I have plastered the most unlikely corners of the internet with links to the Dynamite Out performance of "Sounan" (and some others from that concert).

Well, I started feeling curiosity while reading some positive comments and advices in Jpopsuki. I'm going to be honest: at first I didn't pay attention at all because of some prejudices with her popularity, actually popularity in general: I supposed she was just another one among the many female pop singers, with all those very well-known and effective formulas in the world of japanese idols.
I was quite new in that community, but it didn't take me much time to realize that a user, Glathannus (for lack of a better name :P), lived the music with a passion and respect I felt identified with, in spite of all the technical knowledge (audiophile related ones) that I don't have at all. I kept in mind that opinion, so I decided to get all preconceptions out of my head and take a look at that girl Shiina Ringo. And listening to her, above all else.
All of this was a little while ago, near the release of Sports. So I decided to choose this album as a starting point because of another prejudice that even I don't believe in: assuming that everything new had to be better than the previous due to a logical development. But it’s kind of stupid for me, since we are talking about art and, what’s more, about an artist in constant quest.
I didn’t like it at first, which is typical for me. I felt completely lost, but it was enough to make me realize she wasn’t just a run-of-the-mill singer/songwriter. What I remember the most is that I didn’t like her singing at all, but it annoyed me in some way. For some reason (I already know that part of me), or rather some feeling, I put it off until later.
More precisely, a month later.
When I gave it another opportunity, I felt as if it had grown inside me: it was a completely new world, different, intense… and I was in. But when that amazing ending that is Kimaru had come I felt like listening more, like repeating and, naturally, looking for more.
So, I kept running through her career backwards, beginning from the last to the first.
If it had been complicated with Sports, it was the same with Karuki Zamen Kuri no Hana, maybe even harder, as you can imagine. And I’m talking about an album that is one of the most interesting things I’ve ever heard in my life. First, naturally, the rejection. Then the magic.



I’d rather write this in Spanish, but I think I made my point enough. :)

Wow... I feel so old :)

I didn't think that Sports would have had the drawing power to attract new fans. But then again, I came to this point via Variety, which is ostensibly the most disliked album in this community.

Welcome to the forum by the way.

Your English is perfectly fine

I understand your point. I listened to Sports for the first time without any previous experiences in her work, so I could enjoy this album by itself, without any background, there was nothing to compare it with.
But now that I am up-to-date with her career, I kind of agree and admit that Sports doesn't reach the feeling/creativity than her previous albums do, however, I can say it still has the power to trigger my imagination in many ways at many moments and it's completely worth the listen for me.

Thanks for your words. :)

You don't want to know how slow can a human being be when writing in English...

Really? I got the impression that SR's mainstream career has been given a new lease of life through the whole post-Adult Phase 2 deal (including and especially Sports). In terms of popularity/sales.

I could be mistaken.

Hi, I'm new here. Be patient with my english.

Well. I discovered Ringo in rateyourmusic.com reading reviews of KZK two years ago. Actually it was my first listened SR's album. Love at first sight. It was incredible the first time listening to Ringo. She was a good surprise. She really catched me forever, I think.

Edit:

By the way... Carlx, aguante Argentina. ;)

You took the hardest way: I consider that KZK is probably the least accesible at first listening SR/TJ's album.

¡Aguante! :)

I think it's such a piece of art. When I was listening to KZK I though so.

So let me get this straight:
I'm at least partially responsible for you becoming a fan?
Seriously? :o

I don't talk about Shiina Ringo very much in JPopsuki at all, but I know I really should (I'm probably "failing in my duty" if I don't). That's what shocks me about you bringing my name up.

It's actually subjective view, depends on what kind of music you usually heard and preferred.

For peoples who like calm music than noisy rock, KZK is more accesible than others.

Now I remember and you are right: it wasn't something about her, but I had read a justification of yours about "why you do not like C-ute" and I instantly looked for the woman on your avatar. Kind of weird but true, it was like an indirect recommendation.

Yes, your are right. I was talking from a subjective perspective: it wasn't easy for me to access to KZK world for several reasons, perhaps because of its subtlety and inventiveness, perhaps because of its diversity and homogeneity...

Anyway, I'm not able to call it calm music, noisy rock, waltz or pop, I think it's beyond any genre tags.

I'm new to the forums here, so I thought here's as good a place to start as any. I first discovered J-Pop in 2002, when I first went off to college and was properly introduced to decent anime. I watched an episode of Inuyasha in which the ending song was from Do As Infinity, went "what the heck was that!" and have been down the rabbit hole ever since.

My introduction to the world of SR was somewhat accidental. In the early days my introduction to new Japanese artists was typically through anime (and I'm still a huge fan of Yoko Kanno), but eventually you get enough artists and they start recommending each other. So it was with SR. I discovered her through her duet with Utada Hikaru (who I honestly don't care for that much anymore) on her Utaite Myouri album. I was searching for new Utada songs, came across that one, listened to it and wondered who this chick was that was totally putting Utada to shame. The first album of hers I got was Muzai Moratorium, the burned CD of which I used to listen to I recently wore out.

Anyway, after getting that one and Shouso Strip, I heard she had quit the solo business and started a band. I fell so in love with Kyouiku that I didn't get back into Shiina's pre-Jihen catalog until recently, and am currently attempting to digest KZK. It's pretty amazing, but I still listen to either Kyouiku or Adult at least once a week. Anyway, enough from me.

Hi! I've been a lurker of this forum for quite some time now and decided only recently to join because this place is pretty awesome for finding news on all things SR/TJ. Lord knows I have trouble finding stuff about them so here I am.

As for how I discovered Ringo? Well, I used to message this girl from the Soompi forums (nothing suss here, honest!) and on her profile page, one of the artists she loved was Shiina Ringo. I was intrigued because I had heard of most of the major Japanese recording artists but not her. I decided to look for myself on YouTube one night and came across Ringo no Uta. It was okay, a lot different to what I normally hear out of Japan, but I needed more convincing. I saw the PV for Sounan after that and thought that the song was catchy as all hell. But it wasn't until I saw the live performance of Kabukichou no Joou from Dai Ikkai Ringohan Taikai no Moyou that I was absolutely convinced that this woman deserved my attention. From then on I pretty much went through her entire discography.

I love a lot of her stuff with Saito Neko (Sakuran is seriously just a fun song), like her stuff with Tokyo Jihen (though it's obvious that her talent is held back with the band, though they're still awesome) and my absolute favourite album from hers is Shouso Strip. I also love how Ringo doesn't just play one version of the same song over and over but always reinvents certain songs by giving it different arrangements. I think most of us can agree that the live arrangement for Tsumi to Batsu completely changes everything and makes it even more powerful than the original studio version.

What sucks is that I discovered her only a month after I came back from my exchange trip to Japan back in high school! I was so disappointed that I didn't discover her earlier and buy out her albums and DVDs.

