the Shiina Ringo thread

that was a longwinded way of saying 'it's more like J-pop simply because it's much sweeter than earlier Jihen'

still, even though my teeth are beginning to hurt, I still think Jihen is _the_ J-Pop band for people who would normally shy from J-Pop, the gateway drug

That totally answers my question actually, and now I'm getting what you're saying above. :D

Yeah, J-Pop hasn't completely disconnected itself from whence it came, although the artists are starting to appropriate Western stuff more interestingly and succinctly than ever before.. Kumi Koda's stuff is a perfect example of this. (No, I won't force you to go listen to Kumi Koda to understand this. lol.)

http://strikeup.wordpress.com/2007/11/06/tokyo-jihen-senkou-shoujo-pv-and-audio-rip/

& this song isn't average after all, it's kinda perfect

Re-watching clips from Tokyo Jihen's Dynamite Out! I am amazed over and over again by how completely on the band is. As much as I don't hate the new line-up (and love Adult), it's sad this version came to an end so quickly.

based on the youtube clips that one does seem like the DVD to get if you're buying one (sadly it's one of the two live DVDs I don't have). the DOMESTIC! Virgin LINE TV special is still my favorite for its first half, but it's still commercially unavailable

New PV DVD has a version of Senkou Shoujo sung in English called 'Put Your Camera Down'. I prefer the single version, especially with that video.

pictures from the current Spa & Treatment Japanese tour, posted by user kroneko in EM forums

http://photo15.yupoo.com/20071122/201225_341513000_xdszlxht.jpg
http://photo14.yupoo.com/20071122/201213_649408648_cenvbksu.jpg
http://photo15.yupoo.com/20071122/201219_220184604_hoarlidj.jpg

this tour's production looks more portable than last year's, kind of hope this means they're thinking about playing a few shows over here

did not know one my favorite b-sides was a cover

Cyndi Lauper Unconditional Love Live Japan 1991
Shiina Ringo Unconditional Love (Kabukichou no Joou b-side)

(Kabukichou no Joou was her 2nd single from 1999, way early Ringo, though the production on the drums during the bridge is quietly psycho)

Ever get the feeling that Uki really want to be playing a banjo sometimes?

Sorry, I'm not into that solo Shiina Cyndi Lauper cover.

Bad but kind of hilarious cover:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gnvkSkVWLfI&feature=related

Well, okay maybe not hilarious, but very WTF.

Oh shit, a Shiina Ringo thread. Found this through google, though I usually frequent other boards here. Nice! I love finding other people who actually know about her greatness.

Senkou Shoujo: the song is good stuff, though maybe a bit too much on the poppier side (Kameda wrote it). I like the English version a little better, but that could just be the added effect from the familiarity more than the tempo change. The video is great either way.

took me a while to get a handle on variety (which my ipod for whatever reason translates as "an entertainment") but it landed on my top 10 list. in the lower reaches, because it's spottier than the first two, but i like most of it a lot. i even like fukushuu/vengeance -- their grunge song, or their concrete blonde song or whatever, i think it's kind of hilarious. it definitely misses shiina's writing, but it still has her presence, which isn't a small thing. and "ramp," "backstage," "o.s.c.a.," "my way," "killer tune," "metro," "ss/aw" -- lots of great songs. the towering piano interlude in "sake and nondrinker" is more or less classic all by itself.

http://strikeup.wordpress.com/2008/01/07/tokyo-jihen-spa-and-treatment-tour-videos-for-download/#more-142

TV broadcast of Spa and Treatment Tour aired 5 January 2008

Man, whoever runs Strike Up! is awesome. So much good stuff to download that will never been put out on DVD or anything. Not that I can afford to buy those anyway (someday I will watch you, Dynamite Out!... someday).

Mothra: Totally agree on Variety. Not as good as the first two, but still a lot of good songs, enjoyable listen despite the lack of Shiina's songwriting. I actually enjoy Fukushuu too, especially the outro and the somewhat goofy lyrics (hurt you from behind...)

'botomin' from variety is a really well-constructed little number. fine, fine vocal interplay and the bass solo is a very nice touch.

is there a site somewhere that lists songwriting/production credits etc?

