Oh Man Vocaloids
UHM THIS IS FOR MEGHAN REALLY BUT UHM. I guess if anyone else wants a fast and loose primer to Vocaloids then here you go?
And it seems all my Vocaloid icons were in the ones that expired sooooo. Accept a non-related icon.
So, Vocaloids and where to start. Pretty much tossing their name into youtube will result in a ton of crap, some good, some bad, some random dubs and so on. It's a bit tricky. One excellent place to start is the Vocaloid Tv Trope page. The various crowning pages and nightmare fuel and character pages give tons of suggestions with links.
When it comes to the separate Vocaloids themselves, the fan followings vary and thus the attention and number of songs they get varies. Also despite Vocaloids having a bad reputation from being super autotune-y and mechanical, put any of them in the right hands and you get something really special.
That said, with Vocaloid 3 coming out soon and I=Fantasy from the newest member, SeeU, being so goddamn amazing, expect a huge difference in the songs that will be coming out. Most Vocaloids are going to be getting an upgrade to that vocal engine when it's out properly.
Some Vocaloids also have what are called Appends which basically is an upgraded vocal bank with more options for the voice range and stuff. If you see a song with Append listed, it means it comes from that. Miku and Len&Rin got them, with others getting them as well like Gumi and Kaito.
There are popular names out there that do a lot of good work with Vocaloids. You'll run into names like wowaka, DECO*27, CosMo, Haru-P, 40mP, Akuno-P, and so on. The Vocaloid Wiki is actually pretty good for listing the most popular producers of songs and their works.
Almost everything is on Nico Nico Douga, which is sort of like a Japanese youtube but more of a community feel for people who sing and write songs and all that. It requires registration which you can probably figure out from a quick google. A lot of the people who do the work for the PVs also post their work on pixiv and you'll probably want an account there, too.
With all that at your disposal, you should be able to navigate around pretty well. So with that part done, I am going to toss some songs around because they're delicious and it's fun.
Rin & Len Kagamine
Daughter of Evil & Servant of Evil are two big ones which tell Rin and Len's sides of the same story. As far as I know those are the only 'official canon' parts of the story, though fanon wise Message of Regret sung by Rin and Re_Birthday sung by Len are considered the third and fourth parts of the Evil series. There are several other songs that have been written for that verse featuring various other vocaloids but it's pretty much ever expanding, so.
Meltdown sung by Rin is another classic.
Melancholic also by Rin is incredibly catchy and fun. A bit of a typical Vocaloid song in a good way.
Back into Rin and Len sets of songs, we have an oddly titled series. They're actually sequels to Nitrobenzene and Benzene but most people don't really remember those songs. You don't really need them but they built up a sense of absurd nothingness that gets torn down in these songs. Antichlorobenzene from Rin and Paradichlorobenzene from Len. Chaotic and depressing!
Gakupo
In general he doesn't get used a whole lot and I don't listen to him much. That said! Madness of Duke Venomania is pretty brilliant. It's part of a series of songs based in the seven deadly sins. This one is Lust and you can, well, really tell. It also features Meiko, Luka, Miku, Gumi and Kaito. Note that Daughter of Evil from Rin is the Pride song of the series but since it also has it's own series I put it up there.
For his vocals sounding at their best, I suggest Breathe where you'll remember he's based in Gackt pretty quickly.
As far as I know there's no translation for Monochrome Film but it's pretty damn catchy. A bit pop-rock.
Gumi
I love Gumi best so uh. Ahem.
Coward MontBlanc was the first song I heard of hers. Catchy and pretty damn depressing. It's followed by Mozaik Role in which starts the trend of Gumi have a lot of personalities and a fondness for scissors. It's a direct follow-up to Coward MontBlanc and you can see it pretty well in the PV.
As an excellent introduction to the concept of the Nico Nico Chorus, I present the chorus version of Mozaik Role. Basically these are real, random people singing the songs, sometimes as a project together, sometimes someone else finds them and arranges it, a cut/copy/paste chorus. Almost every vocaloid song has multiple chorus versions and it's pretty much it's own thing.
Speaking of Gumi and personalities, Ten-Faced is brilliant and frantic. It also has an excellent chorus version that just nails the multiple personalities.