I currently own Sports and Superficial Gossip as well as Just Can't Help It on DVD. I really need to get more from her but ordering things from overseas is too costly and the store I buy my things from don't stock up on her which is disappointing also.

Anyways, that's me and my adoration for Ringo! :D

Which live version of Tsumi to Batsu are you talking about?
There's the Gekokujyo Xstasy version, the Electric Mole version, and then there's a small made-for-TV gig she did with Saito Neko where they turned it into a James Bond style. My favorite is on Electric Mole. I think that's one of the best examples of anything Tokyo Jihen has ever done. Nothing from Phase 2 in studio or in concert, lives up to the instrumentals at the end of that performance.

It's not anymore costly than buying the stuff while you're actually in Japan. I've got a shipment headed my way where the CDs are costing me slightly less than Japanese retail because I'm not paying the embedded sales tax for people within Japan, and beyond the discounted price, I'm paying hardly anything in shipping (the total comes out to be slightly more than Japanese retail). Why flinch at 200yen in shipping per disc, when an album would already cost you at least 3000yen in Japan? The only difference between buying while you're in Japan versus buying from home, is that if you're from a European or Commonwealth nation, the Customs charges will most certainly be painful. Legally you're probably supposed to pay that even if you were bringing goods back with you, but you could probably lie about how many of the discs were already yours, and how valuable the goods actually are.

I was thinking about this the other day so I thought I'd stick my story here.

Well, I was 15, and I was really just getting into Japanese music that was separate from anime and video games as well as experiencing the magic of downloading things from the internet. I came upon an MP3 rotation website (I can't remember the name for the life of me) one day and read through the descriptions of the songs available for download. I came upon a song titled Doppelganger by Shiina Ringo and the description was something along lines of how different the song was compared to most J-music so I thought "Hey, Why not?" I was definitely in for a surprise. I, like most people who hear Ringo for the first time I'm sure, thought that her voice was weird, but it grew on me quickly. I remember that night I ended up listening to the song on repeat on my iPod before I went to bed. So thus began my love for Shiina Ringo. On the same MP3 rotation, I downloaded Sounan not knowing that Tokyo Jihen basically equaled Shiina Ringo and enjoyed it thoroughly as well.

To be honest, my collection of Shiina Ringo's music was the slowest process ever due to the fact that A) I had dial up B) I was terrible with finding/downloading things on the internet and C) Youtube had just started the year I found Shiina Ringo. I didn't hear/aquire all of her music until about a year later.

Though in between that time, I also downloaded Stem (the single version) which I was obsessed with as well as Gunjou Biyori and Bokoku Jousho. I also met a Japanese girl at this summer program who was a Shiina Ringo fan and through her I borrowed her cds to listen to. She also let me watch the short movie that used music from KZK (Tanpen Kinema Hyaku-Iro Megane).

Also, this past year, I've been listening to Shiina Ringo and Tokyo Jihen a lot after the release of the Sports album because I had been out of the loop for a long time. It is really nice though; it's as if I am discovering her all over again.

The one that I'm referring to is the made-for-TV one she did with Saito Neko which was used again for Ringo EXPO. The vocals were so powerful and overwhelming. I haven't seen the other versions so I can only compare to the studio version. It didn't sound like a James Bond track athough I can see why you'd think that, haha. Again, I just really liked her stuff with Saito Neko.

Where do you order your CDs from? YesAsia? HMV Japan? Also, I live in Australia so as you said, the customs charges might be a bit much for me. Also, the only reason why I would've bought it while I was in Japan as opposed to shipping it from overseas is becuase it would've just been convenient since I was there. I would've gotten it straight away as opposed to waiting for it to come in the mail. I could pay for express delivery but that also costs a lot more, making the retail price of an album or DVD a lot higher than it normally would be. :(

I normally don't use YesAsia for Japanese CDs/DVDs, but they're still a handy (and reasonably-priced) source of Chinese and Korean discs.

CD Japan (also known as Neo-Wing to Japanese customers) is where I prefer to get my Japanese CDs (and some of my DVDs) from, since they let customers assuredly get first-press on a first-come first-serve basis at no additional cost, and you know which pressing you're getting before you even commit to placing your order. CD Japan was already fairly awesome to begin with, but they have still managed to improve over the years by eventually offering PayPal and FedEx. The surprising thing about the FedEx delivery option, is that it's actually cheaper than Air Mail or EMS with the larger shipments, but it's still fast and trackable and insured. So.. the fastest shipping is not necessarily the most expensive.* 200yen per disc is a lot better than what I used to pay before FedEx became an option, and unfortunately we're still stuck with EMS as the only international shipping option whenever we might be trying to 'save' money with HMV Japan's lowest DVD prices.

Sometimes I've been disappointed by how HMV Japan packages their shipment, or how they have occasionally wanted to charge me more than the original shipping estimate - but I can't say I've ever been disappointed by a CD Japan shipment. They're fast, they take their packaging very seriously, and they often throw in bonus goodies (stickers/posters/etc) associated with the CD/DVD releases - which I almost never receive from HMV Japan. Sometimes I place a large order, then some more releases are announced to be available for pre-order, which I also want in the same shipment. With CD Japan I can just add as much as I want to a not-yet-departed shipment so long as I don't set the shipment back beyond 60 days of when it was originally supposed to go out - while with HMV they want me to place separate orders (which wouldn't have a consolidated shipping cost), or cancel my existing order (which relinquishes my hold over any sold-out items) and try to recreate that order with the additional item.

There have been times where I pre-ordered a batch of upcoming releases - the latest of which would be released 2 months after I had placed that order. As the weeks went by, more releases available for pre-order would be announced, and I would add them into the not-yet-departed batch. This batch would end up stretching out to literally 4 months (due to later pre-order dates being tacked onto the order) before it would finally be time for CD Japan to ship it out, and all-the-while CD Japan would be physically-reserving items for me as each of those items were entering their warehouse. Some of these releases would become out-of-print and sold-out a month or two before it was time to ship out. Meanwhile CD Japan would be telling later-inquiring customers the item is completely gone and unavailable.

Now don't get me wrong - while CD Japan might be my obvious favorite, I still use HMV Japan a lot (sometimes I have no other choice if something I want is already sold-out at CD Japan), but the shipping is never as cheap as 200yen per disc, it's never as fast as CD Japan, the packaging is never as good, and I almost never get any release-related goodies. Although HMV Japan is now more recently a one-nation entity (separate from the rest of HMV), it is still a profit-driven mega corporation with less emphasis on customer satisfaction - compared to a specialty store like CD Japan. You have to know ahead of time that this is what you are getting yourself into, that way you aren't surprised when they dishonor your order somehow.

