BAND-MAID is so musically talented Miku’s lyrics are often overlooked. Everything fits with the music. She’s able to add bits of English while staying in context with the rest of the story. Miku is a very talented for a small pigeon.
I honestly really enjoy the fact that Miku adds English lyrics. She could’ve kept it simple and stayed within their native tongue, but it’s genius to invite another language in. It gives a line or two for people to join in at a predominantly English speaking concert. The English lyrics draw me in as well. I do find myself singing phonetically in Japanese though. 😅
"They can handle jazz, they can handle pop, they can handle metal, they can handle hard rock, they can probably handle it all." They could go baroque and handle Handel!
In this song, we get to SEE Kanami playing piano. She is a great pianist, and I would happily have an entire CD of her playing her Band-Maid compositions on piano. I believe she composed them on the piano, before orchestrating them for guitars, bass, voice and drums. And of course, it is famous for Saiki's f-bomb at the end. Otherwise, it is proof that they can do light and fluffy -- they just choose not to, most of the time.
This song came out, just few months after BAND-MAID released their album WORLD DOMINATION. Actually, when the album was finished, KANAMI kind of hit a slump and couldn’t write hard-hitting song for a while. So KANAMI asked the members what should be done, and all members said that she should write any song she wants to, and also the record label suggested to write a song that was easy to sing on a karaoke, which fruited into this song. The last line of lyrics was written as is, to show that BAND-MAID can write this kind of easy singable song, but at their heart, they still are a rock band😅
This is a song with a lot of myths, so this interview snippet is useful. ----- Kanami: Recently the composing of songs is started by me making a demo, but the timing before this song I was in a slump. I couldn't decide what kind of song to make. I wanted to take care of the pillar of our songs which is hard rock, but we have also received opinions on making songs more pop or melodious. So I decided to have a talk with the band members. Actually in our 5 years it was the first time all the band members conferred about a song together. There we brainstormed and decided we wanted to make a song that was easy to sing in Karaoke. Image like a song from our first album [MAID IN JAPAN] from our indies days. So this was not going back to our major debut days, but really back to our roots. Q: The last phrase it pretty shocking. I was surprised this was allowed as a lyric.(laughs) Kobato: It was OK po. I submitted it meekly po(laughs). I didn't want to end the song popishly. If so there is no need for the current BAND-MAID to make such a song. So I wanted to have aggressiveness left here and attacked po. Actually this song had many more English phrases, but I changed most of it to Japanese. But left the last phrase English for it's impact. Q: What is the theme of the lyrics. Kobato: Contradicting love. Contrasting the image of strength and weakness. We had a policy for the band to be strong all times, but here have weakness as well as strength. I think the lyrics are something that only our current selves could write.
Whatever they do, they have high quality and good taste. BAND-MAID's songs are too difficult to sing at karaoke. Band members said they wanted a song that anyone could sing, so Kanami replied "AIYO" (OK) and wrote the song.
The maids played Start Over at the 10th Anniversary Spin-Off show earlier this year. What I love about the CD of Start Over is Screaming as one of the Bonus Tracks (in my top 5 B-M Songs), and then you also get Secret Maiko Lips.
This is my first listening to Start Over and I'm not surprised at all that they went down this road. They are a true multi-genre group who are comfortable playing.......well........anything. Kanami's genius mind can take any suggestion and turn it into a beautiful composition for Miku to work her lyrical magic. I also like that she isn't afraid to say what she wants to say. And speaking of Kanami's genius, she is just perfection when it comes to providing an arrangement that is both pleasing to the ear and sends a strong message. I don't know if that makes sense or not, but whatever, lol. And having amazing musicianship is just the icing on the case. I can't remember the last time I listened to a band who were in sync the way Band Maid is. And your reactions and determinations make listening all the more worthwhile.
So, this song was released as a single after they had released the album Conqueror, which has some of BM's softer, more mid-tempo songs (Page, Mirage, Endless Story, Wonderland). There was some consternation amongst some fans that BM was going soft/poppy. Which is funny, considering the last song of Conqueror, Rinne, hits HARD. I could be wrong, but I think this song was then released as a bit of a trolling of the fans, being SUPER poppy, but then ending with that last line, before going into the B-side, Screaming, which as others have noted, is hits even HARDER. Kind of the band saying "hey, we still know how to rock!" Considering the next album after that, Unseen World, is full of hard and heavy tracks, the fans of such sounds didn't really have anything to worry about. I highly recommend checking out Screaming too.
This song was one of their most unpopular song to date when it first came out (quite popular in Japan though), but looks like it's aging very well. Many people are now rediscovering the song and listen to this song with better appreciation. It has the jazzy vibe and the crescendo towards the end have the unmistakable multi-layered Band-Maid sound in it.
If more pop songs had that kinda bass to it, I'd actually enjoy some of the genre. It honestly did take me a few listens to really find the awesome in this song, but find it I did, and now, like all the other Band-Maid songs, it's in my playlist rotation.
Tangent incoming: Some people dislike this music video, but that just shows a deep misunderstanding of the point of music videos in general. This isn't my favorite music video, but it is a PERFECT fit to the song. It's a rocky relationship pop/pop-rock song. Much like how Warning! has cars racing and ramming each other while there's fire and the ladies rocking out on top of the cars perfectly fits that song, this perfectly fits this song. Yes, it's cheesy; that is the point! I love it because it is everything it should be.
There’s no way for a single person to love every Band Maid song because they play every kind of song. That’s not criticism. Band Maid is an exceptional band and this is proof. They don’t sound like a rock band playing their version of a ballad. Or a punk band playing more complex punk. They are musicians playing whatever they want to create and it sounds as if it’s their specialty. This is the same band, with the same instrumentation, that delivered “From Now On.” You’re a musician. You know how crazy that is! If you sorta liked this? You may be overwhelmed by “About Us.” It’s the shapeshifting Maids at their slow jam best. Stellar live performance.
What genre of music are Band Maid? Whenever somebody asks that I always think that the easiest answer is the truest. Band Maid play Band Maid. They have gone on for so long that they now have touched on everything from Punk to Rock to Pop to Metal to everything and anything. They do it all so well that the reason I personally never fast forward or skip any track from them is that it is all different. All great quality. We tend as fans to want to keep a band playing the same thing over and over. Band Maid have never done that.
I love this song, from Kanami's little piano intro and Akane and MISA coming to set the jazzy, R&B groove. Plus, Saiki and Miku's harmonies. The ending seems to be a reminder that this is not just another pop song and that they can play anything and do it better than just about anyone.
