Okochama Sensou (Children's War) - Giga-P

Handy YouTube link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pywNi6gD1FA&src_vid=Tl3vBeuyZ3Q&feature=iv&annotation_id=annotation_1724896357

Okochama Sensou, or "Children's War" if you prefer the English title, is a song that's upbeat to the max.

 

Sweet Art Link: http://i1.ytimg.com/vi/wSZbbFQBGdE/maxresdefault.jpg

How upbeat is it? Well, whenever I write these reviews, I always listen to the material while composing my thoughts. However, this song was just so insanely catchy and distracting, that I got absolutely nothing down that made any sense whatsoever.

Of course, just being catchy and distracting doesn't make a song good. A good majority of the songs that are popular in the USA right now (2014) are catchy as all hell and get stuck in my head for hours...but that doesn't mean they're good. I often find myself grinding my teeth, trying to get those infectious beats out of my head so that I can get work done.

Children's War is not one of those. Though I can really get into the solid bass line and top-notch tuning of the Kagamine twins, the tune never attaches itself to my mind for very long. I know that the definition of a "catchy song" contradicts what I just said, but screw it. Any song that engages me while I'm listening to it, and leaves me alone when I'm trying to concentrate is a good song in my book.

I haven't really gone over the song itself in any sort of detail yet, so before I digress again on some other wild tangent, lets start the review. Giga-P is a producer who I've not had the pleasure of listening to before. He sings (and pretty well too), makes covers of other songs using Rin and Len, and creates original compositions like the song I'm talking about right now. He's not world-class by any means, but I enjoy his work.

Children's War, in my opinion, sells itself with the tuning. Rin and Len are portraying children in a very juvenile quarrel. They go back and forth, mocking each other in a no-holds-barred elementary school style one-up contest, each trying to out perform the other. While its stated in the beginning that they are the heirs to a wealthy family, the object of their fight isn't really clear until the middle-end. I figured that they were just typical siblings competing over who can eat the most, or be the fastest to the car or whatever. At the end though, we find that they're competing over who can be the most polite. The irony is stunning and it brought a smile to my face.

Oh yeah, back to the tuning. It really sounds like a brother and sister yelling at each other. By nature, the higher registers of Rin and even Len sound harsh without expert tuning skills, but in this song, that actually fully works to the song's advantage. Kradness did a cover of this song, and while I LOVE his voice, for the meaning of the lyrics, I'd still have to choose the original.

The music is pounding. Fantastically so, I might add. However, a lack of a real tune drops my rating for this song. It has clear, crisp beats for the verses, and a high-intensity electro-fest for the refrain (as is the norm for pop songs these days), but not a lot of variety or originality. A song doesn't need to be original to be good, but originality is definitely a plus that I'm always looking for.

7/10

A solid listen for anyone trying to stay awake or in the mood for some loud, upbeat, pulse-pounding Vocaloid music.

Until next time!

ROCK ON, FELLOW VOCALOCONNOISSEURS!

REMIX/COVER SPOTLIGHT: Kradness's Senbonzakura

Senbonzakura. That's another song I don't have to review. Its quite the masterpiece (9/10) that needs little introduction. I don't believe its creator, Kurousa P needs any intro either...that man is a true genius. Cantarella, Risky Game, Crescent Moon, the list goes on.

Because of its extremely upbeat and infectious tune, Senbonzakura has become one of the most heavily remixed Vocaloid song on YouTube. Naturally, the amount of mediocrity is quite high, but many remixes bare listening to.

If you feel in the mood for a remix with some good drops, check out - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2JY44KrrHpY

However, this post is to highlight a WAY ABOVE AVERAGE remix/cover by Kradness - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=daybRF2pcmA

Kradness has made many covers to the world of Vocaloid through Nico Nico Douga, but none (as far as I've listened) can even compare to the pulse pounding, blood boiling, adrenaline fest that is Kradness's Senbonzakura.

Yeah...so...for me to make a REMIX/COVER SPOTLIGHT on a song, the only rule is, it needs to be better than the original IN MY OPINION OF COURSE!

ROCK ON FELLOW VOCALOCONNOISSEURS!

MMD - A New User's (Bad) Tutorial

Isn't it great when programs are free?

In the world of animation and design, only those with deep pockets can acquire the best software (unless of course you decide to traverse the high seas if you know what I mean).

