Catchup, Part The First
Okay, let's go. There's going to be several posts over the weekend: looking at the size of my shortlist, I'm going to say we'll have two roundup posts, and somewhere in the middle a special roundup for all the underdog vocaloids that didn't make it far into the rankings proper but did make it into my shortlist. I'm trying to focus a little more than usual on rarer songs and those that didn't make it all the way up to the ranking, so this shouldn't just be treading old ground.
Also, a bit of news I'd forgotten to mention:
- I'm not exactly sure of the rules for it, but many nicovideo videos now stream properly and are searchable, loading substantially faster than their more recent counterparts. It seems like it happens to videos that are more than a certain age old? There isn't really any indication it's searchable until you try it, at which point you'll get a spinning loading symbol and the Nicovideo TV. In any case, it's about time.
- Here is a video of Miku performing a jingle for a news show live on air to the slightly stunned faces of all involved. Extra prizes to anyone who can tell, just from the PV, who made it.
Videos:
【MEIKO with Families】アメイジング・グレイス【Vocaloid Gospel】
Amazing Grace (Nanameue, Meiko + Ensemble, Trad.)
If you glossed over this on the ranking thinking it was just another general cover of Amazing Grace, I implore you to go take another listen to it because it's significantly and absolutely fantastic. If the frankly amazing Meiko doesn't do it for you - despite taking top billing with some of the most amazing tuning I've ever heard from her - then the second half and crescendo will. There's really nothing to describe how uplifting it is to hear a full-on acapella Vocaloid track, especially when it sounds this good. Guaranteed to bring the biggest goddamn smile to your face.
【鏡音リン】狐ノ嫁入リ【オリジナル曲】
Rain Shower, While the Sun Shines (OSTER, Rin, Big Band Ethnic Rock Opera?)
Listening to the start of this song, you would be forgiven for thinking that Oster had returned to the operatic, orchestral bent of Alice in Wonderland, but this tremendous song soon breaks its way through that misconception and into a tremendous song that completely defies description. One part eager and energetic rock track, the other traditional Japanese, the other other an operatic forte by a splendidly tuned Rin, this is a fantastically original track and a seriously good listen.
【GUMI(40㍍)】 春に一番近い街 【オリジナルPV】
The Closest Town In Spring (40m, Gumi, Pop)
Purestrain 40m back on absolutely fine form, an utterly fantastic piano-and-guitar song that's jaunty and upbeat and perfectly evokes the coming of spring. Peppered full of gorgeous solos, there's nothing I can say against this whatsoever, beyond hoping that 40m doesn't get stalked by someone recognizing the locations around his house.
【初音ミク】ひよこと天秤【オリジナル曲】
Chick and Scales (furu, Miku, Theatric)
I defy you not to smile at this track, maybe consider getting up and dancing along with it? A legitimately hilarious and wonderful video encompasses this absolutely boggling and bombastic track, confusing and wonderful in equal measure. From a kazoo-and-duck-call introduction to a Miku singing at a breakneck pace to a big band melody heavy on the tuba and drums to an energetic and exultant chorus to the entire second half of the track, words can hardly describe how much sheer fun this track is to listen to.
【GUMI】Soul Breeze【オリジナル】
Soul Breeze (Dixieflatline, Gumi, R+B)
Yeah, uh. In case you hadn't heard, dixieflatline's back. That means you should go click this right now. There's more to come from them next post, but this is their latest original, a gorgeous R+B number from an impeccably tuned Gumi. Absolutely perfect, this completely blows the competition out of the water if you ask me, a relaxing and heartwarming number and a perfect return to the rankings.
【初音ミク・巡音ルカ】アカツキアライヴァル【オリジナル】
Dawn Arrival (Last Note, Miku + Luka, Rock)
Last Note has always vaguely been on my radar as one of Luka's last bastions in terms of Vocaloid producers, and it's great to see this proved absolutely right by one of the best Miku + Luka tracks in recent memory. There's a little too much going on in the song during the mid sections, as a combination of operatic rock and guitar solos and rapidfire drums threatens to overwhelm the singers - but their encoding is really kind of unique, and I think this might be one of the best Lukas I've heard in ages. A little chipmunky at times, perhaps, especially when in a duet, but otherwise eminently solid.
