What I find distasteful and disturbing about this topic is the kind of abstracted disconnect that a cult of personality envelopes around our cultural icons. I find it odd that some of us here, the recipients of an already substantial and rewarding body of work, that many of us have developed a very strong personal connection to, (I know I have), still have a somewhat two-dimensional emotional relationship to the work as a "product", an object of consumption, that is about as "real" as a new game or movie.
I would think fans of Shiina would be above a lot of this. "Wouldn't it be cool if she died so we could get some rarities?" What the fuck is that about?
I, for one, can only wish that somebody who has given me so much will live a long and happy life. If she were to retire after this year, so be it. We already have enough.
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