Knife - Powerchord-P

This is definitely a song that has less of a following than the others I've reviewed so far.

In terms of pictures, I was only able to find a few, and this is the best one:

Link to the fabulous art: http://i1.ytimg.com/vi/AAXeyvyrGF0/hqdefault.jpg

Handy YouTube Link: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AAXeyvyrGF0

Knife was created in February 2010 by Powerchord-P. Before stumbling across this little gem of a song in the depths of the album "Vocalonexus", I had never even heard of Powerchord-P.

For some reason, though, Knife is on iTunes in case you want to go out and support. Seriously. What's up with that? I'm happy that Powerchord-P (who in my opinion is a fine producer) is on the American iTunes, but what about people like Nem and 40mp? There are whole lists of LEGENDARY producers who aren't represented.

But...I digress.

Knife is a song that tackles a subject that both adults and children (teens especially) can relate to...growing up. More specifically, the question of dreams over responsibility. There's no doubt that having outlandish dreams is and will continue to be a hallmark of childhood. However, what happens to all that ambition once we're faced with the harsh reality of supporting a family among other expenses and crippling occupational stress?

Well, that doesn't happen to everyone, but its natural to experience some measure of reality check in the awkward transition from child to adult. While Knife does seem a bit cynical at times, its message is global as it deals with a subject that affects everyone regardless of race, status, or location: aging.

The music is tight with some upbeat guitar and drum action. Its honestly pretty standard and nothing to write home about. However, what is really interesting is the tuning of Luka.

Luka is a very underrated V2 voice bank. Her voice is richer than most give her credit for, and while she can't sound nearly as cute as Miku, for Knife, few Vocaloids could have been more fitting.

The refrain is where this song really shines. I thought Luka's scratchy voice-break-prone upper register sounded very desperate at first, and it fit in well enough with the lyrics, but on subsequent listens, it began to seem a bit more like nervous excitement.

I'm sure Powerchord-P did not plan this...its pretty hard to predict the emotions of your audience after the first listen, but if it was planned...Knife is completely genius. Just like how a teenager may look back at dwindling youth with dismay and regret, an adult well into life may be both nostalgic and excited for the future. Its a very nice outlook on life disguised in a depressing package.

It gets better...right?

Of course, there are many other interpretations of Knife's meaning.

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The Rating

7/10

I can't help but take the instruments and synthesizers into account more than the lyrics when giving a song a rating. Its called "music" after all, not "poetry".

The actual instruments were used only as an energetic backdrop to the real star of the show: Luka's voice. The difference between the smooth verses and the excited refrain was really apparent and provided the much needed variety in the musical score.

I don't usually talk about lyrics, but I think I shall be doing more of that in the future. It makes for a fuller and more interesting review for one.

Also, I've decided that I'm only going to review the lesser known Vocaloid songs. After I just made fun of Cantarella's video last post, I found that its much easier to write a sizable review on a song that I know a large number of people haven't heard (comparatively). But of course, right?

Until next time!

ROCK ON, FELLOW VOCALOCONNOISSEURS!

Cantarella - KurousaP

Oh man. Cantarella. Is there anything bad I can say about this song that won't have fans all over me?

Link to the amazing art (whoever did this, NICE JOB!!!): http://i99.beon.ru/anime-pictures.net/pictures/get_image/70881-1200x900-cantarella+%2528vocaloid%2529-vocaloid-hatsune+miku-kaito-fujie.jpg

Handy YouTube Link: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=h3U-IGxt_qU

Anyway, Cantarella is one of those songs that everybody has heard. It was made in early 2008 by extremely popular Vocaloid producer KurousaP. This man is amazing. I bought his album recently, Kimi no Iru Keshiki and I don't at all regret it. His violin work in Cantarella especially is what makes this song so iconic as few other Vocaloid songs can stand up to THIS CLASS.

Oh yeah, and a real alive singer named Gomu did a cover of this. Its damn good. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ij3Ka3VGSfE

I'm pretty sure you know what I'm going to say now. Its great! Its a great song!

