New voices, same Mku

The Miku Append was a software update that added six new voices to Miku's existing Vocaloid database, meaning that this software update won't install unless it detects that you already have Miku's first voice bank installed. Along with the software update was a new look for Miku, and it looks totally cool.

Even though it's been less than three months after the database update was released (well, technically, it was available for beta-testing for several months before its official release), there's already some pretty good songs out there. One of them comes from an artist who calls themself Captain Beefheart (I'm serious!) who made a song with a mellow drum n bass-esque song using Miku's sweet voice:



There's also another artist called bunga who's made several songs using the new Miku voices. The artist's style is more mellow than Captain Beefheart's and uses otherworldy sounds:



As for whether or not the new voices sound better when using them to say stuff in English, only time will tell. Or when I stop being lazy.
The <a href="http://www.crypton.co.jp/mp/pages/prod/vocaloid/cv01a.jsp" target="_blank">Miku Append</a> was a software update that added six new voices to Miku's existing Vocaloid database, meaning that this software update won't install unless it detects that you already have Miku's first voice bank installed. Along with the software update was a new look for Miku, and it looks <a href="http://www.crypton.co.jp/img/special/vocaloid/img_miku_append_ver03.png" target="_blank">totally cool.</a><br /><br />Even though it's been less than three months after the database update was released (well, technically, it was available for beta-testing for several months before its official release), there's already some pretty good songs out there. One of them comes from an artist who calls themself <a href="http://piapro.jp/dogbite123" target="_blank">Captain Beefheart</a> (<a href="http://itunes.apple.com/us/album/psychedelic-dream-single/id384868176" target="_blank">I'm serious!</a>) who made a song with a mellow drum n bass-esque song using Miku's sweet voice:<br /><br /><center><object height="385" width="480"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/zEXhuXmaXL0?fs=1&hl=en_US"></param><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"></param><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"></param><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/zEXhuXmaXL0?fs=1&hl=en_US" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" width="480" height="385"></embed></object></center><br /><br />There's also another artist called <a href="http://monstar.fm/bungalangit/" target="_blank">bunga</a> who's made <a href="http://itunes.apple.com/us/album/flowers/id384870531" target="_blank">several songs</a> using the new Miku voices. The artist's style is more mellow than Captain Beefheart's and uses otherworldy sounds:<br /><br /><center><object height="385" width="480"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/etclqoF3QBM?fs=1&hl=en_US"></param><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"></param><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"></param><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/etclqoF3QBM?fs=1&hl=en_US" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" width="480" height="385"></embed></object></center><br /><br />As for whether or not the new voices sound better when using them to <a href="http://dl.dropbox.com/u/1320985/Miku%20Speech.mp4" target="_blank">say stuff in English,</a> only time will tell. <a href="https://dl.dropbox.com/u/1320985/Mika.mp3" target="_blank">Or when I stop being lazy.</a>

Surprise, surprise!

Well, I guess I did have some time to spare. Go figure. Hope you have iTunes installed and ten dollars to give to Apple, since you need to download this entire album. Like, now:

I guess "Palmar Blue" sounds a lot better than calling it "The Blue Palms of the Hand" in English.

One of the reasons why I'm telling you to get this now even though this is the most expensive album on iTunes I've referred to you guys so far is that some of the songs have been fixed to sound better for this release. How much better, you ask? Well, compare the original to the iTunes one on the composer's piapro account which came out a few days after this went up on Apple's store, and you should notice that the former sounds too fast and more MIDI-like. You can also check out the original versions of the 2nd and 5th tracks of this album, and after you're done doing so, hit the preview button on the same tracks in iTunes to see how much better they sound.

The other highlight of this album is the fact it has the first original Gumi song I've heard that made me go, "Ohsnap." Seriously, it's really that hard for me to find a composer who can use her well. You want to know how bad it is? This is 1 out of 2 posts songs I can find of someone using Gumi on the HG101 blog iTunes.

