“On the count of three, dance til' you drop dead!” Song title: Konton Boogie Producer: jon-YAKITORY Voicebank: Hatsune Miku Mood: mischievous, bouncy, spooky Why you should listen: get down with a quick, chaotic boogie. Content warning: flashing

If I could be a comet | Harumaki Gohan feat. Hatsune Miku

Song title: Ali Baba Producer: Hiiragi Kirai Voicebank: Kasane Teto Mood: adventurous, coy, mystical Why you should listen: took a few listens to really get into this, but now i can’t get enough of the unconventional sound and HK’s teto tuning.

kafu kamitsubaki and solaria eclipsed sounds

Neru - イドラのサーカス(Idola Circus) feat. Kagamine Rin

hatsune miku

“Let’s drown in the night without balking.” Song title: Hungry Ruber Producer: koyori

Voicebank: Hatsune Miku Mood: haunting, mischievous, delightful Why you should listen: koyori’s lush instrumentation and playful (maybe slightly sinister) melodies are magical.

Redire | Balloon feat. v flower

mikuuuuuu my best friend mikuuuuuuuuuu

“If you didn’t meet me…” Song title: Taxy Producer: Chinozo Voicebank: KAFU Mood: snappy, cool, disgruntled Why you should listen: sure, the song is super catchy. but i also clicked on the video bc i’m very weak to characters in suits.

Android Girl by DECO*27 is, in a weird way, kinda the definitive Miku song for me. That might be controversial given like... World is Mine and Melt and Miku Miku Ni Shite Ageru and Miku Anamanaguchi exist, but I feel like Miku has absolutely grown into something beyond what those songs alone convey.

For starters, just on an aesthetic level, Android Girl is about an android girl. Obviously there's symbolism to that and whatnot but it immediately touches on the fact that Miku is a software; herself, an "android girl" in a way.

But obviously the song isn't really about an android girl as much as Tokyo Teddy Bear isn't about a literal plush toy. Android Girl seems to be depicting some type of troubled relationship dynamic, and this is kinda one of the things I personally associate with Miku as a comparative newcomer to the fandom: dark meaning hidden beneath a cute anime aesthetic. What Android Girl does is manage to balance the appeal of "dark undertones" and "cute anime aesthetics" all tied with a very Vocaloid-adjacent software-flavored bow of sorts. The MV displays this balance expertly, in my opinion:

It's cute and expressive while still having a muted color palette (notably punctuated by jarring pinks and reds which only further evoke that feeling of passionate emotion in a bleak situation) and soulless, suffocating backgrounds; you could simultaneously believe this was just a cute song about a robot girl, which is evocative of older depictions of Miku, AND that there's something a bit darker beneath this. The key here is also that it doesn't swing too far in either direction: "this song is about a troubled relationship" isn't as dark as something you'd find in an average Kikuo song but it's also a few steps beyond Miku singing about vegetable juice or being the princess of Earth.

Sonically, it's a fairly typical DECO*27 song, but one has to remember that DECO*27 is an absolute titan of a vocaloid producer whose sound may as well be synonymous with Miku herself.

Now I definitely wouldn't say it's my favorite Miku song by any means, hell I don't think it even makes my top 50 and it's not even my favorite DECO*27 song, but it's definitely a song I find extremely synonymous with the appeal of Hatsune Miku in the current day, and it fills all of the Miku-shaped holes in my heart all at once. Android Girl may not be the greatest or most influential Vocaloid song, but I definitely find it to be a fascinating product of so many different aspects of Vocaloid simultaneously that I think it's always gonna be one of the first songs I personally think of when I think about Vocaloid.

Today’s featured song is: “Coward Mont Blanc” by DECO*27 featuring Gumi!

just some pracice

Song title: BadBeat

Producer: NOY Voicebank: Gekiyakuβ Mood: energetic, contemplative, exhilarating Why you should listen: if you’re searching for that hiiragi magnetite/tsumiki cool and catchy vibe, look no further.

Miku