CD Japan seriously has the most awesome customer service I've experienced from any e-tailer based in Asia - and it even rivals the best of the western-world customer service I've experienced online. One time my credit card got stolen shortly before one of my pre-orders was about to ship out. So the card got auto-canceled, and I had to tell CD Japan they couldn't charge this card that we already arranged to have them charge later on. It took them almost a day to respond (the only bad thing about their service), but they responded in decent English from a Japanese woman (maybe the delay is because they don't have many translators). By the time she got back to me, the shipment was already going out. And she told me, it's okay - they would ship the 40000yen worth of stuff out to me anyway, and I would LATER pay them with a replacement credit card I didn't even have yet. They completely honored my big pre-order, because I had a great relationship with them from all the business I had done with them before. Meanwhile, a bunch of these latest goods were in fact already sold-out by the time this batch shipment was going out.

HMV Japan would never do anything like that. They would threaten to cancel a 50000yen shipment because it was going to cost 500yen more than previously estimated, and when I tried to get back to them about that, their English translators were so logjammed that they canceled my whole order (even though I agreed to pay the 500yen increase) and they broke my reservation before someone finally responded to me (a week after I tried to reach them about this). I'm not fucking kidding about that. HMV Japan had to update their Orders interface to prevent miscommunication from causing anymore canceled orders. But the fact is, they WILL occasionally demand more money even if it's only 1% beyond the original estimate, and they WILL cancel your order if you don't give them the exact amount of money they now want. This is so rampant that they eventually introduced an option for you to give them carte blanche whenever you place an order. How can anyone seriously trust a company which does business like that? I'd tell them No, Fuck YOU, everytime they tried to ask me for more money on the shipment - but I don't quite have the spine to tell them No when they're holding sold-out goods for me. By then, HMV Japan has already got me by the balls, because it's too late for me to go elsewhere for the same items when all the other major vendors are already sold-out, too.

So I've learned a couple of very important things from the repeat offenses. First of all, you should try to narrow the scope of your HMV Japan orders to items of unlimited availability (you're giving them too much leverage to mess with the cost if you try to buy limited edition goods) - especially any items they already have in-stock, because the shipping estimates on those will never be wrong (it's the pre-order shipping estimates that they often get wrong). Secondly, since you shouldn't expect the shipping to be cheap relative to the amount of discs you buy (not even on larger shipments), you ought to be on the lookout for cheap DVDs to take some of the sting off of the unavoidably-high shipping cost. HMV Japan's selection of cheap Japanese DVDs is huge, so it tends to balance out if your shipment consists mainly of DVDs.

*: EMF members from Commonwealth nations, have testified that they're more likely to get charged customs with better shipping, because the full value of those shipments is insured, and apparently the Customs officials pay more attention to the insurance information than the generic information about declared contents. For this reason, Commonwealth folk (when they aren't trying to secure a first-press copy of anything) have developed a preference toward YesAsia due to the uninsured and nondescript nature of the shipping.

welcome welcome!

at first I thought it's funny that you didn't recognize her voice but then I realized... she sounds very different in those two songs! It seems to be something she can control. I remember that in the demos she sang a few songs in a very cutesy voice like idols would sing... thank god she stopped that. :blink:

@Glathannus: Wow! That was a lot of information to take in but thanks! It's very useful to me though I can't help but feel like as if you're a spokesperson for CD Japan, hahaha. I'll defnitely give CD Japan a go once I figure out what exactly I want to order from there. Again, thanks for all that information! :)

I went for over a year without listening to Kyoiku. Once I finally revisited it, I realized I should have been remembering a lot more about Kyoiku than just how badly-recorded it was. I've also taken long breaks from Shouso Strip - before the MoRA remasters came out, anyway. It is almost like rediscovering Shiina Ringo, which is always nice.

You might want to limit your CD Japan transactions to upcoming (mainly first-press) releases. If you are trying to catch up on older stuff, your fellow Commonwealth mates would argue you'd be better off with YesAsia, and in your case (with how bad the Customs are on the insured shipments you'd normally get from CD Japan or HMV Japan) they would be right. If you ever felt like moving to the States (where we never get charged Customs on Japanese media), then yeah, I would say you should use CD Japan for pretty much everything. But I think there are more Americans moving to Australia, than vice versa. ;)

Yeah, I do agree that YesAsia is a lot better for Commonwealth countries. I've bought things from there before without having to worry too much about shipping and handling. My only concern stems from the actual CDs or DVDs in which I order. Aren't the physical copies of those products ones that are only produced/selled outside of Japan? I mean they look legit and all (not saying they're bootleg copies) it's just that still label of "Not for distribution in Japan) kinda irks me a little bit (though not too much since two of the albums I have, Sanmon Gossip and Sports, are ones that are not for distrubution in Japan). Although, I guess it doesn't really mattter if they've authorised it to be distrubuted in other Asian countries.

Oh and the Ultra C Blu-ray is region-free right?

You should keep looking even if you find something like a Korean release of Kyoiku, because YesAsia will still have the Japanese release somewhere if you dig a little deeper. I've got legit Japanese releases from there before, back when I first started buying Japanese CDs online. The catalog numbers of what I bought from there many years ago, match the offerings at CD Japan, and there's no "Not For Resale in Japan" markings anywhere on these products. You just have to be attentive about which version you've found while you're searching through YesAsia.

I can't confirm Region-Free on that yet, but the more prominent issue might be whether or not your PAL gear could process an NTSC Blu-Ray even if it were unlocked.

I'm afraid I have a British POP music forum to blame for discovering Ringo. I had joined them to get a breath of fresh air from the usual punk/alternative forums I frequent, and in their mainstream J-pop threads some people mentioned in passing that if we feel ready for something else with an edge, we might want to check out Shiina Ringo...

And whaddaya know, my first Youtube link just happened to be Yami Ni Furu Ame (still one of my biggest favorites) so I was hooked from the get go.

Next, I downloaded all the solo albums from various blogs, compiled a few 'personal best' collections, and thought I'd be safe from any money spending sprees. But I guess I knew the whole time I was lying to myself; this Fall I found myself buying all the solo cd's off Ebay.

Yami ni Furu Ame FTW! That song brings back the feeling of discovering her like no other ...

Was that PopJustice? I approve of that forum, but quite how it's possible to have a 246 page thread on a Cheryl Cole album escapes me.

Haha, yes it was PJ indeed. I'm not bothered to read most of their topics, but I have to say just for making me aware of Ringo made the whole PJ experiment worthwhile.

My first exposure to Shiina was via Sakuran and I hated it. I just remember thinking that her voice was too screechy!

Then a few months after my japanese penpal sent me a link to Nodouteki Sanpunkan and I listened to it over and over for weeks until I decided to get Kyoiku, then Sports, then Adult, Variety, Muzai Moratorium, Shouso Strip, then the DVDs etc.

I have no idea what happened. Just got absolutely hooked and the band (and shiina) moved into pole position musically for me.

Weird that I thought she was screechy at first :S sumimasen!

Downloaded KSK from some random IRC channel back in the days, without knowing what it was. Put on Shukyo and was instantly floored by how good it was.

Still one of my most memorable discoveries to this day. I miss old Shiina like you wouldn't believe.

Welcome to the forums Pixelationist. We're all really big on Old Shiina right here. Do stick around and reminisce.

cheers.