【GUMI】My Colorful Confuse【オリジナル曲】
My Colorful Confuse (uramanbou, Gumi, ?!)
Some things never change; while I think uramanbou's latest track is significantly more of an acquired taste than his other recent hits, thanks to a very unusual selection of tunings and styles, it's still more than good enough to land right near the top of the post. I-I give in.
theory／164 feat.GUMI
theory (164, Gumi, Rock)
One of the big hitters of the week it came out, I have to say I didn't take to this track even slightly. It's got some nice atmosphere to it - for large potions of the song, there's a backdrop of gentle electric guitar that works surprisingly well in setting the general tone and providing a good springboard for stronger riffs and solo sections - but the track as a whole felt woefully empty and lacking in impact, and the tuning of the Gumi turns her voice into what might be tactfully called at best a severely acquired taste - and at worst one hell of a screech.
【GUMI】 5150 【オリジナル曲PV付】
5150 (devilish, Gumi, Emo Soft Rock)
This, however, is a whole lot more like it. From a well-tuned Gumi to a full-bodied rock track focusing on the soulful, gentler side of depressing emo - and still managing to stay significantly more listenable than, say, anything Coldplay's done - this track has a lot to like, and builds well towards a fantastic crescendo. Watch out for some seriously awesome bass guitar in the background from Kei Nakamura - understated and fitting the song perfectly, I nearly didn't catch it first listen.
【初音ミク】夜明けの日【オリジナル曲】
Day of Dawn (Shimo, Miku, Orchestral Electropop?)
What's with all the awesome and original songs getting shown off in today's post? Yet more in the way of strange and unusual music, Shimo's track starts off as a seriously dramatic orchestral piece, then suddenly gets enough of a backbone to pick up an eager beat and a high-quality Miku to croon along with herself in the background. Eventually, the track changes entirely, giving first Miku and then some excellent piano their own chance at a solo, before coming all together for a cheery and gleeful ending that isn't quite like anything that came earlier in the song. What a strange track.
【鏡音リン】ガラクタのエレジー【オリジナル】
Rubbish Elegy (powapowa, Rin, Drum + Bass Rock)
An interesting one, this. A strong beat underscores an otherwise fairly low-key Rin track; a slow intro consisting almost entirely of drums and bass and human percussion sl-o-w-ly starts to gain more in the way of instruments as it winds into a catchy but relaxing soft rock track. The main issue here is probably going to be the Rin encode, if anything - again with the acquired tastes, she sounds very high and young, and it makes some parts of the song perhaps suffer overly much.
【初音ミクオリジナル】 DOT adventure AGAIN 【PVつき】
DOT adventure AGAIN (effe, Miku, Chiptune Pop)
As ever, I'm a complete sucker for any song that happens to have a lick of chiptune in it. Effe's track is a eager and happy romp through all manner of glitchy, sparkly beeps and square waves, with a surprisingly sedate song lying just behind it and sung by a well-encoded Miku. The overall effect is a perky, upbeat piece of chiptune fusion that might be a little busy but might also be right up your alley. Also, that lead-out, mmm.
【GUMI whisper】glow【本気でアレンジしてみた】
glow (arranged version) (keeno, rerulili, Gumi, Pop)
I feel like I'm kind of being a grumpy old guy here by turning my mouth down into a frown at this track. Rerulili's arrange of keeno's classic Miku track, this is a curious kind of jazzy affair with some fantastic snare drums and keyboard work, with a nice sideline in woodwinds and bass. An eclectic mix, it all works very wonderfully together, but I can't help but feel it's a little busy for a song that I've always liked exactly because it's tremendously clean and clear.
【巡音ルカ】 Déjà Vu 【VOCALOIDオリジナル曲】
Déjà Vu (sat, Luka, R+B)
Bonus points for using the accent and grave properly in the title, for a start. Anyway, this is a soulful and super-crooning English track from Luka, and I think I'm prepared after a couple of listens to suggest that this might be the best english Luka voice I've ever heard. It's still kind of mealy-mouthed and you'd really have to try to work out what some of the words are if you didn't have a handy set of subtitles to hand, but her voice is strong and doesn't waver, moving smoothly from word to word without any of the usual pauses and a lot less pronounciation problems than other Luka english songs.
