The nice thing is the band has said positive things about the writers of their early songs and that they have learned a lot from them. They still play some of the older songs to this day. Also, I think they had a lot to do with the arrangements of the earlier stuff, so they were still involved.

This is their best "outside writer" song for sure.They were trying to write their own stuff, but the record company wouldn't accept anything Kanami gave them until "Alone" which was actually on the same album as this was.

You really need to hear their first self-written song, "alone". On their popularity in Japan, about 65% of their views come from outside Japan. Some people exaggerate and claim they are bigger in America than in Japan, which is definitely not true. They've filled an ~8000 capacity venue in Tokyo and will play one twice that size later this year. But the extreme acclaim, the "best band in the world" stuff (which is deserved), comes mainly from overseas. Quality rock and metal is a minority genre everywhere, including Japan, but you're more likely to hear it in an anime opening than you are to hear it in the theme tune of a recent sitcom or Netflix drama. The ultimate example is the song "Nippon", by Miku's hero Ringo Sheena, which was written to be Japan's 2014 World Cup anthem, complete with cool bassline and crazy guitar solo. Unthinkable in western countries.

@sugaanessena3143

9 ай бұрын

How many of the 8000 was foreigners? Peter Lim from MNN (Maid News Network) said that Band-Maid are not an household band in Japan and they will depend on the foreign fans to fill the Yokohama arena.

@namenotimportant9788

9 ай бұрын

Thanks for putting me on to ringo sheena. Wow she is amazing 👍

Keep in mind that the first few years that the Maids existed they were still looking for that Band Maid sound. They knew it had to be rock at its core, but they wanted it to be much more. Kanami actually was grateful for the opportunity to learn how to write a good rock song from those who were already great writers. She took those lessons and helped create the incredible rock band that they are today. It takes time for a good band to "gel" as a group. But the curve for Band Maid has always been up. Year after year they have improved in every way to be the best rock band I have heard ever.

One thing to consider is that they didn't have a backlog of their own music when they formed. Band-Maid was created by Miku who was already under contract to Platinum Passport, and (I think) they each signed with PP as they joined the band. The exception was Saiki, who was already under contract with PP as a backup singer and a model when she joined the band. I think a lot of bands get together, rehearse, start gigging, and write music as they go along. _Then_ they try to get a contract and sign away the control of their content. Whoever they signed with starts messing with their music and this is a problem if they feel like they have already worked out all the problems; especially if it's a one-way communication from the producer to the band. It's easy to say "Well, read your contract before you sign it" but you have to be already well known with a good agent to keep control of your writing from the beginning - or willing to forgo the upfront money and self-publish - and defend your copyrights by yourself, and defend your contract terms with publishers or venues by yourself, and defend ... well okay, find and fund a lawyer willing to represent you without bleeding you dry. Of course, the upfront money isn't actually yours yet. If you have success, you're supposed to write another 30 or 40 songs and make two more albums, and if you've been writing as you go along you may not know how to produce that much good original music. Either the quality drops way off, or one person does all the work, or you get stressed and the infighting starts. Somebody starts doing an excessive amount of drugs and everybody else resents their lack of effort, the singer feels like _they_ are the _real_ star and decides to go solo. It's a story as old as time. In Band-Maid's case, they hadn't rehearsed or gigged so the label said "here are some songs." They picked some and started gigging them. I get the impression that they might have auditioned with some of those songs. To me it really shows how professional Misa, Akane, and Kanami were that they could read and understand how to play someone else's songs right off the bat. Kentarō Akutsu and Masahiko Fukui provided a lot of those initial songs, and you get the impression it was a collaboration rather than a one-way "here, play this, don't ask questions and don't talk back." Kanami has said they learned a lot during this period, and they seem to have maintained a relationship with Akutsu in particular. He wrote *"Fate"* (on "World Domination") and *"Smile"* (B side of *"Bubble"* which is on "Conqueror"). They worked with a number of other writers and producers for their second and third EPs, and you get the feeling they were serving an apprenticeship. When they started writing and producing their own stuff, they produced some really top notch music and have continued for seven or eight years now. You can hear Kanami's classical music background even in a song like "The Non-Fiction Days." She takes a theme or riff and develops it during the course of the song. Not every songwriter will do that (or not the way Kanami does it). Sorry for the novel, but I'm really really impressed with the quality of their work over the years. It is amazing.

