The Official Shiina Ringo Thread
 

Just because she deserves it. For all your Ringo/Tokyo Jihen related news, chit-chat, and what not. Let the games begin.

I'll just start off with a random cool picture. :yes

http://student.hro.nl/0756756/othe030.jpeg

Note: I didn't call this 'The Official Tokyo Jihen Thread' for a reason, if you're wondering - this thread is for everything Ringo: her old solo works, Tokyo Jihen, and whatever the future will bring.

She plays the drums?

Word, was wondering when one would pop up.

I have a similar picture of aiko in mind when I look at that...

I heard/saw STEM for the first time today, and wow!! I was blown away. I've heard the Shouso Strip album and Memai, so this song makes me want more! :D

What album is STEM from? *Hopes it's the 3rd one with Memai*

http://aiko.can-d.com/image/news050214book02.jpg

"memai"? Since when did Ringo have a song called "memai". Or do you mean "meisai"? O_O

If so, then yes, "meisai" and "kuuki" ("STEM", re-arranged and re-performed) are both on "karuki zaamen kuri no hana". I'm not through digesting the album yet, there's a lot (and I mean A LOT) of stuff in there. =)

Yay, Ringo thread! And she looks more badass on the drums than aiko. She also plays the piano, guitar and the violin - not too sure about the last one though, but I see her posing with it in the "utaite myouri" booklet, so I think she does. She's a very accomplished musician, and a very creative person. =)

She does have a song called 'memai', it's a b-side I believe, and it's fantastic! (As are most of her B-sides really) 'memai' is one of my favourites and the second song I heard from Shiina I believe.

And I want "Karuki zaamen kuri no hana"! Can't find it for a reasonable price...

I simply adore the single version of STEM, I must get it once I get a job and before yesasia lists it as temporarily out of stock. Seeing as BanFan said heard/saw, you must be talking about 'kuki~STEM~Daimyou asobi hen~', that version is only available on the said single.

And she plays alot of things...o_o

:laugh I've seen videos of her playing guitar and piano but not drums. Any other instruments?

Indeed, Memai's a brilliant song, I love it.

I bought the Japan version at YesAsia. It's a tad expensive, but it's Shiina you're shelling out for, haha. :yes So it's worth it, it's an astonishing album.

Correctamundo. But the album version, Kuki, is simply brilliant as well. I love the live rendition she did of it on Electric Mole.

That said, the PV for kuki~STEM~Daimyou asobi hen~ is absolutely amazing.

She plays the vocal chords, that's for sure. :laugh I'm not sure what's the deal with those pictures of Shiina behind the drums. I got them off DC++, no description or anything. There's two more like it:

http://student.hro.nl/0756756/othe031.jpeg

http://student.hro.nl/0756756/othe032.jpeg

Hell yeah, haha. At least Ringo looks like she knows what she's doing. :laugh Nevertheless, definitely a similar picture.

Hey, it's the guy from Tokyo Jihen on the last pic! With that hair, these looks like really old pictures though.

Yup, they're definitely some old ones. I'll try and find some more info on them though, 'd love to know what they're all about. A recording session I'm sure, but which I wouldn't know exactly. Definitely around 2000 or so I'd guess.

yay a shiina thread!!! omg i wanna buy karuki zamen kuri no hana!!! u guys convinced me lol. i read some article saying it was completely shocking and off the wall, totally didnt make sense. and that her first 2 albums were so conservative compared to that crazy one lol. so i cant wait to hear it, i love it when ringo is shocking. i keep discovering songs on shouso strip, like i had the album for a month or so then i found myself listening to yokushitsu 5 times a day, then it was sakana, yami ni furu ame, tsumi to batsu and now honnou :P cant get enuf

It took me so much effort to find 'Shouso Strip' when I was in Hong Kong, only one CD store out of the dozens I've been to have it! I should've gotten her first album from that store as well as the GIBISU single I saw in the 2nd hand store though...:(

Hell, I want Muzai Moratorium so badly as well. It's still available at Amazon.co.jp and CDJapan.co.jp, so I'm definitely getting it as soon as possible. It's so brilliant, incredible.

And natalaxie, yes, Karuki Zamen Kuri No Hana is very 'avant-garde', you could say. Here's what music*****.org said about it:

My bad, I never knew Ringo had a song called "memai" on the "koko de KISS shite" single. I'm very sorry. m(_ _)m

The only singles of hers I've ever listened to are "mayonaka wa junketsu", "STEM ~daimyou asobi-hen~" and "ringo no uta". Maybe I should go look for more Ringo singles. =X

I loved music*****.org's review of "KZK". =)

I think the "STEM" single is out of print, neowing.co.jp lists it as OOP. Towerrecords.co.jp and HMV.co.jp still have the normal press though, maybe it's whatever they have left in stock.

