PSotD - Monochrome Ride

Title: Monochrome Ride
Composer/Artist: かめりあ (Kameria)/Hatsune Miku
Album: TRIPPERS
Year: 2011
Notes: A very sci-fi feel.
Links: DDL from MikuDB.

PSotD - 愛言葉

Title: 愛言葉(ai kotoba) (sasakure.UK Sweets Remix)
Composer/Artist: DECO*27/Hatsune Miku feat. mirto
Album: 愛迷エレジー (Aimai Elegy)
Year: 2010
Notes: No life is complete without listening to DECO*27 songs. He produces catchy pop and electro-pop tunes, and his songs usually makes the listener feel happy and cheerful. DECO*27 is pretty good looking and cute. :3

DECO*27 at an interview/radio show.

DECO*27 is quite a handsome man.

Links: DDL from MikuDB.

Can you take the leek?

Random Wiki Article - List of Unusual Deaths

I have, on the random occasion, sat and pondered about how I would die (assuming that Jehovah's day doesn't come before then), and I wondered that after I died how many people would be bothered to come to my funeral, not that I really want one to be held in my name. I personally don't find it appealing nor worth the trouble for others to summarize my uneventful life.

I'd imagine whether I would die from some incurable sickness, purely from old age, some traffic accident, overdose in caffeine, a heart attack, or maybe choking on my food. This afternoon, one of my friends posted in his news feed the following link to the Wikipedia article on a list of unusual deaths. This article kept me entertained for almost one hour.

It turns out that people have died from:

• choking on a piece of hair while drinking milk;
• a combination of indigestion and uncontrollable laughing;
• attacked by a Cassowary;
• a broken neck when the owner's long scarf got caught in the wheels of a car;
• two strokes after reading a negative premature obituary of himself;
• drank himself to death with carrot juice;
• alcohol intoxication after immersion for twelve hours in a bathtub filled with 40% ethanol.  It was believed that she had immersed herself as a response to the SARS epidemic;
• collapsed of fatigue and died after playing the videogame StarCraft online for almost 50 consecutive hours;
• drowned after his kayak was capsized by a swan, which then proceeded to block him from escaping to shore.

So, how will you die?

PSotD - Rachmaninoff's Piano Concerto No. 2 in C minor

Title: Piano Concerto No. 2, Op. 18 Mvt. 1 - Moderato

Composer: Sergei Rachmaninoff
Performed by: Chicago Symphony Orchestra
Conductor: Fritz Reiner
Piano: Arthur Rubinstein
Year: Composed 1900-1901

Notes: The Piano Concerto No. 2 in C minor, Op. 18, is a concerto for piano and orchestra, composed by Sergei Rachmaninoff between the autumn of 1900 and April 1901. The second and third movements were first performed with the composer as soloist on 2 December 1900. The complete work was premiered, again with the composer as soloist, on 27 October 1901, with his cousin Alexander Siloti conducting.

This piece is one of Rachmaninoff's most enduring popular pieces, and established his fame as a concerto composer. he opening movement begins with a series of bell-like tolling on the piano that build tension, eventually climaxing in the introduction of the main theme.

In this first section, the orchestra carries the Russian-character melody while the piano makes an accompaniment made of arpeggios riddled with half steps. After the statement of the long first theme, a quicker transition follows until the more lyrical second theme, in E flat major, is presented. The agitated and unstable development borrows motives from both themes changing keys very often and giving the melody to different instruments while a new musical idea is slowly formed. The music builds in a huge climax as if the work was going to repeat the first bars of the work, but the recapitulation is going to be quite different.

While the orchestra restates the first theme, the piano, that in the other occasion had an accompaniment role, now plays the march-like theme that had been halfway presented in the development, thus making a considerable readjustment in the exposition, as the main theme, played by the orchestra has become an accompaniment. This is followed by a piano solo, which leads into a descending chromatic passage and concluding with an eerie french horn solo. From here the last minutes of the movement are placid until drawn into the agitated coda, and the piece ends in C minor fortissimo.

Quotes from Max Harrison's "Rachmaninoff: Life, Works, Recordings" and Geoffrey Norris' "The Master Musicians: Rachmaninoff"

Sergei Rachmaninoff (1873 - 1943)

PSotD - St. Matthew Passion BWV 244

Title: St. Matthew Passion BWV 244 (German: Matthäus-Passion)

Composer/Original Artist: Johann Sebastian Bach

Year: Composed 1727

Notes: This is a sacred oratorio for solo voices, double choir and double orchestra. The conductor is the Belgian Philippe Herreweghe.

Links: More information about the piece.