The Rating

9/10

There you go. I mean, the violin is the PERFECT touch, and it has a very grand ballroom type feel with a beat encouraging a feeling of some urgency, but in a more graceful way. Its a weird classical/pop mix that somehow creates something beautiful that only KurousaP can really pull off (so I've heard so far). I'm always keeping my eyes and ears peeled for the next Vocaloid sensation.

So yeah.

Time to talk about the video.

The first video I posted...I find it half hilarious, half scary.

Taken out of context (ignoring the lyrics), the video starts with establishing shots of Miku and Kaito, our two characters, in their everyday environments. Normal.

Suddenly, Kaito has on this FABULOUS outfit in Miku's room in the middle of the night. WTF.

I can't get over Kaito's outfit. Its just so incredibly flamboyant. At 0:43 in the video, right after Miku wakes up and sees this strange man over her bed, Kaito strikes the best pose. I know its supposed to be serious, but its just too good.

Anyway, I'll make sure to review a song next time with a little more substance that I can talk about. If a song is perfect, it makes for a boring review I guess.

ROCK ON, FELLOW VOCALOCONNOISSEURS!

Lynne - Hachi

First, a little background on the alleged "Lynne Disease". Instead of typing it all out...I'll just give you the WikiAnswers definition: http://wiki.answers.com/Q/What_is_Lynn_Disease#slide1

This is pretty much the only definition I can find, and besides from being far from scientific, this definition can't even decide on how to spell "Lynne". That's pretty damn bad.

Handy YouTube Link: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vYzwznQbPGg

Link to some fantastic albeit disturbing art: http://i.ytimg.com/vi/vYzwznQbPGg/0.jpg

As you can probably guess, we're diving into the unstable realm of Vocaloid horror. I happen to enjoy a bit of horror now and then in my music, but unlike love songs which are quick to make and relatively hard to screw up if you're reasonably talented, horror is touchy and very hit or miss.

For a producer to make a niche in horror is a dangerous undertaking indeed. While there are some psychological elements to horror in which we can all relate, the fear of the unknown is what gives some of the best scary flicks their thunder. In that way, a mediocre horror movie automatically becomes reviled or worse, falls quickly into oblivion. However, unlike a movie, the common song is about 4 minutes. That's 240 short seconds to convey a certain feeling.

As any frequent theater or movie goer will tell you, its a much simpler job to make an audience go "Aw, that's so cute" then to be genuinely disturbed. So as genres go, I believe horror is one of the hardest to successfully pull off.

These days, the common reaction to having watched a scary movie is "Wow, that was dumb". Its a fact that for every movie that gives me some serious nightmares, there are about a hundred that would leave me laughing. Also, the reason some horror elements no longer work is because they've already become cliched. Every generation will have a harder and harder time scaring a more prepared set of people. A tactic which caused grown men to wet themselves may be considered cheesy today even by younger children.

...So where am I trying to go with all of this?

Meet Hachi: a Vocaloid producer whose music I am quite fond of. Probably his most notable work was on the song "Matryoshka" which is a true Vocaloid classic. Most of his songs have some sort of horror element, and for the most part, I find them enjoyable. Its nothing that's going to keep me up at night, but it provides that creepy chill anyway.

Lynne is a Hachi song. Now remember when I said horror is hit or miss? Yeah...sorry Hachi, but this is a miss.

Lynne isn't a terrible song...but its seriously flawed.

A common tactic I find among Vocaloid producers to create a creepy atmosphere is to dump a whole bunch of odd synthesizers together which somehow work on a different level. I've tried walking around with a few of these, notably Kikuo's "Ten Sho Sho Ten Sho", and it throws my balance off. It's a very satisfying feeling. Lynne tries this method and it fails terribly. The beat and the synth just don't mesh up like they should and when the words come in, the cacophony retreats to the background. Now, instead of being muddled, its just boring.

Boredom is the worst fear of any horror show director.

Lynne DOES manage to create an interesting story, and the music does end up working...but on a non-horror level which means the writing isn't backed up at all by the instrumentals.

I hate to cut into a Hachi song, but this really isn't his best work. The sad part is, I know Hachi can pull off the desperation tactic in a song because I've heard it many times in his works.