I want Ringo-hime's first two albums! I think the extended OBI for the OS for "muzai MORATORIUM" looks ugly. =X

OT, but it's damn anal how most online pages have already subsumed Ringo under Jihen, so you can't key in romanji to look at her discography. Tower Records annoyed me that way.

I did mean meisai..><;

Though I'd like to hear the other song...:)

Yay, a Shiina Ringo thread. I love her!

The next issue of ROCKIN' ON JAPAN (April) will feature an interview with Shiina.

http://student.hro.nl/0756756/0504.jpg

Basically it says that it will be about the Tokyo Jihen tour that just ended and the future of Tokyo Jihen, and such. Can't wait, to be honest, I hope someone puts up a translation.

Yay! A Ringo-chan thread ^_^ I wonder when the tour dvd is coming out.

My friend is a fan. But i can't say i'm one since i've only heard one song.

I must say, it was quite good though!

I was going to upload "memai" for you all, but it seems umm...I've lost it along with "Ichijiku no Hana"............

Could I request for those along with her cover of Janis Ian's "At seveteen", "17" on the Tsumi no batsu single? I've heard a cover of that song from a HK indie group and am interested in Shiina's version.

Anyway...I was always under the impression I have 'memai' backed up somewhere, but it seems I didn't. So I uploaded some other B-sides instead.

Click here

Cheers!

Edit: Is there a first press for 'Tsumi to batsu' and 'GIBISU' with a different cover or something? Because I read a CD Review on these two singles back when they were released in a magazine, and the picture shown weren't the ones normally listed in CDJapan, yesasia, HMV and Oricon.

The GIBISU picture was a knife cutting into a wrist (no blood), with the other hand holding an apple.

The Tsumi to batsu one was her in the red suit sitting in the sliced open car with her hands covering her mouth.

"ichijiku no hana" for Kev:

http://s21.yousendit.com/d.aspx?id=2...M2GDKRY2JHSZ2X

Thanks! But I got it off Impact already earlier at the download thread.

And it seems '17' wasn't a cover of Janis Ian's "At seventeen", I was so sure I read several days ago that it was. o_O'

I know the pics you're talking about, but they're indeed not the regular coverart. I'm not sure if there's been a first press - they're just alternate pictures from the same photoshoots, I guess. *tries to remember*

I saw Shouso Strip in Kinokuniya but I resisted buying it for $33. I want her third album with the Gibbs single next time I go. :D

IMO, Shouso Strip is better than Karuki Zamen Kuri No Hana. Just get it from Yesasia, it's $28 or something over there.

Does anyone know if the Store at Kronekodow ships internationally? It's all in Japanese, so I'm pretty clueless. However, they sell some amazing stuff and the prices are very decent, imo. Doesn't seem like it though, I Babelfished some stuff and came up with something about shipping always being 700 yen nationwidenesses (that's what it said). Bah.

If anyone finds out or can help out, that'd be great.

And how is this Shiina Ringo Kill Bill (or Bruce Lee, you decide) doll not cool?

http://student.hro.nl/0756756/kb1.jpg

I want the Honnou doll I saw her site the other day actually, it looks awesome.

BanFan, 'Shouso strip' tends to be the Shiina album that appears most often on eBay, might want to check there if you want a cheaper 2nd hand copy.

I still would like to hear some more of her third album before deciding, but STEM, Meisai (the one with the crazy death video and cool instrument at the beginning) and the single with the creepy blue eyes are enough of a reason to buy the album, unless I find those singles somewhere cheaper than the album...But I'll probably end out buying both her 2nd and 3rd albums if I get the chance. ><;

Edit:The creepy blue eye single song isn't on the third album, but it looks pretty good anyway. :D

Well I don't think I can really call myself a Ringo fan, since I've only heard a few songs. My favorites so far are Tsumiki Asobi, STEM (english version), Yattsuke Shigoto, La Salle de Bain, and Souretsu. :)

Does anyone know if she writes the english lyrics on her own, or if someone helps her? Because the english lyrics of La Salle de Bain and STEM (among others) are very well written, and her pronunciation is so good that it sounds like she may be fluent. :yconfused

Oh and sxesven: On Kronekodow's website it says that they don't ship overseas, sorry about that. :(

Haha, yeah, creepy blue eye single (Mayonaka wa junketsu) isn't on the album. But the single is definately worth getting with 3 songs not included in albums. I found mine in a 2nd hand store after wanting it for ages, but never had the money to get it. :P

You've got to see the PV too if you get the chance, it's awesome even if it's animated. (Since she was pregnant at the time) But the animation style is defiantely funky.