Oh, did I also mention that the rest of this album is very, very good?
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhikAxi2i-IAKYAeh_AsagPhsRGBasaT_BMcFDPN_SBXJ4w6A6frhHGO9-C6avVoadLYTssJ_f3XSoZ6uXu4Qy80N65WwCVPhpjwsl9YM_-VcXmuHxZ28Bfjs4Gpr49exJxX7CZS_8baFU/s128/Dobato.jpg" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}"><img alt="" border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhikAxi2i-IAKYAeh_AsagPhsRGBasaT_BMcFDPN_SBXJ4w6A6frhHGO9-C6avVoadLYTssJ_f3XSoZ6uXu4Qy80N65WwCVPhpjwsl9YM_-VcXmuHxZ28Bfjs4Gpr49exJxX7CZS_8baFU/s128/Dobato.jpg" style="display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 128px; height: 128px;" /></a>Well, I guess I did have some time to spare. Go figure. Hope you have iTunes installed and ten dollars to give to Apple, since you need to download this entire album. Like, now:<br /><div style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiu99TR3fguZrTdqOAPmdcsgdkJ2ZUjb4ziN2p1WijuFHrnarHDCtH960ReISGWmAs1J61PgMERBGHybZVsuxMoE6ecWoqG7EP3y_oY9VFvRpxjf1Zr-ZbrGKcA18LwhODh5iZXYyxzPhMJ/s1600/Palmar+Blue.bmp" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" target="_blank"><img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5460295804235038130" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiu99TR3fguZrTdqOAPmdcsgdkJ2ZUjb4ziN2p1WijuFHrnarHDCtH960ReISGWmAs1J61PgMERBGHybZVsuxMoE6ecWoqG7EP3y_oY9VFvRpxjf1Zr-ZbrGKcA18LwhODh5iZXYyxzPhMJ/s320/Palmar+Blue.bmp" style="display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 150px; height: 150px;" /></a><span style="font-style: italic;font-size:67%;" >I guess <a href="http://itunes.apple.com/us/album/palmar-blue/id364203709" target="_blank">"Palmar Blue"</a> sounds a lot better than calling it "The Blue Palms of the Hand" in English. </span><br /><br /></div>One of the reasons why I'm telling you to get this now even though this is the most expensive album on iTunes I've referred to you guys so far is that some of the songs have been fixed to sound better for this release. How much better, you ask? Well, compare <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=l3cyT31mPyI" target="_blank">the original</a> to the iTunes one on the composer's <a href="http://piapro.jp/content/fv6bb47vw1dxh0n8" target="_blank">piapro account</a> which came out a few days after this went up on Apple's store, and you should notice that the former sounds too fast and more MIDI-like. You can also check out the original versions of the <a href="http://piapro.jp/content/9hvjyppgu1unjyds" target="_blank">2nd</a> and <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Qpi4Xp_Q7hw" target="_blank">5th</a> tracks of this album, and after you're done doing so, hit the preview button on the same tracks in iTunes to see how much better they sound.<br /><br />The other highlight of this album is the fact it has the first original Gumi song I've heard that made me go, <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=THxcSXEyqx8" target="_blank">"Ohsnap."</a> Seriously, it's really that hard for me to find a composer who can use her well. You want to know how bad it is? This is 1 out of 2 <s><a href="http://blog.hardcoregaming101.net/search/label/Megpoid" target="_blank"> posts</a></s> songs I can find of someone using Gumi on <s><a href="http://blog.hardcoregaming101.net/" target="_blank">the HG101 blog</a></s> iTunes.<br /><br />Oh, did I also mention that the rest of this <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5EfRrcDixBk" target="_blank">album</a> <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FF6wEEnJB7M" target="_blank">is</a> <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2q8Lsv8zU5Y" target="_blank">very,</a> <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=R_Oc5iwJdxc" target="_blank">very</a> <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MEhM3uHxk94" target="_blank">good?</a>

Something's wrong here...

I don't mention Miku and these blog posts are not even related to Project Diva for twice in a row, on top of the fact that I'm now going to say that this Extended Play release on iTunes is totally worth the money:


To begin with, the composer makes Luka sing in a completely fictitious language to Seiken Densetsu/Ar Tonelico-esque music. Not only that, but the composer themselves provides the chorus to some of these songs. The composer can also draw, so this person is pretty talented. So go get it.

