Friday, October 24, 2014
I Went to a Hatsune Miku Concert and It Was Fucking Amazing
jezebel.com: On Saturday, I watched a not-particularly-realistic 2D projection of a teenaged girl in teal pigtails singing in a computer-generated voice mesmerize a concert hall packed with teens. For two hours. And it was actually pretty fucking amazing.
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This is weird. I mean I guess it's pretty cool... who knows. I get that the vibe of the concert and the people there was the main part but I don't think I could listen to Hatsune Miku for more than two songs... I mean after one song, I felt a little sick. I think the program is cool in that everyone can make a song that she sings (but why would anyone want that?!?!) and the Dominoes app is pretty cute and the pizza box dance floor was a cool idea. (the CEO was pretty hilarious too) I disagree with Faircloth in that America isn't ready for virtual celebrities. Yeah, we're really into gossip and stuff but as long as we kept getting fed stories and lies, I'm pretty sure we'll stay satisfied. (What am I saying? I don't even Know, Hatsune Miku made me loopy) But with virtual celebrities, uh, the Gorillaz?!?! Helloooooo. None of those characters really exist and they're huge!!!! They have backstories, present stories, even futures. These are virtual celebrities that have made it really big in America. and also, they have had concerts where they were holograms which is pretty freaking awesome, and better than a 2D image (even though I will say, it looked very 3 dimensional!).
For anyone interested, here is a 3D hologram of 2D performing Clint Eastwood:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RnrEEoVOUlE
Well, that was the worst (and creepiest) promotional video I've ever seen. I hope the CEO of Domino's is never allowed in front of a camera again, because that was so bad that at some points I thought it might be a joke, because nothing could be that terrible on purpose. With that being said, I still have so many questions about this. If she's just a program and all the songs are user-generated, who's picking what songs she sings at concerts? Is there a team of people devoted to choreographing dance moves for a virtual pop star singing user-generated content? Do people get royalties? Does the company own your soul as soon as you create a song with its program? Why are there live guitar and drum players accompanying a computer-generated voice and projection? Do you only program her voice and none of the background tracks? Why is Domino's involved in any way? Why is Domino's CEO SO CREEPY?
The projections did look kind of cool and hologram-y (although there was also no real information about that- was it a hologram? is she projected on some kind of scrim from both sides?), and this is definitely something interesting to discuss about the future of celebrity and technology (she's one pop star that's guaranteed to never hit a downward spiral... but is that a good thing?). There's just so little information about how this actually works that I'm just very confused. And terrified of Domino's.
Why does the CEO of Domino's Pizza not know how to speak properly without sounding like someone you warn your children about? Is no one teaching business executives how to speak?
That promo was very creepy and fetishized, which is essentially what Hatsune Miku is--she is the creation of many collaborators and she attracts a wacky fan base that want to look up her fake skirt to see her fake panties.
She's a hologram! I think. Or projected to look like one. At least she's a computer generated program! She's not a spectacle to watch because she sings well or dances well--she doesn't--but because she exists. I don't call her a spectacle in a positive sense; I find this (much like going to watch a DJ) is a complete waste of money.
It's great that we have the technology to do something like this, but making a pop-star is only shallowly scratching the surface of what we can do with this technology.
Essentially, you can't replace the real connection between a live performer and an audience with an illusion. There isn't the same effect. It looks cool, but it isn't fulfilling in the same way.
I kind of can't believe I'm writing about this, but here goes...
First off, what a great article. Irreverent, well written, and above all open minded to the experience that for most people (over the age of 12) would probably find excruciating. The ability for the author to see through all the corporate sponsorship, glow sticks and bad content to the reality that kids still just want to have fun is refreshing. It's easy to find all the ways in which we see our youth becoming disconnected from world we grew up with, and hearing from the front lines that teenagers are still capable of good old honest musical ecstasy gives me hope for the future.
It is a little sad for me that this ecstasy should be evoked by the conjuring of a fully imaginary performer, but I never really believed in Steven Tyler either. I mean, he is a muppet, right? I think this way of avatarizing fandom as a pursuit in itself is not really new, just easier. Pop stars have always been a reflection of our most base selves, that's why they're popular. Maybe fans of pop music have just finally figured out that they can write songs and make music videos that are just as good or better than what the corporate machine churns out.
I also agree with the authors other two salient points, 1) that music industry execs are foaming at the mouth about this, and 2) we love crucifying our pop idols too much to give them up. Although, I don't imagine it will be long before someone finds a way to embroil poor Miku in some tawdry affair that lands her in a virtual rehab center, and not long after that until one of these creations joins the 27 club...
Stay tuned.
So I've heard of virtual reality bands like Gorillaz where real musicians ghost write songs for the fictional personas on stage, but what I really found interesting about Miku is that all the songs she 'sings' are completely fan generated. People pay money to write a song for a computer program, and then they pay money to see that computer program maybe sing that song at a 'live' event. From a marketing standpoint, it is a goldmine, which is why I'm sure music business executives are interested in the concept, but from a societal standpoint it is very bizarre to me. A part of me wants to keep live performance and animated cartoon characters separate on the principle that those are two separate disciplines, but I don't doubt that as long as this trend makes money it will continue to live. I guess give the people what they want.
Yikes. I suppose something like this is inevitable. Our culture is very collaboration-heavy right now, so this seems to feed that particular beast. It seems like a great cultural experience to feel like you are part of your star's creations. The article is right-- internet youth culture is bursting with covers, parodies, fan fiction, fan art. This is just another, much more expensive step. I just can't see this gaining much mainstream appeal. Cartoon characters with electronic voices are one thing, but if they ever try to create holograms for other genres, like country, folk or R&B, music producers will probably find that people are inherently put on edge by things that seem almost human but aren't. Mostly this seems like a "new revolutionary technology" that won't actually go anywhere and will peter out in a few years if not months.
The whole Vocaloid fandom is really impressive, as people have managed to create entire mostly agreed upon personalities and stories about this character who we have only been given the appearance of. The Vocaloid fandom is one of the best examples of fan created works, as the fans have not only fleshed out the characters, but have gone and created stories and entire worlds about them, and all the famous works from Vocaloid are fan-made. Does English have a program similar to Vocaloid, or is it a primarily Japanese program?
Well, that was strange...and creepy, and a lot of things in between. The article itself does a fantastic job of keeping an open mind. The idea of fan-generated personalities performing songs made by the fans, for the fans is interesting, but there are some questions that it raises for me. Who organizes the concerts, and chooses the music? Do the fan-writers of the songs get credit for their work, and do they earn money from the performances? In general, there are so many things about this that seem weird and unexplained. However, I do like the idea of a persona generated by the people: as the author points out, we are a generation of fan-fiction writers and intense fan followings. This idea of a band that is made from the people's contributions is unique and (though very strange and creepy) somewhat satisfying.
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