I'll upload 'Souretsu' from the 3rd album for you later on, it's an awesome song.


I can understand her English in 'Unconditional love' pretty well, but I have no idea what she's trying to sing in 'La salle de bain' and 'kuki~STEM~Daimyou asobi hen' though...I didn't even realise the later was in English until someone told me. o_O'
Even reading the lyrics off the single for 'La salle de bain' it makes no sense to me...

So wash me, cut me, I'm under water :yconfused

Oh well, still great songs though.

Bugger, 's what I thought. Maybe I'll send them an email saying 'pleeeeeeeaaaase pretty pleeeaaaaaase'.

I can upload the whole of KZK by the way if you wish, Banfan, I got it right here.

Yeah, her English is pretty good at times, but at other times, it's just incomprehensible. It's not the worst though.

/edit/

Karuki Zamen Kuri No Hana

Yeah, in STEM I couldn't understand any of her English. I thought all of it, save a few parts was in Japanese! ><;

Is it Japanese on the album though, because on Cori's lyric site, none of the songs off her 3rd original album have English lyrics...

It's Japanese on "karuki zaamen kuri no hana". Yep. =)

The vinyl version of KZK had the English version though, funny thing.

Actually, ImpactBreaker uploaded most of the B-sides to the singles in the Other Downloads forum - so most of us have the singles you listed. However, I would like to request for the original version of "koufukuron", if you have it. Thanks a lot. =)

ZHZ is out of stock on that site though. =/

But thanks anyway! :)

For luminaire:

Koufukeron - single version
Koufukeron (etsurakuhen) - album version
Koufukeron (etsurakuhen) - live at Sweet Love Shower '99

Thanks sxesven! I've also never heard the single version before. (I didn't even know there's a different sounding one)

Ooh, thanks a lot sxesven. =)

Yeah, the single version is slower and less... distorted. Which is why I like the "etsuraku-hen" better, more fun. XD

Just found this rather interesting article on Shiina, a recommended read. An excerpt:

It also mentions Ayumi, see for yourself. Maybe not an easy read, but it's worth it.

Yay, just ordered Karuki Zamen Kuri no hana off eBay! (OS though)

Didn't want to buy the Jpn ver off the local store, as they were rude as always when I asked about Nakashima's album.

Awesome. :yes

I agree, excellent choice!

Lucky...*needs to go buy the Jpn Version at Kinokuniya*

yay i just ordered karuki zamen kuri no hana off yesasia - so expensive tho *sigh* cant wait till it arrives :D:D:D

Wow, I had my first listen of Shiina last night and she's awesome! "Muzai Moratorium" got me hooked. Btw, does anyone have screenshots of her PV "honnou" because I'm curious of what it looks like. I can't download PVs because my computer is on dial-up. =/

I don't have it on the computer anymore, but I can tell you she makes out with a female patient who doesn't move on a hospital bed in her nurse costume. To say the least...it's interesting. o_O

I tried to make some screenshots, but BSPlayer isn't exactly working. If anyone knows another program I could use, that'd be great.

And Kev's description is quite accurate. :yes

At last!!! Shiina thread!!!

She is such an amazing artist! I especially like the fact that i read about somewhere, that she doesn't like giving interviews, cuz she likes "comunicating with her fans only trough her music".

Also, she is so open-minded, just name the genere and u will find it in one of her songs. Did u know, that apart of writing songs and playing oll those instruments sheis also a ballet dancer???

Oh, and does anybody have any idea how did Jihen's album sold?

Well as for Ringo's English, has anybody heard "genjitsu o warau"? I understand almost everything! Interesting article, to say the least.

I LOVE the Honnou PV... It's weird, so I like it.

Yeah, Ringo took ballet lessons when she was a kid.

*Bump*

Got my ZHZ which I ordered off eBay!

It looks alot better than I thought, because the one I saw in store back when it came out had Chinese translated song titles printed on the back insert, but the one I got only has it printed on the OBI. :)

You mean KZK? :rolleyes

Very nice though, two thumbs up!