If you want something melodic try Band-Maid 'anemone' - acoustic live at Zepp Tokyo 2018. Senji has a good post. Also, a good acoustic version of 'Puzzle' is posted by Instrumental Maid.
At first it's debatable whether it is pop-rock or simply pop. By the end, when Akane can't contain herself and just goes full gorilla with banger drum fills, there is no doubt; this song is a pop-rock banger. What a song!
If there's one thing Band Maid excels at it's making constant excursions outside their comfort zone, lol. This song came out right after their World Domination LP and was received with... let's say divisiveness. After some time the song has gained a solid following among fans, and like many wines it gets better with age (especially if you don't watch the video...). The B-side contains the foundational song of Unseen World's gloriously chaotic style, Screaming.
When BAND-MAID played at Sonic Temple 2023 they was interviewed by a local radio station and was asked "what style of music they play?" and Miku responded that they are their own Genre which is a form of Cute and Cool 😎
When you think they will go left, they go right. You think OK they are gonna go hard they go soft. It's just due to their uncompromising song writing. They will never do just what is necessary, they give it their all every time. This time they show the pop world how to write a hooky beautiful pop song. The never fail Maids.
Since I'm cool with the full spectrum (heaviest to softest), I love this song too. For personal context: at 57yrs old, my lifetime favorite bands are Scorpions, Judas Preist, Iron Maiden, Triumph & Stryper. I haven't heard ANYTHING from Band-Maid that's not first-class. ❤👍
The B-side of this single is one of their hardest songs, "Screaming". A funny story. The guy in the MV is a French actor. He didn't know the band but it turned out his girlfriend knew Akane. Akane is the social butterfly in the band.
It's amusing to me, that the hardcore otaku of the group is the social butterfly. lol Plus, her list of drummer buddies is like a who's who of Japanese female drummers.
we fans think we know what we want but never know what we need. good artists can never be victim to our wants but must write what their muse demands and in doing so mysteriously seem to nail what we fans need after all (but never realised it). kanami is a genius composer, miku is a genius lyricist.
I'M Japanese The song “START OVER” is This is a song that marked a return to basics for Bandmaid. A band that was originally a pop band. There are more and more fast-tempo songs There was an opinion that many of the songs were difficult to sing even at karaoke. This song has become the starting point for me up until now. It seems like Kanami wanted the song to be about melody. It seems like they were conscious of keeping the performance simple. It was SAIKI's idea to start with the piano. SAIKI suggested that there is no guitar solo. The drum part is a chorus with no fill. I keep it that simple. The theme of the lyrics is "contradictory love"
Kanami had a period when she talked about trying to maybe write a radio-hit for Band-Maid. Then this came out of it. Part of the fandom got worried they might go all soft and poppy after the "Conqueror" album dropped with a bunch of mid-tempo songs... But then she had a turn that ended up as the "Unseen World" album, and that was more like prog-metal. Somewhere out in the fan community is a clip of an interview with Mitsugi - the male model/actor in the video - who is also both a musician and TH-camr, talking about the shoot of this video. (Turned out his then girlfriend was mates with Akane too.) He's French, so I'd wager it was Ohrenje wo managed that. When Band-Maid was featured on "Songs of Tokyo" much later, Mitsugi was also one of the foreign guests invited to comment on the popularity of Band-Maid outside Japan.
@@msquare249 the interview with the model/actor is on Ohrenje's channel, search for "Ohrenje Mitsu" and you should find it. I don't know about the other bits.
from JAPAN. I have heard that KANAMI was in a slump when he wrote this song. The tune is certainly not like the usual BAND-MAID, but if you listen carefully, it is still BAND-MAID. As human beings, these women must also be troubled and go through trial and error. We, as fans, will listen to the released work and judge it, but even if the work does not meet our expectations, we should not easily criticize it. Perhaps the more talented an artist is, the more criticism he will receive from his fans. This is probably because these women do not stay in the same place and are constantly moving forward. There are no sloths in BAND-MAID. They are human beings, and we may fail someday, but even so, it is true fans who warmly watch over us and cheer us on. All of these girls are great musically, but they are also great human beings.
I love Akane’s drum part in this one. The ghost notes are killer. Band Maid can do any genre. Even if they did New Country, it would probably be killer!!
Bandmaid is very versatile that’s another reason I love them also correct me if I’m wrong but this is the first time saiki curses she says i don’t give a fuck and in hate she says don’t give a shit no more saiki will sometimes during live shows say let’s go fucking crazy to get the crowd going❤
having kanami,misa and akane is like having jazz musicians playing within a rock structure. more free form than a typical rock format.its not so evident in this song but you having followed band maid for a while,i think you know what i mean .
Yep, quite poppy - and I love it. Kanami said she wanted to write something easily singable in karaoke bars. And I love the F-bomb at the end! And on the b-side of the single they put "Screaming" - which is totally glorious insane mayhem! There was an interesting YT interview with the (French) guy in the video about how he got involved too. He got the job not really knowing who they were, but when he turned up for the shoot he found it was his friend Akane's band!
Here’s a story I heard awhile back ago! There was a time when Kanami was having writers block, many of her compositions were rejected. The video shown is a metaphor on what she was going through. Saiki pulled the band together and got Kanami to write something simple, sort of like lightning a pilot light! Also it was the first time the band bonded together in support of the most important person, Kanami. The last verse signifies the change that happens afterwards! Band-Maid never faltered again! Idk if it’s true but every musician has a breaking point n their career, it took the ladies to form as a team to help get the band to succeed! Who knows?
If that is true, then what a great story! I can’t imagine what it’s like to have writer’s block especially in music composition. That must feel like a nightmare. Good for them to come together like that. That’s real family right there!
Start Over did make some waves back in the day when it was first released. But as usual, live performances turned my feelings around on it. First, the 2018 SF show (captured live and posted here on YT). Then most recently, the 2/22/2024 Spinoff concert, mixed incredibly well, where you can hear every instrument and vocal harmony almost perfectly.
I think it's important that this song's coupling song is "Screeming". Because it acts like a chaser for whisky. Screeming is like Ardbeg and start over is like Perrier (lol)
I've always said Band Maid can play ANYTHING, but of course they had to stick the little zinger in at the end. This also illustrates the fact they're consumate professionals.
