the Shiina Ringo thread

my favorite pop album of this decade so far by a wide margin.

she reinvented herself completely for Kuruki. it's like trying to compare The Kick Inside to The Dreaming.

milton have you heard the double cover song album? it's stylistically all over the map, even for her... it wasn't that much of a leap to hear kuruki turn out how it did at the time, like she drew in all the incompatible tangents and made it messily/wonderfully work.

I heard KSK and worked backwards; her second album Shoso Strip is my 2nd favorite. Each of her records were progressively further out, so KSK isn't really a reinvention, it was a straight line but not the ones her mainstream fans imagined.

I wasn't sold on her double cover album, the production was slightly more mainstream jpop, but the song selection was beautifully all over the place, singing in french/german/english/japanese, and there are a couple songs I really love. 'Haiiro no hitomi' is great.

it was apparently her final solo release, the concept of which is a mini-career retrospective. she's since joined the band Tokyo Jihen (same band she toured KSK with, documented on the Electric Mole DVD, live at Budokan. The album doesn't translate to stadium rock too well, I don't like these live versions -- though there is a very very strange short film with Ringo backstage after the show at the end)

only problem with Karuki Zamen Kuri no Hana is that it is too short. easily one of my favorite pop albums ever.

'Sounan' is one of the best things she's ever done, and 'Laugh At Facts' is cool. Overall TJ leaves me a little cold but in context as a followup to her weirdest record it's an interesting move.

The things I like about her:
- amazing integration of traditional asian instruments in a rock context (something most jpop almost never does; it's against the rules, in pursuit of perfect emulative form)
- awareness of the japanese underground, her records are studio polished but unlike other jpop actually seem to have absorbed things like melt banana, otomo, merzbow (the very end of KSK sounds like Ground Zero's 'Consume Red')
- demented, extremely aggressive lyrics. no submission & brutal honesty that's completely absent in most other jpop

the first two have gone missing in TJ but the lyrics I've seen translated indicate that she's still raving.

http://www.dyske.com/index.php?view_id=848

Name more bananas mainstream Jpop! When I heard KSK I started looking for the recent good stuff...

Speaking of which, has anyone heard the new Yuki album?

Hm, if you say that Chara/Yuki album has steel drums then I need to check that out as soon as possible.

& posted 'ringo catalog' to the ilmxor blog (with multiple thanks to jody for hosting the file).

Tokyo Incidents blog has translated list of every sample in 'Ringo Catalog'. I'm very impressed, and hadn't noticed that she mostly moves through the samples in chronological order.
http://www.thetokyoincidents.com/archives/2006/01/ringo_catalog_b.html#more

there's a new album out next week. the band's new logo uses romanji, they're now officially 'Tokyo Incidents', and this single's 98% sung in english. and from the few songs I've heard, they've carefully removed every last bit of strangeness from the music; this comes across as a very mannered attempt to be nothing more than a slicked out, classy but fun pop band. I don't know, but we'll see.

new PV for tokyo jihen's 'kenka joutou', perhaps not the most striking first video impression (that'd be 'ringo no uta').
http://www.youtube.com/watch.php?v=0jbiHVQpbYc

for anyone who didn't hear 'sounan (sickness)' from the first TJ album, here it is... the album itself may have been a slight letdown but this song is one of her best. serpentine melody, just when you're settling in to the 'normal' production, merzbow levels of distortion are _quietly_ added across the drums just to mess with your head. and the final drum & guitar showdown is pure fire.

http://s11.yousendit.com/d.aspx?id=2MUDULM6U0DOM1IAEG7I79MXEA

well it's definitely true I wouldn't be giving this album much of a chance if it wasn't coming from the same person who'd done Chlorine, Semen, Chestnut Flower. if you know that it did, this becomes a very strange album entirely because you know just how much she's restraining herself. It's like she's decidedly choosing to be Happy now, if only for to protect her own health. And this is pretty fun stuff, well crafted & the group is so tight, it's hard for this not to grow on me -- but only in context with CSC. Which is an album I still can't seem to stop listening to.