Anyway...

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The Rating

5/10

A very mediocre grade for a very mediocre song. There was effort, don't get me wrong, but nothing seemed to click. The concept was cool, but wasn't executed properly. The story was compelling, but the music didn't match.

...Yeah, I pretty much said the same thing three times, but that's pretty much all I CAN say. Miku's tuning was alright (for a horror song), and overall, there wasn't really anything that made me want to whip my headphones across the room...but there was nothing to keep them on my head either. Nice try, Hachi, but I think I'll stick with your "In a Rainy Town, Balloons Dance with Devils" for my daily dose of creepy.

ROCK ON, FELLOW VOCALOCONNOISSEURS!

Fire◎Flower - Halyosy

Here I go reviewing another extremely popular song. "VOCALOID Legend" is a title proudly bestowed on those videos that receive upwards of 1,000,000 views on Nico Nico Douga (Japan's YouTube equivalent). Fire Flower is one of those songs.

Handy YouTube link: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=myEsj-qf73A

Link to the fantastic art: http://static.zerochan.net/Fire.Flower.full.787617.jpg

First off, I must give props to Halyosy. I seriously respect this man for his talent. Not only has he produced very nice sounding music, but that's not even his primary contribution to the world of arts. He is what you might call a cover artist, singing the vocals for other people's songs.

Take a listen. His voice is damn sexy. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CcSWPYKMc9o

So is his singing on par with his composition skills?

Um...well, you can't really compare the two...but...

Alright. My opinion on this song: straight up, its okay.

What I'm trying to say here is that I like it, but its forgettable. The song has got solid Len tuning, a nice albeit generic story built into the lyrics, and some sick guitar action...but nothing here is too fresh or different. Not like you have to be unique to create good music. Its a fine contribution to the Vocaloid genre, but I can't say I jumped on the hype train surrounding this song.

The first time I heard this song, I admit I didn't care much for it. However, the more I listened, the more I realized what a well produced piece this was. The thing is, is that every time I come back to it, I have to discover the charm all over again. Nothing about it sticks in your head for very long which is a shame because quite a few of Halyosy's song covers are VERY catchy.

One of the most enjoyable parts of the song occurs at 3:05 in the video I posted. That guitar solo just jumps out at me whenever I listen to it.

Normally I would give a more in depth review but this song is just so...meh...that I've already run out of material.

Well, I could talk about Len's voice. The quality seems a bit inconsistent throughout but the times where his voice sounds fairly realistic and crisp are plentiful. When he yells out "Like a Fire Flower..." is the best moment in the song. The tuning never dips down into dirt quality, but ONCE AGAIN, LIKE THE REST OF THE SONG, it's very uninteresting. Overall, the times where his voice sounds fuzzy and kind of off are infrequent and not a big deal.

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The Rating

6/10

Fire Flower is a popular song. I don't see why. The voice and lyrics have power behind them, but the music doesn't do a good enough job backing them up. The guitar is awesome and the tuning is alright, but otherwise there isn't anything to note.

There isn't anything bad that just jumps out at me, but there's nothing really good that stands out either.

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ROCK ON, FELLOW VOCALOCONNOISSEURS!

Bad∞End∞Night - Hitoshizuku-P and Yama

This is an interesting one. Upon hearing the song for the first time, the aspect that really popped out at me was how many voices were present. In fact, there are EIGHT, once again, EIGHT Vocaloids singing this song! Very few songs have more than two or three, and eight is just straight up...um...odd.

Hatsune Miku, both of the Kagamine twins, Luka, Gumi, Gakupo, KAITO, and MEIKO  are here and all of them have a distinct role in the story of Bad∞End∞Night. Eight (well technically seven since Rin and Len come from the same voice bank) different programs are hard to manage at once, and it could potentially lead to some garbled products.

So did it? Did Hitoshizuku-P pull it off?

She did. It's damn good.

Handy YouTube link: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jQih8wmIn_M

Link to the fantastic art: http://static.zerochan.net/Night.%E2%88%9E.Series.full.922503.jpg

Okay, lets forget for a second that there are actually singers in this song. Just listen to the instrumentals. It's definitely not a pop beat we're hearing here. As you might have guessed from just reading the title of the song, Bad∞End∞Night tells a relatively creepy story.