PSotD - 六花の琴

Title: 六花の琴 (Snow Harp)

Original Composer/Original Artist: ふゆP (FuyuP)/Megurine Luka

Album: 音ノ葉集メ

Year: 2010

Notes: Includes Japanese flute. Very calming and soothing song. To be honest I thought it was Miku singing until I checked the album info.

Links: DDL from MikuDB, Original on NicoNicoDouga

Supanova April 2012!

Today, I attended Supanova at the Gold Coast exhibition centre! It was fantastic. Basically, it was nerds, nerds everywhere. Haha just kidding, but it was a great day. I took a whole bunch of pictures of cosplayers, and I ended up buying a Gundam model I am quite happy with. At the end of the day there was also a cosplay competition. To be honest it did drag on for a bit too long, but there were some good acts and cosplays. It was a thoroughly enjoyable day, and I will probably attend the next one that comes along too, later this year.

Anyways, check out the pictures HERE
I'll have a video for you guys soon.

Rhycen OUT

PSotD - Tell Your World (Cover by ゆう十)

Title: Tell Your World (Cover by ゆう十)

Original Composer/Original Artist: livetune (kz)/Hatsune Miku

Album: Tell Your World

Year: 2012

Notes: This is a very beautiful cover version by Yuuju. He has a nice smooth voice and his voice works well with the piano accompaniment. However, his voice doesn't really strike me as something exceptional. 

Links: DDL from MikuDB (Original by Miku), Cover on NicoNicoDouga

PSotD - ハローストロボ

Title: ハローストロボ (Hello Strobe)
Composer/Artist: ぽわぽわP (PowapowaP)/Hatsune Miku
Album: AWARD STROBE HELLO
Year: 2011
Notes: A pretty quirky song. ~Strum that guitar.
Links: DDL from MikuDB, Original song on NicoNicoDouga

PSotD - 可能世界のロンド

Title: 可能世界のロンド (Rondo of the Possible World)
Composer/Artist: millstones/Hatsune Miku
Album: 黄昏ホリック(Twilight Holic)
Year: 2010
Notes: Chilling down~ And feels "space-y".
Links: DDL from MikuDB, Original song on NicoNicoDouga

Nanoir Lyrics Track 5 - glow

While I'm on a roll tonight, I'll post another set of Nanoir's lyrics. Note that for the moment I'll skip transcribing track 4 because most of the song is in Japanese, and I'm not fluent in the Japanese language. So for now enjoy the lyrics of track 5 - glow.
Disclaimer: I do not own any of these songs or lyrics. All credits goes to Nano and various music producers. Also, there may be incorrect transcriptions of the lyrics since I transcribed these songs all by ear, so use at own risk.

Track 5: glow

Ah~
The ice cold rain drops falling from the sky,
They tried to melt away all the broken scars.
The shining afterglow totally caught my eyes,
Someone’s smiling face hidden deep inside.

As the time is passing by we find the strength inside.
The beautiful lies are not so hard to tell as before.
And in the past I’ve had to taste so many different pains,
Sometimes I still hear them knocking on my door.

You, you, you, you fading away,
The way for you to see the tears in my eyes.
In this sentimental glowing twilight,
Nobody is there to hear me cry.

Just take a look inside of me,
All the scars you’ve given me.
I can’t go on not taking one more step,
They’re taking all of me.
Please disappear, don’t want you here.
I look at you and pray like this.
But tell me why I can’t go on,
I’m holding on to you so deep inside.

Now it’s time for you to walk the distance.
Nothing is left for me but only silence.
In this sentimental glowing twilight.
I’m falling away,
Alone I face the night.

You will stay forever deep inside of me,
Just my stupid little childish fantasy.
In this sentimental glowing twilight,
I’m falling apart without you.

Can you wipe away all of my tears?
Can you fight away all my fears?
Reaching out my hands trying to hold on,
To the you that I don’t want to lose.

Sekihan releases new single "SEKIHAN the TREASURE"

Sekihan is a renowned NicoNico singer doing covers of (Vocaloid) songs and his fame is on par with Piko. Sekihan is graced with the rare talent of being able to sing in both masculine and feminine vocal tones. Sekihan has released over three albums (EXIT TUNES PRESENTS Ikemen Boys Paradise, EXIT TUNES PRESENTS SEKIHAN the BEST, and EXIT TUNES PRESENTS SEKIHAN the GOLD), and have collaborated with many other Vocaloid composers and NicoNico singers.

Today, Sekihan released another album called "EXIT TUNES PRESENTS SEKIHAN the TREASURE". The official website with the album track list can be found here. The crossfade of the songs can be found on NicoNicoDouga (you will need to sign up to a NND account to be able to watch the video. Do not worry, the sign up instructions are in English! Just click the yellow button on the left to start registration.)

DDL is found! Let us rejoice.