I LOVE THIS SONG! I can see why some fans of the harder MAID songs don't and if you saw my BAND-MAID playlists, you would think I was one of them but I love the story they tell, I ALWAYS love when they do something different and yes, this song along with Screaming tell the story of one of those relationships that is so hot it's addictive but like any addiction, extremely destructive. BAND-MAID can write and record whatever they friggin want to! Even the songs that are outside my personal taste are SO FRIGGIN AWESOME!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! THANK YOU NITTPICC!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Who wasn`t smiling more and more as we got closer to the end of the song? It's a nice pleasant song, yes, very well arranged and played. One of the very few that does not feature a Kanami solo. To quote Saiki and Miku here: It's very simple - they know what they're doing.
I love artists who mix it up. Genres are cages for creative minds, or colours to paint new pictures. We live in an era of quotation and of flashbacks. The most interesting “new” bands that I have learned about from reaction channels (Band-Maid, The Warning, Electric Callboy) all transcend genres and pick up material, influences, references from adjacent or completely different styles to create music that will appeal to audiences of different backgrounds and age groups. They will also all mix or alternate English with their own language in the lyrics. It’s music of our times, and for our times, reflecting how we have become a global village, and the more spirited and open minded people will not be fenced in to adhere to any imposed rules or taboos regarding cultural and artistic expression. This is not per se new, there has always been that cross-contamination, but today it is different, because the audience is now truly global, too. So people will understand and recognise the references better, and the need to cater for the exact expectations of one specific niche is no longer such a constraint for the artists - as long as they are real artists, and can use their enhanced and broadened material in a way that it makes itself understood.
This single was the great fake out. Most of the fan base heard this and was hand-wringing about BM taking a big style shift. But the real foreshadowing of future-Maid was b-side Screaming.
This song was created after hearing opinions that BAND-MAID’s songs are difficult to sing at karaoke, so they decided to make a song that is easier to sing. By the way, this song was released as a single, but the coupling song is one of the most intense screaming songs in BAND-MAID’s repertoire.
I love this song. A lot of the earlier songs have a little pop feel to them. If you can find it "Beauty and the Beast" will give a little taste of rap with a little metal breakdown just to keep it interesting. Love to see your reaction to that!
Never get enough of Miku's gorgeous Mother of Pearl Zemaitis, relegated to the Kobato "Zemaitis Safe". This is a Great song, I dig it too, it's still quite intricate. Whenever Band-Maid starts nice, light, poppy and you think that's where it's going, they 180 and end Rockin'!
This is a fun song. I used to recommend 'Start Over' followed by 'RINNE' to new reactors in order to give them an idea of just how diverse BAND-MAID actually is. It's easier now to simply recommend the 2-for-1 video of 'Manners' & 'Black Hole'. Though. I still think 'Start Over' + 'RINNE' is the more potent and sympatico combo. Example: _rinne_ is Japanese for reincarnation. The final line of 'Start Over' is "I don't give a fuck, be born again". That "be born again" part is essentially saying _delete yourself and start again_ i.e. reincarnation. That's an even more savage line than "10 minutes of limp gymnastic".
I read a comment somewhere, stating there weren't any Band-Maid songs fans could sing at karaoke. This was Kanami's response to that statement. I don't know how true that is, but I like to believe the Maids do whatever they can to please their fans.
I really really like Start Over, it's a fresh, upbeat Pop Rock song with that special Band-Maid flavor. The melody and chorus are great and, most important, it makes fun. And this is coming from a Rock and Metal guy 🙂 Now, do I want them to be like this all the time? Certainly not. But it's a nice change.
Thank you fot reacting to this NitPick. I Love this song and rarely get to see a reaction to it and when comes its usualy iffy. I Love their harder more progressive stuff but I can definitely appreciate and get down with this. This song is pretty divisive within the fan base, unfortunately they never did anything like it again. Which is OK I guess at we got this one. I Love that Saiki knew the complaints would be coming and let the Haters know what's up with the last lyrics of the song. 😅
I read somewhere that Kanami was pretty upset with some of the reviews of this song ... then wrote "Rinne" - a pretty much "Take that" for the knockers. Not many "POP" songs have a drum an Bass line like this. They can't do any wrong in my eyes.
Part of signing on to this pigeon hole, is agreeing to latch on to Kanami's special musical ADHD and go for the ride with her. And that's going to go a lot of different places. I really like this because of the strong Funk base, with Akane able to do just go to town on that snare/high hat rhythm section. Those pop-y chorus sections come through, but damn rock dat funk verse ladies! And also, these 'normie' songs just give Misa a blank blank canvas to play her tasty fills in more places. (also feel that about Bestie) Great vid!
It is Band Maid doing Band Maid things. I don’t mind if it is the mix of punk, metal and hard rock or a more pop element - I love their music despite of it being somewhat fast and heavy, not because of it. Song writing exceptional. I’m not a metalhead and my most played song 2023 was ”Wicked witch” by Lovebites and that is very much metal, for me great songwriting is just great, though some takes more for me to understand. That is why it is grest that we have reaction channels that gives us more input. Start over is a very good song and I like it. Thank you for your reaction, have fun! :)
From what I've heard the whole band wrote this song do to Kanami having problems focusing.now wether that's true idk but more than one person has claimed that .
I love this song. Real first album vibes, but this time with the Maids totally in control of the material. If variety is the spice of life, then Band-Maid is the entire spice cabinet. They really are musical goddesses! This song was released after Conqueror which, btw, is a work of rock genius that, imho, showcases perfectly their immense musical range.
Another great reaction as always Miss NitPicc. I loved this song from the very first time I listened to it with exception of the F - bomb. Miss and Akane musically make the song along with vocal parts particularly around 9:10 of your video. This band can do anything from rocking your socks off to songs that are hauntingly beautiful. Not being pigeonholed to a particular sound to me is one of the marks of a great band and everything they have done thus far has been great. Have a great week.
This video reminds me of the movie "Singles." Very early 90s. I prefer my Band-Maid a tad harder, but I appreciate it for what it is and when it was, and what they were going for. The lyrics remind me if the movie The Way We Were. Maybe Kobato was on a classic movies binge at the time...
"pop" used to be a qualifier that is in no way derogatory or disparaging - it was used to speak about good popular modern music. I can't exactly say when it became a shameful or disparaging term, or why - but I think it's a shame because there's a lot of good pop music (and of course there's even more for which I don't give a F... - by courtesy of Miss Atsumi herself 😁).
If the Taylor Swifts’ of the world had a real band, half as good as Band Maid, doing pop/light rock, I’d be a fan of them! Band Maid is all about contrast. Their look vrs their usual sound, Start Over vrs Rinne. I’ve always said if they wanted to do a country song (how odd would that be) they’d likely do a damn good job. It’d be a country song I’d want to listen to!