Oh, and did I mention that all of these songs on this release can also be heard for free on their piapro account? Yeah, there definitely is something very wrong happening in this world. Or at least with me, anyway.
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhikAxi2i-IAKYAeh_AsagPhsRGBasaT_BMcFDPN_SBXJ4w6A6frhHGO9-C6avVoadLYTssJ_f3XSoZ6uXu4Qy80N65WwCVPhpjwsl9YM_-VcXmuHxZ28Bfjs4Gpr49exJxX7CZS_8baFU/s128/Dobato.jpg" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" target="_blank"><img alt="" border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhikAxi2i-IAKYAeh_AsagPhsRGBasaT_BMcFDPN_SBXJ4w6A6frhHGO9-C6avVoadLYTssJ_f3XSoZ6uXu4Qy80N65WwCVPhpjwsl9YM_-VcXmuHxZ28Bfjs4Gpr49exJxX7CZS_8baFU/s128/Dobato.jpg" style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 128px; height: 128px;" /></a><br />I don't mention Miku and these blog posts are not even related to <a href="http://blog.hardcoregaming101.net/search/label/Project%20Diva" target="_blank">Project Diva</a> for twice in a row, on top of the fact that I'm now going to say that this Extended Play release <a href="http://itunes.apple.com/us/album/leyenda-ep/id351279472" target="_blank">on iTunes</a> is <a href="http://blog.hardcoregaming101.net/2009/12/extended-play-releases-are-expensive.html" target="_blank">totally worth the money:</a><br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjb5UstSfSvLOqEnOLbwBxVijD5LuOTPvhh3XKGlOfRQ8K71KXtaImtFEN8TreI1sttQh9tag1VGDSfGa9w2pAXAvUWW6RzlEcppK7iHcS2I-R2edIafQUiNfyaUj7IoZGLFBDhPkQd_XZ7/s1600-h/Leyenda+-+EP.bmp" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" target="_blank"><img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5433146816409817122" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjb5UstSfSvLOqEnOLbwBxVijD5LuOTPvhh3XKGlOfRQ8K71KXtaImtFEN8TreI1sttQh9tag1VGDSfGa9w2pAXAvUWW6RzlEcppK7iHcS2I-R2edIafQUiNfyaUj7IoZGLFBDhPkQd_XZ7/s200/Leyenda+-+EP.bmp" style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 150px; height: 150px;" /></a><br />To begin with, the composer makes Luka sing in a completely fictitious language to <a href="http://piapro.jp/content/y9mv29lnv4cu1z5c" target="_blank">Seiken Densetsu</a>/<a href="http://piapro.jp/content/0k3ve0bal30h6gra" target="_blank">Ar Tonelico-esque music.</a> Not only that, but the <a href="http://piapro.jp/content/4ykwysmjdsl0y6as" target="_blank">composer themselves</a> provides the chorus to some of these songs. The composer can <a href="http://piapro.jp/content/5erqyzakjgslpdyq" target="_blank">also draw,</a> so this person is pretty talented. So go get it.<br /><br />Oh, and did I mention that all of these songs on this release can also be heard for free on <a href="http://piapro.jp/content/zw2b1kkc97avjc1y" target="_blank">their</a> <a href="http://piapro.jp/content/nirv1a3cstzejn5m" target="_blank">piapro</a> <a href="http://piapro.jp/content/08z7omyx3ger150i" target="_blank">account?</a> Yeah, there definitely is something very wrong happening in this world. Or at least with me, anyway.

All we gotta do...

... Is just be friends.


This song is super-catchy. And it's totally available on iTunes if you want to buy it. But you don't want to buy it, do you?
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhikAxi2i-IAKYAeh_AsagPhsRGBasaT_BMcFDPN_SBXJ4w6A6frhHGO9-C6avVoadLYTssJ_f3XSoZ6uXu4Qy80N65WwCVPhpjwsl9YM_-VcXmuHxZ28Bfjs4Gpr49exJxX7CZS_8baFU/s128/Dobato.jpg" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" target="_blank"><img alt="" border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhikAxi2i-IAKYAeh_AsagPhsRGBasaT_BMcFDPN_SBXJ4w6A6frhHGO9-C6avVoadLYTssJ_f3XSoZ6uXu4Qy80N65WwCVPhpjwsl9YM_-VcXmuHxZ28Bfjs4Gpr49exJxX7CZS_8baFU/s128/Dobato.jpg" style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 128px; height: 128px;" /></a><br /><br /><center>... Is just be friends.</center><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjxetTxTenjFsqkvJ8E-blqMEgtY6RZa-ZbN0Tz43-n1i-icFLgBfzw6ziCSNM9UnMaGYjXdGNo3e5_VbuDin_ddWCS2RCwuzFJHmzpT-UT2uNpMgkITEs2tixnlIqMShEM2SvYRGMkhyphenhyphenk-/s1600-h/Just+Be+Friends+-+EP+2.bmp" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" target="_blank"><img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5432432516213861714" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjxetTxTenjFsqkvJ8E-blqMEgtY6RZa-ZbN0Tz43-n1i-icFLgBfzw6ziCSNM9UnMaGYjXdGNo3e5_VbuDin_ddWCS2RCwuzFJHmzpT-UT2uNpMgkITEs2tixnlIqMShEM2SvYRGMkhyphenhyphenk-/s200/Just+Be+Friends+-+EP+2.bmp" style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 200px; height: 200px;" /></a><br /><br />This song is <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VoPzP-MwcLI" target="_blank">super-catchy.</a> And it's <a href="http://itunes.apple.com/us/album/just-be-friends-ep/id326428819" target="_blank">totally available on iTunes</a> if you want to buy it. But you don't want to buy it, do you?

So what were to happen if livetune never became popular?

