the Shiina Ringo thread

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.