the Shiina Ringo thread

It was originally a Shiina Ringo fan's claims that Janelle Monae was the closest thing to an American Shiina Ringo that initially got me to listen to the Metropolis EP. I wasn't really into it, and didn't quite see the connection. Now that the ArchAndroid is out, I see much more similarity. (I do think Janelle Monae is far more reliable as a vocalist.) This seems like the sort of album Shiina Ringo wants to be making now, or should be making. To get really specific, "Faster and Faster" sounds like a song Tokyo Jihen wanted to write for their latest album. And as someone on Electric Mole pointed out, it even has a sound in the bridge that is very close to the beginning of "Noudouteki Sanpunkan."

Not that Tokyo Jihen could do anything as funky as the funkier songs here, but that's not really the comparison I'm making anyway. (Kameda could probably hold his own in a funk/R&B context, competing with African-American musicians working in that music. Not sure about the rest.)

Funny you should mention that, I was thinking similar things - waiting for Metropolis from my local library.

I hadn't made an explicit Monae/Ringo connection, but I did post something on Twitter about how people who like Janelle Monae who aren't listening to current J-pop are missing out.

What other J-pop do you think it similar to Monae?

I wouldn't point to anyone who's doing exactly what she's doing, but if you like Monae's stylistic jumpiness you're likely to enjoy Ayumi Hamasaki, whose albums are much more multifaceted than might be expected. Her new one, Rock 'n' Roll Circus, is pretty damn crazy.

Not that Tokyo Jihen could do anything as funky as the funkier songs here

Their bassist (or rather, Ringo's bassist for her entire recording career) is funky as hell!

That's who the Kameda I mentioned is.

There I go, not reading someone's whole post.

New Tokyo Jihen TV theme song can be heard faintly in the background of this trailer:

http://www.tv-asahi.co.jp/atami/news/

Sounds pretty typical of her sound. Words in English, unfortunately. But it's too soon to judge, obviously.

Bump because I just noticed Milton Parker online and haven't seen him around lately.

hey it's the Shiina Ringo thread. thanks for posting trace of new song, it sounds like them

I've mostly been listening to field recordings of animals & other choral music recently (david hykes remaster of 'hearing solar winds' is worth hearing even if you think the original is unbeatable), but planning a road trip soon and I'm bringing KZK. and that hideous Perfume song that someone posted the video for on the other J-Pop thread, the one where they're shopping... truly horrifying but I downloaded it and I play it

Oh yeah, that one. Somehow I haven't fallen for its charms yet.

(i.e., I think you are all crazy)

it's less charming than usefully symptomatic

I think this is pretty bad (and I wish the Japanese weren't so infatuated with their singers singing in English):

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oBMH_Q5MiUQ

The band sounds okay and everything, but not much of a song really and her vocals are annoying.

Doing theme music for a TV detective show might just be the one thing that could bring out the absolute worst in SR and Tokyo Jihen.

Sometimes it feels as though she has intentionally embraced mediocrity.

I hadn't heard this live version of "Kimaru" (my favorite track on Sports that hadn't been previously released). Pretty nice:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EJsWRXH2HIE

For all my complaining, I would pay a lot of money to see them live. And if anything, the ridiculous amount of talent in the band is what makes me frustrated when they don't live up to what I think is their potential. (I'm all TJ-reactivated since one of my nieces responded well to some videos I sent her.)

OSCA is an all time great vid, read that there's a new TJ live DVD out, is this from it?

Possibly. I only just found it while doing a youtube search for Kimaru videos. I haven't been following their story very closely after Sports left a bad taste in my mouth, but I guess I have to keep paying attention.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XoGZIwLWvt0

"I want to become a pizza delivery man's girlfriend." Hahaha.

I'm not even sure what that's supposed to connote, if anything.

Also, Uki seems to be jamming more than usual on this live OSCA:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XoGZIwLWvt0

That was meant to be this:

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

Even her count-ins have symmetry.

