me: *reads someone’s interpretation of a character* me: they’re so wrong….. me: [at dinner] they’re so wrong… me: [trying to sleep] they’re so wrong…. me: [in the bathroom] they’re so wrong…. me: [breathing] the y RE So W rONg
I understand that there are a lot of people who legitimately just aren’t informed, since the nature of Vocaloid is such a complex thing that makes it hard to describe in one paragraph, but it just really irritates me when I see people pass off Vocaloid as “some early weeb thing” or “something people only like for a cute moe girl”. And I’m not going to lie, a lot of Vocaloid’s popularity (and, generally, how people get into it) has to do with the picture of the anime-styled characters, and there is indeed a fanbase that’s dedicated to the characters, making headcanons and fanart and even ships. But its purpose was for popularity. That’s not what the phenomenon actually is.
Vocaloid is an indie music community. At its core, that’s what it is. It’s deeply entrenched in Japanese media, and it uses false voices instead of real singers, but in effect, it is nothing more than an indie music community. The songs aren’t released en masse by some phantom company to make the characters popular; they’re made by individual producers making their own music and their own style, all around the world. I have to emphasize that “all around the world” part; the collective understanding of Vocaloid and its fanbase has caused me to have more communication with non-English speakers in one year than I had in 15.
one of the most criticisms vocaloid receives is the question how is vocaloids different from idol music with autotune plastered all over it and I wrote this song in order to provide my answer to this question.at least I wanted to show that such songs like these can come from the vocaloid music, that unlike the popular music where marketability cannot be ignored, vocaloid genre is where you can really practice the music that you want.
in that stream of thought, this song is a song with sole emphasis on artistic value ignoring any marketability or popularity. It is a 16 minute song depicting a person’s life through change in season and time in 4 different phases, and in accordance with the nature of the song almost all the instruments in the world was used and thus is very grand.
And even if you’re doing mainstream-style songs, which aren’t to be downed either (especially as their rate is increasing lately with more fledgling producers wanting to try their hand at music they like), the beauty of it is that you can buy a Vocaloid for around $170-200 (depending on which you buy), install it in your computer, and start making Vocaloid songs now. You don’t need to have connections to find a good singer with the time and ability to work with your style. You can make songs hoping to advance your career and move on as soon as you’ve found a niche and secure singer, like how ryo of supercell made Vocaloid songs until he became a huge name in J-pop. Or you could already be an established producer in the industry who’s using Vocaloid to do music on the sides, like kaoling (Ohkoshi Kaori, currently a producer for Kantai Collection), who was a game producer before she made songs like One Who Falls at the Name of God. It’s accessible music-making, for anyone, in control of anyone, and what’s more you have an audience that will be willing to give your work a try because they recognize something in it.
When people go to Vocaloid concerts to see the projected character singing prerendered vocals, they’re not stupid; they know the character is fake and isn’t making any “effort” in singing. They’re there because they like the illusion. Even if they’re not consciously thinking it, they like this collective entity of a character that had its image created collaboratively by independent musicians, artists who wanted to illustrate those musical themes, and other kinds of artistic expressionists who contributed. It’s the realization of the phenomenon in an almost tangible form. So when I hear people dismiss it as “just a cute, fake voice and some catchy songs”, that’s when I - as both a fan and an occasional producer - feel bothered. You don’t have to like it or get into it; I get it if it’s not within your tastes, but at least please have some respect for the people who work hard within it.
once i was riding a rollercoaster at universal studios and it required you to pick a song to listen to on the ride. the only song i knew was bring me to life. there was a really gradual ascent to its highest point and the really quiet part of the song was playing. all i remember besides being scared shitless is that right before its drop that was literally just straight down, i heard “(WAKE ME UP) WAKE ME UP INSIDE” and then it dropped and i just screamed
i hit my coworkers shoulder lightly and he was like “you’re going to make me cry like a girl” and i was like “what’s wrong with being a girl?” and he was quiet for a moment then he looked into the distance and whispered “the social standards they’re forced to live by”
About two days ago, one of my cats got sick. I took her to the vet and they told me to expect at least 400-500 dollars of fee. And I went to a new vet for a free first examination, so I really tried not to spend too much money. The vet said she had a fever and that could be induced from either bacterial infection or by her swallowing something she isn’t supposed to. I got her fluid injection and other shots, but I couldn’t do everything the vet recommended due to my financial situation. I’m a college student and I’m broke. I rarely have food to eat and I recently (as in a couple weeks ago) got disowned by my mother. My father is bankrupt in another country. Thankfully, the tuition was paid before I got disowned, so I am still able to attend and graduate this year, hopefully. This isn’t to say that I have no ways of financial means– I do have a job. I work at school, with work-study program. I am still a full-time student, so I only earn just enough to feed myself and my cats. I know some of you would be asking why I even have cats to begin with if I can’t even take care of them… I have a lot of issues… I have anxiety attacks and I deal with depression and bipolar depression on daily basis. The cats are my only source of sanity. They bring me joy to my depressing little life, and helps me keep going. I did save one of my cats from getting killed by the shelter, because he was “too much work” for them.
Anyways, this morning, I noticed that my other cat (in the picture) was getting sick as well. I was cleaning out the litter box and saw that he had a bloody stool. I’m going to a different vet this time, again for a discount on the vet visit, but I am absolutely terrified of the costs and the health of my cat. I don’t know if I will be able to afford to keep them healthy. This particular one hasn’t been growing lately– for a 7 month cat, he looks only about 4 months old from how small he is. I was getting concerned, but after seeing his bloody stool, I was terrified.
With everything going on in my life, I really need financial support. I was hoping you could donate some amount of money– even $5 would help.
My paypal is chelim201@gmail.com
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Please, please help me.
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