There's a whole world of Vocaloid horror out there, and I'll be reviewing a few of those in the near future, but I digress. Bad∞End∞Night is one of those songs that conveys a very light and enjoyable feeling of fear. The music is upbeat when appropriate and it feels like its building up to some kind of climax...which it is. During the chorus, I felt like I was in a middle of a very classy ball and when the different verses hit, it was as if I stepped out of the party and into some dark room of the house I wasn't supposed to be in.

This is a good thing, since the story is pretty much just that.

Now lets address the EIGHT Vocaloids. EIGHT! SERIOUSLY! YOU THINK THAT'S ENOUGH? Vocaloids are very expensive. Even off Japan Amazon, the newest ones with the works price in at about $200. To buy EIGHT is ridiculous...but then Hitoshizuku-P had popular hits before Bad∞End∞Night, so that might explain her huge collection.

However, with that out of the way, I could scrounge up some money and buy EIGHT Vocaloids myself if I wanted to. Of course, I don't because I would suck with them. It takes a certain person to operate with that many voices. Its not like a human choir where each member is capable of learning and adapting to different situations. You have to tell each Vocaloid exactly what to do and when which I assume took a hella long time.

I've heard WAY MORE than my fair share of bad songs with just Miku where it sounded like the producer forced her to sing at gunpoint. How Hitoshizuku achieved such crisp tuning is truly a stroke of brilliance.

I'm not going to go into the story. That's something you have to experience for yourself. If I had to sum up the plot behind Bad∞End∞Night in one word, it would have to be...intriguing. It's definitely not a tear-jerker or a jump-scare horror, or a story that will make you sick to your stomach.

To be honest looking at the song as a whole, it gives me the weirdest "secret agent" vibe which I find very enjoyable.

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The Rating

8/10

Come on. EIGHT Vocaloids and it actually works very well? Instant 5. Add some classy instrumentals and a compelling story and I gotta bump it up to an 8...

BUT WAIT!

Bad∞End∞Night has two sequels! How they hold up?

All of them in one video: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PRfPe9zVlOo

Crazy∞Night is the next song and its tone is still light and upbeat, but the pace is much more frantic and desperate.

It all leads to Twilight∞Night. Twilight∞Night is crazy. It took the desperation in Crazy∞Night and multiplied it. I thought I had reached the climax at the end of Bad∞End∞Night, but I was wrong.

Twilight∞Night starts off with a very creepy and somber sounding lamentation of a girl wondering how she's going to get home. Then the music fades out and I'm wondering "What happened to the classy jazzed up feel of the other songs?" Suddenly all that and more explodes into reality and everything works.

That video link I posted is probably the best way to get a full scope of the build among all three songs.

Crazy∞Night gets a 8/10 alone

and

Twilight∞Night gets a 9/10 alone

However, as a group, if I count them all as an 11 minute song, I gotta give it a 10/10. It's the perfect example of show don't tell through music. The voices (ALL FREAKIN EIGHT OF THEM) help to bring out the mood, but overshadowing that is the music which, I feel, tells the best story.

Oh yeah, and all three have kick-ass music videos, but this review has gone on long enough.

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ROCK ON, FELLOW VOCALOCONNOISSEURS!

Meltdown - iroha

Straight after Kokoro, we have another famous Rin Kagamine song: Meltdown. Its worth noting that while I credit iroha for making the song, it was KUMA who wrote the lyrics. I'm honestly not very familiar with KUMA, but the lyrics fit very nicely with the music so the duo did a good job collaborating.

Meltdown is another great song for people just starting to listen to Vocaloid music since its such a well known classic compared to other songs.

http://vocalife.files.wordpress.com/2012/03/rin_meltdown.jpg - Wicked Crazy art.

Here's the song link:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oN1oJdCv2SE - Meltdown

The lyrics are very interesting and definitely have a double meaning going for them. However, with my mere elementary understanding of the Japanese language, I generally decide what Vocaloid songs I like based more on sound than on words. Still, its nice when a song makes me think, and after reading into the meaning of this song, I did have to stop for a moment.