We'd get Shake Sphere, although one would pronounce the first word of the artist's name as though it were romanized Japanese sounds (which is a kanji that refers to salmon fish), and not like this.



The cover art for this iTunes release was a quick retouch of the same image used for Sagitarius, (sic) and is one of my most played tracks for this album. However, what originally caught my eye to this artist was by stumbling accross a PV for Polaris a few months before.

Now there are a few discernible differences between kz of livetune fame and how Shake Sphere compose their songs, one of them being that the latter's music compositions sound more playful and nowhere near as depressing as the former's. Another obvious trait is that Shake Sphere tends to go easy on the voice modulation and even has Miku breathe in right before saying a set lyrics as though she was a real person in a recording room. One more difference is that kz doesn't do R&B.

So what's the verdict on this album? Well, I bought it without any regrets even though most of the songs on this album can be found through nicovideo and all of them can be found on the artist's piapro account. Also helps that Overflow (sic) sounds a lot better for the iTunes release too.
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiDOXui4fDf5WKGt26p-iMmiDU5V4AijPQhSMd9qEPT95W-QOwt7ZIR-gZU7yGDlSgrGfc2RV1V8vlCTWoHvq4dfU5UhYIclRGIFKQnqxpCJbwTC0dwyE9Lf4ClvPy_RjepAPwNCxV8gvY/s128/2009%20calander%20extra%20copy.jpg"><img alt="" border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiDOXui4fDf5WKGt26p-iMmiDU5V4AijPQhSMd9qEPT95W-QOwt7ZIR-gZU7yGDlSgrGfc2RV1V8vlCTWoHvq4dfU5UhYIclRGIFKQnqxpCJbwTC0dwyE9Lf4ClvPy_RjepAPwNCxV8gvY/s128/2009%20calander%20extra%20copy.jpg" style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 128px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 128px; CURSOR: hand" /></a><br /><br />We'd get <a href="http://shakesphere.jp/blog/" target="_blank">Shake Sphere,</a> although one would pronounce the first word of the artist's name as though it were <a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjnCX5_7Ew-4k7KWRXL5NG0ZvflMszWCs3r3mBHZZD6dOzzqAhsMdFdbuF3kY6ACbOGbrnvRMVnyVwyjniTK3TCRmLcV1hHGTuXVDhswRh9EQOP5O7_-LhfRUEiu90ejysj4cddKkcsfxg/" target="_blank">romanized Japanese sounds</a> (which is a kanji that refers to salmon fish), and not <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=axPl6SlDOJo" target="_blank">like this.</a><br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj3ovIe2JBulFQ48447F5YR-cquSXIUtI1gXZ_Qc1Wb55vIp0HBRzKFJUFVe5ZFOSK7YYhjmDzSA4kLoL53j1CKr7GVUL22f_Lwx_4RL-xncqWEVUoIhkGJ2YR1LcoQcP5TZAgSFfD3Tt7l/s1600-h/Shake+Tunes.bmp" target="_blank"><img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5423084569642159634" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj3ovIe2JBulFQ48447F5YR-cquSXIUtI1gXZ_Qc1Wb55vIp0HBRzKFJUFVe5ZFOSK7YYhjmDzSA4kLoL53j1CKr7GVUL22f_Lwx_4RL-xncqWEVUoIhkGJ2YR1LcoQcP5TZAgSFfD3Tt7l/s320/Shake+Tunes.bmp" style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 240px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 240px; CURSOR: hand" /></a><br /><br />The cover art for this <a href="http://itunes.apple.com/us/album/shake-tunes/id300841582" target="_blank">iTunes release</a> was a quick retouch of the same image used for <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eplhD_E-s8A" target="_blank">Sagitarius,</a> (sic) and is one of my most played tracks for this album. However, what originally caught my eye to this artist was by stumbling accross a PV for <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=i62z4tXoL80" target="_blank">Polaris</a> a few months before. <br /><br />Now there are a few discernible differences between kz of livetune fame and how Shake Sphere compose their songs, one of them being that the latter's music compositions sound <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Stf-NLXuPNs" target="_blank">more playful</a> and nowhere near as depressing as the former's. Another obvious trait is that Shake Sphere tends to go easy on the voice modulation and even has Miku <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7TVoFj2gRwI" target="_blank">breathe in</a> right before saying a set lyrics as though she was a real person in a recording room. One more difference is that kz doesn't do <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7fGc7Reqs_Q" target="_blank">R&B.</a> <br /><br />So what's the verdict on this album? Well, I bought it without any regrets even though most of the songs on this album can be <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Co_OoGSKB5U" target="_blank">found</a> <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jG4WRGgDKlw" target="_blank">through</a> <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qeao2Tu43yY" target="_blank">nico</a><a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YyC5B27FLlg" target="_blank">video</a> and all of them can be found on the artist's <a href="http://piapro.jp/content_list/?pid=lowgain&view=audio" target="_blank">piapro account. </a> Also helps that Overflow (sic) sounds a lot better for the iTunes release too.