I am Japanese and I think pop music is mainstream in Japan. However, I think there are many people in Japan who love rock and metal music. This is because there are elements of rock and metal in various songs. It may not be mainstream now, but I believe that the bond between Japan and rock and metal is eternal. I am especially happy that all-female band are doing very well in Japan today.

@Parker--

9 ай бұрын

From what I can tell, I think Japanese music in general has kept to a stronger affinity for real instrumentation compared to the West where more and more of the music seems built on samples and electronic beats. Maybe I'm wrong, but it sure seems like even jpop has as much real instrumentation as western rock.

@Kazuya1008

9 ай бұрын

@@Parker-- This may indeed be the case.

The Non-Fiction Days has always been in my top five Band-Maid songs =) It's the first song on their third album "Brand New Maid" and it was Band-Maids closing song for a few years ! Now they rarely play it =( Thanks Guys Nice Reaction

They were very lucky to work with so many excellent outside songwriters. They've taken many elements from their older songs and incorporated them into their own songwriting.

Still my No. 1 Band-Maid song after all this years, it's so heavy as f. This song played live is an absolute banger 🤘🏻🙂

This video was my very first Band Maid experience. No idea what to expect. It grabbed me instantly. Became an absolute fan of them after just a few seconds. This song is still one of my favorites. 😍

That song has always and will forever be sick! This was early in their trajectory, they learned a lot during this time. You also notice that they were still using all their early gear. Misa is still on her fender 4 string, Akane is using Sonar drums, the amps. Yea, this is still my favorite song from this "era" of Band-Maid. It was a huge song for them, its the one that really let me know that these women were for real and would be one of my favorite bands for the rest of my life. They have only become better and better since this time and in 10 years they have become and "overnight" success. I cant wait to see them (for the 4th time) live at Yokohama Arena in November. If you can see them live DO NOT HESITATE! They are an amazing live band.

Seven years later and still my number one. That Addictone guitar with that cool sound cuts through the air like a katana!. Band Maid best band on the planet!

The "Cult of the Tiny Hat"is still here!

Open beach in the middle of winter! These ladies were freezing and you can see this by those rosy cheeks of Saiki....there are pictures of the ladies in between shots wearing huge winter coats trying to stay warm. The night shooting scenes some of the ladies got a bit too close to those flames...lol - Great job on your reactions guys...always fun seeing your reviews and comments..Thanks..Peace & Respect from Montreal!

BAND-MAID'S The Non-Fiction Days = The Ultimate Pump-Up Song!! Thanks, guys, for jump starting my day with a jolt and a SMILE! 🤘😁🤘 I Absolutely LOVE this song!! If they would've played it at the Sac show, I think I would've spontaneously combusted!! Thanks again for the great reaction! 🤘🤩🤘

OffsetEra went back to the Tiny Hat-san Era! Nice choice, guys. Did you get the Hoobastank vibe? Kanami nailed whatever that guitar sound was in “Crawling in the Dark.” Kanami’s guitar work inside songs is something else. Unfortunately, most gets buried in the mix. It’s Alex Lifeson-level creativity. I’ve been following your pigeonhole journey from the beginning. Would you be surprised if I told you that you’ve still only scratched the surface of their catalog? As a fellow Floridian and musician, my honest opinion is out of 127 or so songs, probably 50-60 are “hits” or arena ready material. And that’s an insane level of excellence in any genre. Based on your feedback so far? I have a couple recommendations you will definitely dig: “Moratorium,” live performance. You want riffs? Kanami brings the riffs. “FATE,” live, or just the album sound is enough. “Onset,” official live video. Another epic instrumental. C’mon. Why are you guys avoiding this 😂 The thumbnail you could create will be worth your time! Keep exploring. Hidden treasures await you

@TherealSeriousMoonlight

9 ай бұрын

As it's been said, Mincho often puts enough riffs in one song to be the basis of two or three other songs. But... your really have to listen for them because she's often noodling behind the vocals.