Miyano Mamoru releases new single "Fantasia"

Miyano Mamoru (宮野 真守) started off as a seiyuu (voice actor) for animes and movies in 2002, later he expanded his career with singing and acting. Miyano has won several acting and voice acting awards. He is most known for his roles in: Kingdom Hearts (as Riku), Death Note (as Light Yagami), Ouran High School Host Club (as Takami Suoh), Mobile Suit Gundam00 (as Setsuna Seiei), Vampire Knight (as Zero Kiryuu), Steins Gate (as Rintaro Okabe), Durarara (as Kida Misaomi), just to name a few.

In 2007, Miyano released his debut single "Kuon". Two years later he released his first album "Break". In 2010 he released his second album "Wonder". Today, Miyano released his third album "Fantasia". DDL link can be found through here. 

PSotD - 竹の子ディスコ

Title: 竹の子ディスコ (Takenoko Disco)
Composer/Artist: ラヴリーP (Ravuri-P)/Hatsune Miku
Album: のびないホー！！(Nobinaiho-)
Year: 2010
Notes: Funky bass!
Links: DDL from MikuDB, Original song on NicoNicoDouga

New Feature: Pumpkin's Song of the Day

Hi everyone, I have decided to start a daily log where I share a song that I have come across during that day - called Pumpkin's Song of the Day (or PSotD). Most of these songs would stem from my 140Gb (and expanding) Vocaloid music folder. This way I can show more people the wonderful music by Vocaloids and gives me motivation to listen to my huge collection of songs. However, the music I share won't be limited to Vocaloids!

Today's song is:
Title: ごめんね ごめんね
Composer/Artist: きくお/Hatsune Miku
Album: 0003:a galaxy odyssey
Year: 2011
Notes: I suggest you listen to the song before reading the lyrics. This song talks about a daughter being abused by her father and some stranger "onii-san" (older brother). The lyrics hint at cannibalism.
Links: DDL from MikuDB, Original song on NicoNicoDouga

Disclaimer: I do not own any of this music nor the contents of the linked videos. Copyrights belong to their respective owners and original creators.

Nanoir Lyrics Track 3 - Gallows bell

Hi everyone, sorry for the delayed post of Nanoir lyrics. I've been busy with my research work in the past week. So here is track #3.
Disclaimer: I do not own any of these songs or lyrics. All credits goes to Nano and various music producers. Also, there may be incorrect transcriptions of the lyrics since I transcribed these songs all by ear, so use at own risk.

Track 3: Gallows bell

The darkness locks me in this room,
The air I breath has never felt so cold,
And I’m losing hold of everything I had.
So I’ll rock myself to sleep.

Her beautiful smile was always just a hymn,
And the corner of her heart was filled with her love for,
And even when the time would come to say goodbye.
This is what she’d say.

There’s nothing to cry for
I want you to know that,
As long as it’s you this pain couldn’t hurt me.
No reason to regret, I’ll always be waiting for you,
My love, oh.
It’ll be alright I want you to know that
I’ll always believe in the truth of your words.
The only thing unreal was my place in your heart.

She could feel his words wrapped around her neck,
The very last breath was swallowed in the silence.
And everything they had together sailed away.
This is how the story ends.
Surrounded by iron and barricade,
Gazing at the light with eyes of lead,
Even after all the time gone by,
This is what she’d say.

I look at these hands and they’re stained with blood and
They’ll never regret all the things that they took.
So I won’t turn back to find you again someday,
I know, ohh.
If only the tears would erase all of the memories.
Then maybe I’ll help you fight all of these fears.
Woo, and to take or run away,
These are things I’m scared to say.

I see you standing and lifebeat is fading,
He’s feeling the trouble in beat of this heart.
And he remembers the sound of her very last words,
Again,
Again.

There’s nothing to cry for,
I want you to know that
As long as it’s you this pain couldn’t hurt me.
No reason to regret, I’ll always be waiting for you,
My love, my love.
It’ll be alright I want you to know that
I’ll always believe in the truth of your words.
With open arms, he looks to the sky
Finally I found my way, the way to you.
The way to you.

SID releases PV for their upcoming single “Nokoriga”

SID will release their singles "Nokoriga" on May 2nd and "S" on May 9th.
"Nokoriga" is the April theme song for NTV program 'Sukkiri!', and "S" is the theme song for an upcoming horror movie 'Sadako 3D'.
Both songs were performed at their live concert at Zepp Tokyo on March 16th, exciting the crowd of 2,700 fans.