My first experience of Ringo is through Kurumaya-san in Dynamite OUT! I was totally mesmerized by her kabuki-ish screeching and that awesome melodica.

The moment I knew I wanted her was when I listened to Hatsukoi Shoujo. I cried manly tears. FIRST SONG THAT MADE ME CRY in all of my 15 years of living.

I love Hesei Fuuzoku. Listened to it even when I was studying for major exams. Hell, I can even hear it WHILE I'm doing my exams. xD

I'm not really a lyrics-listener. I like her work's unique melodies and playstyle.

After that, I just couldn't listen to other female artists.


EDIT: Do not kill me for downloading her whole discography.

I kept hearing her name mentioned among western J-pop listeners, on blogs and podcasts but didn't pay much attention. It was around the time Japanator was doing their, best albums of 2010 so-far. And the video Bentz posted was Senkou Shoujo... My reaction was "wtf this is Shiina Ringo. Talk about a let down"... Then I heard sports... and swallowed hard enough to loose a few front teeth. As Kimaru was closing out, it all began to make sense.

You are going to fit in so well here.

One of my favourite singers did a rather shitty cover of Kabukichou no Joou during her live show, and I went searching for the original. It remains my most-loved Ringo song ever.

Who is that other singer?

Joanna Wang is awesome! I've never seen that cover, but her music is fantastic. She is very similar to Shiina, they do a sort of jazzy-rock thing and she's very artistic with her music, while still down-to-earth.

Well, I always loved manga, and at the time, I was reading Nana, and listening to anna tsuchiya and mika nakashima. I saw a photo from the movie Sakuran and thought: wow! what a magnific scenery, and the costumes, the colour... I really want to watch this movie. At the time, I couldn't find the movie, and i met a girl on the orkut community who had the movie and wanted the manga, and I had the manga. So we talked and decided to exchange our files. Meanwhile, she told me about the singer who made the soundtrack, and I asked for a video suggestion, to get to know the singer. She said she liked a song called kabuki-chou no joou, and so I watched the movie. I liked, specially 'cause she whistled on the song, and I love this little different stuff on music. But that wasn't enough to make me addicted to her. After hearing this song I listened to Muzai Moratorium, and when I played Tadashii Machi the first time, THAT'S when I thought: omg, I'm gonna be addicted, I can feel it. That happened in 2007, and till now I can't stop hearing her music. I wanted to hear all of her solo stuff before listening to Tokyo Jihen, 'cause it's a lot of songs to get to know at once. So, after I heard most of her solo songs, I started with Kyouiku and follow the order. And here I am today: addicted, happy, and excited for the new album next month...

Since the new TJ album is called "Great Discovery," I decided to check out this thread again, and I cannot believe that I never posted anything in here....except to say hi to a new member.

So, I've got the time (actually putting off something), and I'm a bit homesick, so might as well indulge.

Look, I know my rep around here. Apart from admin/mod. I'm talking about the other "roles" I play. Apologist. Nu-Ringoloid. TJ Phase 2 muffdiver.

By any reasonable, objective standards, much of what Shiina has been a part of the last few years has not been all that great. The last thing she did that really affected me emotionally, was Ariamaru Tomi. With TJ, it was the Ultra C version of Kimaru. I can, and have, shared those things with people who don't know anything about Japanese music, certainly nothing about Shiina or TJ, and the unanimous response is this:

"I don't know what she's saying, but that's a beautiful voice."

Okay. Flashback, 2001. I'm living in Boston, my own apartment, job, girlfriend, nice safe single life. I'm getting into anime because I'm a movie freak and that section of the video store started looking more and more interesting. I pick up this show at random, Cowboy Bebop, volume 1 DVD. Opening credits, "Tank!" by Yoko Kanno and The Seatbelts. Couldn't believe my ears. 2 hours later, I'm trolling the internet for info (this was in the days of dial-up). Who is this Yoko Kanno and what other music has she done? (*Footnote: one year later I got to meet Yoko Kanno in New York, but that's off-topic.)

My dial-up internet gets me scant info on Yoko, but I find a site that lists her stuff and "related artists"--meaning, other contemporary Japanese music. Back then, "Japan" was enough to put musical artists in a specific category of rock that people in America were just finding out about.

One of those "related artists" was Shiina Ringo, and according to the guy who made the website, Shiina was awesome but "she can be a little scary." Well, that's all I needed to hear. Scary Japanese rock star named Ringo. Got it. Easy to remember.

Near Boston there is a working-class neighborhood called Allston that has a large student population and lots of little independent stores. One of those stores was a Korean video place that rented out movies from Hong Kong, which was another interest of mine. One day I'm browsing through the videos and nearby I see a rack of CDs. They were not bootlegs, which surprised me, and I spun the rack around a bit to see what was there.

Among the Faye Wongs and Anita Muis, I saw this thick pink and white box: Zecchoushuu by "shena ringo." I remembered the description of her from that website: "awesome, but a little scary." The pink and white box was very expensive, but I bought it.

The way home from Allston to my apartment in Boston (actually Malden, just north of Boston) by train, takes about 45 minutes on a good day, sometimes an hour. I had my CD player with me. On the train, I opened the big pink and white box, and immediately felt like I'd been ripped off. Look at those tiny CDs! What a waste of money! Oh well, I just dropped $40 on it, it'll take an hour to get home, I'll just give it a listen and never blind buy another CD, ever.

I put the little Disc 1 of Zecchoushuu in the player, got comfortable (still a little annoyed at paying $40 for three dinky little discs) in my train seat, and pressed "play."

The song was Yattsuke Shigoto. If you've seen Seiteki Healing 3 you've heard the audio of the Zecchoushuu version of the song, but not all of the audio. On Zecchoushuu, first you hear the sound of an amplifier, mixed with the sound of applause (it was a live recording), then a pause, then this......voice.

"Mainichi shuurai suru kyouteki denwa no beru..."

I can type that out by heart now, but the first time I heard it, on the train heading home through Boston, I didn't know exactly what I was hearing. It was definitely "awesome, and a little scary," but it was more than that.

The title of this thread is "How did we first discover...," but I don't think we "discover" the things we really love. I think they discover us.

I didn't get "lost" in her music on that train. I didn't feel lost. I felt as if I was found.

After that, the Gekokujyou Xstasy concert DVD sealed the deal. The Zecchoushuu version of Yattsuke Shigoto came out of that tour, so I guess I'll always have a special connection to that part of her discography.

In those early days, I had the same reaction to everything she did that my friends now have to the stuff I play for them: "I don't know what she's saying, but that's a beautiful voice." After a while the "I don't know what she's saying" part started nagging at me, because even though she sung in English sometimes, I knew she was saying something in her own language that it would do me well to find out. You could say I wouldn't be where I am now without Shiina Ringo.

Her voice finds me every time. Randomly popping up on the mp3 player, or anywhere in Japan where some store, or school, or person is playing her music loud enough for me to hear. It cuts through the normal and everyday.