【初音ミクオリジナル曲】 今では 【PV】
Now (y0c1e, Miku, Electronica)
Clocking in at under two minutes, this is a bite-size little track with a lot of heart, and I'd wager it's probably the nicest and most gentle electronica I've ever listened to when the genre isn't trying to be happy hardcore and isn't trying to be some kind of club mix. It's a soft, gentle vocal-and-piano track that just happens to also have some electronic bleeps and bloops in there. How about that.
【GUMI】林檎と歯車のショーケース【オリジナル】
A Showcase of Apples and Cog Wheels (loli, Gumi, Touhou Rock)
Tremendously strong piano is the draw of this track, with a powerful chorus line and a splendid bit of fast high-energy stuff during the verses. Unfortunately, I think the rest of the track is a little marred; Gumi sounds a little off and doesn't really contribute positively to the song, while the rest of the instrumentation is either drowned out or else completely overshadowed by the stellar piano performance. On balance, I definitely think it's worth a listen, but I can't say I'm compelled to come back to it for repeat trips.
【初音ミク】ストロボナイツ - ぎんすけremix【リミックス】
Strobo Nights - ginsuke remix (Rin/ginsuke, Miku, House)
I'm deeply saddened this didn't get more hits, because I personally think it's a wonderful little remix that deserves a lot more attention than it got. Remixes of Strobo Nights aren't exactly groundbreaking, I know, but if you're the sort to like a good bit of melodic doof-doof in your life it's hard to do better than this gentle House remix of a Vocaloid classic. Quietly understated and gentle, it doesn't trample all over the original song and leaves the whole thing nicely intact, just helping the sound along here and there.
MMD/Other:
【IA・ミク】ヘッドフォンアクター×ネトゲ廃人シュプレヒコール【Mashup】
Net Game Chorus x Headphone Actor (sa, Miku + IA, Rock)
sa is still at it, producing some of the most insane and most inspired mashups around nicovideo. While I don't honestly think anything will ever beat his absolutely breathtaking version of Calc x Interviewer, this is a solid entry to his stable and a lot better than some of his other recent works. The speed of both tracks play off each other to produce a frantic, barreling ride that simply doesn't ever stop or let up. Unfortunately, the harmonize point is at 2:50, which leaves the second half of the mashup feeling a little like a let down - still, great work.
【MMD】 fix 【PV】(HD)
fix (keeno, PV: nerudora, Miku)
Speaking of keeno from earlier in the post, nerudora - maker of the incredibly detailed and high-quality glow videos featuring Miku in a recording studio - isn't content to stop there, and has moved onto doing a PV for keeno's other well-known song that's every bit as good.
【ＭＭＤ】めいきんぐ おぶ すうぱあリアルカ【モデル公開です】
Super-Real Luka MMD Model (chibideko, Luka)
A video on the making and modelling of a 'real-style Luka' MMD model. I'm not really sure what to think about this one on the whole - it's very technically impressive, and the model looks good at certain distances - check out the example videos for Departures and Irony - but there's several knocks against the model just from looking at it. For one, it looks ripped straight from FFXIII-2. For two, it's a little too far on the side of the uncanny valley for me to really like it out of hand. For three, it has teeth. That's really what does it for me. The teeth.
[PV] アンハッピーリフレイン [初音ミク]
Unhappy Refrain (wowaka, MMDPV: Thanks, Miku)
See, if you're going to do the Lat PV route, this is how you should do it. Seriously threatening the framerate of even the best PCs around, this is a jam-packed version of Unhappy Refrain with a billion effects and a lot of style.
【MikuMikuDance】Tda式初音ミク・アペンドをちび化してみた【MMD・galaxias!】
Chibi TdaMiku does Galaxias! (uhhhhhhhhhhh. uhhhhhhhhhhhhhh.)
