Out of all the albums 'Conqueror' is the one that I just play the most. Well it was until 'Epic Narratives'. But Catharsis is a quintessential Band Maid song. It fits the overall 'enigma' that they have produced time and time again. Nothing is accidental and it becomes a pure work of art. Another albums worth of ideas in one song. They manage to make the same song feel different in the acoustic. So many bands just slow a song down but I am literally listening to different ideas coming from the same song ether on the record or live or acoustic. Genius is a word so over used. But what else can I call them. When you paused and made the comment I thought, just wait a second it's coming. They are simply a delight to listen to. Pop, rock, acoustic jazz.
No one could have said it more succinctly nor better. Bravo Jon I love your emotional, yet very insightful, reactions. Unique and that is very good in a reactor.
Kanami doing Kanami things... She's a genius and we mere mortals need to accept we are not on the same level. It's like saying you want to know what was going on in Einstein's brain. We just need to celebrate we are so fortunate to live in the age of Band-Maid. PO!🕊 🤘😆🤘
There's a fine line between genius and insanity. Einstien said “Insanity is doing the same thing over and over and expecting different results.” Kanami has erased that line. She writes the same song with different variations that all sound fresh and new. It also helps having bandmates that you trust unconditionally to help make all versions of those songs memorable. The Acoustic concerts and Band-Maiko are all perfect examples of this. Pure genius! Thanks Jon!
Catharsis is one of those Band-Maid songs that is perfect for those drives on a long, winding stretch of road in the fall. But be careful, because it's dangerous. Specifically the studio version. Kanami's guitar and Akane's kick drive so hard that they will have you doing 30 over unbeknownst to you. ぽ
I would have better luck figuring out general relativity than explaining what makes Band-Maid so great. Oh, and I think you got a mountain lion in your backyard.
KANAMI says that she composed this song with the image of swimming comfortably in the water. In fact, the lyrics are also in that vein. Listening to the original version with this in mind, can't you feel a kind of floating sensation? SAIKI loves this song very much and often sings it live.😘
Band maid is Love- Love from them for making music, playing together like this with all their own aspirations and muses. Their long hard work and dedication as well as grinding, so passion and ofc the love of us fans for the music they create and appreciation we have for it- which then comes back as their humbledness and appreciation for their fans.
Adding to the mystique of Band Maid, was their acoustic concert earlier this year.In addition to some eye opening new acoustic versions, they also did reworked versions of songs they had already converted to acoustic, including Catharsis! Band Maid always moving forward.
Catharsis is an amazing song. Great comment about building musical tension: Kanami is a master at this sort of thing. The vocal lines are melodic, but tonally unsettling alongside the swirling instrumental lines. Miku's swimming metaphors make me think she caught this feeling ("I swim, swim on further and deeper"). But then the parts come together on the last chorus (Hold your breath! / 1.2.3 / Remember / No worries / No night lasts forever).
Band-Maid's intention is to always to blow our minds and they do it so well. Kudos to you, you did the reaction properly by listening to the studio then acoustic version after. You can hear the magic in the composition.
@@ALAN_COX When you have a very dense composition with a lot of little nuances by all instruments going on all the time, much of it is lost when played at high meters and can't be discerned from the chaos. If they played the regular version at the meter they play acoustically, or at least half-normal, I wonder how that would come off?
Kanami always composes with intention and a sense of the whole song in a way that jazz composers like Oscar Peterson have had, but very few rock musicians do. The fact that Kanami, Akane and Misa are all formally trained musicians (and not afraid of technical challenges) helps bring these pieces together.
I would like to see video of Kanami composing a song just to see what her process is like. The closest to that I have seen is Kanami playing a song on unplugged guitar and humming the vocal melody to Saiki while on their tour bus.
When you move through life, you use your 5 senses to root yourself in reality and so it is with Band Maid. All 5 are needed to paint a complete picture in your head, unless it's an instrumental and they lose their voice, but Kanami has a way to communicate that as well.
This one is from their first Christmas acoustic stream during covid, a more recent acoustic gig was held back in March and streamed 2 months was equally amazing. I love the acoustic versions of Corallium and HGK, just awesome.
I watched the debut of the Christmas concert. What a treat. CATHARSIS and SAYONAKIDORI are the two songs that were most successfully transformed into something altogether different. They stand up on their own as wonderful performances, even without reference to the original versions.
So many things to love about this band. The acoustic version of this song though - just perfection. I love Miku's "octave up" unison singing on "I feel you..." And of course Mincho's solo - but then coming out of the solo is almost even cooler!! Those 16th notes that lead into and the lie underneath Saiki's vocals. Just too good!