I've always thought that if you added an acoustic guitar and pedal steel, Nemophila's "Odyssey" would not sound out of place on country radio. Which would be the only way I would ever listen to country radio lol!
NittPicc, I didn’t hate the song and loved seeing Kanami on the piano but it wasn’t among my favorites. HOWEVER, when they played it (at Yokohama - I think) I agreed with SJ. I loved it!!!!! Thank you for this reaction and your thoughts on this song.
Some of the original backlash to this song/MV was the surprising softer genre, but I believe a large part was this MV came out really close to the Ghost in the Shell movie that started Scarlett Johansen and the Internet was really up in arms about the "whitewashing" of Japanese content. Over time the song has certainly grown on a lot of us.
From an interview: Q: The last phrase it pretty shocking. I was surprised this was allowed as a lyric.(laughs) Kobato: It was OK po. I submitted it meekly po(laughs). I didn't want to end the song popishly. If so there is no need for the current BAND-MAID to make such a song. So I wanted to have aggressiveness left here and attacked po. Actually this song had many more English phrases, but I changed most of it to Japanese. But left the last phrase English for it's impact.
Josie and The Pussycats was an amazingly fun movie with a kick-ass soundtrack and I'll fight anyone on that point. I'm always happy to hear Band Maid doing new Band Maid things. Even a simplified song from them is a delight and interesting to listen to. I'm not sure I'd want an entire album of this style, but it feel like a nice lemon sorbet to cleanse the palette before dining on the next serving. Thank you for another great analysis!
Hola NittPicc. The actor, who is French, considered that the means used by the technical team in the MV were worthy of a large production for a big band. He even had lunch and spoke with the Maids and found them to be very kind. Start Over was performed at the spin-off concert on 2/22/24 at Zepp in Yokohama, an additional show of selected songs that were not performed during the 10th anniversary tour finale at Yokohama Arena. It's a good song. Thanks
Depending how you look at it it does have a positive ending. You could start over & do all the same things again & who knows in hindsight it may work out better. Or you could say "I don't give a F**k" & do things your way :)
Love me a bit of jazz fusion, even if it's pop- Can we have an album please. Can you imagine the misa and Akane really going for it- fantastic drumming throughout. It's pretty much a sad fact that the only reason this is not a fantastic hit is that it is not sung in English. Which doesn't bother me at all, but the majority of the music listening public find it a problem.
Saiki said she didn't want a fluffy ending. I'd say she achieved her goal. Ironically it was a nice responce to the negative backlash this song received. Everyone was afraid BM had gone soft even though it was released along side of Screaming which was the hardest song they had released yet.
From an interview: Q: The last phrase it pretty shocking. I was surprised this was allowed as a lyric.(laughs) Kobato: It was OK po. I submitted it meekly po(laughs). I didn't want to end the song popishly. If so there is no need for the current BAND-MAID to make such a song. So I wanted to have aggressiveness left here and attacked po. Actually this song had many more English phrases, but I changed most of it to Japanese. But left the last phrase English for it's impact.
When this came out, the bandmaid subreddit went into full meltdown, saying that they'd sold out for popularity blah blah. It's not my favorite track but I'm happy every time it appears in my playlist. I'd take more songs like this than more fast double kick anime openers.
So this song takes me back to the early days of my Band Maid fandom, World Domination had just come out but honestly I was still catching to Just Bring It and even finding out how to keep up with news of the Maid's on social media that I wasn't real familiar with but once I did there was a lot of scuttlebutt about Start Over with some of the fans "losing they're frickn minds" about the Maid's "going pop", lol. I didn't really understand it as I have nothing against a good pop song, but I saw them later that year (2018) at the Chapel and they played Start Over and it was really good. I feel bad that Kanami felt bad about the negative reaction which was unfortunate but she bounced in big way ......and here we are now :-)
I really gave up trying to pigeon hole (pun intended) Band Maid into a genre a loooong time ago. I think thats one of the things that makes them so refreshing. It’s not like when Blondie went disco (my age is showing). Band Maid has always done their own thing, even when performing other’s music. I think what made it a shock with Blondie was that they had been doing their own thing within the punk genre so long and then there also was the whole “death before disco” thing because disco was getting shoved down our throats (we were at the mercy of DJs spoon feeding us back then with the occasional relief by buying some vynil). “Band Maid doing Band Maid things” (thanks Ryan Mear) is just normal (maybe in a geometric sense?) no matter what they take on. They are not compromising their identity by exploring the length and breadth of music, it’s just their nature. Band Maid to the core…
BAND-MAID is so musically talented Miku’s lyrics are often overlooked. Everything fits with the music. She’s able to add bits of English while staying in context with the rest of the story. Miku is a very talented for a small pigeon.
I honestly really enjoy the fact that Miku adds English lyrics. She could’ve kept it simple and stayed within their native tongue, but it’s genius to invite another language in. It gives a line or two for people to join in at a predominantly English speaking concert. The English lyrics draw me in as well. I do find myself singing phonetically in Japanese though. 😅
"They can handle jazz, they can handle pop, they can handle metal, they can handle hard rock, they can probably handle it all."
They could go baroque and handle Handel!
In this song, we get to SEE Kanami playing piano. She is a great pianist, and I would happily have an entire CD of her playing her Band-Maid compositions on piano. I believe she composed them on the piano, before orchestrating them for guitars, bass, voice and drums. And of course, it is famous for Saiki's f-bomb at the end. Otherwise, it is proof that they can do light and fluffy -- they just choose not to, most of the time.
This song came out, just few months after BAND-MAID released their album WORLD DOMINATION.
Actually, when the album was finished, KANAMI kind of hit a slump and couldn’t write hard-hitting song for a while.
So KANAMI asked the members what should be done, and all members said that she should write any song she wants to, and also the record label suggested to write a song that was easy to sing on a karaoke, which fruited into this song.
The last line of lyrics was written as is, to show that BAND-MAID can write this kind of easy singable song, but at their heart, they still are a rock band😅
This is a song with a lot of myths, so this interview snippet is useful.
-----
Kanami: Recently the composing of songs is started by me making a demo, but the timing before this song I was in a slump. I couldn't decide what kind of song to make. I wanted to take care of the pillar of our songs which is hard rock, but we have also received opinions on making songs more pop or melodious. So I decided to have a talk with the band members. Actually in our 5 years it was the first time all the band members conferred about a song together. There we brainstormed and decided we wanted to make a song that was easy to sing in Karaoke. Image like a song from our first album [MAID IN JAPAN] from our indies days. So this was not going back to our major debut days, but really back to our roots.