I following band-maid since november 2014 because a Babymetal's fan send me a nice video from KZread...Thrill!!! I became a great fan for this ladies! Awesome band.

People have mentioned that Alone was the first song written by them that was accepted for release. I'd also say look at YOLO which was the "A" side of the single YOLO. This single was their first release, 6 months after the album that had Alone, where they wrote all the songs. It also started the Band-Maid trend of having the "B" sides be as good or better than the "A" sides. Only YOLO is on a MV but you should privately check out the "B" sides, Unfair Game and Matchless Gum, which are on their YT channel as music only under "releases."

When the drummer of Crystal Lake, Gaku Taura, heard Hanabie in concert, he got together with them and they agreed to have him produce their albums.

Early days indeed. MISA is playing a 4 string Fender American Jazz Deluxe here (she plays a 5 string Black Cloud these days). Kanami is rocking on an Addictone instead of a PRS Custom 24. Miku already has a metal front Zemaitis, although it would be some time until she got her custom "Flappy Pigeon" model.

This song has an interesting vibe, like we always try to do something. Relax, stop for a moment, and then run again...

Older Band-Maid videos have Akane wearing the tiny hat (RIP tiny hat), I think this was at a time when their songs were written for them. Personally I prefer their more recent releases where Kanami (their musical genius) has given us a heavier rock sound I like. From what I've heard they were considered to be a novelty band in Japan for a while, possibly because of the maid outfits (that has no doubt changed now). They are certainly very popular in the west, apparently the response to the Thrill video on KZread helped to save the band in the early days when their record company was considering dropping them.

Even though they didn’t write this song, it’s one of my favorites of theirs. In fact it’s the first song of theirs that I heard on KZread almost 5 years ago. I’m sure this song helped define their sound when they started writing years later. It definitely sounds like a song they could’ve written.

Fire Fire Fire and I'm not referring to the flames on the beach.

Band-Maid is a lot bigger in the US. however the market for rock in Japan is bigger in general(more for pop/pop rock however)

They've only played this once this year. It was at the Tokyo Garden show. It's the second song on vol. 2 best of right after "Shake That" which is another great rock song, almost has a southern rock feel to it.

You guys do an amazing job in your reviews, especially at the beginning when you mention comments relating to the song you are reacting too. Non-Fiction Days is one of my favorite Band Maid songs and I think that with the exception of the Band Maiko videos and the official music video of Don't You Dare, this is the best from the perspective of the setting up of the video, the location and general feel of the location. I'm not sure how many Band Maid videos you have reacted to, but you should check out the official music video of YOLO, where Kanami has done a magical job with its composition and her guitar work. Then check out the live video of Yolo and see how close the two are in sound and feel of the song. I see you have checked out a number of Japanese groups but I think there are two more you should check out. One is SCANDAL, the real rock veterans of Japan. They've been together for 17 years (since high school) and are as relevant today as they were when they started. A good start would be one of their newer songs, A.M.D.K.J.. Then go back to one of their classic hits Shunkan Sentimental. You won't be disappointed. The other group is someone who's has been around almost as long as SCANDAL, Glim Spanky, a two person group that uses session musicians. Their inspiration from high school was The Beatles and the 60's style of rock blues. There are also comparisons to B,S & T before Al Kooper left and the arrival of David-Clayton Thomas. The vocalist is Remi Matsuo, who voice brings to mind Janis Joplin, Bonnie Raitt and Grace Slick. If you are interested, check out Circle of Time from their 2020 KZread live concert and the live studio version of Breakdown Blues. She also does a great cover of Move Over by Janis Joplin. Guitarist Hiroki Kamemoto is a throwback to the early days of Jeff Beck and Jimmy Page. You will like them also.

