the Shiina Ringo thread

Sorry to go OT a bit, but it seems better to ask you here, rather than start a "recommend me some rock" thread where I keep saying, "No, that's not what I'm looking for."

DOMESTIC! Just Can't Help It tour -- a DVD of the May 26th concert, coming out this September -- just announced on her web site. Sounds very different than the NHK special they aired of the February concerts, which I need to get a copy of because I am sick of loading up YouTube just to watch 'Souretsu'.

http://profile.myspace.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=user.viewprofile&friendid=51437562

I would never put "Toumei Ningen" as the first track to listen to. OTOH, the whole selection here seems to be intentionally skipping the singles, which are available on youtube anyway. I hope people will check this out, but keep in mind that the album segues really nicely from track to track, so you are missing the larger logic.

'Sounan' is still the track I recommend to people for a first impression.

also, I've been checking out the Zazen Boys (Ringo sings on a few of their tracks). I was surprised at how prog the rhythms on some of their tracks are -- like a pop version of the Ruins -- and they've definitely pinched Ringo & Kameda's run-the-whole-drum-kit-through-12-distortion-plugins production trick. Definitely another example of the 80's/90's Japanese underground slowly seeping over into the mainstream. Their 'Usodarake' is on youtube.

all their things on youtube are way prog, if they've made it big in Japan then this is good news

(I forgot to check out the Zazen Boys, but will do so.)

I'm a bit surprised you don't like the track if you love "Blackout." I feel that the two tracks go hand in hand, in terms of mood.

http://www.toshiba-emi.co.jp/vmc/issue/issue_75.htm

The third one, "Blackout," is especially great. "Mirrorball" is so so...but it's not technically a Tokyo Jihen song. I guess the guitarist (Ukigumi) wrote it for some older band he was in.

in other news: new solo single in january to be followed by full album. looks like it started life as songs written for a soundtrack, but became its own thing.

I did get the Just Can't Help It DVD. A combination of a live show, completely reshot footage on a soundstage identical to the stage from the live show but with no audience, and the band playing in surreal, scenic location shots, all seamlessly edited together -- very disorienting. For the first half, there is no audience on camera, they're only on the soundtrack. But occasionally it really works in a way that further descriptions would spoil. Does not rock as hard as the first live DVD Dynamite Out, a straight document of them just burning, blowing the album versions away -- this one is more of a j-cabaret show. Great though, totally worth getting.

Also the new live versions of the older songs sent me back again to the first album. Which, amazingly, I love now, totally love it -- all the things that were too loud and tasteless now seem fun, all the things that seemed too bombastic & sentimental now work, uh-oh. It was just the surprise of a debauched, sleazy pop record coming after KZK, like someone demanding that you take them to go swing dancing in a dive bar seconds after they've given you the most religiously effective opium you've ever smoked -- fun but seriously complicated

jasrac petitioned youtube to remove most of their j-pop content, so the live version of 'hard liquor' mentioned upthread where they seamlessly turn the corner into 'immigrant song' isn't up anymore -- too bad

the other downside of jasrac pulling j-pop from youtube is that the commercially unavailable Domestic! Virgin Line clips from february are gone. Just Can't Help It is better overall, but the live versions of 'Souretsu' and 'Ideal Days For Ultramarine'... those need to come out somewhere soon.

new album is solo!

also, wtf @ the tracklinks to this thread?

tracklinks?

The descriptions given all over the place indicate that the album is an "iyokusaku", just like "KARUKI ZAAMEN KURI NO HANA", so I think Ringo'll be producing the album again.

saku= harvest or bloom

Maybe it's those two words put together, I guess that'd kinda make sense. Wanting to blossom creatively or something.... beats me.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FC-u0c2w7hg

http://blog.naver.com/delico4u/70010525142

http://vidsearch.myspace.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=vids.individual&videoid=747236124

(This thread does not come up in ilx search, incidentally.)

usually, the happier her music, the more devestating the lyrics are. it's the way in to her relentlessly perky new material -- she's singing about double suicide, betrayal, ghosts, the end of the world, graphically uneasy sex with someone she can't trust, etc.

and this new single is incredible. I'm playing it over and over. once again, after a brief intro in japanese, all in english. the bittersweet harmonies going into the chorus, it's actually as sad as it is happy. it's so good.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MR_OzfBeiSU

- sampled on O.lamm's new "Monolith" album.
- field recorded on Sarah Peebles' "Walking Through Tokyo At The Turn Of The Century" album

Things I have belatedly noticed on her sleeve art: On Gibusu she is cutting her hand & on Mayonaka wa Junketsu she is a mannequin. I had to see them in person to notice.

Actually, I found it by searching Google and finding it in someone else's bookmarks, which I now do have bookmarked.