That's why I put up with some of the stuff she does that's....not exactly 2001-era material (I'm putting it mildly). It's the same reason I put up with most of Greta Garbo's crappy movies (and most of them were crap). There's Garbo, with her photographically perfect face, stretching her head back and exposing her neck, tragic love personified---not even the best scenarists in Hollywood could figure out what to do with her, she was so beyond convention---and around her, everything looked conventional. She had that face, and the image carried you through hours and hours of formulaic melodrama. Shiina's voice is enough to carry me through the Dopamint!s and Services.

Ten years later, I still get a whiff of the Zecchoushuu Track 1 Shiina Ringo EVERY TIME she sings. Sometimes in a really lame song I barely hear it, but it's there (or maybe my imagination conjures it up), and sometimes it's all the way through like with Ariamaru Tomi and I feel like I'm back on that subway train, replaying that little Zecchoushuu Disc 1 over and over and over again and feeling like whatever this is, I can't do anything else in the moment but listen.

So, that's my story. Sorry to go on so long.

Man, that was touching!

I agree. Great post Nimh. It's making me re-analyze my interests and how they've been life changing. ^_^

That was a great story but don't you use Faye as a common noun! I'm biting you hard for this and I hope you feel it grrr.

I loved that story Nimh.

I completely understand what that guy meant by "scary". I wasn't prepared for it when I played Ikiru for the first time. I was really into my anime at the time and japanese music wasn't alien to me. Earlier that week I bought my first hi-fi, floorstanders and all.

Zac Bentz kept waxing on about how awesome Ikiru was so I went out of my way to download some of those fancy FLAC rips that are floating around on the internetz. I pressed sports to a CD and did some crazy botch job on the Kanji with a MASSIVE felt marker (it looked like shit, but I was kind of proud).

I popped that CD in, turned it way up, so the streets could hear me. Sat back in my chair, dead centre between my speakers, eyes closed.. Pressed play... and I nearly died.

You know that feeling of surprise you get when somebody plants their icy, wintry hands on the back of your neck. Well, it felt like somebody did that but on a magnitude that would paralyse me for the next hour or so.

I was so impressed by sports i rushed to play her first three albums later that day all at the same volume. And it just escalated in awesome and scary. By the end I was just speechless and mindfucked in equal measures.

She's a scary lady, with a beautifully scary voice. No, Just scary.

Hello all. I'll introduce myself here. Thought I get into another forum since utadanet is dormant.

I started collecting Shiina's music in mid-2008 after hearing "I Won't last a day without you" cover with Utada. It was Honnou at first and Sounan. I was pretty into them by 2010 with KZK and Sports. The last phase came two weeks ago when I watched Dynamite Out. I fell in love with Shiina all over again. I like music better when i have an image to associate it with...visual listener?

Hi! Welcome to EMF! We have a reputation for bickering here (amongst other things) so please don't let that scare u off :) we have lots of cool people here who know lots of cool music too. I encourage you to participate in all the music talk. And you can be as blunt as possible. Enjoy!

RAWR.

I WILL ROAST YOU




A MARSHMALLOW.

Hi all, This seems like a good place to de-lurk. I was really not much of a music person for a long time because it seemed like everything was crap. Then I started finding some really good artists on the youtube, and I started enjoying music again. But when I discovered SR/TJ all those other bands took a backseat. Now my MP3 player is 90% Ringo.
The first time I heard of her was when someone posted a link to a video of "OSCA" and said "check out these sexy dancers". At first I thought "more weirdness from Japan" but I found myself listening to it over and over. Then I looked up the lyrics and before you know it I could sing along even though my Japanese is less than kindergarten level. Then I got the whole album and I was hooked.
I took a couple semesters of Japanese and I once worked at a sushi bar, so I've had occasion to check out some JPop before, but nothing ever really grabbed me like Ms. Shiina's work. The first time I heard 'Gamble' I got a lump in my throat, and it's rare for any song to do that to me, let alone in another language.
I've been trying to get my friends interested with limited success. One guy thought I was listening to a bunch of different J-bands until I told him "not only is she a musical genius, but she's also a master of disguise."
Anyway, glad I found this place. I was starting to think I was her only "gaijin" fan. ;)

I tried to socially engineer a Q&A session like that, but the way the scenario really played out, was "Do ALL female Japanese vocalists sound shrieky like that?". Sometimes you just can't win.

First heard Shiina Ringo on the Amai Yamai song by Maboroshi, always loved her voice but never really got around to figuring out who she was. Then I stumbled upon Tokyo Jihen on Last.fm and I was instantly in love with her! Damn I feel like I've wasted so much time not listening to her lol

Haunting...
 

First let me say that this is my first post after posting in the introduction thread. I read every post on each of the 25 pages of this thread. My story is quite different. I don't listen to any other Japanese musical artist, outside of Shiina Ringo and Tokyo Jihen. I grew up listening to hip-hop, and still enjoy listening to hip-hop. I don't like a whole lot of rock or pop (be it the K, J, Euro or American varieties). I have never been into manga, anime or American comics. I'm not generally entertained by the music, film, or other cultural exports of the Far East (even though I've lived in Seoul since 2004).


So...why am I here? How did I become such a big fan of Ringo and TJ?

Good questions.

My first exposure to either SR or TJ was a video that one of my best friends posted on facebook. He raved about how amazing it was, but he had been prone to hyperbole, so I was skeptical. I watched it...and shed the manliest tear of my life...the first time I watched it. I proceeded to watch this brilliance for the next hour...on repeat. The video was the Dynamite Out performance of Ekimae. This very close friend of mine (we lived around the corner from each other and met for coffee or a meal at least 50% of the days he was in Seoul) was on a business trip to Japan at the time, but when he returned for a few days, we met and he told me a little bit about Ringo and TJ. I thought it sounded cool but our discussion turned towards more shop talk. I didn't think much more about the musicians, after my friend took off on another business trip to Indonesia and Malaysia. The very next post after Ekimae, turned out to be a picture of his nice hotel room in Malaysia. That was his last ever post to facebook. He flew to Indonesia, and was stabbed to death by robbers on a motorcycle.

It was a great loss to me, and everyone who even met him for even the briefest of moments. Every time I happened upon his page, Ekimae was there to greet me. I went down the youtube rabbit hole and was impressed by Ringo's versatility and the inclusion of a prominent pianist in a rock outfit.

My friend and I always recommended new things to each other...this was his final recommendation to me. It was also the best.

I have since procured all of SR & TJ studio LPs and all of TJ's concert DVDs. I rarely listen to anything else when I drive or wear headphones while out and about. I put on a concert dvd at least 3 nights a week. I find new things to be fascinated about with every view or listen. I'm hopeless.

Attachment 5422
We will get along.

Oh, I love that story. And I'm really sorry for the loss of your friend, that's absolutely awful. I have several things I like now that were recommended to me by friends who later died, or interests we shared and discussed often (Ringo is one of them for me and one of those friends), and it really heightens your enjoyment of those things. I absolutely sympathize.