Panda Hero is a really weird song but has the typical bouncy, energetic sound Gumi gets. Also a very fun chorus to sing.
On the even more hectic side, there's Matroyshka featuring Gumi and Miku getting unhinged. And if you want a great song for a lot of people losing it, The Chorus of Chorus version features about 152 people singing it.
Campanella is much softer and calmer. It's also incredibly sad. The Nine Person Chorus is an even bigger tearjerker.
Cut-Off Line returns Gumi to scissors and keeps the sadness. Her voice sounds especially great here.
That person has actually done a few great Gumi songs:
Sunny, Then Cherry Blossoms
The Dream Map
Eyesight Test
The Promised Seed
Really, check out 40mP in general. Up there with wowaka and DECO*27 easily as far as handling Vocaloids well and making amazing songs.
Dystopia Jipangu is a recent hit that gets back to the energy and rock tilt that Gumi tends to get.
Grid Heart is another new one that I'm rather fond of.
Poker Face is not a cover of Lady Gaga but rather a rock song that happens to share the same name.
I have to include Just a Game on the basis that Gakupo and Gumi have a connection - Gumi considers him her older brother - but they rarely feature in songs together. A slow beginning but ends up as a nice dance between their voices.
[un]Certain Happiness has a more techno beat that fits nicely with the natural autotune of vocaloids.
Carnival gives rock and unhinged Gumi, so what more could I ask for?
Marygold deserves a spot for just being a good use of her voice and pretty.
As does Final Letter and The Last Revolver (which was also created by the same person who did the Evil and Sins series).
Alice Take 2 is a very mellow, surreal song and gorgeous. It's a good one to end Gumi's spam section end.
Synchronicity Series
Looking for You in the Sky
Paradise of Light and Shadow
Featuring Len, Rin, Miku and Luka mainly, this is a three part series which isn't done but is pretty well regarded for the story. This one gets a special mention mostly for just being so damn popular.
As far as other series go! I would recommend Miku's Disappearance series for a very depressing look at the concept of a vocaloid and also has an unbelievable Chorus version which in some ways is sad given the song.
And I could probably do a million more recommendations if you want. So uh yes. Enjoy the world of Vocaloids!
And it seems all my Vocaloid icons were in the ones that expired sooooo. Accept a non-related icon.
So, Vocaloids and where to start. Pretty much tossing their name into youtube will result in a ton of crap, some good, some bad, some random dubs and so on. It's a bit tricky. One excellent place to start is the Vocaloid Tv Trope page. The various crowning pages and nightmare fuel and character pages give tons of suggestions with links.
When it comes to the separate Vocaloids themselves, the fan followings vary and thus the attention and number of songs they get varies. Also despite Vocaloids having a bad reputation from being super autotune-y and mechanical, put any of them in the right hands and you get something really special.
That said, with Vocaloid 3 coming out soon and I=Fantasy from the newest member, SeeU, being so goddamn amazing, expect a huge difference in the songs that will be coming out. Most Vocaloids are going to be getting an upgrade to that vocal engine when it's out properly.
Some Vocaloids also have what are called Appends which basically is an upgraded vocal bank with more options for the voice range and stuff. If you see a song with Append listed, it means it comes from that. Miku and Len&Rin got them, with others getting them as well like Gumi and Kaito.
There are popular names out there that do a lot of good work with Vocaloids. You'll run into names like wowaka, DECO*27, CosMo, Haru-P, 40mP, Akuno-P, and so on. The Vocaloid Wiki is actually pretty good for listing the most popular producers of songs and their works.
Almost everything is on Nico Nico Douga, which is sort of like a Japanese youtube but more of a community feel for people who sing and write songs and all that. It requires registration which you can probably figure out from a quick google. A lot of the people who do the work for the PVs also post their work on pixiv and you'll probably want an account there, too.
With all that at your disposal, you should be able to navigate around pretty well. So with that part done, I am going to toss some songs around because they're delicious and it's fun.
Rin & Len Kagamine
Daughter of Evil & Servant of Evil are two big ones which tell Rin and Len's sides of the same story. As far as I know those are the only 'official canon' parts of the story, though fanon wise Message of Regret sung by Rin and Re_Birthday sung by Len are considered the third and fourth parts of the Evil series. There are several other songs that have been written for that verse featuring various other vocaloids but it's pretty much ever expanding, so.