I have lived in Japan for a very long time and rock is very popular ( Japan has a very large condensed population) but compared to pop music it would still be considered underground. Band maid gets way more recognition overseas than in Japan. Dont get me wrong they are very popular here but comparatively unknown compared to pop/idol groups.

Although not written by them, this song is excellent and I was glad to see them still playing it recently, at the Tokyo Garden Theatre gig in January and since.

If you are able to, find the live version of this from the 2017 Studio Coast Concert, then give it a spin. It was the closer and in the words of Michael Caine ' You were only supposed to blow the bloody doors off'

@edwardallen4051

9 ай бұрын

@@chrisbergsten1429 Pretty much sums up everything I feel about that performance. One thing I'll add and it seems to have occured during the previous song, Secret My Lips (whch also seems heavier than normal) and that is Miku's volume goes up a notch or two.

From the very beginning, Band Maid wanted full control of their material. Since none of the members had great notoriety when the group was created, this was not a possibility, particularly in the tightly-controlled Japanese music industry (they were lucky that the label didn't want to turn them into an idol group). Band Maid is nothing if not relentless and dauntless. Little by little they made headway. In 2016 things started to change. From 2017-2018 they essentially gained full control of their music. Today they even have involvement in post-production. They we never afraid to kick-down the "door of responsibility" in this area, but that door was too tightly-sealed to give way until many very hard hits had been landed upon it. Band Maid is never discouraged when they want something!

Loved this song when it was first released, then when I listened to them play it live in 2018, and today (and hundreds of times between the fist and last dates just noted). FYI: Akane's dress caught on fire during the filming of this video -- quick action from the crew saved the day. Ironically, the wind blowing at the beach that day (and especially that night) was bitterly cold -- look up photos of them in their "arctic snow suits" that they wore between takes. They are always badass!

There is nothing fictional about Band-Maid's awesomeness🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥

They still had huge input in their early songs which were written specifically for them. Kanami still credits the song writers for helping her a lot and contributing to their sound.

definitely an early gem from THE MAIDS. i remember back about 2017 one reactor said he really liked the song but it was too long ! are you kidding ? it went by in about a minute for me - i want more

This song and „alone“ are my favorites from their early days 🔥🤘🏼🎸

Just bring in a female vocalist to cover Don't Let Me Down. Problem solved. And their record company didn't accept any of their self written music until their 3rd mini-album. Where they got their song "Alone" accepted. Kanami has said in at least 2 interviews, it was good that the record company kept rejecting the songs they submitted, as it taught them how to write better songs. They were involved in the arrangement of all of their songs, however the level of involvement has increased to the point where the Ladies basically write, arrange, and produce 97-99% of all of their stuff themselves. And have someone record the full performance of one of your shows and upload it here.

This was their live show closer for quite some time. Check out the 2017 Studio Coast recording to see how absolutely awesome it is live.

Damn the camera loves Miku

great reaction, good insight guys

They might not have wrote it but they made it theirs it's the earlier band maid sound and finally they recognized kanami's writing skills and the rest will reside in the rock n roll hall of fame

Their arrangements have a variety of sounds and are packed with many techniques, right?

still my fave

Sigh, I got Nuthin, what a fcken band Po. 👍👍🍻🍻

@brunobryant4846

9 ай бұрын

@rogerchance9074 NEVER 🤪😄

@brunobryant4846

9 ай бұрын

@rogerchance9074 🙏😄🍻🍻🎈

BM did have a lot of say over the arrangements in the stuff written for them though.

You don’t know DEEP PURPLE, UFO, or KISS? Japan has a huge and lucrative domestic music industry. Hard rock has been popular there for decades. Check our Deep Purple’s Made in Japan album. KISS toured there regularly when their popularity in the US was at a nadir. With a little digging you can find recordings of Japanese rock bands from the 60s and 70s. Check out the OG all-femaie, Japanese ban Show-Ya. Start with 私は嵐 (Watashi Wa Arashi) 1989 - kzread.info/dash/bejne/hZtostOJiMrNk7w.html (These ladies are still rocking today). Then watch the NEMOPHILA cover of the same - SHOW-YA / 私は嵐(I am the Storm)" featuring Miki Tsunoda (drummer of SHOW-YA) - kzread.info/dash/bejne/lmR8x7Fyd7aZc6Q.html Domestically produced Jazz, Rap, Punk, and Classical music are also popular in Japan.

one of the 'foreshadowing' songs in their repertoire.