I want to thank frecklegirl for refreshing this thread. What a great story, manwonman.

It made me go back and listen to DO's Ekimae. The thing about DO, for me, is that I can't take it all from beginning to end. It's just too intense. But each little bit, on its own, is just so great. Ekimae is great. And thanks to your story, I think even better of it.

I first heard Shiina Ringo when I watched Casshern. I wasn't a fan of the movie but they played a song for just a second that made me rewind the movie a few times just to listen to it. I loved it so much that I downloaded the whole soundtrack.

I listened to Kuki once then immediately downloaded Shiina's entire discography which included Tokyo Jihen as well. (I own most of her material now)

She became my favorite artist within a couple days.

My post in this thread was pretty...far out, and since I have some free time and feel like waxing nostalgic I'll tell the straight story of how I discovered the artist that I would best be known around here for hating.

I had come down with an awful case of the flu in late 2001. Everything was yellow, I could barely move, and at one point my vision faded out and in. MTV2 was new to my cable system, and actually showed music videos, so if Saturday Night Live reruns or History’s Mysteries weren't showing, I usually turned it on. This Saturday though, MTV2 showed some kind of hour long showcase of popular music videos from around the world. Only two I remember anymore, one was Hikaru Utada's “Automatic” (which I liked “enough”) and the other was Russian teen pretend-lesbian pop act Tatu's “Ya Soshla S Uma.” (This predated either acts attempt at breaking into the western music scene, but I can't imagine this was a coincidence.) I've talked about Tatu here before, and I maintain that there debut album is one of the best pop releases of the 2000's – and even their later stuff is pretty darn good. Anyway, being a high school aged boy at the time, I battled my dizziness and scoured the internet for as much of their music as I could (as well as, hrm, other media.) This was my first exposure with music in a foreign language not aimed at an American audience and this was when I realized, even as someone who had no direct exposure to the music, its fans, its culture that I could still participate.

I wanted to hear music in every language. I wanted to “catch em all.” And I knew that I wanted to hear Japan's best next. I didn't feel the Utada song strongly enough to dig any deeper, but I would eventually discover Puffy (the greats) and turn over jpop stones. I didn't feel Jpop or Idol music any more then than I do today, and even though I'll follow Puffy to the ends of the earth, I needed something harder, rawer, louder. Especially back then, I was a rock and roll guy, and Tatu included, I was stuck in the easily accessible entry room of pop for too long.

I had a ludicrously specific set of criteria that I sought out. “The Japanese female Billy Corgan.” That seems so laughable now but it so (prophetically) fits. I wanted those big sounds, a diverse catalog, a balance of pop-friendliness and aggression. I went to forums, winMX chat rooms and the like to search for clues, and the answer I got was nearly unanimous, “You want Shiina Ringo” a reply I can still picture.

The problem was this was now 2002, and Shiina had just released a new “comeback” single – “Stem.” I remained nonplussed. Stem bordered on idol music (if lusciously arranged.) Why would so many insist she was the Japanese rock god I sought? The Stem mp3 remained in my music folder for another day as I continued my search. After a few weeks I decided to give the Shiina Ringo thing another chance. Maybe I needed a little more coercion, like a music video! I hopped on K-lite plus and started downloading. I launched the pv for Tsumi to Batsu.

The hum of the organ that creeps in the intro of the song piqued my interest, followed by Shiina's almost inhuman screech. For a moment I winced that maybe this wasn't going to be my cup of tea either, but then I reminded myself that this wasn't exactly radio-friendly. I hung on. Since most of the first verse is played with just Shiina's vocals and the organ drone, I help my skepticism, unsure of if another opera was going to break out like “Stem.” Then the drums kicked in. And the guitar. And I was sold. By the end of the video my face must have been inches from my computer screen. When the song faded out, I tore back to my previous window to download and devour as many Shiina videos as I could in one night. I had trouble comprehending how one artist could have so many great songs and be completely unknown to me before.

Soon I would download her discography, burn each album to disc and listen to each as I lay in bed. I joined a Yahoo group for Shiina Ringo fans (I don't know if any EMFers started there either. In my head I consider it a precursor to this community,) and annoyed my friends to high hell assuring them that she was without a doubt the next big thing.

Just a question, did you go back and listen to the GOOD Utada or is your memory still just Automatic?

I've listened to a few incidental Utada songs and have been content with that so far.

That's a shame. Distance is a great album and Deep River is a good album. I suggest you check out these songs if you haven't already:

Drama
Wait and See ~Risk~
Sunglass
For You
Distance
Time Limit
Hayatochi-remix
Deep River
Letters
Uso Mitai na I Love You

Edit: Oh and Kremlin Dusk is pretty hot too.

See, I'm on the other side. Deep River and Exodus are her best, with Ultra Blue being a bit scattered but following behind. Deep River has both ultra-catchy pop melodies and interesting experimental instrumentation.

I like Distance, ADORE Deep River, don't mind Ultra Blue but don't reach for it much either and LOVE dat HEART STATION, with its absolutely wonderful production and solid songs.

Exodus is pretty neat give or take a few songs.

Oops, I meant Heart Station when I was talking about Ultra Blue.
Heart Station has lots of electronic influences, and it's very small, lots of great production quirks. Take 5 is absolutely gorgeous.
No matter what you say about Exodus, it is without a doubt her most adventurous album. It doesn't always succeed but the arrangements are the most inspired. They just needed to incubate more to really work

I don't hate it by any means. But Easy Breezy is pretty facepalmy...

It's not as bad as TITO though.

I've actually never listened to Heart Station or Ultra Blue which is why I didn't suggest anything from them. Though, I have heard Passion and loved it. I'll give these two albums a listen later today/tomorrow.

I prefer Distance to Deep River because I like the more R&B-ish tracks on Distance. The only song on Distance I didn't like was Eternally. I don't care for Utada's ballads. Meanwhile, I don't like Tokyo Nights from Deep River and think Final Distance should have stayed a single only track.

And I thought Easy Breezy was one of the better Exodus songs outside of that one terrible, terrible lyric. :lol:

Utada is cute. It feels good to finally get the appeal of her and Ayumi.

i had chills reading this post when u said tsumi no batsu

I think I came across a blog raving about Shiina. At the time I was just discovering what Japan had to offer in terms of music. My first foray into bands from Japan was Dir En Grey, then I moved onto bands like Boris and Number Girl.

Anyway, I was browsing some Japanese music blogs and came upon a post detailing Tokyo Jihen's latest album at the time "Sports" There was a link to "Nōdōteki Sanpunkan". After my first listen I was hooked! I loved everything about that song. I did my research and found that "Adult" was considered their best album, and boy people weren't wrong. Quickly became one of my favorite records.

Then I found out that Shiina had long had a solo career before Tokyo Jihen. I researched into her back catalog and started with "Muzai Moratorium", which still remains one of my favorite Shiina records. The rest is pretty standard. I'm a forever fan now. So, I guess my discovery of Shiina was pretty typical. I was looking for new Japanese music, so it was only natural that I would stumble across her at some point.