Worst Tokyo Jihen costumes ever:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WVatwqiw7ds

Phase II has touched the sacred "Sounan" and it doesn't sound bad, though Dynamite Out! still owns this one, I think:

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

"Zettaizetumei" from Sports sounds pretty good here too, I have to admit:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lERlAzuc1qU&NR=1

Ultra C (which has the above Kimaru, Zettai Zetsumei, the alt. Sounan, etc.) might be their best DVD, end to end. The only real low point is Sweet Spot, but that song's hopeless. It got me to revisit Sports at least, which is something.

Oh cool, that's good to hear, might get on EBay and grab a copy.

I think I might have mentioned it upthread, there are some Sports track performed live on 'Music Japan' which are downloadable from the Sadistic Gossip blog. Watching them somehow made me turn a corner wrt my low opinion of Sports, now I'm digging it. You are right about Sweet Spot though.

Oh fuck, this is a great OSCA:

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

Seriously, does anyone understand the rationale behind these awful outfits? And I hate it when Shiina Ringo changes her beautiful hair color. Really strong performances though.

c'mon those outfits are great

lol at Uki's 'Walk This Way' reference @ 2:07

these Ultra C clips are still a little on the Vegas side, but this looks a lot less stiff than Expo '08, which was the first new Shiina DVD I knew I didn't need to buy

Didn't end up spending too much time with 'Sports' as an album but I listened to the song Zettaizetumei a lot

thanks for posting these, RS

I have to admit, I don't care for SR's poutiness (isn't that a word) on the Zettaizetume clip. I also really hate what she's done to her appearance here, as I said before, and for some reason it makes me think she is unhappy. It just looks unhappy, but maybe that's just me.

I like the fact that she sings the album's happiest disco song like it's an agonized ballad (I wonder what the lyrics are -- I like her lyrics more than ever

her current cypher is vegas torch singer and it is what it is, but it's not like she was ever projecting 'happy' back in the days of ol' crazy-eyes

I know, it's not that her stage persona isn't projecting happiness but that somehow I'm reading actual personal unhappiness into this new image. Of course this could be 100% projection, not least because I am pretty unhappy at the moment. But I guess also there's the temptation to predict where she goes next, and I somehow see her veering away from this look, and maybe even sound, pretty quickly. (But that could just be wishful thinking, like all the Tokyo Jihen-haters who predicted they'd never put out a third album, or even a second I think.)

It does make me wonder about the lyrics for that song. I have trouble judging the lyrics from the translation, but they generally seem really smart. (No surprise there.)

I wonder what the lyrics are

Zettaizetsumei translation is now up:

http://www.nostalgic-lavender.net/ringo/zettaizetsumei.html

(Thanks Frecklegirl!)

Also, new single coming out in February. I wish they'd put out another really good studio album (or, I dunno, put out a regular live album or live compilation or something).

while the title is an idiomatic phrase meaning "stalemate", the literal translation is "absolute despair"

thanks frecklegirl!

"Sounan" continues to amaze me. Easily one of my favorite songs from the last decade.

OMG Shiina Ringo did a photo shoot at White Sands Monument in New Mexico! I've long fantasized abouot seeing Tokyo Jihen shooting a video here and having access to them because so few people would know who they were. Could happen.

http://www.tokyohive.com/2011/01/shiina-ringo-is-luminescent-for-maquillage-cosmetics/

http://i54.tinypic.com/2yytnnr.jpg

They should do a tour exclusively of New Mexico.

Preview of Shiina Ringo/Tokyo Jihen collaboration with Chiaki Kuriyama (I'm going to put the more interesting one first):

http://www.sonymusic.co.jp/?70006318_DFCL-1760&70006318_DFCL-1760_01SFL
http://www.sonymusic.co.jp/?70006318_DFCL-1759&70006318_DFCL-1759_01SFL

(This is all just coming via Electric Mole, obv.)

Also I have no idea who Chiaki Kuriyama is but apparently she was in Kill Bill.

It's not as though SR has a surplus of good songs these days.