Q: The last phrase it pretty shocking. I was surprised this was allowed as a lyric.(laughs)
Kobato: It was OK po. I submitted it meekly po(laughs). I didn't want to end the song popishly. If so there is no need for the current BAND-MAID to make such a song. So I wanted to have aggressiveness left here and attacked po. Actually this song had many more English phrases, but I changed most of it to Japanese. But left the last phrase English for it's impact.
Q: What is the theme of the lyrics.
Kobato: Contradicting love. Contrasting the image of strength and weakness. We had a policy for the band to be strong all times, but here have weakness as well as strength. I think the lyrics are something that only our current selves could write.
Thank you for your idea to let the maids speak for themselves!
Whatever they do, they have high quality and good taste.
BAND-MAID's songs are too difficult to sing at karaoke. Band members said they wanted a song that anyone could sing, so Kanami replied "AIYO" (OK) and wrote the song.
The maids played Start Over at the 10th Anniversary Spin-Off show earlier this year. What I love about the CD of Start Over is Screaming as one of the Bonus Tracks (in my top 5 B-M Songs), and then you also get Secret Maiko Lips.
This is my first listening to Start Over and I'm not surprised at all that they went down this road. They are a true multi-genre group who are comfortable playing.......well........anything. Kanami's genius mind can take any suggestion and turn it into a beautiful composition for Miku to work her lyrical magic. I also like that she isn't afraid to say what she wants to say.
And speaking of Kanami's genius, she is just perfection when it comes to providing an arrangement that is both pleasing to the ear and sends a strong message. I don't know if that makes sense or not, but whatever, lol. And having amazing musicianship is just the icing on the case. I can't remember the last time I listened to a band who were in sync the way Band Maid is. And your reactions and determinations make listening all the more worthwhile.
So, this song was released as a single after they had released the album Conqueror, which has some of BM's softer, more mid-tempo songs (Page, Mirage, Endless Story, Wonderland). There was some consternation amongst some fans that BM was going soft/poppy. Which is funny, considering the last song of Conqueror, Rinne, hits HARD. I could be wrong, but I think this song was then released as a bit of a trolling of the fans, being SUPER poppy, but then ending with that last line, before going into the B-side, Screaming, which as others have noted, is hits even HARDER. Kind of the band saying "hey, we still know how to rock!" Considering the next album after that, Unseen World, is full of hard and heavy tracks, the fans of such sounds didn't really have anything to worry about. I highly recommend checking out Screaming too.
This song was one of their most unpopular song to date when it first came out (quite popular in Japan though), but looks like it's aging very well. Many people are now rediscovering the song and listen to this song with better appreciation. It has the jazzy vibe and the crescendo towards the end have the unmistakable multi-layered Band-Maid sound in it.
This song is ALL about Akane's left hand....listen again and focus....ALL the syncopation and "ghost notes" are the foundation the others built upon
One of my favs. Let's face it, any song by the Maids is my fav.
so true lol
If more pop songs had that kinda bass to it, I'd actually enjoy some of the genre. It honestly did take me a few listens to really find the awesome in this song, but find it I did, and now, like all the other Band-Maid songs, it's in my playlist rotation.
I love this song. I liked it from the start and it just got better and better. Those BEATS! Yeah, you feel about the same as me with this one, cheers!
For me this is a song that makes you understand how irreplaceable Akane is!
Tangent incoming: Some people dislike this music video, but that just shows a deep misunderstanding of the point of music videos in general. This isn't my favorite music video, but it is a PERFECT fit to the song. It's a rocky relationship pop/pop-rock song. Much like how Warning! has cars racing and ramming each other while there's fire and the ladies rocking out on top of the cars perfectly fits that song, this perfectly fits this song. Yes, it's cheesy; that is the point! I love it because it is everything it should be.
There’s no way for a single person to love every Band Maid song because they play every kind of song. That’s not criticism.
Band Maid is an exceptional band and this is proof. They don’t sound like a rock band playing their version of a ballad. Or a punk band playing more complex punk. They are musicians playing whatever they want to create and it sounds as if it’s their specialty.
This is the same band, with the same instrumentation, that delivered “From Now On.” You’re a musician. You know how crazy that is!
If you sorta liked this? You may be overwhelmed by “About Us.” It’s the shapeshifting Maids at their slow jam best. Stellar live performance.
MISA's bass provides such a "luscious" sound to the song. She is amazingly intuitive with what and how she plays in a song.
What genre of music are Band Maid? Whenever somebody asks that I always think that the easiest answer is the truest. Band Maid play Band Maid. They have gone on for so long that they now have touched on everything from Punk to Rock to Pop to Metal to everything and anything. They do it all so well that the reason I personally never fast forward or skip any track from them is that it is all different. All great quality. We tend as fans to want to keep a band playing the same thing over and over. Band Maid have never done that.
Band maid genre of course 😊. The best.
i'm totally agree this song could fit in any 80.s or begin 90's teen movie. This song is a fresh air in their hard rock world
I'd call it a romcom trailer banger!😉
I love this song, from Kanami's little piano intro and Akane and MISA coming to set the jazzy, R&B groove. Plus, Saiki and Miku's harmonies. The ending seems to be a reminder that this is not just another pop song and that they can play anything and do it better than just about anyone.
If you want something melodic try Band-Maid 'anemone' - acoustic live at Zepp Tokyo 2018. Senji has a good post. Also, a good acoustic version of 'Puzzle' is posted by Instrumental Maid.
Akane's drum beat totally makes this song !!!!!!
At first it's debatable whether it is pop-rock or simply pop. By the end, when Akane can't contain herself and just goes full gorilla with banger drum fills, there is no doubt; this song is a pop-rock banger. What a song!
If there's one thing Band Maid excels at it's making constant excursions outside their comfort zone, lol. This song came out right after their World Domination LP and was received with... let's say divisiveness. After some time the song has gained a solid following among fans, and like many wines it gets better with age (especially if you don't watch the video...). The B-side contains the foundational song of Unseen World's gloriously chaotic style, Screaming.
When BAND-MAID played at Sonic Temple 2023 they was interviewed by a local radio station and was asked "what style of music they play?" and Miku responded that they are their own Genre which is a form of Cute and Cool 😎
When you think they will go left, they go right. You think OK they are gonna go hard they go soft. It's just due to their uncompromising song writing. They will never do just what is necessary, they give it their all every time. This time they show the pop world how to write a hooky beautiful pop song. The never fail Maids.
