Ummm….I don’t even know how to start this post. Ryan just popped his head into my office and said, “Did you see the email Josh sent us?” I clicked on a link to Wired magazine, and met Miku Hatsune. While one Wired commenter described Miku’s voice as the sound of “chipmunks dying,” I prefer to think of Miku as the sound of chipmunks coming of age, and realizing that all those expensive voice lessons mom and dad paid for were never going to launch a professional singing career.
The voice is based on the voice of anime voice-artist Saki Fujita, and Miku can sing to any songs users type in. The results are kind of incredible. I mean, yes, they’re pretty good quality-wise, but the best part of Miku is seeing which songs end-users want to hear covered. Here are my two faves: Miku singing “Fly Me to the Moon” and “Hatikva,” which, if you’re not familiar, is the national anthem of Israel. These made me smile, then cringe, then laugh, and then cry. One video below, with another after the jump.
[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YUpIjWAWDuQ[/youtube]
They usually play this song at the Olive Garden. And I thought they had every version imaginable…
[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a0-n1kNqf1s[/youtube]
I can’t even think of anything to write for this one. Adonai — thoughts?