A Fan made artwork. Unfortunately I forgot the site I got this from and who was the artist to actually give the proper credits :(

Haha, those are awesome! Thanks a lot, Impact, had never seen it before. Wish there was a higher resolution pic of it!

I like Shiina Ringo with Tokyo Jihen better than her as a solo though..... the song "Sounan" got me hooked on Tokyo Jihen !

Question: Anyone know where this pic came from? is it from a concert or something? If so, which one?

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v4...o/671e5a27.jpg

At the first time I saw her face, I had a weird feeling.... a feeling that she is going to a big striker in the JPOP music industry. And I was right.

Unique (weirdo to critics and skeptics) song titles and unconventional music arrangements (who would include phone ringing and thrashing sounds in her song?) truly built herself a brand new music genre in JPOP: Shinjuku series.

However, musch of her songs have controversial meanings... I guess I gotta catch up you guys and learn more about the "apple" (ringo means apple in Japanese).

I've seen the pic, I just can't seem to figure out where it's from. Diddly-darn.

On a sidenote, guys, I've ordered Muzai Moratorium at last! Pricy (almost $34) but definitely worth it!

/edit

On a sidenote, does anyone here have the Electric Mole DVD? I'd love to buy it, but from what I've seen, it's just a jewelcase packaging, and to pay $45 for a regular DVD seems a bit outrageous. Now of course, the initial, limited pressing was awesome, and I'd love to have that, but it's not available anywhere any longer. If anyone knows where to get that one, or has it and wants to get rid of it, contact me, please! If anyone has more info on the regular edition (if it really is just a jewelcase and stuff), please tell me, too!

The Electric Mole DVD was another one of those things I regretted not getting while I was in HK late 2004. The limited pressing was everywhere. I found it abit pricey at the time, but if only I'd had known what was inside, I would've definately forked out the money for it without question.

You and me both.

What was inside the Limited pressing anyway? I saw one somewhere....

It comes with an amazing photobook including doodles by Shiina herself, I saw some pictures of it on the web sometime ago at Ayu-mi-x Forum, but I'm not sure if I saved them since I can't find it at the moment.

I recognize that. Yeah, it's from a concert. The name of the concert escapes me, but I could find out. When/If I do, I'll let ya know ;)

Thank you!

I plan on buying the special edition I saw now.... the dvd is all-region, right?

It's region 2 according to yesasia.

According to Neowing it's region-all, so yeah. I'd say Neowing is far more accurate then Yesasia on that account, although they still list Avex, Toshiba-EMI and Sony discs as being CCCD-ed when most of them aren't, which annoys me.

Where did you see that? O_O! The special edition is OOP, there's not one online store that still carries it.

A store in my state... my little secret! I know they still have it because I saw it less than a week ago...

Hawtdamn, that's just depressing (for me personally, that is). If they have two copies please PM me. I so desperately want it.

I think I'll go sit in a corner and cry now. *sobs*

Wheee, I got KSK and Ringo no Uta at Jacon. -so happy-

I'll see, ok? Don't cry!!! *hugs*

Aww. :)

Anyway, I may be getting a copy soon, but it depends on how much it's gonna cost (a lot). If it's going to be over a $100 I'm gonna let it slide, but otherwise - I mean, I want it bad. :laugh

Hello Electric Mole. :cool

http://student.hro.nl/0756756/electric%20mole.jpg

Coming soon to Casa Sxesven. :cool

I always just assumed that it was one of the guys from Tokyo Jihen, but then I don't have the single, so I can't confirm anything.

I think so too, I'm pretty sure it wasn't a duet or anything. Back-up singing isn't all that extra-ordinary, especially when you consider Tokyo Jihen's an actual band.

I think it's the singer from the band Spitz, I remember seeing who it was on a website....

I know Shiina collaborated with the guy from Spitz (on the Utaite Myori album, disc 1) but didn't know he appeared on Faces, too. I should listen to it again, but I'm pretty sure it doesn't sound like him.

Ok, sorry it took me a while to sort through all my junk. It's called "Gekokujyo Xstasy," and I believe it is all region. The one I have plays on my computer's dvd drive, so I'm pretty sure it's not region 2 like yesasia says. Sometimes they have typos, so I'd ignore what they're labeling it as. I thoroughly enjoyed this concert, and the black and white portion at the end was really cool. I hope you like it too!

Thanks! I'll make sure I'll order it!

Got Muzai Moratorium in the mail today. :yes At last, now my Shiina album collection is complete.

I'm pretty sure it wasn't Kusano Masamune on that track, but i can't be 100% certain sadly. I personally believe it's one of the other Tokyo Jihen members.