....... well, that didn't take long at all. Recorded purely for posterity's sake, I'm going to now go wash my brain out before someone uses her to do Sweet Devil's PV or something.
Next up, the underdogs and their recent songs in a special spotlight post.
Also, a bit of news I'd forgotten to mention:
- I'm not exactly sure of the rules for it, but many nicovideo videos now stream properly and are searchable, loading substantially faster than their more recent counterparts. It seems like it happens to videos that are more than a certain age old? There isn't really any indication it's searchable until you try it, at which point you'll get a spinning loading symbol and the Nicovideo TV. In any case, it's about time.
- Here is a video of Miku performing a jingle for a news show live on air to the slightly stunned faces of all involved. Extra prizes to anyone who can tell, just from the PV, who made it.
Videos:
【MEIKO with Families】アメイジング・グレイス【Vocaloid Gospel】
Amazing Grace (Nanameue, Meiko + Ensemble, Trad.)
If you glossed over this on the ranking thinking it was just another general cover of Amazing Grace, I implore you to go take another listen to it because it's significantly and absolutely fantastic. If the frankly amazing Meiko doesn't do it for you - despite taking top billing with some of the most amazing tuning I've ever heard from her - then the second half and crescendo will. There's really nothing to describe how uplifting it is to hear a full-on acapella Vocaloid track, especially when it sounds this good. Guaranteed to bring the biggest goddamn smile to your face.
【鏡音リン】狐ノ嫁入リ【オリジナル曲】
Rain Shower, While the Sun Shines (OSTER, Rin, Big Band Ethnic Rock Opera?)
Listening to the start of this song, you would be forgiven for thinking that Oster had returned to the operatic, orchestral bent of Alice in Wonderland, but this tremendous song soon breaks its way through that misconception and into a tremendous song that completely defies description. One part eager and energetic rock track, the other traditional Japanese, the other other an operatic forte by a splendidly tuned Rin, this is a fantastically original track and a seriously good listen.
【GUMI(40㍍)】 春に一番近い街 【オリジナルPV】
The Closest Town In Spring (40m, Gumi, Pop)
Purestrain 40m back on absolutely fine form, an utterly fantastic piano-and-guitar song that's jaunty and upbeat and perfectly evokes the coming of spring. Peppered full of gorgeous solos, there's nothing I can say against this whatsoever, beyond hoping that 40m doesn't get stalked by someone recognizing the locations around his house.
【初音ミク】ひよこと天秤【オリジナル曲】
Chick and Scales (furu, Miku, Theatric)
I defy you not to smile at this track, maybe consider getting up and dancing along with it? A legitimately hilarious and wonderful video encompasses this absolutely boggling and bombastic track, confusing and wonderful in equal measure. From a kazoo-and-duck-call introduction to a Miku singing at a breakneck pace to a big band melody heavy on the tuba and drums to an energetic and exultant chorus to the entire second half of the track, words can hardly describe how much sheer fun this track is to listen to.
【GUMI】Soul Breeze【オリジナル】
Soul Breeze (Dixieflatline, Gumi, R+B)
Yeah, uh. In case you hadn't heard, dixieflatline's back. That means you should go click this right now. There's more to come from them next post, but this is their latest original, a gorgeous R+B number from an impeccably tuned Gumi. Absolutely perfect, this completely blows the competition out of the water if you ask me, a relaxing and heartwarming number and a perfect return to the rankings.
【初音ミク・巡音ルカ】アカツキアライヴァル【オリジナル】
Dawn Arrival (Last Note, Miku + Luka, Rock)
Last Note has always vaguely been on my radar as one of Luka's last bastions in terms of Vocaloid producers, and it's great to see this proved absolutely right by one of the best Miku + Luka tracks in recent memory. There's a little too much going on in the song during the mid sections, as a combination of operatic rock and guitar solos and rapidfire drums threatens to overwhelm the singers - but their encoding is really kind of unique, and I think this might be one of the best Lukas I've heard in ages. A little chipmunky at times, perhaps, especially when in a duet, but otherwise eminently solid.