The phenomenon expands even more

If we were to believe what this guy says about it anyway:

Tripshots was the last person I mentioned in my Project Diva article who has quickly become one of the prominent faces of Miku because of both his excellent 3D models of her as well as how dead serious he is about her mythos. If you checked his website at around the time I created the article, he mentions putting up music for iTunes. And they're all expensive. But they're worth it. Almost.

You can watch his promo vid for this release straight from the creator himself right here. If you want to see more complete versions of the original songs on this release, you can check them out here, here, and here.

But you know what's really interesting about Tripshots? On Christmas Eve of this year, Sega announced that this guy designed the arcade cabinet for Project Diva, which apparently will begin location testing during the middle of January. That explains why I saw a higher-quality 3D model of Miku used for both the Animelo concert and the dance choreography comparison. Guess they didn't want that to go to waste.

And it looks like Namco's going to be in trouble real soon.
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiDOXui4fDf5WKGt26p-iMmiDU5V4AijPQhSMd9qEPT95W-QOwt7ZIR-gZU7yGDlSgrGfc2RV1V8vlCTWoHvq4dfU5UhYIclRGIFKQnqxpCJbwTC0dwyE9Lf4ClvPy_RjepAPwNCxV8gvY/s128/2009%20calander%20extra%20copy.jpg" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}"><img alt="" border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiDOXui4fDf5WKGt26p-iMmiDU5V4AijPQhSMd9qEPT95W-QOwt7ZIR-gZU7yGDlSgrGfc2RV1V8vlCTWoHvq4dfU5UhYIclRGIFKQnqxpCJbwTC0dwyE9Lf4ClvPy_RjepAPwNCxV8gvY/s128/2009%20calander%20extra%20copy.jpg" style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 128px; height: 128px;" /></a><br /><br />If we were to believe what this guy says about it anyway:<br /><div style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhQKwTzaaiNdYGQYKRo1kCqn2gRX8h37-02l1rlyarRbf0j0C58w1JQ3awcmoHa6hTTmcKaZrDpJnakHz2Ol6hTPmgJ2LM6PcpRUa9PZtmQ0CuYMtYdBBG6CFZbO8KXFZARascqTfGHYYal/s320/Synthesis+-+EP.bmp" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" target="_blank"><img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5421590975725798194" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhQKwTzaaiNdYGQYKRo1kCqn2gRX8h37-02l1rlyarRbf0j0C58w1JQ3awcmoHa6hTTmcKaZrDpJnakHz2Ol6hTPmgJ2LM6PcpRUa9PZtmQ0CuYMtYdBBG6CFZbO8KXFZARascqTfGHYYal/s320/Synthesis+-+EP.bmp" style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 240px; height: 240px;" /></a><br /></div>Tripshots was the last person I mentioned in my Project Diva article who has quickly become one of the prominent faces of Miku because of both his excellent 3D models of her as well as how dead serious he is about her mythos. If you checked his website at around the time I created the article, he mentions putting up music for <a href="http://itunes.apple.com/us/album/synthesis-ep/id318788535" target="_blank">iTunes.</a> And they're all expensive. But they're worth it. Almost.<br /><br />You can watch his promo vid for this release straight from the creator himself <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yhcvQhj5PVc" target="_blank"> right here.</a> If you want to see more complete versions of the original songs on this release, you can check them out <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jNFCsJ16crc" target="_blank">here,</a> <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fVJBC4X_IMw" target="_blank">here,</a> and <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oO4tbqYkgD0" target="_blank">here.</a><br /><br />But you know what's really interesting about Tripshots? On Christmas Eve of this year, Sega announced that this guy designed the arcade cabinet for <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BNYspfOA3YI" target="-blank">Project Diva,</a> which apparently will begin location testing during the middle of January. That explains why I saw a higher-quality 3D model of Miku used for both the Animelo concert and the <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FYYUCktRgL4" target="_blank">dance choreography comparison.</a> Guess they didn't want that to go to waste.<br /><br />And it looks like Namco's going to be in trouble real soon.

Extended Play releases are expensive

This iTunes release is called Digital Colors, created by someone named yasuo:



If you can't afford it, the good news is that all of the songs here can be found on nicovideo Smile Video, so you can listen to it there if you want. Now onto the review:

First track- I prefer the translation found in that link I found since the name sounds more Touhou-ish compared to what they put in the iTunes store, as this track sounds like one anyway. The song gets bad further down because it becomes a jumbled mess of tones at that point (like how ZUN tends to do it anyway, so I can't fault the composer for keeping true to the style). In short, it sucks.