Watch the music video linked from: http://www.tokyohive.com/2012/04/sid-releases-pv-for-their-upcoming-single-nokoriga/

More information at: http://sid-web.info/pc_index.html
Reblogged from: http://www.tokyohive.com/2012/04/sid-releases-pv-for-their-upcoming-single-nokoriga/

きゃりーぱみゅぱみゅ (Kyari Pamyu Pamyu) - Candy Candy

Kyary Pamyu Pamyu (a.k.a. Kiriko Takemura) is a model, entrepreneur and singer from the Harajuku district of Tokyo.

Kyary first started off as a fashion blogger, then she became a teenage model for Harajuku fashion magazines such as Kera! and Zipper. Soon afterwards she became famous in the fashion scene and she launched a line of fake eyelashes and appeared in many fashion shows.

In July 2011, she began her musical career by releasing her first single PonPonPon.

In August 2011 she released her second single Jelly and in December of the same year, she released her third single Tsukema Tsukeru.

Kyari has recently (April 2012) released another single called Candy Candy.

I would classify Kyari's music under the genre Lolita kei mainly due to the type of clothing and accessories she wears. Her songs and music videos are very cheerful, "childish", cute and involves fantasy themes.

I really can't explain why I love Kyari so much. Her voice and the music she makes just captivates me. Well, this is clearly not the style of music that I am interested in, but I guess one can always find time to fit in cute girls dancing weird dances and pouting with cute puppy dog eyes.

Nanoir Lyrics Track 2 - ヒステリ(Hisuteri)

Disclaimer: I do not own any of these songs or lyrics. All credits goes to Nano and various music producers. Also, there may be incorrect transcriptions of the lyrics since I transcribed these songs all by ear, so use at own risk.

Track 2: Hisuteri
All of these cuts and bruises that will fade away,
I act as if they made me that much wiser.
Another night I sink into my lonely bed,
To shut out every sound as I scream inside my head.
And like a turning wheel,
The time keeps moving on.
The pain from yesterday is now just so long gone.
And as I fall into another aching sleep,
The crying voice I keep on hearing echoes deep.

It’s every shameful fall, every mistake I made.
These are the scars that have brought me where I am today.
Another false conception that I beg myself to escape reality.

The only lie I see is now inside of my head,
The only truth slips through my fingertips in the end.
Let me keep on dreaming
As I watch the days just pass me on by.

I turn another page of my biography,
And all the mysteries begin to fall in place.
I wonder why I wasted so much precious time,
I’d never find my life inside this cluttered room.
I’m letting go today.

They tried to measure the depths of all the scars that we have,
And tried to prove to us that life could be so much more.
But if you’d only stop and take a look around you know we’re all the same.
And as I keep repeating all the days in my head,
It’s like an endless movie that has no happy end.
But the scene goes on without an answer,
And I will cry.

It’s every shameful fall, every mistake I made.
These are the scars that have brought me where I am today.
Another false conception that I beg myself to escape reality.
The only lie I see is now inside of my head,
The only truth slips through my fingertips in the end.
Let me keep on dreaming
As I watch the days just pass me on by.

Nanoir Lyrics Track 1 - magenta

For my own personal interests (i.e. because I want to do covers of these songs some time in the future) I have (and will) transcribed the lyrics to the songs in Nano's album Nanoir.

Disclaimer: I do not own any of these songs or lyrics. All credits goes to Nano and various music producers. Also, there may be incorrect transcriptions of the lyrics since I transcribed these songs all by ear, so use at own risk.

Track 01: magenta

Remember again! (oh-oh-oh x16)

Inside a world of broken words,
You cannot hide.
You tried to find the reasons why
As days collide.
The seconds keep on passing
Without a sound you turn around.
And as you walk away
I call to you.

Don’t you let go.
Take a look around you are not alone.
You’d always stop and close your eyes, find the answers.
When you feel like the world is falling in,
And you can’t seem to find a way back in,
Don’t run.
Just hear these words and remember again.

Outside, you’re trembling as you stand in falling rain,
You’ve tried to find where you belong.
As you drown the pain,
You hear the voices crying inside a world of monochrome.
But the eyes are bleeding tears of magenta.

Don’t you let go.
Take another breath when you’re lost again.
You’d only break the walls and then find the courage (find the courage).
When you feel like the world is falling in,
And you can’t seem to find a way back in,
Don’t cry.
Just hear these words and remember again.

Another silent prayer fades as the night slips past.
I tried to reach out to the light through the glass as it shatters.

Don’t you let go.
Take a look around, you are not alone.
You’d always stop and close your eyes, find the answers.
When you feel like the world is falling in,
And you can’t seem to find a way back in,
Don’t run.
Just hear these words and remember.

Don’t you let go.
Take another breath when you’re lost again
You’d only break the walls and then find the courage.
When you feel like the world is falling in,
And you can’t seem to find a way back in,
Don’t run.
Just hear these words and remember again.