one of the first major VY1 songs, this was lamaze throwing out his usual style of super perky pop; now it's been done up with a full PV in a fun and incredibly vibrant style, with some fantastic animation to boot. May confuse anyone who expected VY1 to be professional as per Yamaha's designs.
【第7回MMD杯Ex】 Runaway -逃亡者- 「ちょっとしたお話」
Runaway (Short Story) (MMDPV: Kararaist, Miku + Meiko + Kaito)
'Making of' videos are common in the weeks after MMD Cup - you'll tend to see a lot of them under the catchall 'MMD Ex' tag. Rarely do they have the level of aplomb shown in this jokey run-down of the effects used in the Equilibrium parody of the recent Cup, however. From Miku talking to a guard about how she knew where to shoot, to the reveal that Kaito can't actually hit the broad side of a barn door and Meiko was busy helping him out from the shadows, this is very well done and delightfully tongue-in-cheek.
Hello, Worker 【PVつけてみた】
Hello, Worker (KEI, PV: yuui, Luka, Pop)
Man, that didn't take long at all. I surely don't need to give you a refresher on how good Hello, Worker is - well, here's a solid PV from yuui. It could do with a bit more movement and force behind it but it's still absolutely great, and any excuse to listen to the song again is fine by me.
【MMD】アキコロイド【モデル配布】
Akikoloid (Vocalawson MMD) (mashishi, Akikoloid)
Jesus god, guys, you finished a Vocalawson model already? That's good work but isn't that a little faaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa. (If you must know: here is the slightly more legit version.)
【MMD】あのミクさんを召喚するアイテム風のアクセサリを作ってみたよ
We've Created A Stylish Accessory That Summons Miku (MMDPV: donburiroom, Miku + Everyone)
This is a little bit silly! Everyone's been going a little wild this week over videos that show how to make a large-scale transparent projection of Miku in the comfort of your own home, sometimes using a motion detecting pair of glasses to rotate the view according to your position. So someone decided to make a screen to do the same in MMD. As you do.
And Finally...
【MMDタイバニ】Next Or White
Next Or White (Tiger+Bunny, Michael Jackson)
I would pay cash money to see this MMD video get finished.