I usually check this one out.

http://www.ether-sea.com/ringo/

Thanks for pointing that out Milton, I am enjoying most of it immensely. (And these concerts videos are great too.)

So I feel like I should know, but who is this extra guitarist on the live Tokyo Jihen footage?

that's Izawa on guitar for "Gunjo Biyori". Youtube for Kabuki / OSCA.

new concert's pretty great. her bicycle horn on 'Kronekodow' kills me, Spike Jones RIP

live arrangements are generally identical to the album versions, which underlines just how live the new album is

that's Izawa on guitar

Oh right, no keyboards. Duh. (Not that I knew he played some guitar as well.)

I'm trying to stream some videos from http://soundstory.tistory.com/77 but I keep getting an error message in Japanese.

I like this live "Killer Tune" a lot more than the album version (or the other live version I think I heard it). Surprisingly (since there's no chance for corrections), I think her voice sounds better here. Oversinging less?

I've never heard this ("Yami ni furu ame" in medley with other songs) live before (not that the album version doesn't sound quite a bit better, unsurprisingly):

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0NWDhokl_5U

that's the encore from the "Gekokujo Xtacy" DVD ('Shoso Strip'-era live)

the Budokan show that opens with the kinderchoral 'Souretsu' and 'Gunjo Biyori': http://strikeup.wordpress.com/2008/02/23/tokyo-jihen-domestic-virgin-line-live-video-files-and-audio-rip/

google can find you 'Dynamite Out!' .rar's as well. I hadn't seen the version of 'Jusui Negai (The Suicide)', her vocals on that version had me look up the lyrics, can't believe I missed those

Isn't it about time for a DVD-release announcement for Spa & Treatment?

am loving 'kyoiku' at the moment

takes many a spin to fully come to terms with it

'genjitsu wo warau' is phenomenal. wow

It's a good song, but her singing in English doesn't work for me on that one (including any live versions I've heard).

well it's got bizarre phrasing in the verses. i can deal with that. it's a pretty unflashy vocal performance overall by her standards. but yeah, the song is great.

So what's the difference between these "Dynamite Out/In" DVD's? The CDjapan descriptions are kind of vague, I know the region codes are different. Are they the same show??

Genjitsu wo warau is great! As is Kyoiku.

Dynamite Out is much better (based on what I've seen of each on youtube, which is quite a bit by now).

I had no idea that Ahito Inazawa from Number Girl played drums on "Meisai" and "Ishiki", two of my favorite tracks from KZK.
He also comes out in the video, but it looks like it's not on Youtube anymore.

Oh, so it's two different shows.
I wonder why they did that. Released one on region "2" and the other with region code "all".

Dynamite In isn't a different show, it's just out-takes, rehearsal and backstage footage from the Dynamite Out Tour.

Not the sort of the thing you'll want to watch more than once, really.

Oh wow, it's got all that, except the actual show. hahaha

I don't hate Kyouiku, but I am more and more convinced that Adult is a million times better.

Sorry, I bet some of you were expecting real news. Isn't it time for a new Tokyo Jihen single?

hahahah
well as long as this thread keeps tiding over

It's time for the Spa & Treatment DVD....

headlining two nights of rising sun festival, first night jihen, final night solo shiina: http://rsr.wess.co.jp/2008/artists/lineup/index.html

& beyond

http://kronekodow.com/img_index/2008.jpg

That's pretty genius.

There's a band on that lineup called Ogre You Asshole.

OGRE YOU ASSHOLE

i love the verse of 'superstar'. adult has taken ages to grow on me properly. but creep up it has

i wonder if i am the only one who has found a new desktop picture!

http://jpopkpop.net/?itemid=471

Ten years after debuting in the Japanese music industry, rocker Shiina Ringo is to release her first BEST album. Titled Watashi to Houden, the album will be released on July 2 and will contain all of her singles as well as B-sides and album tracks over two discs.

On the same day, she will be releasing her fourth PV collection, titled Watashi no Hatsuden. It'll include all of her PV's as well as a new one, MELLOW.

I own 8 of those 10 singles. in many cases I like the b-sides better than the singles. towards the end her singles were conceived more as 3 track standalone EPs, especially the last four which shared no material at all with the albums they ostensibly supported, so it'll be interesting to see the track sequencing