Of course, freeware does exist legally on the internet, and the Vocaloid scene is no exception. Don't have $200 to blow on a voice bank? Download an UTAU! With some correct tuning and lots of practice, UTAU can sound more realistic than even premium Vocaloids. Need a studio software to record and produce music? Plenty exist, and a free demo for FL Studios (a great music creation software) is available to tinker around with.

In fact, Miku V3 English comes with her own studio free of charge! Isn't that nice.

http://piapro.net/vocaloid/mikuv3e.html

...

So you have your newest track, complete with some seriously wicked UTAU tuning, and now you want to create a PV for it? Well I suppose it is important to beef up your emotional song with some touching visuals of everyone's favorite twin drill rocking pink haired singer!

Well...what options do you have, really? Unless you're quite the accomplished animator, you're likely wanting a quick and easy program that doesn't look like complete crap.

In that case, you might want to try...

MMD or Miku Miku Dance!

MMD is a freeware program that allows you to import different 3D models of your favorite characters, and make them get down and funky. I believe the program itself, upon download, comes prepackaged with Miku only, but its been awhile since I've used MMD for anything serious.

Upon opening the program, you're greeted with a very beginner unfriendly interface. Also, unless you have the Japanese language pack installed (PC users), some of the buttons and text will look like it came out of some crazy hacker's behind.

So naturally, the first thing to do is to hit all the buttons. You can move Miku around, bend her joints, and view her from ANY angle of your choosing.............please restrain yourself. I know what you just did.

At this point, unless you're completely new to the MMD scene, you've likely seen the many fan creations out there. From different Vocaloid costumes, to Hetalia, to even YouTube star Pewdiepie, a myriad of different models exist to suit your fancy...and its free!

So you have the program, installed the Japanese language pack, and have a collection of great models. Time to make your creation COME ALIVE!!!

...

Two hours later:

Yeah. Its not the easiest thing.

Alright, the main purpose of this post was to talk about the merits of MMD as a program, not provide a handy tutorial. I'm not the best at MMD after all. actually really terrible.

So!

MMD, known as Miku Miku Dance, was created by Yu Higuchi in early 2008. Its a freeware program as I stated above, and IT SHOWS. Oh jeez. Believe me, it shows.

MMD itself is not a bad program by any stretch. For a free software, its actually quite robust and allows for many modifications via separate downloads. Of course, being free, anyone can use it, everyone can use it, and EVERYBODY DOES...or at least it seems that way sometimes.

Aside from a few really good videos, YouTube is completely covered in a slimy layer of mediocrity when it comes to MMD.

However, can you really blame the public for not using MMD for its original purpose? Its not easy to make really clean looking music videos, so why not make stupid crap like:

http://www.youtube.com/results?search_query=pafu+pafu&sm=3

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tRJNgq3An8o

More akin to YouTube Poop than anything else, these videos define idiocy...

and I love them. Don't judge.

So overall, MMD as a whole is a fantastic resource. Its free for those who are poor, law abiding citizens, and who are ambitious. Unfortunately, its also free for those who want to abuse our eyes, but hey, what do you expect, really.

ROCK ON FELLOW VOCALOCONNOISSEURS!

WHAT IS UP WITH THE HATE ON: Ryo

First: the controversy. I've noticed that for the most part, the English speaking Vocaloid fan base is split between "Ryo is a genius!" and "Ryo is a terrible producer!"

My opinion is a bit more in the gray area...but before I get into that, its important to know more about Ryo and Supercell as a band. Supercell was formed in 2007, not under some huge production label, but as an independent group. Its worth noting that while Supercell contains 11 members, Ryo is the only one who directly manipulates the music. The other 10 are artists, designers, and photographers.

While Ryo has worked with many female singers, his debut album (just named "Supercell") featured Hatsune Miku as the lead (and only) vocalist. From this one HUGELY SUCCESSFUL album, we get such legends as "Love is War", "Black Rock Shooter", "Melt", and "World is Mine". However, is Ryo really deserving of all the praise he gets? Are his songs really deserving of so much acclaim?

Yes...and no.

