Interestingly, she comes across as more of a female Cornelius than Takako Minekawa did.
― BARMS, Tuesday, 11 April 2006 07:11 (seventeen years ago) link
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.
― milton parker (Jon L), Tuesday, 11 April 2006 19:20 (seventeen years ago) link
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.
― Rockist_Scientist (RSLaRue), Tuesday, 11 April 2006 19:47 (seventeen years ago) link
― milton parker (Jon L), Wednesday, 12 April 2006 04:39 (seventeen years ago) link
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.
― sleeve (sleeve), Wednesday, 12 April 2006 04:43 (seventeen years ago) link
so is it better to start with shiina ringo solo or with tokyo incident? or does it really matter?
― A. Lingbert (A. Lingbert), Wednesday, 12 April 2006 08:17 (seventeen years ago) link
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
― )alex(, Wednesday, 12 April 2006 16:42 (seventeen years ago) link
― A. Lingbert (A. Lingbert), Wednesday, 12 April 2006 17:54 (seventeen years ago) link
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.
― milton parker (Jon L), Wednesday, 12 April 2006 21:10 (seventeen years ago) link
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uyf9M7mt_RY&search=tokyo%20jihen
― Rockist_Scientist (RSLaRue), Saturday, 22 April 2006 19:11 (seventeen years ago) link
― Rockist_Scientist (RSLaRue), Saturday, 22 April 2006 19:12 (seventeen years ago) link
― Rockist_Scientist (RSLaRue), Saturday, 22 April 2006 19:16 (seventeen years ago) link
― Rockist_Scientist (RSLaRue), Saturday, 22 April 2006 19:24 (seventeen years ago) link
― Rockist_Scientist (RSLaRue), Saturday, 22 April 2006 19:55 (seventeen years ago) link
― Rockist_Scientist (RSLaRue), Saturday, 22 April 2006 21:05 (seventeen years ago) link
― ryan (ryan), Saturday, 22 April 2006 21:11 (seventeen years ago) link
― Rockist_Scientist (RSLaRue), Saturday, 22 April 2006 21:13 (seventeen years ago) link
― Rockist_Scientist (RSLaRue), Saturday, 22 April 2006 21:15 (seventeen years ago) link
http://www.everlasting-dream.net/ringo/video.htm
ryan, do you have "Hatsuiku Status" (green cover, cartoon drawing) and "Gekokujo Xtacy"? I know I want the latter, the former I'm on the fence about. The youtube excerpts from "Dynamite Out" (like the one RS linked to) make me wish I hadn't passed on it.
― milton parker (Jon L), Saturday, 22 April 2006 21:43 (seventeen years ago) link
― Rockist_Scientist (RSLaRue), Saturday, 22 April 2006 22:11 (seventeen years ago) link
― Rockist_Scientist (RSLaRue), Saturday, 22 April 2006 22:15 (seventeen years ago) link
― Rockist_Scientist (RSLaRue), Saturday, 22 April 2006 22:17 (seventeen years ago) link
― Rockist_Scientist (RSLaRue), Sunday, 23 April 2006 13:24 (seventeen years ago) link
― Rockist_Scientist (RSLaRue), Sunday, 23 April 2006 13:33 (seventeen years ago) link
I <3 Shoso Strip.
― RoxyMuzak© (roxymuzak), Sunday, 23 April 2006 13:49 (seventeen years ago) link
Anyway, I could still go.
― Rockist_Scientist (RSLaRue), Sunday, 23 April 2006 13:56 (seventeen years ago) link
― Rockist_Scientist (RSLaRue), Sunday, 23 April 2006 14:23 (seventeen years ago) link
― Rockist_Scientist (RSLaRue), Sunday, 23 April 2006 14:25 (seventeen years ago) link
http://shiinaringo.se/pics/Tokyo%20Jihen/jihen1.jpg
― milton parker (Jon L), Monday, 24 April 2006 01:58 (seventeen years ago) link
― Rockist_Scientist (RSLaRue), Monday, 24 April 2006 02:14 (seventeen years ago) link
― Rockist_Scientist (RSLaRue), Monday, 24 April 2006 02:22 (seventeen years ago) link
― milton parker (Jon L), Monday, 24 April 2006 02:28 (seventeen years ago) link
― Rockist_Scientist (RSLaRue), Monday, 24 April 2006 15:38 (seventeen years ago) link
ok im ordering Adult right now....
