[Glathannus]

Few things I wanted to add:

1.) It depends which phase(s) of her career you're talking about. The material that sober people rave the most about can sometimes end up being the material you are the least satisfied with while you're in an altered state. When I'm in an "altered state", Shiina Ringo's first two albums and some of her demos actually click with me a lot more than KSK. I'm also disappointed to say that being in an altered state doesn't make Dynamite Out any better for me, or at least not lately.

2.) Good masters (such as MoRA 96kHz/24bit) playing on good equipment (such as near-field studio monitors) can give you a lot more texture and nuances to explore - possibly more than you'll know what to do with.

3.) Being half-awake or sleep-deprived in a totally clean way, can sometimes make almost as much difference with listening to Shiina Ringo, as any mind-altering substance.

4.) B-Sides are usually groovy - especially if you haven't been overplaying them while you've been sober.

5.) I'm already nitpicky enough about the production values in some of Shiina Ringo's music videos while I'm sober, but it's much worse when I'm not. It's much more satisfying to just listen to the songs, especially in a dark or dimly-lit room. The visuals of concerts can also be distracting, and they are usually best-played as audio-only.

6.) Being in an "altered state" actually makes me gravitate more toward some of Shiina Ringo's associates (especially Asai Kenichi), rather than toward Shiina Ringo herself - even though Shiina Ringo is the primary artist I identify with as a Japanese music interest. She is unfortunately at the center of a circle of associated artists I tend to like more than her when I'm not sober. The one 'consistent' factor among all these other artists is that they've been involved with Shiina Ringo at one time or another - they each have their own very different ways of gettin' groovy.