The production is even more reigned in this time, the brash distortion, compression & noise of their first record is gone, as are the screaming fuzzboxed vocals. Some weird soundscapes & transitions, but everything's under control.

'Kenka Joutou' is a catchy song, I'm into it. In english and everything, it could be a hit if the label pushed it in the states.

i agree the album is mixed, too many "core ringo-fundamental" moments (which should be a paradox), laurel-resting and so on. the weird transitions are nice but then again CSC was like an entire body of continuous transition. you can stick a drum and bass coda on a complacent samba thing or whatever but it's ultimately just a mere trace.

that said, i like the increased use of jazz as a rhythmic element & i think the single is the best thing she's been involved w/ since her solo career. it's actually when the band members are on even grounding that things work for me (sorta what the shuraba video was implying). when the spotlight inevitably catches up, you get another ballad or lounge number that burns too slow too familiar.

I definitely like how live they sound as a band, the sections where they just get to dig into their parts and cook sound great. They're such great musicians, the outros on a few of these songs are the parts where I get into it the most.

even if I'm mixed on it, I'm sad that I forgot to bring this to work today.

I'm still a little taken aback that I like this record, I never would have given it a chance if it were from anyone else. I don't like impeccably slicked out cabaret pop jazz, and that's the only real way to describe this, but they nailed what they were going for so beautifully that I just kind of have to hand it to them, this is a great album.

I was planning on buying the regular edition but Amoeba had the deluxe, and I'm glad I got it, the art design on the packaging is perfect, the fake ads for cologne -- is this irony? No, it's accurate, this music hides on its own beautiful surface.

the shiina videos are all on youtube now. most of them low-resolution, but 'meisai', 'identity' & 'tsumiki asobi', 'gibbs' are worth seeing, and her best videos 'ringo no uta' versions 1 & 2 are both hi-resolution.

a friend of mine who's obsessed with hollywood musicals, bob fosse productions etc. got this record the first time -- the idea of someone making a modern record in this style that isn't a museum piece completely blew her away.

KZK remains the most overwhelming, but a major reason why she hasn't caught on here yet is that she's moving too fast for critics to get a bead on.

in the pantheon of uncompromising, eccentric songwriters that really oversee their own production, 70's = joni mitchell, 80's = kate bush, 90's = bjork perhaps, 00's = shiina ringo, she's that huge

http://freckle.tenkeimedia.com/nl/ringo/souretsu.html

The Feb.19th, 2006 [DOMESTIC! Virgin Line] concert was recorded and will be broadcast on SkyPerfectTV channel 721 (FujiTV 721) on March 25, from 11:00PM - 12:40AM. Don't forget to set your DVRs!

Interestingly, she comes across as more of a female Cornelius than Takako Minekawa did.

it's reassuring to hear anyone else say this, I think she's peerless.

if you've got the albums and want to start in on the DVDs, I'd recommend Baishou Ecstasy -- a 60 minute concert film where her performance in one auditorium is broadcast live by satelite to five other completely full theatres. the songs from KZK are redone as acoustic jazz cabaret songs by a 30 piece big band orchestra, and the songs just work -- she opens with an Edith Piaf cover, and like most of her concert films there's an extremely unsettling narrative twist at the end

I'm not as into the Electric Mole, which is Tokyo Jihen live at Budokan playing slicked out TJ versions of the KZK songs, though the Lynchian short film interludes are _really_ bizarre this time and there's a version of "Stem" that starts like Black Sabbath, plateaus like the Carpenters and ends exactly the same way as Sachiko M's sinewave solo on Ground-zero's Last-Concert album.

The videos are compiled on the Seiteki Healing series, volume three has the KZK clips.

http://www.everlasting-dream.net/ringo/ is my favorite fan site.

