good shit, and what dense and extremely nuanced subject matter.
framing this around the cultural cache of men puppeting robot girls is so interesting — on one hand, there needs to be clear trepidation and care as a producer to handle all aspects of the music with care and intentionality, but on another I’m not sure if I’m 100% onboard with some men using this tool as reflection as a negative thing (not that you’re saying that outright or anything).
It feels a lot like using a woman avatar or something in a video game; it might be that embodying a person foreign to your own can help you tap into feelings that you previously couldn’t tap into before.
It might be why a lot of vocaloid tracks tend to be about adolescent pain and feeling “lost,” like the producer themselves hadn’t been able to tap into that as strongly until they started working with vocaloid as a tool.
The sinister side is absolutely there and there can be a lot of yikes heaped in for good measure by either insincere or twisted wielders of the tech, but on the most positive end of the spectrum I can see the broader movement and vocaloid as a tool itself for self-reflection and empathetic practices.
The video game avatar is an interesting point. I definitely see what you mean re. self-expression, but in those cases, any blame for character misapprioriation tends to fall on the devs rather than the player *unwanted flashbacks of the 2B wardrobe immolation mechanic* — being a producer surely carries more responsibly?
Imo the ideal headspace here carries healthy suspicion, but never to the point of being incurious — no need for bad faith for artists clearly approaching the medium in earnest!
As someone who has no real interest in or knowledge of vocaloid music, this was an incredibly interesting read and I loved every second of it. I did check out one track and was pleasantly surprised so I may try listening to the rest of it.
Thanks so much man, really glad it was worth your time! Cool that the music did something for you, would maybe rec the 2022 album over this if you want to sample a full tracklist (hits most of the same notes but is less of a overstimulated barrage lol)
I was super into vocaloid during its initial heyday, circa 2009-2012-ish. What I found striking (and icky) back then was how so many of the songs were explicitly about how the Voca girl herself wanted to leave the computer and become a real person, so she could be with some nameless anata/kimi, presumably either the listener or the producer, or both. It's one reason why I appreciated Deco*27's lyrics so much (and still do, tbh), because he ignores that concept completely and I never got the impression in his early work that the vocaloid was anything other than a tool to channel all that unexpressed adolescent angst (this has changed somewhat as he puts out more hyper-suggestive songs).
Fast forward to about 4 months ago when I decided to make an effort to see what was up in the Vocaloid world, which involved listening to the "top 50 Vocaloid songs of all time" playlist on Youtube and can be fairly compared to sending your ears through a rusty blender. Inabakumori stood out instantly as an artist I was previously unfamiliar with and who made tunes that weren't awful, and I've had Lagtrain in my rotation ever since. But even as I eventually found all the newer hidden gems and lurked on the vocaloid subreddit (don't) this issue you're raising kept bothering me, so I like your breakdown here and pretty much agree although nengmengcha's comment also resonates with me.
One of the big ones that I keep coming back to from the "new" (as in newer than 13 years old at this point) stuff is wowaka's work, in particular the absolutely bonkers Another Mother Goose. I haven't read the lyrics TOO closely but first impression is that they sit on that fence between personification of the vocaloid as puppetry and as an expression of the tortured poet shtick. Anyways it's one of my favorite voca songs at the moment if you haven't heard it. Whatever producers are doing nowadays with the maximalist hyper pop is just fucking awful and I miss the more indie pop sound of the first wave lol.
good shit, and what dense and extremely nuanced subject matter.
framing this around the cultural cache of men puppeting robot girls is so interesting — on one hand, there needs to be clear trepidation and care as a producer to handle all aspects of the music with care and intentionality, but on another I’m not sure if I’m 100% onboard with some men using this tool as reflection as a negative thing (not that you’re saying that outright or anything).
It feels a lot like using a woman avatar or something in a video game; it might be that embodying a person foreign to your own can help you tap into feelings that you previously couldn’t tap into before.
It might be why a lot of vocaloid tracks tend to be about adolescent pain and feeling “lost,” like the producer themselves hadn’t been able to tap into that as strongly until they started working with vocaloid as a tool.
The sinister side is absolutely there and there can be a lot of yikes heaped in for good measure by either insincere or twisted wielders of the tech, but on the most positive end of the spectrum I can see the broader movement and vocaloid as a tool itself for self-reflection and empathetic practices.
The video game avatar is an interesting point. I definitely see what you mean re. self-expression, but in those cases, any blame for character misapprioriation tends to fall on the devs rather than the player *unwanted flashbacks of the 2B wardrobe immolation mechanic* — being a producer surely carries more responsibly?
Imo the ideal headspace here carries healthy suspicion, but never to the point of being incurious — no need for bad faith for artists clearly approaching the medium in earnest!
giving hugh the ability to add images to reviews is either the best or worst thing to have happened to music criticism ever
jk, excellent stuff, much to consider, many thoughts
As someone who has no real interest in or knowledge of vocaloid music, this was an incredibly interesting read and I loved every second of it. I did check out one track and was pleasantly surprised so I may try listening to the rest of it.
His whole body of work is incredibly consistent. It’s also perfect rainy day music imo
Thanks so much man, really glad it was worth your time! Cool that the music did something for you, would maybe rec the 2022 album over this if you want to sample a full tracklist (hits most of the same notes but is less of a overstimulated barrage lol)
What a weird and wonderful world we live in
Great piece about a whole movement I had no idea existed, fantastic writing
I was super into vocaloid during its initial heyday, circa 2009-2012-ish. What I found striking (and icky) back then was how so many of the songs were explicitly about how the Voca girl herself wanted to leave the computer and become a real person, so she could be with some nameless anata/kimi, presumably either the listener or the producer, or both. It's one reason why I appreciated Deco*27's lyrics so much (and still do, tbh), because he ignores that concept completely and I never got the impression in his early work that the vocaloid was anything other than a tool to channel all that unexpressed adolescent angst (this has changed somewhat as he puts out more hyper-suggestive songs).
Fast forward to about 4 months ago when I decided to make an effort to see what was up in the Vocaloid world, which involved listening to the "top 50 Vocaloid songs of all time" playlist on Youtube and can be fairly compared to sending your ears through a rusty blender. Inabakumori stood out instantly as an artist I was previously unfamiliar with and who made tunes that weren't awful, and I've had Lagtrain in my rotation ever since. But even as I eventually found all the newer hidden gems and lurked on the vocaloid subreddit (don't) this issue you're raising kept bothering me, so I like your breakdown here and pretty much agree although nengmengcha's comment also resonates with me.
One of the big ones that I keep coming back to from the "new" (as in newer than 13 years old at this point) stuff is wowaka's work, in particular the absolutely bonkers Another Mother Goose. I haven't read the lyrics TOO closely but first impression is that they sit on that fence between personification of the vocaloid as puppetry and as an expression of the tortured poet shtick. Anyways it's one of my favorite voca songs at the moment if you haven't heard it. Whatever producers are doing nowadays with the maximalist hyper pop is just fucking awful and I miss the more indie pop sound of the first wave lol.