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The Rating

8/10

Don't hate me, all you people who really love this song. Let me assure you that I think this song is very deserving of its popularity. Its just a little...um...simple? Okay, that's the wrong word. Iroha as a musician creates a lot of songs that sound a bit like Meltdown (such as "moon": review coming soon). The fact is, is that iroha doesn't like to make songs very complicated. The simplicity of Meltdown actually works VERY well in its favor and its catchy factor is what got it the 8 rating.

I wouldn't be a Vocaloid Connoisseur if I gave every song 10/10 of course! Its just that no part of Meltdown really makes me stop and say "WOW! I gotta hear that again!" Take Kokoro for instance. Every time the chorus hits, I get those chills that just scream: "DAMN, THAT'S GOOD!" Overall, a solid contribution to the world of Vocaloid by iroha.

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ROCK ON, FELLOW VOCALOCONNOISSEURS!

Kokoro - Toraboruta-P

(I don't own this pic, but its just so damn nice! Image from:  いそう凪)

Well, if I didn't review Kokoro, this wouldn't be much of a Vocaloid Connoisseur's blog would it? First of all, if you haven't heard this masterpiece, I would immediately.

Are you an emotional person? Did you cry when Bambi's mother died? If so, I would recommend you grab some tissue.

Rin and Len's mixed Kokoro with English Sub - ココロ - HQ -

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MKv7cw_Z1P4

So yeah. What can I say about this song that isn't already in the YouTube video comments? "I cry every time".

Okay, so I never cried when I watched the video, but I definitely believe that it deserves the praise its gotten over the years. The version I linked above is actually the Rin/Len version. There is one with only Rin, one with only Len, one with Miku, one with pretty much everyone. It's popular so there are plenty of fan dubs if that's your thing. I've listened to quite a few, and I think the Rin/Len version is the best...but you may disagree with me. I know people who like the Rin only better. Just personal opinion I suppose.

This song is about a lonely scientist who creates a robot...actually, just watch the video. I know from experience that just letting somebody watch the thing has a much more profound impact than telling them the story without them having heard it. So yeah, once again, if you haven't, watch the video.

So on to the music. I absolutely LOVE the stylistic touches Toraboruta-P put into this song. (BTW, the "P" after a composers name stands for "producer", as in, someone who produces original music.)

The song is essentially sung by a robot, so the synthesized voice really brings out the true character and makes it more engaging. This is a good example of a song that pretty much no human could sing better than the Vocaloids.

Kokoro is filled with machine sounds. Not like an urban city or anything, but clean sounding synthesizer noises carried along by a steady beat. Overall, it just gives a feeling of sterility as well as emotion. This duality is what defines a robot with a heart. Its that contradiction that makes the story so sad yet so happy.

Plus, I gotta say, for V2 Vocaloid, I can really feel that emotion from the voices. Not every producer can get down that cry in Rin/Len's voice that is present in Kokoro.

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The Rating

10/10

I honestly won't hand out 10s very often. It just happened that I felt like reviewing a classic today. To be perfectly fair, I didn't "hand out" a 10 to Kokoro. That song really PROVED itself worthy of that 10. The story is engaging, the singing is great, the beat is tight and consistent, and the melody fit well with the atmosphere of the song. Any complaints with this song would just be nitpicking for me, and I know a fair amount of listeners regard this song as their favorite.

This song isn't my number 1 by the way. It's definitely up there in the top 20, though not in the top 10.

Still, well played, Toraboruta-P, well played.

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ROCK ON, FELLOW VOCALOCONNOISSEURS!

Nyanyanyanyanyanyanya! - Daniwell

If you've been chillin' around the internet for the past few years, you've probably heard of "Nyan Cat" or the "Poptart Cat". If you haven't for whatever reason, I'll give you the basic lowdown. "Nyan" is the Japanese equivalent of "Meow" as in the sound that a cat makes (duh). The Nyan Cat internet meme features a poptart with the head, arms, legs, and tail of a cat, shooting a rainbow from its butt and flying through space while an endless and catchy loop of the word "Nyan" is repeated over and over. Needless to say, its amazing...or annoying. Depends on your high frequency tolerance or HFT

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QH2-TGUlwu4 - Nyan Cat

BTW...the thing about the HFT...I made it up...but still, its important as A LOT of Miku songs are very high pitched.