【GUMI】My Colorful Confuse【オリジナル曲】
My Colorful Confuse (uramanbou, Gumi, ?!)
Some things never change; while I think uramanbou's latest track is significantly more of an acquired taste than his other recent hits, thanks to a very unusual selection of tunings and styles, it's still more than good enough to land right near the top of the post. I-I give in.
theory／164 feat.GUMI
theory (164, Gumi, Rock)
One of the big hitters of the week it came out, I have to say I didn't take to this track even slightly. It's got some nice atmosphere to it - for large potions of the song, there's a backdrop of gentle electric guitar that works surprisingly well in setting the general tone and providing a good springboard for stronger riffs and solo sections - but the track as a whole felt woefully empty and lacking in impact, and the tuning of the Gumi turns her voice into what might be tactfully called at best a severely acquired taste - and at worst one hell of a screech.
【GUMI】 5150 【オリジナル曲PV付】
5150 (devilish, Gumi, Emo Soft Rock)
This, however, is a whole lot more like it. From a well-tuned Gumi to a full-bodied rock track focusing on the soulful, gentler side of depressing emo - and still managing to stay significantly more listenable than, say, anything Coldplay's done - this track has a lot to like, and builds well towards a fantastic crescendo. Watch out for some seriously awesome bass guitar in the background from Kei Nakamura - understated and fitting the song perfectly, I nearly didn't catch it first listen.
【初音ミク】夜明けの日【オリジナル曲】
Day of Dawn (Shimo, Miku, Orchestral Electropop?)
What's with all the awesome and original songs getting shown off in today's post? Yet more in the way of strange and unusual music, Shimo's track starts off as a seriously dramatic orchestral piece, then suddenly gets enough of a backbone to pick up an eager beat and a high-quality Miku to croon along with herself in the background. Eventually, the track changes entirely, giving first Miku and then some excellent piano their own chance at a solo, before coming all together for a cheery and gleeful ending that isn't quite like anything that came earlier in the song. What a strange track.
【鏡音リン】ガラクタのエレジー【オリジナル】
Rubbish Elegy (powapowa, Rin, Drum + Bass Rock)
An interesting one, this. A strong beat underscores an otherwise fairly low-key Rin track; a slow intro consisting almost entirely of drums and bass and human percussion sl-o-w-ly starts to gain more in the way of instruments as it winds into a catchy but relaxing soft rock track. The main issue here is probably going to be the Rin encode, if anything - again with the acquired tastes, she sounds very high and young, and it makes some parts of the song perhaps suffer overly much.
【初音ミクオリジナル】 DOT adventure AGAIN 【PVつき】
DOT adventure AGAIN (effe, Miku, Chiptune Pop)
As ever, I'm a complete sucker for any song that happens to have a lick of chiptune in it. Effe's track is a eager and happy romp through all manner of glitchy, sparkly beeps and square waves, with a surprisingly sedate song lying just behind it and sung by a well-encoded Miku. The overall effect is a perky, upbeat piece of chiptune fusion that might be a little busy but might also be right up your alley. Also, that lead-out, mmm.
【GUMI whisper】glow【本気でアレンジしてみた】
glow (arranged version) (keeno, rerulili, Gumi, Pop)
I feel like I'm kind of being a grumpy old guy here by turning my mouth down into a frown at this track. Rerulili's arrange of keeno's classic Miku track, this is a curious kind of jazzy affair with some fantastic snare drums and keyboard work, with a nice sideline in woodwinds and bass. An eclectic mix, it all works very wonderfully together, but I can't help but feel it's a little busy for a song that I've always liked exactly because it's tremendously clean and clear.
【巡音ルカ】 Déjà Vu 【VOCALOIDオリジナル曲】
Déjà Vu (sat, Luka, R+B)
Bonus points for using the accent and grave properly in the title, for a start. Anyway, this is a soulful and super-crooning English track from Luka, and I think I'm prepared after a couple of listens to suggest that this might be the best english Luka voice I've ever heard. It's still kind of mealy-mouthed and you'd really have to try to work out what some of the words are if you didn't have a handy set of subtitles to hand, but her voice is strong and doesn't waver, moving smoothly from word to word without any of the usual pauses and a lot less pronounciation problems than other Luka english songs.