My first post (second actually)… awkward.

Anyway, a good friend of mine, who was into anime and Japanese stuff told me about Shiina Ringo years ago. He knew many Japanese musicians; almost every week he came up with a new one (or two) he was excited about, but I never got his hype on anything.
About four years ago he move out of town (to Santa Cruz) and I lost contact with him. I felt kind of an ass after he left because I never paid close attention to his tastes even when he was so open to me. So I decided to look for a suggestion of his on you tube mostly because I missed him after just three days. I remembered his Shiina Ringo recommendation because it was the one of the lastest and weirdest: he said he would dedicate her song (if I recall this right) ‘Honnou’ to me (?), while the song ‘Kabukicho’ to his ex-girlfriend (I’m not totally sure about this). So, if my memories are correct, he was implying I’m gay and, also, that her ex is a queen slut…:huh:
I just saw the “is Shiina Ringo a gay icon” thread and I remember my friend was good at English, so he could have taken the idea from EMF. In other words, EMF could have been trolling at me even before I knew it.:lol:
Looking back, I’m glad he mock at me (I know he did), otherwise I wouldn’t have started to listen to SR and all the music she connected me with.

If I remembered correctly, I randomly watched a video flick on youtube about an anime called Mononoke (Toei Animation).
I was immediately drawn into the colourful, bizarre graphics and intricate design.

After watching the whole series I revisited the video again and totally submerged myself in the mystifying melody.
Her drowning voice sounded sorrowful yet beautifully soothing.
The music slowly unveiled itself from the harrowing depths of nothingness.
I felt like a goldfish lost in the ocean.

The music played was Hatsukoi Shoujo.
That's when my First Love for Shena Ringo began.:wub:
I started from KSK, Heisei Fūzoku and Adult and many songs left
impactful moments ingrained in my heart.
I feel grateful to be immersed in the productive music she and the band has to offer :lol:

I've seen a bit of Mononoke, and yes, it's a very bizarre style.

Interesting how some new members know SR mostly from her older stuff, and some mostly from her newer stuff.

I randomly came across the promotional video for Sakuran when it was relatively new -- maybe 2008. I think I must have been looking for new artists to listen to and saving them to check them out again later. Out of all of the artists that I found in those days, Shiina Ringo is the only one that I still listen to at all. I had definitely found the one that I didn't know I was looking for. I wasn't instantly hooked by Sakuran, but I remember liking her style of jazz. I probably didn't even bother to look up any other songs of her's at the time either, as I forgot everything but her name and a general idea of her musical genre. In my head, Shiina Ringo was strictly a jazz musician. How could I have known I had stumbled upon such a chameleon when most of the other artists I had been hearing stuck to one particular sound? You might think I wasn't lucky to not immediately find something like Honnou, Tsumi to Batsu, or Stem, but I think I was very lucky not to.

I slowly went through my list of musicians to check out and crossed them out one by one. One day, many years later... it was time for me to give Ringo another go. The only image of Ringo I had in my head was the promotional image from Watashi to Houden -- but I have no idea why. And oddly enough, it was Sanmon Gossip that I had on my computer. Somehow, I gave it a listen all the way through. None of the tracks left a strong immediate impression on me -- except the lovely ending bonus track, Marunouchi Saddistic. I know a lot of people don't like that because they prefer the original, but see... I thought it was the original. And I thought it was dope. The other songs off of Sanmon Gossip grew on me, but the final track was always my favorite. This was the moment I fell in love with Ringo's voice. There is this one part of that song that just gave me goosebumps. I ended up loving the whole album.

So, I knew I had to find more of this artist -- I just had to. I went back chronologically because I assumed that the newer stuff was better. This was true with so many other artists. If only I knew then what I know now! Yes, I decided to try Heisei Fuuzoku next. I was in for a big shock. And boy, I absolutely loved it! I didn't think Ringo could be anything other than what I knew her to be -- a pop/jazz musician. Now she was commanding a rocking orchestra. Her sound went from SOIL & PIMP SESSIONS Ringo" to "Saito Neko Ringo" just like that. What a versatile artist! The HF version of Yokushitsu was my favorite for a long time. I loved how the song moved together effortlessly while having so much going on at once; this is still a big reason why I still love Ringo. Once again, I didn't know that this wasn't the original version. This was the moment I fell in love with Ringo's songwriting. Even though the orchestration was due to Saito Neko, it was the song itself that touched my heart.

At this point, I knew of the existence of Tokyo Jihen but I hated the only songs I heard from them: Killer Tune and Senkou Shoujou. Now, only the former has grown on me at all. Anyway, I moved from there to the albums that everyone was claiming to be the best -- Kalk Semen Kuri no Hana and Shousou Strip. It took me a while to realize that a lot of the songs from KZK were featured on HF. When I did realize, however, I thought that every HF version was far superior. I still love the HF version of Meisai but my thinking has really changed since then. It took me a long time to get used to the stylistic differences between these two albums. For a long time, I felt safest with SG and HF. KZK lacked the Saito Neko orchestration and SS swapped lofty jazz for a in-your-face punk/jazz mixture. I distinctly remember when I listened to both of those albums all the way through for the first time. I remember thinking that KZK was overrated and that SS was far worse. So, I started to check out Jihen instead.

Adult was the first piece of Jihen that I discovered. I had a phase where I was just all about HZM and his piano skills. Ringo in a group setting really increased my appreciation for her in general and helped lead me into greater treasures. Somehow, I came across Odaiji ni while listening to Adult. I didn't really enjoy anything from KZK yet, but I listened intently to this song after hearing some intense ballads from Tokyo Jihen. Do you know the part where the guitar fades out and Ringo's voice takes over after the opening? Well, you see... I didn't even notice that it had happened at first. This was the moment I fell in love with Ringo. I finally realized the reason why I couldn't get into KZK and the reason why everyone else was praising it so much. It took such a small moment in the least complex song for me to realize it: there is so much going on at once -- you have to take the song as a whole, not as a collection of instruments. The next time I listened to KZK, I noticed that every sound was carefully placed and that nothing was coincidental. It was absolutely beautiful every time I found another amazing set of notes I hadn't previously noticed. All of the numerous little things stood out all at once.

At this point, I made it my mission to find and listen to every song by Shiina Ringo. It took a bit longer but the appeals of SS came to me as well. I think I still preferred the HF version of Yokushitsu, though. It was only recently that I really got Gips. I lumped it with Koko de Kisu Shite, which I don't completely understand to this day. I've realized that Gips may not be the greatest composition in Ringo's career but as far as radio-perfect songs go, Gips is it. Benkai Debussey eventually became my "I don't gave a sh*t" track and Honnou and Izonshou might be the very definition of Ringo. Next, I listened to Muzai Moratorium. I was shocked that the song that the song that really grabbed me was on her debut! I found many instant favorites on the first listen, as I was already a big fan by then. I then scrambled to listen to the B-sides album. This was essential in my early Ringo days. I think I was looking at the track list on Wikipedia when I decided to look through all of the albums. This is when I realized that there was one song from SG that I hadn't head -- Shun. How I fell in love with Ringo through the album without this track, I do not know. It is without a doubt my favorite from that album! Oh my goodness, the piano in the outro to that song! This was the moment I realized I didn't know much about Ringo at all.