I've come to the conclusion that when Kanami composes a song she hears in her head, the total sound of the combined members. It's the only way that she knows what individual contribution has to be. This also applies to the acoustic version. Total genius. But of course, the required input of the other members has to be achieved by them. Genius band.
Thanks Jon--great insights. Catharsis has always packed a wallop for me. I'm delighted to see you listening to tracks w/o videos. I wish others did this more. SO MUCH MUSIC. They are indeed a very different band. Great view by the way and I assume that's an Old Fashioned. Cheers.
Don't need to react to it, but if your curious, They played the regular version at the Paradise Rock Club, Boston MA on their 2022 tour, only time it was played on that Tour. There is a pretty decent Live recording on Vladimir Chupin's YT channel.
Catharsis doesn't get a lot of recommendations. I feel like it got a bit more back when the acoustic version was released on UA-cam. But the studio track has no video, you know, so it's not necessarily what people want to react to. (That reminds me, have you done Giovanni yet? I don't see it. You have to do Giovanni. If you can find the instrumental "white room" version, do a two-fer, because Kanami is going apeshit and it's easier to hear without vocals over it.) But this is the thing about Band-Maid, their catalogue is packed with treasure. Their deep album cuts are gold. Their B-sides are gold. There are literally a hundred songs (give or take) that no one has ever told you about, and most of them are good-to-great songs.
Saiki has a mantra that she always tries to add things to the songs that are memorable and cerebrally impactful, but unless you listen very intently, you can't pinpoint what is it from song to song. It isn't by accident. All the band members ascribe to it as well.
![BAND - MAID / Corallium LIVE at Shibuya Eggman [REACTION/ANALYSIS!!]](/img/n.gif)
You can analyze it til your head hurts...or just accept...THESE MAIDS ARE MAGIC 👌💪🔥❤🤘🤘🤘
Out of all the albums 'Conqueror' is the one that I just play the most. Well it was until 'Epic Narratives'. But Catharsis is a quintessential Band Maid song. It fits the overall 'enigma' that they have produced time and time again. Nothing is accidental and it becomes a pure work of art. Another albums worth of ideas in one song. They manage to make the same song feel different in the acoustic. So many bands just slow a song down but I am literally listening to different ideas coming from the same song ether on the record or live or acoustic. Genius is a word so over used. But what else can I call them. When you paused and made the comment I thought, just wait a second it's coming. They are simply a delight to listen to. Pop, rock, acoustic jazz.
I know how they do it. Kanami is a musical genius and Miku is a Poet. Each member is a virtuoso at what they do.
And they put their love and joy for their fans and each other into their music.😊
No one could have said it more succinctly nor better.
Bravo
Jon I love your emotional, yet very insightful, reactions. Unique and that is very good in a reactor.
Kanami doing Kanami things... She's a genius and we mere mortals need to accept we are not on the same level. It's like saying you want to know what was going on in Einstein's brain. We just need to celebrate we are so fortunate to live in the age of Band-Maid. PO!🕊 🤘😆🤘
💯 Agree 🤘💘
Well said 😊
Kanami is friggin genius 🔥❤️
There's a fine line between genius and insanity.
Einstien said “Insanity is doing the same thing over and over and expecting different results.”
Kanami has erased that line.
She writes the same song with different variations that all sound fresh and new. It also helps having bandmates that you trust unconditionally to help make all versions of those songs memorable.
The Acoustic concerts and Band-Maiko are all perfect examples of this.
Pure genius!
Thanks Jon!
Kanami's favorite guitarists are Carlos Santana and Larry Carlton, so I think it often appears in the studio version and acoustic version💝
Catharsis is one of those Band-Maid songs that is perfect for those drives on a long, winding stretch of road in the fall. But be careful, because it's dangerous. Specifically the studio version. Kanami's guitar and Akane's kick drive so hard that they will have you doing 30 over unbeknownst to you. ぽ
BAND-MAID doing BAND-MAID things.
I would have better luck figuring out general relativity than explaining what makes Band-Maid so great. Oh, and I think you got a mountain lion in your backyard.
KANAMI says that she composed this song with the image of swimming comfortably in the water. In fact, the lyrics are also in that vein.
Listening to the original version with this in mind, can't you feel a kind of floating sensation?
SAIKI loves this song very much and often sings it live.😘
Perplexed!?!? Yep.
Band maid is Love- Love from them for making music, playing together like this with all their own aspirations and muses. Their long hard work and dedication as well as grinding, so passion and ofc the love of us fans for the music they create and appreciation we have for it- which then comes back as their humbledness and appreciation for their fans.