【初音ミクオリジナル曲】 今では 【PV】
Now (y0c1e, Miku, Electronica)
Clocking in at under two minutes, this is a bite-size little track with a lot of heart, and I'd wager it's probably the nicest and most gentle electronica I've ever listened to when the genre isn't trying to be happy hardcore and isn't trying to be some kind of club mix. It's a soft, gentle vocal-and-piano track that just happens to also have some electronic bleeps and bloops in there. How about that.
【GUMI】林檎と歯車のショーケース【オリジナル】
A Showcase of Apples and Cog Wheels (loli, Gumi, Touhou Rock)
Tremendously strong piano is the draw of this track, with a powerful chorus line and a splendid bit of fast high-energy stuff during the verses. Unfortunately, I think the rest of the track is a little marred; Gumi sounds a little off and doesn't really contribute positively to the song, while the rest of the instrumentation is either drowned out or else completely overshadowed by the stellar piano performance. On balance, I definitely think it's worth a listen, but I can't say I'm compelled to come back to it for repeat trips.
【初音ミク】ストロボナイツ - ぎんすけremix【リミックス】
Strobo Nights - ginsuke remix (Rin/ginsuke, Miku, House)
I'm deeply saddened this didn't get more hits, because I personally think it's a wonderful little remix that deserves a lot more attention than it got. Remixes of Strobo Nights aren't exactly groundbreaking, I know, but if you're the sort to like a good bit of melodic doof-doof in your life it's hard to do better than this gentle House remix of a Vocaloid classic. Quietly understated and gentle, it doesn't trample all over the original song and leaves the whole thing nicely intact, just helping the sound along here and there.
MMD/Other:
【IA・ミク】ヘッドフォンアクター×ネトゲ廃人シュプレヒコール【Mashup】
Net Game Chorus x Headphone Actor (sa, Miku + IA, Rock)
sa is still at it, producing some of the most insane and most inspired mashups around nicovideo. While I don't honestly think anything will ever beat his absolutely breathtaking version of Calc x Interviewer, this is a solid entry to his stable and a lot better than some of his other recent works. The speed of both tracks play off each other to produce a frantic, barreling ride that simply doesn't ever stop or let up. Unfortunately, the harmonize point is at 2:50, which leaves the second half of the mashup feeling a little like a let down - still, great work.
【MMD】 fix 【PV】(HD)
fix (keeno, PV: nerudora, Miku)
Speaking of keeno from earlier in the post, nerudora - maker of the incredibly detailed and high-quality glow videos featuring Miku in a recording studio - isn't content to stop there, and has moved onto doing a PV for keeno's other well-known song that's every bit as good.
【ＭＭＤ】めいきんぐ おぶ すうぱあリアルカ【モデル公開です】
Super-Real Luka MMD Model (chibideko, Luka)
A video on the making and modelling of a 'real-style Luka' MMD model. I'm not really sure what to think about this one on the whole - it's very technically impressive, and the model looks good at certain distances - check out the example videos for Departures and Irony - but there's several knocks against the model just from looking at it. For one, it looks ripped straight from FFXIII-2. For two, it's a little too far on the side of the uncanny valley for me to really like it out of hand. For three, it has teeth. That's really what does it for me. The teeth.
[PV] アンハッピーリフレイン [初音ミク]
Unhappy Refrain (wowaka, MMDPV: Thanks, Miku)
See, if you're going to do the Lat PV route, this is how you should do it. Seriously threatening the framerate of even the best PCs around, this is a jam-packed version of Unhappy Refrain with a billion effects and a lot of style.
【MikuMikuDance】Tda式初音ミク・アペンドをちび化してみた【MMD・galaxias!】
Chibi TdaMiku does Galaxias! (uhhhhhhhhhhh. uhhhhhhhhhhhhhh.)
....... well, that didn't take long at all. Recorded purely for posterity's sake, I'm going to now go wash my brain out before someone uses her to do Sweet Devil's PV or something.
Next up, the underdogs and their recent songs in a special spotlight post.