Unfortunately, most of the people who hear and enjoy the Nyan Cat meme in America don't know that it was originally a Hatsune Miku song.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=c7wUuQnKTno - A slightly jazzed up version of the original

The poptart cat version is actually UTAU Momo Momone

An UTAU if you don't know, is the freeware version of Vocaloid. There are many different characters, each with their own voice banks, but don't expect the quality of the synth to be anywhere equal to a Vocaloid which costs generally around $200. Then again, many people enjoy the sound of UTAU better. It's all a matter of taste. I suppose I'll talk about some UTAU songs in the future too!

Anyway, I decided I'm going to rate the songs I discuss. THIS RATING IS BY NO MEANS OFFICIAL! THIS IS MY OPINION!

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The Rating

5/10

Nyanyanyanyanyanyanya! is catchy, cute, and makes on hell of a viral video, but when it comes down to substance, this song is pretty much lacking in every category. Still, this song doesn't pretend to be serious...and its not. It's fun to listen to and it must have been fun to make. Daniwell is a great producer who has made THE CUTEST songs, some of which are fantastic from a musical standpoint as well as the "fun" standpoint.

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ROCK ON, FELLOW VOCALOCONNOISSEURS!

Levan Polkka - Otomania

The title isn't really the most accurate thing. Otomania made the most famous version: LEEK SPIN FTW! However, it was first a Finnish song, made in the 1930s. Levan Polkka was later revived by Loituma: a Finnish band. There are plenty of leek spin parodies to this music all over YouTube. I almost don't even need to post a link, but I'll do it anyway.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kbbA9BhCTko - Levan Polkka - Miku

With a catchy beat, cute animation, and...um...catchy beat...

um...

Well, its a classic, and a song that many people listen to without knowing that Miku sings it.

Not really much to say. I'll let the YouTube artists speak for themselves.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ggw6lk2PmMg
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=B-N1yJyrQRY
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_6gVE9Uov2A

AND MUCH MORE!

World is Mine - Supercell

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EuJ6UR_pD5s - Here's your handy YouTube link, first of all ^_^

Okay. World is Mine. Pretty much one of the most, if not THE most well known Hatsune Miku song of all time. Seeing that this song was actually featured in an American Toyota commercial...

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UaA2liN9LKM - Miku Toyota Commercial

...I'd say its gone a long way. This song was created by Supercell: A Japanese band headed by song writer Ryo. This man is a genius by the way, pumping out HUGE hits like "Love is War", "Melt", and "Black Rock Shooter" (which I'll be talking about in future posts).

Anyway, back to World is Mine. To be honest, it was my first Vocaloid song, and I recommend it to anyone as their first as well. It gives a great view of Miku for somebody who has just heard of her. She's a tsundere (for lack of a better word) little diva who demands a certain standard from her boyfriend. That kind of personality is a popular archetype, especially in anime, and hooks in the listener. Of course, Miku's personality isn't always like that if the snooty annoys you. Since she isn't technically a real person, producers with their own visions are constantly changing her image. That's part of what makes Vocaloid such an adventure!

Welcome to the All-About-Vocaloid-Music Blog!

Welcome to the Vocaloid Connoisseur's Blog! You don't need to know much about me, only that I LOVE Vocaloid music. I listen to all kinds of different genres, but Vocaloid is my passion. It's because the singing synthesis program can be used by all kinds of people with many different styles, so the poor but extremely talented can get themselves a singer for a fraction of the cost of a real one. Vocaloid seems so fresh, and is without a doubt, every genre since the types of producers that actually make the songs are so diverse.

In this blog, I'll be discussing some of my favorite songs, and posting new discoveries that I make!

I hope to make this blog something avid fans and curious musical connoisseurs alike can enjoy!