👍👍👍👍👍

Rock music being main stream popular in japan is a tough one. Its not as popular as pop music for sure. But I've found japan has an open mind about music generas. Just because you like 1 style of music doesnt mean you cant appreciate others or the mixing of genras. Even pop music has a more complicated chord progression than western pop generally. There is a strong rock live scene in Japan but theyre not huge arenas like pop music. But its important to keep in mind how small japan is. Imagine being a toruing band that never leaves California. So the fact you can tour and earn a living just in japan shows how strong the scene is.

Now that you've read the lyrics of "Don't Let Me Down," the Freudian symbolism of Miku running toward Tokyo Tower at the close of the video should be clear.

Going back to Don't Let Me Down. Cheesy lyrics aside....the song slays. It is on my intense workout playlist. For quite awhile, I never knew the song was in English until someone mentioned it.

@daaaaaave

9 ай бұрын

I always wonder what they’re going to do if they dramatically improved their English. Like, would they just keep using the Japanese accent because they need the syllables for the song? e.g. “ri a ru” for “real” in this one, or whatever 5 or so syllables they use for “created” in Domination.

😁

After finding Thrill in 2015, this was the next song of their's that I listened to. ATT, Miku couldn't play. One of my top 5 BM songs

Did you do Anemone? There's no MV but there's a track. You can also check Ryan's reaction.

Japan is a very musically literate country. Everything from classical to country has a following.

@DAVID-io9nj

9 ай бұрын

More pertinent would be what music actually sells . Every genre will have it's fans, just in what quantities . From what little I have seen, most of the music selling in Japan is, no surprise, pop and idol.

You should look up what they went through to make this video, it's great

@TherealSeriousMoonlight

9 ай бұрын

They only film outdoor videos in the blazing hot or the freezing cold!

@curtisi4403

9 ай бұрын

The promo is fun especially Mincho's input

Why is the letter S in your logo the only letter in the outside ring that is not rotating around the center like the others? It's 90° off.

A lot of my favourite songs are their early ones. Thrill for example. Overall, I think my favourite Misa bass solo, (barring the jam session call/response with Kanami in Hate at this years Lollapalooza) Kanami did her signature tapping, and "a pigeon traces an arc in the shrunken sky" sung by Miku, kinda shows even if they didn't specifically write the song, they had influence over it and/or collaboration from the get go. Despite the technical genius and prowess with their instruments and song structures now, a lot of it is a bit too busy and thrashy for my personal taste. I much prefer Choose Me to Black Hole.

I think by this point, even if the lyrics and melody were from someone else, the girls were putting their bent on things.

Is it overstating it to say that she might be one of the best lead guitarists playing right now?

True. JRock isnt as popular over there but its doing ok. Japanese market is VERY different than west market. Anime is the same….weird obscure anime is really popular in Japan and then the “most” popular stuff in the West in terms of anime is just barely doing ok in Japan. Japanese taste is totally different than Western taste….even for products made in Japan by Japanese people (like Band-Maid, or anime, etc)

I'm not sure if the BAND-MAID we have now would be as good if Kanami hadn't learned from all those professional composers back then.

Unfortunately the rock/metal scene in the uk bandwise is pretty much dead.😢

Band Maid may be overly polite in how much they learned about song writing from some of the early writers. Could part of the problem be the early managers just didn't know what to do with such a unique group? The band chose Thrill over the managements choice because it resonated more with what the band wanted. Had they gone with managements choice? Ugh!

Im not sure, why ppl make a big deal about "writers outside the band" songs? Half of led zeppelins 1st album were covers. Just sayin