Adding to the mystique of Band Maid, was their acoustic concert earlier this year.In addition to some eye opening new acoustic versions, they also did reworked versions of songs they had already converted to acoustic, including Catharsis! Band Maid always moving forward.
Catharsis is an amazing song. Great comment about building musical tension: Kanami is a master at this sort of thing. The vocal lines are melodic, but tonally unsettling alongside the swirling instrumental lines. Miku's swimming metaphors make me think she caught this feeling ("I swim, swim on further and deeper"). But then the parts come together on the last chorus (Hold your breath! / 1.2.3 / Remember / No worries / No night lasts forever).
Band-Maid's intention is to always to blow our minds and they do it so well. Kudos to you, you did the reaction properly by listening to the studio then acoustic version after. You can hear the magic in the composition.
What a great reaction! I'd love for you to hear the studio and acoustic versions of Mirage too!
IMHO, Catharsis is best served...acoustically.
I agree with you. Catharsis is good either way but the acoustic version is extra good.
@@ALAN_COX When you have a very dense composition with a lot of little nuances by all instruments going on all the time, much of it is lost when played at high meters and can't be discerned from the chaos. If they played the regular version at the meter they play acoustically, or at least half-normal, I wonder how that would come off?
Kanami always composes with intention and a sense of the whole song in a way that jazz composers like Oscar Peterson have had, but very few rock musicians do. The fact that Kanami, Akane and Misa are all formally trained musicians (and not afraid of technical challenges) helps bring these pieces together.
I would like to see video of Kanami composing a song just to see what her process is like. The closest to that I have seen is Kanami playing a song on unplugged guitar and humming the vocal melody to Saiki while on their tour bus.
When you move through life, you use your 5 senses to root yourself in reality and so it is with Band Maid. All 5 are needed to paint a complete picture in your head, unless it's an instrumental and they lose their voice, but Kanami has a way to communicate that as well.
This one is from their first Christmas acoustic stream during covid, a more recent acoustic gig was held back in March and streamed 2 months was equally amazing. I love the acoustic versions of Corallium and HGK, just awesome.
I watched the debut of the Christmas concert. What a treat. CATHARSIS and SAYONAKIDORI are the two songs that were most successfully transformed into something altogether different. They stand up on their own as wonderful performances, even without reference to the original versions.
So many things to love about this band. The acoustic version of this song though - just perfection. I love Miku's "octave up" unison singing on "I feel you..." And of course Mincho's solo - but then coming out of the solo is almost even cooler!! Those 16th notes that lead into and the lie underneath Saiki's vocals. Just too good!
This band is a miracle.
Thanks so much for sharing!
I love both!
Thanks! :)
I've come to the conclusion that when Kanami composes a song she hears in her head, the total sound of the combined members. It's the only way that she knows what individual contribution has to be. This also applies to the acoustic version. Total genius. But of course, the required input of the other members has to be achieved by them. Genius band.
Thanks Jon--great insights. Catharsis has always packed a wallop for me. I'm delighted to see you listening to tracks w/o videos. I wish others did this more. SO MUCH MUSIC. They are indeed a very different band. Great view by the way and I assume that's an Old Fashioned. Cheers.
Don't need to react to it, but if your curious, They played the regular version at the Paradise Rock Club, Boston MA on their 2022 tour, only time it was played on that Tour. There is a pretty decent Live recording on Vladimir Chupin's YT channel.
Both the original comment and reply are true but taken together are the complete picture of why we Maidiacs love this band.
I concur, joy is the term I’ve used before for the feeling you get from listening to this band, at least is does for me.
If you like this check out Awkward live it also has a Band Maiko version.
Love it!!!!🤘
Catharsis doesn't get a lot of recommendations. I feel like it got a bit more back when the acoustic version was released on UA-cam. But the studio track has no video, you know, so it's not necessarily what people want to react to. (That reminds me, have you done Giovanni yet? I don't see it. You have to do Giovanni. If you can find the instrumental "white room" version, do a two-fer, because Kanami is going apeshit and it's easier to hear without vocals over it.)
But this is the thing about Band-Maid, their catalogue is packed with treasure. Their deep album cuts are gold. Their B-sides are gold. There are literally a hundred songs (give or take) that no one has ever told you about, and most of them are good-to-great songs.
Saiki has a mantra that she always tries to add things to the songs that are memorable and cerebrally impactful, but unless you listen very intently, you can't pinpoint what is it from song to song. It isn't by accident. All the band members ascribe to it as well.
What was that saying again... Oh yeah: Band-Maid doing Band-Maid things! 😎🤘
Great reaction Jon! I'd characterise Band-Maid's music as simply JOYOUS. When I listen the natural endorphins kick in and resistance is futile 😃