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Saturday, March 14, 2015

Song of the Week! 14 March 2015


We haven't done a double feature in a while, so here's one of them!

Today's two songs have two things in common: both are songs I don't like, and both contain bits of different songs I would listen instead of these two! I'll try to talk about them with no personal bashing, but I make no promises...

 Love x Love Whistle (Karemeshi Official Song) (愛×愛ホイッスル(カレーメシ公式曲)) PolyphonicBranch feat. Hatsune Miku, Kagamine Rin
Version
Allx4 (255)x6 (389) x8 (705)x9 (949)
 Taiko 0 K, Taiko 3DS 2, Taiko Wii U 2, Taiko +
 160-240
 none
 lovwhi


Yup, we can't have a "Lokamp's worst songs" feature without yet another pick from Hatsune Miku's ever-growing repertory! This one is Kimidori Version's last addition to the Vocaloid genre, which also managed to reach three different console titles in a matter of weeks.

Love x Love Whistle was uploaded on NicoVideo last year on July 11th, featuring Hatsune Miku and Kagamine Rin. The song, composed by freelance artist PolyphonicBranch, is about a heated inner monologue of a lover who is over-obsessing about his/her soulmate in extreme ways, asking while drinking soup if the person found by the singer can be actually considered his/her soulmate at all. As you can see, the lyrics don't mention any product placement at all, despite the added part in the title on Taiko, so what's all the fuss about?

This Vocaloid song grew fast in popularity in part because of the (jokingly induced) misinterpretation for one of the song's lyric lines, interpreting 'Kare e Meshia no Tokken' (彼へメシアの特権) as 'Karemeshi' (カレーメシ), a line of instant curry cup rice distributed in Japan by Nissin Food Products (one of the most famous manufacturers of instant foods). By adding the fact that soup is also mentioned elsewhere in the song, Love x Love Whistle spread on the Internet as 'Karemeshi's official song', in quite a curious indirect ad for the product line.

Aside from this curious story, the song also features a brief piece of Bach's Toccata and Fugue in D minor, BWV 565, a song which is already being paid homage on Taiko in form of both a custom arrangement (Toccata and Fugue and Rock) and as part of a medley (Classic Medley -Rock Version-).

The song on Taiko is no joke to tackle, as the many BPM values give a different spin to the many clusters featured in its notechart, especially when it gets really quick towards the middle part. The beginning half-a-minute is the only portion that is at BPM 160.

 Meena no Oyashiki (ミーナのおやしき)
Version
Allx4 (146)x5 (213)x7 (402)x9 (607)
 Taiko 0 S, Taiko PSP DX, CD Donderful
 103-180
 none
 oyasik


Today's second pick might as well be saved for an Halloween feature, but today's theme makes it an obligatory pick for this Saturday. I just hope I can come up with another good idea for the next Halloween...

...Anyway, Meena no Oyasiki is one of the 'DLC debut' Namco Original songs for the third and final PSP Taiko game, composed and arranged by Sato Takafumi (佐藤たかふみ). Much like Theremin Rhapsody, this Namco Original aims to simulate a visit to a haunted mansion, with the young lady master of said mansion (presumably named Meena) singing and talking to the traveler rather than just featuring the odd, otherworldly noises. This time around, the song cameo is a piano-played tune which can be redirected to several popular nursery rhythms, such as the Alphabet Song (also on Taiko games) and Twinkle, Twinkle, Little Star.

The singer of the song is Mitsu, the voice actress for Miko-Chan in Taiko PSP DX's Story mode and vocalist of the recent Game Music Oshiete Kumatomo.

Like Love x Love Whistle, here's a song with multiple BPM shifts and (mainly) a single cluster spacing tempo, making it for both the slow-paced portions at the beginning and the final speed-up craze towards the end, also following the scenario described by the song. Quite a frantic 'last goroshi' indeed.