Weekly Roundup
It's felt a little like Nicovideo's holding its collective breath this last week, and who can blame it? Between the deluge of Tell Your World reuploads, the release of Yukari and IA, and the massive bomb of the MMD 8th Cup Previews, the daily top ranking has been a little buy overly busy, and it hasn't given many other videos the chance to muscle into things. Not a huge week, then, but a huge collection of debut songs for the new Vocaloids.
I won't be linking any 8th Cup stuff yet - that's being saved for the real show. It's entirely possible I've missed a lot of songs in the rush since I tend to stick to the top 100, so please do let me know if there's any particularly glaring omissions. Not sure why there's such a sudden dip in the number of videos, but your friendly mods have mostly all decided it must be all Tone Rion's fault.
News
- I'm not kidding about Tell Your World. At the time of writing, if I look at the daily top Vocaloid ranking, it currently occupies positions #2, #5, #8, #16, #20, #26, #33, #43, and #62. Not that I don't love the song, Nicovideo, but uh can't we please give it a rest?
- IA is now out, of course! 1st Place have been as good as their word and kept Yukari's demo page fully stocked up with new songs and content for you to listen to.
- Project Mirai's long trailer is here, with a Youtube mirror here. Highlights include super adorable animation, a fantastic song selection, separate versions of the songs dependant on which robot you're playing as(!!!!!) and the burning knowledge that you'll never see this in the West thanks to the 3DS being region-locked. Alternatively, if you're reaaaaallly dedicated, get one of these.
- People are buzzing about this, so if you haven't already seen it, a writer at Bleacher Report opines that Miku could sing for the Superbowl in a couple of years time and it would be pretty rad. Of course, that analysis is based on the London Olympics poll, which I consider pretty suspect already...
Videos:
【GUMI】恋愛勇者【オリジナル】
Love Hero (Last Note, Gumi, Rock)
As much as the newcomers might try, though, they simply couldn't knock Gumi from the top slot this week - partially thanks to a sudden rush of songs in her name, but primarily due to this stonking, energetic and fast-paced track from Last Note that Gumi blasts her way through at speed accompanied by driving beats and super-screechy guitars, not to mention a commanding piano hook. Gumi's voice is quite unique, here, as well; not usually a fan of warbly styles, this has enough body to it for me to look past it.
【初音ミク】 心臓デモクラシー 【オリジナル】
Heart Democracy (mikito, Miku, Pop/Rock)
I'm pleased with the sheer amount of imagination going on this week, as will be rapidly evidenced by a look down the post at some of my other descriptions. Heart Democracy is a really weird song, full of very deliberately off-key wailing notes and soft rock guitars, backed up with accordians(!) and a soft Miku. The end result is enthralling and unusual, switching between styles rapidly and throwing out a lot of unusual notes and bridges to try to throw the listener.
VOCALOID3 鳥の詩(Ver.IA) full 製品版デモ
Bird Song (Lia Cover, IA, Pop)
You've heard this before - heck, this song was the first demo for IA - but this is now the full and complete production version singing it, and every bit of it is absolutely top-notch. Personally, I think it's a little cheating to let IA run this song as her demo, since it's basically a song she's utterly custom-made for and tailored to - even then, it's a staggering indication of how well she's able to sing, and I'm sure I don't speak just for myself when I say I want to see how she shapes up in the weeks to come.
【結月ゆかり】 Frontier 【オリジナル曲】
Frontier (LIQ, Yukari, Rock)
It's a little sad to see Yukari already getting dramatically overshadowed by IA - she had such a promising start and some legitimately fantastic demo songs, but has been trumped so quickly that it almost feels like she was the fad of the week then set aside. Fortunately, she's still getting some songs even amidst the initial IA rush. LIQ's a pretty famous name, and this track reflects that by being strong and impressive, if a little jumbled or trying to do a little too much from time to time.
初音ミクのオリジナル曲 人の命は平等じゃない -Full ver.-
Humans' Lives are Not Equal (deadball, Miku, Rock)
As you might expect from deadball should you have ever paid attention to some of his songs, this goes rather against the grain by comining a light and breezy tune with some staggeringly awful lyrics - just take a look at the tags, which range from 'healing all ills' and 'our song' to 'execution music'. It's a very solid track if a little sparse, with a guitar solo that comes out of nowhere just as you're thinking about nodding off and getting complacent.
【VOCALOID3】 My Soul, Your Beats!(Ver.IA) short 製品版デモ
My Soul, Your Beats! (Lia Cover, IA, Pop)
Tori no Uta might be the most famous IA demo right now, but for my money this is the best, because it shows off what the vocaloid is really best at - slow, gentle, low songs that really bring IA's preferred register to the forefront. The quality of sound here is simply amazing and I cannot get over how good she sounds.