Meltdown sung by Rin is another classic.
Melancholic also by Rin is incredibly catchy and fun. A bit of a typical Vocaloid song in a good way.
Back into Rin and Len sets of songs, we have an oddly titled series. They're actually sequels to Nitrobenzene and Benzene but most people don't really remember those songs. You don't really need them but they built up a sense of absurd nothingness that gets torn down in these songs. Antichlorobenzene from Rin and Paradichlorobenzene from Len. Chaotic and depressing!
Gakupo
In general he doesn't get used a whole lot and I don't listen to him much. That said! Madness of Duke Venomania is pretty brilliant. It's part of a series of songs based in the seven deadly sins. This one is Lust and you can, well, really tell. It also features Meiko, Luka, Miku, Gumi and Kaito. Note that Daughter of Evil from Rin is the Pride song of the series but since it also has it's own series I put it up there.
For his vocals sounding at their best, I suggest Breathe where you'll remember he's based in Gackt pretty quickly.
As far as I know there's no translation for Monochrome Film but it's pretty damn catchy. A bit pop-rock.
Gumi
I love Gumi best so uh. Ahem.
Coward MontBlanc was the first song I heard of hers. Catchy and pretty damn depressing. It's followed by Mozaik Role in which starts the trend of Gumi have a lot of personalities and a fondness for scissors. It's a direct follow-up to Coward MontBlanc and you can see it pretty well in the PV.
As an excellent introduction to the concept of the Nico Nico Chorus, I present the chorus version of Mozaik Role. Basically these are real, random people singing the songs, sometimes as a project together, sometimes someone else finds them and arranges it, a cut/copy/paste chorus. Almost every vocaloid song has multiple chorus versions and it's pretty much it's own thing.
Speaking of Gumi and personalities, Ten-Faced is brilliant and frantic. It also has an excellent chorus version that just nails the multiple personalities.
Panda Hero is a really weird song but has the typical bouncy, energetic sound Gumi gets. Also a very fun chorus to sing.
On the even more hectic side, there's Matroyshka featuring Gumi and Miku getting unhinged. And if you want a great song for a lot of people losing it, The Chorus of Chorus version features about 152 people singing it.
Campanella is much softer and calmer. It's also incredibly sad. The Nine Person Chorus is an even bigger tearjerker.
Cut-Off Line returns Gumi to scissors and keeps the sadness. Her voice sounds especially great here.
That person has actually done a few great Gumi songs:
Sunny, Then Cherry Blossoms
The Dream Map
Eyesight Test
The Promised Seed
Really, check out 40mP in general. Up there with wowaka and DECO*27 easily as far as handling Vocaloids well and making amazing songs.
Dystopia Jipangu is a recent hit that gets back to the energy and rock tilt that Gumi tends to get.
Grid Heart is another new one that I'm rather fond of.
Poker Face is not a cover of Lady Gaga but rather a rock song that happens to share the same name.
I have to include Just a Game on the basis that Gakupo and Gumi have a connection - Gumi considers him her older brother - but they rarely feature in songs together. A slow beginning but ends up as a nice dance between their voices.
[un]Certain Happiness has a more techno beat that fits nicely with the natural autotune of vocaloids.
Carnival gives rock and unhinged Gumi, so what more could I ask for?
Marygold deserves a spot for just being a good use of her voice and pretty.
As does Final Letter and The Last Revolver (which was also created by the same person who did the Evil and Sins series).
Alice Take 2 is a very mellow, surreal song and gorgeous. It's a good one to end Gumi's spam section end.
Synchronicity Series
Looking for You in the Sky
Paradise of Light and Shadow
Featuring Len, Rin, Miku and Luka mainly, this is a three part series which isn't done but is pretty well regarded for the story. This one gets a special mention mostly for just being so damn popular.
As far as other series go! I would recommend Miku's Disappearance series for a very depressing look at the concept of a vocaloid and also has an unbelievable Chorus version which in some ways is sad given the song.
And I could probably do a million more recommendations if you want. So uh yes. Enjoy the world of Vocaloids!