I'll talk about the good first. Ryo follows something I like to call "Supercell Syndrome". Many other Vocaloid producers also seem to have Supercell Syndrome, but there is no better example than its namesake. Ryo's Miku album is not the best by any stretch, but neither is it bad. In fact, among all Supercell songs ever made, only one would score a 10 on this blog. However, (and here's where Supercell Syndrome comes in) he has yet to put out, in my opinion, a song I don't like. Sure some of them are mediocre, but all of them are worth listening to! Its quite amazing in that respect. Other extremely popular and mainstream producers such as 40mp, kzLivetune, and even the BRILLIANT Wowaka all have a song or two I can't stand.

Some people don't like how quite a few of Supercell's songs sound alike.

Alright. There are some producers such as UtataP, AVTechNO!, and Kikuo who put out both clean sounding emotional songs and drop the dirtiest wubs ever heard in Vocaloid, but they are few and far between. Ryo is a one man operation for the most part, and light rock is what he knows best. To be fair, he puts out some of the best sounding pieces in his niche.

Also, even if you don't like World is Mine, or even hate it, at least give it the respect it deserves. In America, the place where we have to import all our CDs, manga/anime, and T-shirts, World is Mine played on a car commercial which broadcasted nationally. If there has ever been a Vocaloid track to bridge the Pacific, it would have to be Supercell's most famous song.

...but then again, I wish that song WASN'T World is Mine. Now, I know I said Supercell is genius in my World is Mine review. However, I didn't specify HOW he is a genius. When it comes to songs, he knows what the people want as is evident from his enduring fame. Aside from that, I believe hes genius for a certain song...and just one song in particular.

Usotsuki No Parade or Parade of Liars.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iuilbq3j8T8

So Supercell doesn't mix it up. So he isn't always the most innovative force in the Vocaloid community. SO WHAT? Usotsuki No Parade is the BEST example of taking something that you're good at (light rock for Ryo) and polishing it beyond measure. This is the track that would score a 10 which I talked about above.

Usotsuki No Parade is crisp, energetic, catchy, and the lyrics are compelling (especially the last two lines: "I love you, so please, just die.") Its pretty much the quintessential angry breakup song, and it works fantastically.

Now, back to World is Mine. Its a good song...and I can never hate it because it got me interested in Vocaloid, but I don't love it either. I say its a good first song, because its harmless, well known, and cute. Melt might push the HFT (high frequency tolerance), Usotsuki No Parade might scare with the meaning...what I'm trying to say, is that if there was ever a "rated G" song with some spunk and energy intact, World is Mine is a solid choice.

Other than that, for a song talking about being a "princess", its surprisingly lacks the instrumental backup to push through the strong lyrics. It seems much more minimalist than other Supercell works...which simply isn't true, the repetitiveness of some parts conveys this. This isn't one of those songs that should be minimalist by the way.

So, overall, do I think Ryo and Supercell should be the most mainstream and popular thing out there?

No.

Supercell is genius. I like the group, I like Melt, I like Black Rock Shooter, I love Usotsuki No Parade the most, and World is Mine is a meh pass.

Honestly though, based on sheer merit alone, Supercell should not be at the top. They're a good band with solid releases and catchy tunes, but the lack of variety is still a thing despite all my attempts to ignore it. I expect that many people hate on Ryo because he's stealing the spotlight from artists such as Wowaka and Kikuo who are much more versatile.

Its honestly the same in the American Pop scene right now, and believe me, its not going to go away if the last few years were any sort of trend setter.

Ryo sticks with the basics. Drums, guitar piano ect...its the instruments that we all know and love. They are safe picks. He may not be the most original, but nobody can deny that his skills with these instruments are some of the best around. These skills really shine when he does collaborations with other artists, namely Jin (Sky of Beginning) and kzLivetune (Kotchi Muite Baby). Those works were much better than anything the parts could do on their own in my opinion.

Ryo, Supercell, just keep doing what you do.

Lets keep the hate at a minimum please! There are many Supercell supporters, and plenty Supercell detractors. It all boils down to opinion. Even though I may disagree with some people's opinions, its great to know that there are those out there who are getting involved, discussing, debating, and seeing each other's points of view. That's why I hate flame wars. Nothing gets accomplished and everybody ends up angry (except the trolls but that's a different story).

ROCK ON, FELLOW VOCALOCONNOISSEURS!

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.

-

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...

-

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.

-

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.

-

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.

-

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!