【KAITO・リン・レン】迷子猫奴【オリジナル】
That Stray Cat (mayuko, Len + Rin + Kaito, Traditional / Operatic / Angst / Showboating Extraordinaire)
I'm prepared to put this boggling song forward as evidence that mayuko has almost completely lost it. I can guarantee you won't hear a song quite like this for some time, not to mention the bizarre and dark and twisted video that doesn't have anything objectionable in it and yet remains somehow distinctly disturbing. We're used to crazy songs from mayuko by now but this takes the cake, eats it, and stretches it into a dark metaphor all at the same time.
【結月ゆかり】New name「Yukari」【オリジナルPV】
New Name (kyohei, Yukari, Emo)
WO-OOOOOOOOO-OOOOOOOOOAHHHHH!
【IAオリジナル曲】alphabet【公式デモソング】
Alphabet (kyotn, IA, Vocal)
If the two covers weren't enough IA for you, here's an original song by singing robots favourite kyotn. Quite the change - rather than a beat-heavy dance track, we instead have a super-soft and gentle little background full of bass tones, over which we're treated to some excellent IA tuning and what could charitably be called a vocal solo that doesn't miss a single step.
【GUMI Whisper】334人の敵【オリジナルPV】
The Enemy of 334 People (konata, Gumi, Rock)
I haven't heard a lot of the Gumi Whisper voice, and what I have heard tends to be terribly divisive in a manner not unlike Miku's Dark, a voice which regularly goes way out of my comfort zone. This is rather nice, though, as the Whisper voice carries this light rock song quite pleasantly and without too much in the way of wobble or breaks. The quieter sections don't give away any major errors in her voice, though the high pitch might be a little too much for some.
【初音ミク】CUTE CUTE CAT【オリジナルPV】
CUTE CUTE CAT (daniwell, Miku, Earworm)
I hope you didn't think you were going to get away with only one daniwell track in short order?
【鏡音レン】支配分子スケルツォ【オリジナルPV】
Control Element Scherzo (minus, Len, Rock)
It's good to see Len from time to time, even if he's kind of been relegated to rock tracks and not a lot else right now. Fortunately, minus' track record in such things is pretty good, and this is a great example of the genre, full of energy and a great listen. Len's voice isn't super-stellar, but you'd be hard-pressed to pick out any errors in there either.
【GUMI】プリズムの砂時計【オリジナルPV】
Hourglass Prism (kanpanette, Gumi, Trance Pop)
Perhaps a little Gumi oontz? This is a rather low key track all in all, but I think that works to its credit, allowing it to act more as an bit of effective ambient music rather than an in-your-face thumping and pulsing track. Gumi's voice is pretty damn nice here, as the beat helps round out any imperfections in her voice while providing a toe-tapping pace. Never going to win any awards for nervous energy, but might win a couple for gentle floaty crooning instead.
【初音ミク】非常ベルが鳴り止まない【オリジナルPV】
The Alarm Won't Stop Ringing (水玉カメレオン, Miku, Rock)
I really wish I could decide whether I like this song or not. Taken as it is, it's got an interesting beat and some really nice bits of instrumentation, from a slightly off-kilter melody line with bells and chimes that wouldn't be out of place in something a bit spookier and is used to good effect here... but Miku's voice kind of puts me off something fierce, and sufficiently so that I kind of lose interest in the song halfway through.
【鏡音リンレン】アンリアル・コミュニケーション(Full)【オリジナルPV】
Unreal Communication (patorichefu, Len + Rin, Rock)
I confess quite happily to having an unhealthy amount of love for this song. It's so bouncy and gleeful in its weird and wonderful rock way, then blares out a chorus, and then out of nowhere just decides that hey, you know what? It's time to be smooth beats instead. You can't stop me. If I want to be suave cool beats, I will be. This song doesn't really give a damn about anything, but does it with such panache I found myself dancing around like a lunatic to it.
【初音ミク】 ダブルアンコール 【オリジナル】
Double Encore (Simesaba Twisters, Miku, ?!)
I'm including this to help keep the 'originality' theme rolling right along, but please don't blame me if you suddenly develop a rash urge to strangle blog maintainers and their terrible links. Let's just say that - true to Simesaba Twisters form - this track is going to be one hell of an acquired taste, mostly thanks to Miku's voice. Chipmunk doesn't even begin to cover it.
