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Old 2008.04.12, 02:15 PM   #70
Glathannus
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Join Date: Feb 2006
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The Casshern soundtrack was what introduced me to Shiina Ringo, with arguably the best version of Kuki - short of the haunting performance in Electric Mole (I dare you to try blasting that one in the dark with no visuals).

I went for six months without bothering to find out what Shiina Ringo looked like, then I was pleasantly surprised, but I was already bewitched by her before that, mostly from the incomplete set of KSK tracks I was able to scavenge on Kazaa. Muzai Moratorium material was oddly difficult to find.

I found news of Tokyo Jihen's existence from Googling my way into random messageboards I wasn't member of, somebody linked to a Sounan MP3, and that was my cherrypopper. Normally I'm not a lurker, but these Shiina Ringo threads were small, and I wasn't into any of the other artists (at the time) that these communities were about.

(Note: I didn't discover JPopSuki until after joining the Ringo Jihen community, and by then I already owned all of the retail essentials)

Shiina Ringo was actually the reason I bothered to get a 'real' job (I had very casual self-employment before that - barely enough to pay the bills). I was importing more and more music, it was costing too much, and Adult Pour Homme was the first Ringo/Jihen product I decided to buy extras of. That was the same month I got a job, and I'm still working that same job to this very day (2+ years later).

Electric Mole was my first concert DVD, not just for Shiina Ringo, but for any artist. The interruptions are annoying, but it's arguably the best setlist, and everyone was in their element.

Shiina Ringo was who got me into PE'Z, and by extension, the Japan Nite tour, then The Rodeo Carburettor and detroit7. Not to mention there's Tokyo Ska Paradise Orchestra, SOIL&"PIMP"SESSIONS, Asai Kenichi, and Heart Bazaar. Even when I run out of Shiina Ringo products to buy, there's always other good music to spend money on (so I have continued incentive to work full-time). Though I've branched out even further than that, Shiina Ringo was a very good center point for someone who wasn't familiar with other Japanese artists, aside from videogame composers (who some would argue aren't 'real' artists).
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