Of course, I'm not sure how much comfort it should be coming from a not very popcentric* person like me, but it might even be true (or plausible, or whatever truth-like value you prefer).

I don't own anything yet, myself, but once I've moved into my new apartment, and maybe after I wait a month or two to deal with some other necessary purchases, then I will at least pick up Adult and Karuki Zamen Kuri no Hana.

*though hopefully not anti-pop.

OK, now I am even more intrigued, although I also trust Milton's rave reviews. I was looking this stuff up on eBay the other day, seems that these CDs are reasonably available. I'll have to investigate.

so is it better to start with shiina ringo solo or with tokyo incident? or does it really matter?

I think Shiina made her name (in Japan) during the "Shouso Strip" period culminating w/ very popular nurse cosplay-parody video for 'Honnou'. I think there's the most tension there between charting rock star and widening weirdness palette.

It's also the period when most of her Cindy Shermanesque personas cropped up, sort of the dominant theme of her solo career. Before switching to T. Jihen there was 1) japanese ghost persona of 3rd & final album - death, 2) final song built entirely out of samples from her back catalog (link still above), & 3) a final video which chronologically travels through all her previous video roles.

http://youtube.com/watch?v=DQBWmLfxwxs&search=shiina%20ringo%20uta

imagine going to a stadium show and having that be the opening song.

what alex said. I like the Cindy Sherman reference, the song's lyrics are about an apple tree that longs to be human but settles for giving away her fruit at the end of each season -- sung by a person who keeps shifting through violently different personas, it's almost painful.

great to have a new album on the way from her at last. i thought Sunny was pretty solid so i'm optimistic enough about a new album from her, and those two new tracks are a lot weirder than i was expecting from her at this point in her career.

Those both sound promising, getting Jun Togawa top-notes from that second track especially.

Is there anyway I can buy that album digitally / legitimately without spending money on an import? I know it's on Spotify - which is kind of amazing as it is - but not my preferred method of listening.

all her stuff is on iTunes and Google Play, though using her official romanisation 'Sheena Ringo'

the album is decent enough too, though about half of it compiles her singles from the past 5 years and those are largely less interesting than the new material. not really close to the peak of her first decade of output but i'm certainly happy enough with it

I had no idea her albums were on Spotify so I went and checked out Shouso Strip (I've only owned KZK for years). I like it - not as much as KZK, but I can see how it plants the seeds for that album. The two opening tracks are awesome, especially "Kyogen-shou," which is probably now my favorite song of hers! I feel like I'm on such a journey listening to it. Some stuff on there like "Gibs" is a little conventional but the personality she puts into the vocal still makes it stand out

all her solo work was put on streaming internationally last year to celebrate her career's 20th anniversary iirc. Muzai Moratorium is absolutely worth a listen too. idk how much Tokyo Incidents stuff is available on streaming internationally (it's available here in Australia but i'm not sure about the USA) but their first two albums are essential, especially Adult.

The last couple months I was only listening to Shina Ringo pre-Tokyo Jihen (including b-sides). Every song grows on you. I don’t have it in me to complain about any song from that period.

Tokyo Jihen is available where I am (Vietnam) under Tokyo Incidents. I listened to Adult looong ago and didn't really care for it but I might give it another listen now

Try 'Variety' also, it's ace.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ix8Inb2wAl4

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lC8la4l4RhQ

can't go too wrong with anything up until the end of Jihen imo. maybe that singles collection she did early in her solo career and the double cover album are patchy but still have good stuff.

sadly on both US iTunes and Play they only have two albums - the single for Koufukeron from '98 and something called "Saihate Ga Mitai -Donde Quiere Estar Mi Alma Viajero-"?