Edit: And fresh off the presses:
【結月ゆかり】抱きしめたいの【オリジナル】
I Want To Hold You (medic, Yukari, Jazz)
I was a little upset about having so few good Yukari songs this week, so I'm pleased to report that right before I hit post I found a lovely little smooth jazz number.
I won't be linking any 8th Cup stuff yet - that's being saved for the real show. It's entirely possible I've missed a lot of songs in the rush since I tend to stick to the top 100, so please do let me know if there's any particularly glaring omissions. Not sure why there's such a sudden dip in the number of videos, but your friendly mods have mostly all decided it must be all Tone Rion's fault.
News
- I'm not kidding about Tell Your World. At the time of writing, if I look at the daily top Vocaloid ranking, it currently occupies positions #2, #5, #8, #16, #20, #26, #33, #43, and #62. Not that I don't love the song, Nicovideo, but uh can't we please give it a rest?
- IA is now out, of course! 1st Place have been as good as their word and kept Yukari's demo page fully stocked up with new songs and content for you to listen to.
- Project Mirai's long trailer is here, with a Youtube mirror here. Highlights include super adorable animation, a fantastic song selection, separate versions of the songs dependant on which robot you're playing as(!!!!!) and the burning knowledge that you'll never see this in the West thanks to the 3DS being region-locked. Alternatively, if you're reaaaaallly dedicated, get one of these.
- People are buzzing about this, so if you haven't already seen it, a writer at Bleacher Report opines that Miku could sing for the Superbowl in a couple of years time and it would be pretty rad. Of course, that analysis is based on the London Olympics poll, which I consider pretty suspect already...
Videos:
【GUMI】恋愛勇者【オリジナル】
Love Hero (Last Note, Gumi, Rock)
As much as the newcomers might try, though, they simply couldn't knock Gumi from the top slot this week - partially thanks to a sudden rush of songs in her name, but primarily due to this stonking, energetic and fast-paced track from Last Note that Gumi blasts her way through at speed accompanied by driving beats and super-screechy guitars, not to mention a commanding piano hook. Gumi's voice is quite unique, here, as well; not usually a fan of warbly styles, this has enough body to it for me to look past it.
【初音ミク】 心臓デモクラシー 【オリジナル】
Heart Democracy (mikito, Miku, Pop/Rock)
I'm pleased with the sheer amount of imagination going on this week, as will be rapidly evidenced by a look down the post at some of my other descriptions. Heart Democracy is a really weird song, full of very deliberately off-key wailing notes and soft rock guitars, backed up with accordians(!) and a soft Miku. The end result is enthralling and unusual, switching between styles rapidly and throwing out a lot of unusual notes and bridges to try to throw the listener.
VOCALOID3 鳥の詩(Ver.IA) full 製品版デモ
Bird Song (Lia Cover, IA, Pop)
You've heard this before - heck, this song was the first demo for IA - but this is now the full and complete production version singing it, and every bit of it is absolutely top-notch. Personally, I think it's a little cheating to let IA run this song as her demo, since it's basically a song she's utterly custom-made for and tailored to - even then, it's a staggering indication of how well she's able to sing, and I'm sure I don't speak just for myself when I say I want to see how she shapes up in the weeks to come.
【結月ゆかり】 Frontier 【オリジナル曲】
Frontier (LIQ, Yukari, Rock)
It's a little sad to see Yukari already getting dramatically overshadowed by IA - she had such a promising start and some legitimately fantastic demo songs, but has been trumped so quickly that it almost feels like she was the fad of the week then set aside. Fortunately, she's still getting some songs even amidst the initial IA rush. LIQ's a pretty famous name, and this track reflects that by being strong and impressive, if a little jumbled or trying to do a little too much from time to time.
初音ミクのオリジナル曲 人の命は平等じゃない -Full ver.-
Humans' Lives are Not Equal (deadball, Miku, Rock)
As you might expect from deadball should you have ever paid attention to some of his songs, this goes rather against the grain by comining a light and breezy tune with some staggeringly awful lyrics - just take a look at the tags, which range from 'healing all ills' and 'our song' to 'execution music'. It's a very solid track if a little sparse, with a guitar solo that comes out of nowhere just as you're thinking about nodding off and getting complacent.
【VOCALOID3】 My Soul, Your Beats!(Ver.IA) short 製品版デモ
My Soul, Your Beats! (Lia Cover, IA, Pop)
Tori no Uta might be the most famous IA demo right now, but for my money this is the best, because it shows off what the vocaloid is really best at - slow, gentle, low songs that really bring IA's preferred register to the forefront. The quality of sound here is simply amazing and I cannot get over how good she sounds.