Second track- Hey, this sounds familiar... oh yeah, it was part of the Free Play list in Project Diva. Silly me. Also sounds Touhou-ish, but at least it remains focused unlike the previous track. That's probably why Sega picked it.

Third Track- Sounds like the opening song to an RPG that has lots of Blue Skies. I like blue skies.

Final Track- A nice slow-sounding track. It's like, good enough to negate the first track altogether.

Judgement: yasuo should stop emulating ZUN. Also as mentioned in the header of this post, it's kinda pricey, so you really need to either be a Vocaloid fan or have a lot of disposable income to buy it.
<img alt="" border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiDOXui4fDf5WKGt26p-iMmiDU5V4AijPQhSMd9qEPT95W-QOwt7ZIR-gZU7yGDlSgrGfc2RV1V8vlCTWoHvq4dfU5UhYIclRGIFKQnqxpCJbwTC0dwyE9Lf4ClvPy_RjepAPwNCxV8gvY/s128/2009%20calander%20extra%20copy.jpg" style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 128px; height: 128px;" /><br /><br />This iTunes release is called <a href="http://itunes.apple.com/us/album/digital-colors-ep/id316175244" target="_blank">Digital Colors,</a> created by someone named <a href="http://yasuokiba.vs.land.to/" target="_blank">yasuo:</a><br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj5v0T7iZjzENrGBYGYTr7sbv7yU4WLTwJE9SG97Dc4HHY6GSJz-tRdO7_KdfjKtrbtRi98n09GVTa4pOfYRqU-tb5mzqV-E8CvNreJyK3lZaVnff16VWYmvKm_J66it-4TLqW1K3yMZjFP/s1600-h/Digital+Colors+-+EP+1.bmp" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" target="_blank"><img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5420528397204770322" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj5v0T7iZjzENrGBYGYTr7sbv7yU4WLTwJE9SG97Dc4HHY6GSJz-tRdO7_KdfjKtrbtRi98n09GVTa4pOfYRqU-tb5mzqV-E8CvNreJyK3lZaVnff16VWYmvKm_J66it-4TLqW1K3yMZjFP/s320/Digital+Colors+-+EP+1.bmp" style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 240px; height: 240px;" /></a><br /><br />If you can't afford it, the good news is that all of the songs here can be found on <strike>nicovideo</strike> <a href="http://www.nicovideo.jp/" target="_blank">Smile Video</a>, so you can listen to it there if you want. Now onto the review:<br /><br /><a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aBfQvZsDpr8" target="_blank">First track-</a> I prefer the translation found in that link I found since the name sounds more Touhou-ish compared to what they put in the iTunes store, as this track sounds like one anyway. The song gets bad further down because it becomes a jumbled mess of tones at that point (like how ZUN tends to do it anyway, so I can't fault the composer for keeping true to the style). In short, it sucks.<br /><br /><a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jxKXfdvhuwE" target="_blank">Second track-</a> Hey, this sounds familiar... oh yeah, it was part of the Free Play list in <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6oaUXsEzL7E" target="_blank">Project Diva.</a> Silly me. Also sounds Touhou-ish, but at least it remains focused unlike the previous track. That's probably why Sega picked it.<br /><br /><a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=314qiMa3r1c" target="_blank">Third Track-</a> Sounds like the opening song to an RPG that has lots of <a href="http://www.ukresistance.co.uk/2005/11/blue-sky-in-games-campaign-launched.html" target="_blank">Blue Skies.</a> I like blue skies.<br /><br /><a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=E06nCluId1U" target="_blank">Final Track-</a> A nice slow-sounding track. It's like, good enough to negate the first track altogether.<br /><br />Judgement: yasuo should stop emulating ZUN. Also as mentioned in the header of this post, it's kinda pricey, so you really need to either be a Vocaloid fan or have a lot of disposable income to buy it.

Miku's hair can turn into wings?! Crazy.

Next up on the iTunes store is this album called haneito by someone who goes by the name of Clean Tears:

The art is so purty.

This person is also pretty important as one of their songs is the first one played during Project Diva's ending credits. How that came to be will be saved for another time; besides, this song isn't in the album anyway.

Aside from electronic pop, this person can also can churn out some really good trance music such as the first track on this album which became one of their most iconic songs. Then I was surprised by the R&B pop tracks in the album as they're not bad at all.