Since I'm cool with the full spectrum (heaviest to softest), I love this song too.
For personal context: at 57yrs old, my lifetime favorite bands are Scorpions, Judas Preist, Iron Maiden, Triumph & Stryper. I haven't heard ANYTHING from Band-Maid that's not first-class. ❤👍
The B-side of this single is one of their hardest songs, "Screaming". A funny story. The guy in the MV is a French actor. He didn't know the band but it turned out his girlfriend knew Akane. Akane is the social butterfly in the band.
It's amusing to me, that the hardcore otaku of the group is the social butterfly. lol Plus, her list of drummer buddies is like a who's who of Japanese female drummers.
BAND MAID does it all! Kanami on piano :) ... where she started.
BAND-MAID create wonderful Pop songs. SMILE is perhaps my favorite.
agreed, I love that side too, sadly not enough of that and Miku singing nowadays
🤘Maids make everything better 🤘
Can you imagine us all sitting here, barely able to contain ourselves, waiting for you to reach the last line?
😂😂
They have so many early songs that are not the current sound when someone else was writing their stuff that i still love
we fans think we know what we want but never know what we need. good artists can never be victim to our wants but must write what their muse demands and in doing so mysteriously seem to nail what we fans need after all (but never realised it). kanami is a genius composer, miku is a genius lyricist.
Band Maid can do any genre they want to!
Band-Maid doesn't have a genre; they have a level of excellence and that level is second to none.😉
I'M Japanese
The song “START OVER” is
This is a song that marked a return to basics for Bandmaid.
A band that was originally a pop band.
There are more and more fast-tempo songs
There was an opinion that many of the songs were difficult to sing even at karaoke.
This song has become the starting point for me up until now.
It seems like Kanami wanted the song to be about melody.
It seems like they were conscious of keeping the performance simple.
It was SAIKI's idea to start with the piano.
SAIKI suggested that there is no guitar solo.
The drum part is a chorus with no fill.
I keep it that simple.
The theme of the lyrics is "contradictory love"
Kanami had a period when she talked about trying to maybe write a radio-hit for Band-Maid. Then this came out of it. Part of the fandom got worried they might go all soft and poppy after the "Conqueror" album dropped with a bunch of mid-tempo songs... But then she had a turn that ended up as the "Unseen World" album, and that was more like prog-metal.
Somewhere out in the fan community is a clip of an interview with Mitsugi - the male model/actor in the video - who is also both a musician and TH-camr, talking about the shoot of this video. (Turned out his then girlfriend was mates with Akane too.) He's French, so I'd wager it was Ohrenje wo managed that. When Band-Maid was featured on "Songs of Tokyo" much later, Mitsugi was also one of the foreign guests invited to comment on the popularity of Band-Maid outside Japan.
Do you have links?
@@msquare249 It`s on Ohrenje`s channel.
@@msquare249 the interview with the model/actor is on Ohrenje's channel, search for "Ohrenje Mitsu" and you should find it. I don't know about the other bits.
It's on Ohrenje's channel.
from JAPAN. I have heard that KANAMI was in a slump when he wrote this song. The tune is certainly not like the usual BAND-MAID, but if you listen carefully, it is still BAND-MAID. As human beings, these women must also be troubled and go through trial and error. We, as fans, will listen to the released work and judge it, but even if the work does not meet our expectations, we should not easily criticize it. Perhaps the more talented an artist is, the more criticism he will receive from his fans. This is probably because these women do not stay in the same place and are constantly moving forward. There are no sloths in BAND-MAID. They are human beings, and we may fail someday, but even so, it is true fans who warmly watch over us and cheer us on. All of these girls are great musically, but they are also great human beings.
I love Akane’s drum part in this one. The ghost notes are killer. Band Maid can do any genre. Even if they did New Country, it would probably be killer!!
Bandmaid is very versatile that’s another reason I love them also correct me if I’m wrong but this is the first time saiki curses she says i don’t give a fuck and in hate she says don’t give a shit no more saiki will sometimes during live shows say let’s go fucking crazy to get the crowd going❤
POP-tastic, love Start Over !
having kanami,misa and akane is like having jazz musicians playing within a rock structure. more free form than a typical rock format.its not so evident in this song but you having followed band maid for a while,i think you know what i mean .
From the same ladies who brought you "From Now On". Just a clear showcase of their talent and versatility.
Yep, quite poppy - and I love it. Kanami said she wanted to write something easily singable in karaoke bars. And I love the F-bomb at the end! And on the b-side of the single they put "Screaming" - which is totally glorious insane mayhem!
There was an interesting YT interview with the (French) guy in the video about how he got involved too. He got the job not really knowing who they were, but when he turned up for the shoot he found it was his friend Akane's band!
Here’s a story I heard awhile back ago! There was a time when Kanami was having writers block, many of her compositions were rejected. The video shown is a metaphor on what she was going through. Saiki pulled the band together and got Kanami to write something simple, sort of like lightning a pilot light! Also it was the first time the band bonded together in support of the most important person, Kanami. The last verse signifies the change that happens afterwards! Band-Maid never faltered again! Idk if it’s true but every musician has a breaking point n their career, it took the ladies to form as a team to help get the band to succeed! Who knows?
If that is true, then what a great story! I can’t imagine what it’s like to have writer’s block especially in music composition. That must feel like a nightmare. Good for them to come together like that. That’s real family right there!
😂 it caused outrage when released but i love it, mellow maid, groove maid, misa rocks on this track.🤘🤘
Looking forward to when you watch The Dragon Cries. To me, it's their version of a blues based song. It shows they really can do anything
Start Over did make some waves back in the day when it was first released. But as usual, live performances turned my feelings around on it. First, the 2018 SF show (captured live and posted here on YT). Then most recently, the 2/22/2024 Spinoff concert, mixed incredibly well, where you can hear every instrument and vocal harmony almost perfectly.
I think it's important that this song's coupling song is "Screeming". Because it acts like a chaser for whisky. Screeming is like Ardbeg and start over is like Perrier (lol)
I've always said Band Maid can play ANYTHING, but of course they had to stick the little zinger in at the end. This also illustrates the fact they're consumate professionals.
I LOVE THIS SONG! I can see why some fans of the harder MAID songs don't and if you saw my BAND-MAID playlists, you would think I was one of them but I love the story they tell, I ALWAYS love when they do something different and yes, this song along with Screaming tell the story of one of those relationships that is so hot it's addictive but like any addiction, extremely destructive. BAND-MAID can write and record whatever they friggin want to! Even the songs that are outside my personal taste are SO FRIGGIN AWESOME!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! THANK YOU NITTPICC!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
My first impression to Start Over. It was a flash back to their first album but played by the more mature Band-Maid.