― ryan (ryan), Monday, 24 April 2006 15:50 (seventeen years ago) link
― BARMS, Monday, 24 April 2006 16:53 (seventeen years ago) link
― Rockist_Scientist (RSLaRue), Monday, 24 April 2006 16:56 (seventeen years ago) link
http://www.everlasting-dream.net/ringo/specials/patipati99.htm
Yes.
― Rockist_Scientist (RSLaRue), Monday, 24 April 2006 22:26 (seventeen years ago) link
― Rockist_Scientist (RSLaRue), Tuesday, 25 April 2006 10:26 (seventeen years ago) link
― Rockist_Scientist (RSLaRue), Tuesday, 25 April 2006 10:53 (seventeen years ago) link
― curmudgeon (DC Steve), Tuesday, 25 April 2006 17:15 (seventeen years ago) link
― Rockist_Scientist (RSLaRue), Tuesday, 25 April 2006 18:10 (seventeen years ago) link
― Rockist_Scientist (RSLaRue), Thursday, 27 April 2006 02:25 (seventeen years ago) link
― Brakhage (brakhage), Thursday, 27 April 2006 15:45 (seventeen years ago) link
― Rockist_Scientist (RSLaRue), Thursday, 27 April 2006 15:59 (seventeen years ago) link
― Brakhage (brakhage), Thursday, 27 April 2006 17:53 (seventeen years ago) link
I can see the reasons why Virgin hasn't even licensed her records in the States so far -- the english speaking world has low tolerance for pop sung in a different language. When an artist or group is selling out stadiums in Japan, the motivation to start over and slog through a tour of mid-sized clubs is low. And the few times there's been a push, the results have been mixed: Puffy, Dreams Come True, Utada Hikaru (Puffy only got a second chance after their tie-in cartoon show). So why should Virgin take a chance on an iconoclast cult-figure like Shiina...
Except I think it's completely obvious that she's the one with a chance to cross over here, Jpop for people who are usually allergic to Jpop. The sheer number of english fan sites is mindblowing, all in the relative absence of any professional critical support -- everything online is unedited, self-published, and there's a lot of it. She's really got to tour the States, it would be the loudest thing that's happened over here in some time.
http://www.pliink.com/mt/marxy/archives/000346.html
― milton parker (Jon L), Thursday, 27 April 2006 19:32 (seventeen years ago) link
That's for sure (not that it's only true of us). I run into it a lot when I get excited about some new foreign language music.
I would go see her live.
― Rockist_Scientist (RSLaRue), Thursday, 27 April 2006 19:41 (seventeen years ago) link
― Rockist_Scientist (RSLaRue), Thursday, 27 April 2006 22:33 (seventeen years ago) link
― Rockist_Scientist (RSLaRue), Thursday, 27 April 2006 22:37 (seventeen years ago) link
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Tg8foBeQfcw
even her b-sides from early on are unreal
― ufo, Sunday, 22 November 2020 04:20 (three years ago) link
New TJ
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OS45uTF_8P0
― Maresn3st, Thursday, 13 May 2021 23:16 (two years ago) link
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3pG7zs-2vQY
― MaresNest, Tuesday, 7 March 2023 13:21 (one year ago) link
The new single is pretty great and has Hisako Tabuchi from Number Girl on guitar!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xl_fGKFFq_Y
― MaresNest, Wednesday, 24 May 2023 13:16 (ten months ago) link
omg tabuchi and ringo reunited
― flamenco drop (BradNelson), Wednesday, 24 May 2023 14:55 (ten months ago) link
New Ohzora Kimishima is extremely good Shiinacore if anyone's interested
― imago, Friday, 29 September 2023 22:35 (six months ago) link
oh wow that's great. shiina's an obvious influence but there's a whole lot more going on than just that
― ufo, Friday, 29 September 2023 23:52 (six months ago) link
It's great on initial listens, I've only just gotten my head around 縫層 and that was years ago
― MaresNest, Saturday, 30 September 2023 00:02 (five months ago) link
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
― Nhex, Saturday, 28 October 2023 13:18 (five months ago) link