So what's the verdict? It's pretty good for quite a steal if you're buying it at the album price through the US iTunes store.
<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}"><img alt="" border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiDOXui4fDf5WKGt26p-iMmiDU5V4AijPQhSMd9qEPT95W-QOwt7ZIR-gZU7yGDlSgrGfc2RV1V8vlCTWoHvq4dfU5UhYIclRGIFKQnqxpCJbwTC0dwyE9Lf4ClvPy_RjepAPwNCxV8gvY/s128/2009%20calander%20extra%20copy.jpg" style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 128px; height: 128px;" /></a><br /><br />Next up on the iTunes store is this album called <a href="http://itunes.apple.com/us/album/hane-ito/id309978470" target="_blank">haneito</a> by someone who goes by the name of <a href="http://piapro.jp/bpms" target="_blank">Clean Tears:</a><br /><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjDbqYYHnNp9pEBrt-2CcPuh5a7EWgA5aczd4pDAIJeNQZ7mA21fTxyrEeFZliFLBWmZDABMDP69QNPzkjSlQNXWodWwuSZdNY0aAH5h2OJq-JxbCdj3nBvrPa9ltxZSUtdJKIkug5DCVv1/s1600-h/jacket_13.jpg" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" target="_blank"><img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5419532656707340738" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjDbqYYHnNp9pEBrt-2CcPuh5a7EWgA5aczd4pDAIJeNQZ7mA21fTxyrEeFZliFLBWmZDABMDP69QNPzkjSlQNXWodWwuSZdNY0aAH5h2OJq-JxbCdj3nBvrPa9ltxZSUtdJKIkug5DCVv1/s320/jacket_13.jpg" style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 240px; height: 240px;" /></a><span style="font-size:85%;"><span style="font-style: italic;">The art is so purty.</span></span><br /></div><br />T<span style="font-size:100%;">his person is also pretty important as one of their songs is the first one played during <a href="http://hardcoregaming101.net/projectdiva/projectdiva.htm" target="_blank">Project Diva's</a> <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=K_yXDdr5eH8" target="_blank">ending credits.</a> How that came to be will be saved for another time; besides, this song isn't in the album anyway.</span><br /><br />Aside from electronic pop, this person can also can churn out some really good trance music such as the first track on this album which became one of their <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=p0Yo3SfhaRs" target="_blank">most iconic songs.</a> Then I was surprised by the R&B pop tracks in the album as they're not bad at all.<br /><br />So what's the verdict? It's pretty good for quite a steal if you're buying it at the album price through the US iTunes store.

A tasty appetizer

As promised earlier, here's one interesting Vocaloid album found on the iTunes store:



Minato's album called Delicious can be summed up pretty much by what this reviewer said about it. So how prominent is this person, you ask? The third track to this album is found in Project Diva. You won't find this song in the Free Play list as it's one of the unused ones, but it can be played as background music in Miku's Room or can be used to create an original music video using the Rhythm Game Edit interface.