【KAITO・リン・レン】迷子猫奴【オリジナル】
That Stray Cat (mayuko, Len + Rin + Kaito, Traditional / Operatic / Angst / Showboating Extraordinaire)
I'm prepared to put this boggling song forward as evidence that mayuko has almost completely lost it. I can guarantee you won't hear a song quite like this for some time, not to mention the bizarre and dark and twisted video that doesn't have anything objectionable in it and yet remains somehow distinctly disturbing. We're used to crazy songs from mayuko by now but this takes the cake, eats it, and stretches it into a dark metaphor all at the same time.
【結月ゆかり】New name「Yukari」【オリジナルPV】
New Name (kyohei, Yukari, Emo)
WO-OOOOOOOOO-OOOOOOOOOAHHHHH!
【IAオリジナル曲】alphabet【公式デモソング】
Alphabet (kyotn, IA, Vocal)
If the two covers weren't enough IA for you, here's an original song by singing robots favourite kyotn. Quite the change - rather than a beat-heavy dance track, we instead have a super-soft and gentle little background full of bass tones, over which we're treated to some excellent IA tuning and what could charitably be called a vocal solo that doesn't miss a single step.
【GUMI Whisper】334人の敵【オリジナルPV】
The Enemy of 334 People (konata, Gumi, Rock)
I haven't heard a lot of the Gumi Whisper voice, and what I have heard tends to be terribly divisive in a manner not unlike Miku's Dark, a voice which regularly goes way out of my comfort zone. This is rather nice, though, as the Whisper voice carries this light rock song quite pleasantly and without too much in the way of wobble or breaks. The quieter sections don't give away any major errors in her voice, though the high pitch might be a little too much for some.
【初音ミク】CUTE CUTE CAT【オリジナルPV】
CUTE CUTE CAT (daniwell, Miku, Earworm)
I hope you didn't think you were going to get away with only one daniwell track in short order?
【鏡音レン】支配分子スケルツォ【オリジナルPV】
Control Element Scherzo (minus, Len, Rock)
It's good to see Len from time to time, even if he's kind of been relegated to rock tracks and not a lot else right now. Fortunately, minus' track record in such things is pretty good, and this is a great example of the genre, full of energy and a great listen. Len's voice isn't super-stellar, but you'd be hard-pressed to pick out any errors in there either.
【GUMI】プリズムの砂時計【オリジナルPV】
Hourglass Prism (kanpanette, Gumi, Trance Pop)
Perhaps a little Gumi oontz? This is a rather low key track all in all, but I think that works to its credit, allowing it to act more as an bit of effective ambient music rather than an in-your-face thumping and pulsing track. Gumi's voice is pretty damn nice here, as the beat helps round out any imperfections in her voice while providing a toe-tapping pace. Never going to win any awards for nervous energy, but might win a couple for gentle floaty crooning instead.
【初音ミク】非常ベルが鳴り止まない【オリジナルPV】
The Alarm Won't Stop Ringing (水玉カメレオン, Miku, Rock)
I really wish I could decide whether I like this song or not. Taken as it is, it's got an interesting beat and some really nice bits of instrumentation, from a slightly off-kilter melody line with bells and chimes that wouldn't be out of place in something a bit spookier and is used to good effect here... but Miku's voice kind of puts me off something fierce, and sufficiently so that I kind of lose interest in the song halfway through.
【鏡音リンレン】アンリアル・コミュニケーション(Full)【オリジナルPV】
Unreal Communication (patorichefu, Len + Rin, Rock)
I confess quite happily to having an unhealthy amount of love for this song. It's so bouncy and gleeful in its weird and wonderful rock way, then blares out a chorus, and then out of nowhere just decides that hey, you know what? It's time to be smooth beats instead. You can't stop me. If I want to be suave cool beats, I will be. This song doesn't really give a damn about anything, but does it with such panache I found myself dancing around like a lunatic to it.
【初音ミク】 ダブルアンコール 【オリジナル】
Double Encore (Simesaba Twisters, Miku, ?!)
I'm including this to help keep the 'originality' theme rolling right along, but please don't blame me if you suddenly develop a rash urge to strangle blog maintainers and their terrible links. Let's just say that - true to Simesaba Twisters form - this track is going to be one hell of an acquired taste, mostly thanks to Miku's voice. Chipmunk doesn't even begin to cover it.
Edit: And fresh off the presses:
【結月ゆかり】抱きしめたいの【オリジナル】
I Want To Hold You (medic, Yukari, Jazz)
I was a little upset about having so few good Yukari songs this week, so I'm pleased to report that right before I hit post I found a lovely little smooth jazz number.