Does sxesven have most of Shiina's singles? Or are you just talking about the albums?

Albums; I'm gonna go after the singles right now, and the DVDs after that. :) Albums had priority, because I'm not really into singles (I have exactly 0, that's zero, singles in my collection). However, they have incredibly great b-sides, so they're definitely worth it.

The guy voice on Kao is Miki, their lead guitarist. He also composed the song.

Was just reading this somewhat old yet very interesting article on Shiina - it's from TIME ASIA, a 2003 issue.

source: TIME.com

I think I've finally figured this out; they're promotional pics, used on posters and the like to promote the singles. I think I have some pics somewhere, but I'll have to search for a bit.

/edit

Found the pics for Gibs. The single version is well-known, the promotional picture shows the knife being stuck in the apple - it's not cutting a wrist, but I can see how it'd look like it. And of course, in a philosophical kind of way, Ringo is in fact cutting herself in the picture (ringo = apple), lol. :laugh I'll upload the pics later on, but my server's being a pain atm.

/edit

Finally got it to work. Here they are:

http://student.hro.nl/0756756/d/1.jpg http://student.hro.nl/0756756/d/2.jpg

First one's the single cover, second one's from the promotional poster.

credit: Moccona at Ringo Jihen

I know I can't wait!

http://www.sanspo.com/geino/top/gt20...005050908.html

According to this article,
One special TV program about Tokyo Jihen will be broadcast on June 24.
The name is Pop jam pure side Tokyo Jihen on NHK.
As for the content, the members answer the interview,traveling around the showplace in Tokyo,and some live videos are included.
It is the first interview of ground wave broadcasting through her career.

I guess more Japanese will know her and the band.
Probably someone will upload it.

Ooh! Thanks a lot for the update! Highly appreciated! Sounds like an interesting show.

i'm curious , to what companies has she been a spokesperson for or been included in an advertisiment campaing for ? or is she currently involved in an ad campaing for some company?

I think she used to promote Suntory?

anyway , I haven't heard that much of her music yet to really tell if i'm a fan of her work or not.

I know she endorsed Gilette at one point (that was one freaky commercial), and I'm sure she promoted some kind of juice drink - I just don't know which. I'll try and find out. Other than that I'm not sure, although there's a couple of Ringo pics floating around on the net on which she's posing aside a Mercedes - they look classy enough to be adds, but I'm pretty sure they're not.

/edit

I just checked, and I'm pretty sure it's not Suntory. Not sure what it is at all to be honest. The voice-over goes like:

"No more violence. No more lie. (seriously) No more alcohol. Get healthy! To you blahblah."

Can anyone enlighten me?

And to add to my own post from a couple of days ago:

The picture with Ringo sitting inside of the car is on the inside of the sleeve of the Tsumi To Batsu single!

It's worth checking out, I can assure you. :yes Although it can slightly depend on your musical preferences how much you actually love it.

Well...there were 5 series of the Suntory stuff.
And the alcohol density is only 5%.

Kouhukuron/Akane sasu kiro terasaredo
http://www.suntory.co.jp/enjoy/cm/log/lk02.html
Rinne Highlight
http://www.suntory.co.jp/enjoy/cm/log/lk03.html
Keikoku
http://www.suntory.co.jp/enjoy/cm/log/lk04.html
Kabukicho no joou
http://www.suntory.co.jp/enjoy/cm/log/lk05.html
Aozora
http://www.suntory.co.jp/enjoy/cm/log/lk07.html

I remember I thought these CMs were cool then though I didn't have interest in such a alcohol much. :)

Never seen those, but they look amazing, haha. So she did endorse Suntory after all!

Not much of a person for alcohol either myself, don't drink it at all actually.

Oh dear...

http://www.toshiba-emi.co.jp/tokyoji...ws/index_j.htm

An unpleasant surprise. :no

By the way, could someone post up the member names of TJ along with their photos so I can identify whom is whom?

And here's an awesome photo from the official site which I just felt everyone should see.
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v1...in711/main.jpg

I suddenly decided to listen to Kyouku again after hearing this news, and this time I like it, and feel compelled to buy it. (When I have the money)

I went insane when I heard that.

Hiizumi is the piano dude and the other dude is the guitar dude with the long hair.

HZM was my fave member next to Shiina T_T

=/ Damn.

Official statements:

credit: Moccona @ Ringo Jihen

Well, whatever those 3 have in store for us I can't wait. Thank you very much for bringing the translation here, sven!