The rest of the album is a pretty good combination of fast and slow pop songs with various instruments that use either Miku or the Kagamine twins for each track. Its weakest link for me is like with a lot of Vocaloid songs I've heard, the singers at times sound a little bit too soft and tend to blend into the music. That, and the 6th track has a prominent beat in it that never really goes away and nearly drove me up a wall the first time I heard it (well, I felt compelled to drive my car into one anyway). Don't let that deter you from checking it out though. Well, don't drive while listening to this album for the first time.
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiDOXui4fDf5WKGt26p-iMmiDU5V4AijPQhSMd9qEPT95W-QOwt7ZIR-gZU7yGDlSgrGfc2RV1V8vlCTWoHvq4dfU5UhYIclRGIFKQnqxpCJbwTC0dwyE9Lf4ClvPy_RjepAPwNCxV8gvY/s128/2009%20calander%20extra%20copy.jpg" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}"><img alt="" border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiDOXui4fDf5WKGt26p-iMmiDU5V4AijPQhSMd9qEPT95W-QOwt7ZIR-gZU7yGDlSgrGfc2RV1V8vlCTWoHvq4dfU5UhYIclRGIFKQnqxpCJbwTC0dwyE9Lf4ClvPy_RjepAPwNCxV8gvY/s128/2009%20calander%20extra%20copy.jpg" style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 128px; height: 128px;" /></a><br /><br />As promised earlier, here's one interesting Vocaloid album found on the iTunes store:<br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgEnoBHCA4xMEeikYkU-qjvgYvWirvDqas1Yj_sjc94x-IPai6mbA-Ch-2SXA95_BZpaJbwI3Hgy1Y7fEmW34xAS90wJA5RLK1jAjq_grHLbrKFTek4w3TumOQUH4dyM0bh0XnlFibpDRA/s512/Delicious%203.jpg" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}"><img alt="" border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgEnoBHCA4xMEeikYkU-qjvgYvWirvDqas1Yj_sjc94x-IPai6mbA-Ch-2SXA95_BZpaJbwI3Hgy1Y7fEmW34xAS90wJA5RLK1jAjq_grHLbrKFTek4w3TumOQUH4dyM0bh0XnlFibpDRA/s512/Delicious%203.jpg" style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 295px; height: 295px;" /></a><br /><br />Minato's album called <a href="http://itunes.apple.com/us/album/delicious/id308811477" target="_blank">Delicious</a> can be summed up pretty much by what this reviewer <a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhAtjqhmuWCmSPIfkpq9KgqWs_1IgU67PLsLx8bEhDpeK8R85SczncXCh7bN_BcUYDuVw5cAbCO6mpgkYs5T4zKriQNtc2oL2qbvFaX26GD50J5U221sMZVeWI0TlRPQ2-MeNVZAHiLaRQ/" target="_blank">said about it.</a> So how prominent is this person, you ask? The <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZCnMBkzCysg" target="_blank">third track to this album</a> is found in <a href="http://hardcoregaming101.net/projectdiva/projectdiva.htm" target="_blank">Project Diva.</a> You won't find this song in the Free Play list as it's one of the unused ones, but it can be played as background music in Miku's Room or can be used to create an original music video using the Rhythm Game Edit interface. <br /><br />The rest of the album is a pretty good combination of fast and slow pop songs with various instruments that use either Miku or the Kagamine twins for each track. Its weakest link for me is like with a lot of Vocaloid songs I've heard, the singers at times sound a little bit too soft and tend to blend into the music. That, and the 6th track has a prominent beat in it that never really goes away and nearly drove me up a wall the first time I heard it (well, I felt compelled to drive my car into one anyway). Don't let that deter you from checking it out though. Well, don't drive while listening to this album for the first time.

Apple will be the death of me

I could easily sum this up with one picture, but I wanna say a few things:


No matter how much she tries, it'll never respond to her touch.

I mentioned the artist of this album you see in the photo right here, and yes, all of the songs I mentioned there are in this itunes album. There are others too, and I was pleasantly surprised by what's currently available on the US itunes store, but I'll save those for another post.
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiDOXui4fDf5WKGt26p-iMmiDU5V4AijPQhSMd9qEPT95W-QOwt7ZIR-gZU7yGDlSgrGfc2RV1V8vlCTWoHvq4dfU5UhYIclRGIFKQnqxpCJbwTC0dwyE9Lf4ClvPy_RjepAPwNCxV8gvY/s128/2009%20calander%20extra%20copy.jpg"><img alt="" border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiDOXui4fDf5WKGt26p-iMmiDU5V4AijPQhSMd9qEPT95W-QOwt7ZIR-gZU7yGDlSgrGfc2RV1V8vlCTWoHvq4dfU5UhYIclRGIFKQnqxpCJbwTC0dwyE9Lf4ClvPy_RjepAPwNCxV8gvY/s128/2009%20calander%20extra%20copy.jpg" style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 128px; height: 128px;" /></a><br /><br />I could easily sum this up with one picture, but I wanna say a few things:<br /><br /><a href="http://picasaweb.google.com/daijoubudesuka/BloggerPictures?authkey=Gv1sRgCOiL5pyRr9WuHw#5418413600939919218" target="_blank"><img alt="" border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjbaY3v4l51zbDFvRaHkYP1zIpAivmKz5OyxVdSgBut2NZExzuHqLQ2VrcC8yd1AWayyG3KRWwwVkb7SjXjtVN1tMnrA4I90YDSD00l2cPcM6OvdI4x25bIi_sYR9JMtzacT5ZKwKVcBEs/s512/_MG_2198122309.jpg" style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 512px; height: 488px;" /></a><br /><center><span style="font-size:85%;"><i>No matter how much she tries, it'll never respond to her touch.</i></span></center><span style="font-size:85%;"></span><br /><br />I mentioned the artist of <a href="http://itunes.apple.com/us/album/we-are-pop-candy-ep/id335774983" target="_blank">this album</a> you see in the photo right <a href="http://blog.hardcoregaming101.net/2009/09/i-am-late-posting.html" target="_blank">here,</a> and yes, all of the songs I mentioned there are in this itunes album. There are <a href="http://blog.hardcoregaming101.net/2009/09/so-i-guess-this-is-annual-vocaloid-week.html" target="_blank">others</a> <a href="http://itunes.apple.com/us/artist/shu-t/id317673504" target="_blank">too,</a> and I was pleasantly surprised by what's currently available on the US itunes store, but I'll save those for another post.