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hT7LleyU-I8

found video of an early version of "koko de kiss shite" from 1996, performed with at the 'music quest' contest that lead to her getting a record deal

there's a lot of other great performances on that channel too

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gnaIJEW676Q

tokyo jihen are back

That's lush

WHAT

Sounds a lot like Petrolz, mind.

not really surprising considering Ukigumo has the writing credit on this one

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1nZS1G_dQkQ

here's the reunion announcement video

idk if anyone's mentioned this but tokyo jihen are on spotify now, under the name "tokyo incidents"

Tokyo Jihen is available where I am (Vietnam) under Tokyo Incidents

oh lol i'm late

anyway the first two albums are masterpieces for anyone who doesn't know

News EP out today, available on Spotify in the US!
Which is good, but I still wish I wasn't restricted from just buying the mp3s here.

Looking forward to this, been listening to them a lot recently, the mid/later records are much better than I remember them, especially Variety which is ace.

New Jihen video up.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=t67VbQhh9_A

muzai moratorium: it's a great album

such an absurdly good debut

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=75-c5h7obKo
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=L79JmTcdycc

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Tg8foBeQfcw

even her b-sides from early on are unreal

New TJ

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OS45uTF_8P0

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3pG7zs-2vQY

The new single is pretty great and has Hisako Tabuchi from Number Girl on guitar!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xl_fGKFFq_Y

omg tabuchi and ringo reunited

New Ohzora Kimishima is extremely good Shiinacore if anyone's interested

oh wow that's great. shiina's an obvious influence but there's a whole lot more going on than just that

It's great on initial listens, I've only just gotten my head around 縫層 and that was years ago

Will try that!

Does anyone know why in 2023 you can get her whole discography on Spotify/Apple Music but you still can't purchase them to own in the US

A friend recommended Tokyo Jihen as "the only modern Japanese band that can stand shoulder to shoulder with YMO." Checked a few songs he'd suggested, felt intrigued but skeptical (they're so J-rock!), but definitely intrigued. Checked here to see if there'd been any discussion... yes, a thousand posts...

After reading through the whole thread today I feel like over the course of a few hours, I've lived through a decade plus of passion, anticipation, confusion, and gradually building disappointment and disinterest. Surreal. And awesome. These forums are something else.

Am I right that the consensus is these are the must-investigate albums?

Muzai Moratorium (1999)
Shōso Strip (2000)
Kalk Samen Kuri no Hana (2003)
Kyōiku (2004)
Adult (2006)
Variety (2007)

yes you should listen to all of those

I would add Watashi to Hōden in there, as all early Shiina is good.

Imho, there are other bands that come close to greatness, but as good as they are, Tokyo Jihen ain't one of them.

Here are some other bands that perhaps you might like to check out, if you haven't already -

CRCK/LCKS
Dalljub Step Club
Gesu No Kiwame Otome
Clammbon
Suiyōbi no Campanella

Oh and maybe Soil & "Pimp" Sessions also!

Thanks ivy & Mare.

Mare, Campanella is the only one I've crossed paths with!

yeah those albums pretty much cover the peak, IMO

i think tokyo jihen are a truly awesome band, at least for the first few records where ringo is doing most of the writing, but i would never compare them to ymo. i’d way sooner suggest like… most of the production/songwriting work of yasutaka nakata

yeah there's not really anything in common beyond the nationality

i wouldn't include variety in the list of essential shiina ringo albums, but i would include ze-chyou syuu and heisei fuuzoku as worth checking out

They did both begin spearheaded by a single songwriter, who then let the other members start writing more -- though with Tokyo Jihen it sounds like that's the point at which things become LESS interesting.

Soooo, this new record.

it's just fine, not bad but largely by-the-numbers for her, but i didn't really expect anything more, though her last album was a bit better

Got to go to a Tower Records in Tokyo and they had a huge display set up for her new album, including a little set that you could pose in and take pictures. It was beautiful.

i’m staying in shinjuku rn and listening to muzai moratorium and wow her music just hits different here

also the recent tokyo jihen stuff is actually really good??? much prefer it to the new ringo solo record

i do love the list of collaborators on the new ringo tho, just about everyone i like in modern j-pop/rock