Who wasn`t smiling more and more as we got closer to the end of the song? It's a nice pleasant song, yes, very well arranged and played. One of the very few that does not feature a Kanami solo. To quote Saiki and Miku here: It's very simple - they know what they're doing.
Written by Kanami in one of her more mellow times. Bear in mind it was back in 2018. A lot has changed since then.
I love artists who mix it up. Genres are cages for creative minds, or colours to paint new pictures. We live in an era of quotation and of flashbacks. The most interesting “new” bands that I have learned about from reaction channels (Band-Maid, The Warning, Electric Callboy) all transcend genres and pick up material, influences, references from adjacent or completely different styles to create music that will appeal to audiences of different backgrounds and age groups. They will also all mix or alternate English with their own language in the lyrics.
It’s music of our times, and for our times, reflecting how we have become a global village, and the more spirited and open minded people will not be fenced in to adhere to any imposed rules or taboos regarding cultural and artistic expression. This is not per se new, there has always been that cross-contamination, but today it is different, because the audience is now truly global, too. So people will understand and recognise the references better, and the need to cater for the exact expectations of one specific niche is no longer such a constraint for the artists - as long as they are real artists, and can use their enhanced and broadened material in a way that it makes itself understood.
This single was the great fake out. Most of the fan base heard this and was hand-wringing about BM taking a big style shift. But the real foreshadowing of future-Maid was b-side Screaming.
This song was created after hearing opinions that BAND-MAID’s songs are difficult to sing at karaoke, so they decided to make a song that is easier to sing. By the way, this song was released as a single, but the coupling song is one of the most intense screaming songs in BAND-MAID’s repertoire.
I love this song. A lot of the earlier songs have a little pop feel to them. If you can find it "Beauty and the Beast" will give a little taste of rap with a little metal breakdown just to keep it interesting. Love to see your reaction to that!
Never get enough of Miku's gorgeous Mother of Pearl Zemaitis, relegated to the Kobato "Zemaitis Safe".
This is a Great song, I dig it too, it's still quite intricate.
Whenever Band-Maid starts nice, light, poppy and you think that's where it's going, they 180 and end Rockin'!
This is a fun song. I used to recommend 'Start Over' followed by 'RINNE' to new reactors in order to give them an idea of just how diverse BAND-MAID actually is. It's easier now to simply recommend the 2-for-1 video of 'Manners' & 'Black Hole'. Though. I still think 'Start Over' + 'RINNE' is the more potent and sympatico combo. Example: _rinne_ is Japanese for reincarnation. The final line of 'Start Over' is "I don't give a fuck, be born again". That "be born again" part is essentially saying _delete yourself and start again_ i.e. reincarnation. That's an even more savage line than "10 minutes of limp gymnastic".
Band-Maid doing Band-Maid things, as always!
I read a comment somewhere, stating there weren't any Band-Maid songs fans could sing at karaoke. This was Kanami's response to that statement. I don't know how true that is, but I like to believe the Maids do whatever they can to please their fans.
Akane's groove is awesone in this.
I really really like Start Over, it's a fresh, upbeat Pop Rock song with that special Band-Maid flavor. The melody and chorus are great and, most important, it makes fun. And this is coming from a Rock and Metal guy 🙂
Now, do I want them to be like this all the time? Certainly not. But it's a nice change.
Wouldn’t mind more piano from them.
This is what I was thinking!
Saiki might become their keyboard/piano player in the near future.
Thank you fot reacting to this NitPick. I Love this song and rarely get to see a reaction to it and when comes its usualy iffy. I Love their harder more progressive stuff but I can definitely appreciate and get down with this.
This song is pretty divisive within the fan base, unfortunately they never did anything like it again. Which is OK I guess at we got this one.
I Love that Saiki knew the complaints would be coming and let the Haters know what's up with the last lyrics of the song. 😅
A really nice 70s pop vibe.
I read somewhere that Kanami was pretty upset with some of the reviews of this song ... then wrote "Rinne" - a pretty much "Take that" for the knockers.
Not many "POP" songs have a drum an Bass line like this.
They can't do any wrong in my eyes.
In an interview, Mku said she included the lyrics "I don't give a f***" at the end of the song because she didn't want the song to end poppy.
Part of signing on to this pigeon hole, is agreeing to latch on to Kanami's special musical ADHD and go for the ride with her. And that's going to go a lot of different places. I really like this because of the strong Funk base, with Akane able to do just go to town on that snare/high hat rhythm section. Those pop-y chorus sections come through, but damn rock dat funk verse ladies! And also, these 'normie' songs just give Misa a blank blank canvas to play her tasty fills in more places. (also feel that about Bestie) Great vid!
THIS IS BEAUTIFUL I LOVE IT ❤
Chill-Maid, very smooth and cool!
It is Band Maid doing Band Maid things. I don’t mind if it is the mix of punk, metal and hard rock or a more pop element - I love their music despite of it being somewhat fast and heavy, not because of it. Song writing exceptional. I’m not a metalhead and my most played song 2023 was ”Wicked witch” by Lovebites and that is very much metal, for me great songwriting is just great, though some takes more for me to understand. That is why it is grest that we have reaction channels that gives us more input. Start over is a very good song and I like it. Thank you for your reaction, have fun! :)
Like always, whatever genre, fantastic. They are so High level on musicianship that everything works masterfully 🔥❤️
From what I've heard the whole band wrote this song do to Kanami having problems focusing.now wether that's true idk but more than one person has claimed that .
Hopefully in the next BAND-MAID's "Okyuji" that *Saiki* will be playing the piano. 🤗
Oh yeah, I'd love to see that.
Yeah it's very feasible. She could even play the little piano part in From Now On.
I love this song. Real first album vibes, but this time with the Maids totally in control of the material. If variety is the spice of life, then Band-Maid is the entire spice cabinet. They really are musical goddesses! This song was released after Conqueror which, btw, is a work of rock genius that, imho, showcases perfectly their immense musical range.
Have you seen their recent acoustic live stream? It was fantastic.
They kick asses. Even with a pop song.
Another great reaction as always Miss NitPicc. I loved this song from the very first time I listened to it with exception of the F - bomb. Miss and Akane musically make the song along with vocal parts particularly around 9:10 of your video. This band can do anything from rocking your socks off to songs that are hauntingly beautiful. Not being pigeonholed to a particular sound to me is one of the marks of a great band and everything they have done thus far has been great. Have a great week.