So, I began reading articles and pages about Ringo -- anything that I could get my hands on. I started watching music videos, interviews, and live performances. I'm actually very particular about music videos and wasn't really impressed by Ringo's. I still haven't been able to track down the PV for Tsumi to Batsu, though... which I heard was pretty badass. But I was thoroughly impressed by some of the live performances I seen. I listened to everything Jihen had to offer and found various performances on YouTube. My appreciation for a lot of Phase 2's songs increased with every performance. Then I discovered two things: solo Ringo shows, and Phase 1 shows. This is was the moment I realized Shiina Ringo was a terrific performer. I fell in love with several performances from Dynamite Out (Ekimae, Juusui Negai, Kurumaya-san) and Ringo Expo (Tsumi to Batsu, Yokushitsu, Yami ni Furu Ame ). It wasn't until later that I seen some legendary clips like the likes of Electric Mole's Odaiji ni or Zazen Extacy's Nihon ni Umarete. With every new discovery, I fell deeper into the fandom.

Finally, I listened to Ringo's cover album and her demo tapes. Well, I had gave the cover album a quick try before but it took me a while to be able to really get into it. I listened to all of the Jihen songs and grew to like Sports, Daihakken, color bars and Kyouiku -- in that order. Variety was the very last thing I had ever heard from Jihen. I just remember thinking that it sounded weird but that it was catchy. Killer Tune grew on me, I guess. And I do kind of like some of the other tracks, especially when they're live. Variety may not be my favorite album, but it marked a very important milestone for me. This was the moment that I heard the last of Ringo's original songs. I was finally more or less caught up with the rest of the fandom and I was proud of myself. However, it was very sad that I may not hear another Ringo masterpiece for the first time ever again. A few weeks later, Irohanihoheto was announced. I experienced all of the 15th anniversary stuff as it actually was happening, and because of the releases I found out about the collaborations I had missed (Ukina). I liked some of the tracks. How could anyone with a song like Tsumi to Batsu pull off J'ai trouvé l'amour? Shiina Ringo is the only correct answer that I know of.

Somewhere in this process of really discovering Ringo, I discovered Electric Mole Forums. I learned a lot about people's opinions and about Ringo herself by reading old threads but I never contributed until recently. I finally decided to join in order to talk with other fans. My activity level did not surpass lurking for quite a while but now that has changed. I think that this is the moment I became a hardcore fan. My friends, I made it here all the way from a single track from Heisei Fuuzoku. I started with Ringo that I really, really like. I worked my way back in time to Ringo that I absolutely love. I continued back in time to more Ringo that I really, really like. Just like the structure of one of Ringo's albums, my journey through Ringo's discography has been incredible. Perhaps I would not have appreciated my favorite songs if I hadn't started where I did. I suppose I'm technically a new fan, but I'm getting to know my stuff more and more every day. I'm now awaiting news on the new single, NIPPON and of the untitled album it is to be released on. That will be my first new album since I've become a fan and I am super excited for it.

I have to say I am extremely jealous of people getting into Ringo now, who have so much more of a back catalog to explore.

Having a large catalog and variety of Ringo to discover can be a good thing because it can attract a lot of people. But it can also have the opposite effect if you're unlucky with the first few songs you hear. Still, it was a truly amazing experience to be able to hear so much great material in such a short period of time. I only wish I could do it all over again.

Yeah, dude. Imagine if your first exposure to Ringo was Benkai Debussy, Toumei Ningen, SSAW or Service. For shame. Gotta get lucky with some of the good MM-Kyouiku stuff.

I feel like I did. My first three Ringo songs were Kokode Kiss Shite, Gibs and Poltergeist. I was meh on Kokode, loved the powerful drumming on Gibs and was hooked by Poltergeist.

Nice! You found the one iconic track from each of her first three albums! That's an interesting progression of songs and it kind of highlights the progression of her career up until that point too.

But Benkai Debussy was between MM and Kyouiku. I would say it's leagues ahead of the other few your mentioned too. Gotta agree with you though. If I heard Service first -- I might not be here.

Not 100% sure, but I think I first came across Shiina Ringo's name in a Lonely Planet guide book in early 2011, shortly before my first trip to Japan. I remember reading a section in it about Japanese music and there was a short paragraph about Shiina and Tokyo Jihen, about how she had ended her solo career in order to be part of a band, which was enough of a weird career move for it to stick in my memory. But I can't remember how soon after that I first checked her music out. I came back from Japan smitten with the country and it's culture, started learning Japanese and getting deeper into Japanese music. Over the next two or so years I would occasionally come across her name on the internet and then check out the odd video on Youtube without really getting hooked.

The only one I can still remember watching was Mellow. At the time I found the song too straight-forwardly "rock" for my tastes. Perhaps if I'd heard KZK then, it would've been different (I love Mellow now though).

Anyway, about October or November last year I spent a lot of time on rateyourmusic.com, reading it's forums, and I kept seeing this "Karuki Zamen Kuri no Hana" title appearing in various threads and it sounded pretty intriguing, so I thought I'd give her another go, but with that album this time, rather than a randomly selected song on Youtube. The first time I listened to it, I didn't really know what to make of it, I was kind of doing other stuff while I listened, and I think it was just too much to take in. The second and third times though, were mind-blowing, some of the best music listening experiences I've had, and it's pretty much my favorite album now.

Also, a very very strange coincidence: I make music and the last two pieces I wrote before discovering Shiina were titled "Stem" and "Glips". :blink:

It always makes me happy to see great music find its way into cultural guides like this. A lot of the time the things I really like aren't popular enough to get any attention. I'll definitely keep an eye out for that particular Lonely Planet guide book to see what kind of things they said about Ringo.

It's so wonderful that you were able to find out about Ringo, even in such a peculiar way! KZK really is praised everywhere on album rating sites, isn't it? And what a coincidence it is that you named your songs with similar titles! I'd really like to hear them one day! :)

Welcome to EMF.

Thanks for the welcome! It was a pre-2011 edition of the guide book, but they often re-use sections in newer editions. I may upload that music to soundcloud or something one day. Despite the titles, they don't resemble Shiina's music in the least, haha.

Well here's 'Glips':
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lcAHYNHVQ70

I wrote it for my sorta experimental guitar duo. This is us playing it live.

That's cool! This performance is pretty recent too! I wouldn't say your music is that far from Ringo's music either. Just more minimal. That could easily be expanded into something very similar to her's. But really it's fine the way it is! Thanks for sharing, Parsec.

Thanks for listening!