There is no normal mode of music for Band Maid
This video reminds me of the movie "Singles." Very early 90s. I prefer my Band-Maid a tad harder, but I appreciate it for what it is and when it was, and what they were going for.
The lyrics remind me if the movie The Way We Were. Maybe Kobato was on a classic movies binge at the time...
"pop" used to be a qualifier that is in no way derogatory or disparaging - it was used to speak about good popular modern music. I can't exactly say when it became a shameful or disparaging term, or why - but I think it's a shame because there's a lot of good pop music (and of course there's even more for which I don't give a F... - by courtesy of Miss Atsumi herself 😁).
If the Taylor Swifts’ of the world had a real band, half as good as Band Maid, doing pop/light rock, I’d be a fan of them! Band Maid is all about contrast. Their look vrs their usual sound, Start Over vrs Rinne. I’ve always said if they wanted to do a country song (how odd would that be) they’d likely do a damn good job. It’d be a country song I’d want to listen to!
I've always thought that if you added an acoustic guitar and pedal steel, Nemophila's "Odyssey" would not sound out of place on country radio. Which would be the only way I would ever listen to country radio lol!
NittPicc, I didn’t hate the song and loved seeing Kanami on the piano but it wasn’t among my favorites. HOWEVER, when they played it (at Yokohama - I think) I agreed with SJ. I loved it!!!!! Thank you for this reaction and your thoughts on this song.
Some of the original backlash to this song/MV was the surprising softer genre, but I believe a large part was this MV came out really close to the Ghost in the Shell movie that started Scarlett Johansen and the Internet was really up in arms about the "whitewashing" of Japanese content.
Over time the song has certainly grown on a lot of us.
I like your Band Maid shirt. You should show that off for us! I currently have 34 Band Maid shirts. I wear one everyday. LOL. Not kidding. Kuruppo!
Reportedly Saiki didn't want the song to end on a positive note. Thanks for the reaction!
From an interview:
Q: The last phrase it pretty shocking. I was surprised this was allowed as a lyric.(laughs)
Kobato: It was OK po. I submitted it meekly po(laughs). I didn't want to end the song popishly. If so there is no need for the current BAND-MAID to make such a song. So I wanted to have aggressiveness left here and attacked po. Actually this song had many more English phrases, but I changed most of it to Japanese. But left the last phrase English for it's impact.
@@_DriveTime Thank you, Kobato, not Saiki.
Josie and The Pussycats was an amazingly fun movie with a kick-ass soundtrack and I'll fight anyone on that point.
I'm always happy to hear Band Maid doing new Band Maid things. Even a simplified song from them is a delight and interesting to listen to. I'm not sure I'd want an entire album of this style, but it feel like a nice lemon sorbet to cleanse the palette before dining on the next serving. Thank you for another great analysis!
Hola NittPicc. The actor, who is French, considered that the means used by the technical team in the MV were worthy of a large production for a big band. He even had lunch and spoke with the Maids and found them to be very kind. Start Over was performed at the spin-off concert on 2/22/24 at Zepp in Yokohama, an additional show of selected songs that were not performed during the 10th anniversary tour finale at Yokohama Arena. It's a good song. Thanks
Band-Maid can master any genre while sounding like themselves. And Saiki doesn’t care what you think about it!
Depending how you look at it it does have a positive ending. You could start over & do all the same things again & who knows in hindsight it may work out better. Or you could say "I don't give a F**k" & do things your way :)
"Let's go f***ing crazy!" - Saiki Atsumi
@@ShikataGaNai100 Hell yeah :)
If you are old enough you may get some George Benson Vibes. I thinking about the BREEZIN album. Yep I'm old
One of my favorites..
Jazzy!
Gotta throw in that I love Miku's Pearl and Abalone guitar!
Love me a bit of jazz fusion, even if it's pop- Can we have an album please. Can you imagine the misa and Akane really going for it- fantastic drumming throughout. It's pretty much a sad fact that the only reason this is not a fantastic hit is that it is not sung in English. Which doesn't bother me at all, but the majority of the music listening public find it a problem.
Saiki said she didn't want a fluffy ending. I'd say she achieved her goal. Ironically it was a nice responce to the negative backlash this song received. Everyone was afraid BM had gone soft even though it was released along side of Screaming which was the hardest song they had released yet.
@@cygnetseven yup
From an interview:
Q: The last phrase it pretty shocking. I was surprised this was allowed as a lyric.(laughs)
Kobato: It was OK po. I submitted it meekly po(laughs). I didn't want to end the song popishly. If so there is no need for the current BAND-MAID to make such a song. So I wanted to have aggressiveness left here and attacked po. Actually this song had many more English phrases, but I changed most of it to Japanese. But left the last phrase English for it's impact.
@@_DriveTime Ah, thank you for the correction.
Misa works the entire fretboard thinking "Will sound better up here or down there?"
When this came out, the bandmaid subreddit went into full meltdown, saying that they'd sold out for popularity blah blah. It's not my favorite track but I'm happy every time it appears in my playlist. I'd take more songs like this than more fast double kick anime openers.
So this song takes me back to the early days of my Band Maid fandom, World Domination had just come out but honestly I was still catching to Just Bring It and even finding out how to keep up with news of the Maid's on social media that I wasn't real familiar with but once I did there was a lot of scuttlebutt about Start Over with some of the fans "losing they're frickn minds" about the Maid's "going pop", lol. I didn't really understand it as I have nothing against a good pop song, but I saw them later that year (2018) at the Chapel and they played Start Over and it was really good. I feel bad that Kanami felt bad about the negative reaction which was unfortunate but she bounced in big way ......and here we are now :-)
I really gave up trying to pigeon hole (pun intended) Band Maid into a genre a loooong time ago. I think thats one of the things that makes them so refreshing. It’s not like when Blondie went disco (my age is showing). Band Maid has always done their own thing, even when performing other’s music. I think what made it a shock with Blondie was that they had been doing their own thing within the punk genre so long and then there also was the whole “death before disco” thing because disco was getting shoved down our throats (we were at the mercy of DJs spoon feeding us back then with the occasional relief by buying some vynil). “Band Maid doing Band Maid things” (thanks Ryan Mear) is just normal (maybe in a geometric sense?) no matter what they take on. They are not compromising their identity by exploring the length and breadth of music, it’s just their nature. Band Maid to the core…