Chinese article on Ringo - someone translate?

[Kasanagi]

Originally Posted by justriiingo

btw, how do you pronounce the author's name? I don't recognise the 2nd character.

Written by (funnily enough) Kusanagi!!!!

Its not really a Chinese character I think, just kanji.

[ChickShhh]

Originally Posted by Kasanagi

Its not really a Chinese character I think, just kanji.

No it can be pronounced
like '涕', in either Mandarin or Cantonese

[justriiingo]

Translated: the bottom section about SR = The Beatles

Shiina Ringo's two albums = The Beatles' White Album?

The singles Koufukuron, Kabukichou no Joou and Koko de Kiss Shite, and last year's debut album Muzai Moratorium has consolidated Shiina Ringo's self-proclaimed Shinjuku-jei style, which is an amalgam of Post-Grunge and Alternative Rock, blending in traditional Japanese folk melodies, with lyrics about female emotion and desires, even touching on the topic of sex abuse. During last August's mega outdoor concert Rising Sun Festival, Shiina Ringo has already finished recording her second album, Shouso Strip. After releasing three singles Honnou, Gibs, and Tsumi to Batsu, the album is finally released this year. The two albums complement each other, with Shouso Strip being even stylistically richer, thus the Japanese music critics feel that the two albums can be likened to The Beatles' White Album in terms of style and consistency.

Please feel free to correct any mistakes I made.

[Canto]

Originally Posted by ChickShhh

No it can be pronounced
like '涕', in either Mandarin or Cantonese

I think it pronounced "志" in Mandarin, as we all call Kyo in Kings Of Fighters "cao zhi" here.

[ChickShhh]

Originally Posted by Canto

I think it pronounced "志" in Mandarin, as we all call Kyo in Kings Of Fighters "cao zhi" here.

yes if the '薙' without the '艸'.
check out in the dictionary!

[Kasanagi]

It funny how it sounded so much better after JR tranlated it

[justriiingo]

Shiina Ringo: The Border of Love and Pain

Abstract: something about Kabukichou and Shinjuku-kei and how SR is influenced by 70-80s enka (I think).

Main text:
Today’s Shiina Ringo is different from the person who made her debut into the Japanese music industry two years ago. From her first single Koufukuron to her first album Muzai Moratorium, Shiina Ringo is someone who is adored by Japanese music critics and a name that fans of alternative music often mention. In the past year, Shiina Ringo’s popularity has skyrocketed together with her album sales. Even after attaining superstar status, Shiina Ringo does not take the position of someone who makes mediocre pop albums that sell well. Her second album Shouso Strip, which has been the #1 album on the Oricon charts for three weeks straight, is much more than Muzai Moratorium. The guest musicians on the album, which include Blankey Jet City’s guitarist Asai Kenichi, drummer Asha-Chang and Buffalo Daughter’s Yamamoto Moog (not sure about the name) are a pleasant surprise. Amongst the intense rock music, Shiina Ringo manged to blend in electronic elements like Drum n Bass, House, even New Wave and Techno-Pop, added to SR’s naked honesty about love and sex in her daring lyrics, she once again brings the listener to vacillate between the edge of love and pain.

Shiina Ringo feels that she’s not only a singer, but the creator and performer of Shinjuku-kei. To complement her albums, SR takes on different looks for every magazine interview, which makes her appear flamboyant. Until today however, she has never presented herself as a perfect idol female singer, and is frank when speaking about her past failures. For example, in a biography (I think), she reveals that she’s never been successful at anything she learnt, like she started piano lessons when she was young but had to give up halfway, and how joined a singing contest after graduating from high school but failed, how she went to UK to further her studies but had to come back because she wasn’t making any progress. But Shiina Ringo is now a successful artiste, and if you feel that she’s nothing more than a “Cosplay Queen”, “poster girl” or “AV star”, then you’ve certainly undermined her talent.

Kabukichou no Joou, a single from Muzai Moratorium, is the definitive Shinjuku-kei song. The song speaks about the Queen of Kabukichou, who inherits the big playground of Kabukichou. Because Kabukichou is in Shinjuku, SR just took the name to create her own genre. Actually, her not all her songs are set in Shinjuku. In Muzai Moratorium, you can find names of other places in Tokyo, like in Marunochi Sadistic, she mentions Ochanomizu, Korakuen and Ikkebukuro. Actually, Shinjuku-kei, like Shibuya-kei, is not influenced by sounds from that area, but is a clever way of presenting SR as an artist with a unique sound. Although one can feel the vibes of Kabukichou from her songs, SR is also influenced by 70s-80s enka, even the relationship between her music and lyrics is also influenced by enka.

SR’s music is flamboyant and ground-breaking. From Tadashii Machi, you can hear her signature rolled Rs, and the changing dynamics of the keyboard. And in Koufukuron, SR waxes lyrical about her “Theory of Happiness” about loving someone and making sacrifices for that someone. The ballad (some song, I think it’s Akane blah blah), shows SR’s gentle side.

The guitars in Muzai Moratorium have the same feel as those in Blankey Jet City, and SR admits that BJC’s guitarist Asai Kenichi is one the musicians she admires the most. Thus she invited him to play the guitar on Tsumi to Batsu, and fulfilled her personal wish. Also, from the opening track Kyogenshou to the closing track Izonshou, SR has turned into a schizophrenic mental patient, compared to Muzai Moratorium, heightens the dream-like fantasy world of Shouso Strip. Torn between the edge of love and pain, Shiina Ringo seems more self-abusing, crazier, and more perverse. House influenced Yokushitsu speaks about a horrifying love ceremony at a bathtub, and “loving the dead you”. Yami ni Furu Ame is a strings piece infused with Drum n Bass elements, and in Stoicism Buffalo Daughter’s Yamamoto Moog created a highly-experimental track of sampled and layered vocals, referencing New Wave and Techno Pop; it’s all very unexpected. Not forgetting of course, SR’s mentor and producer Kameda Seiji and the band of musicians who worked seamlessly with her to bring us the Manilyn Mason-esque (I’m pretty sure he meant Marilyn Manson) Hard Rock track Identity, the Garage Punk style Byoushou Public, and the heart-wrenching ballad Gibs, Shiina Ringo’s strong yet gentle voice and the musical dynamics will touch the listener, and this is what makes SR admirable and successful.


It's mostly description, and I left out some parts. Some of the sentences (like the schizophrenic mental patient one) sound ridiculous, but that's really what's written.

[vayerism]

thank you so much! really put a lot effort on it!

[badtzmaru]

OMG, thank you so much for translating this, JR!!!! *glomps* Dang it, I want to give you a reputation point but I have to wait! Q>_< Is there a way to 'bookmark' a post or something? o_O

I finally understand what shinjuku-kei is (if not entirely, more than before) and I learned a lot about the other genres she composed in her songs (like house, drum n bass, new wave, techno pop, Manilyn Mason-esque hard rock , garage punk.) Thank you so much!!

Originally Posted by justriiingo

Until today however, she has never presented herself as a perfect idol female singer, and is frank when speaking about her past failures. For example, in a biography (I think), she reveals that she’s never been successful at anything she learnt, like she started piano lessons when she was young but had to give up halfway, and how joined a singing contest after graduating from high school but failed, how she went to UK to further her studies but had to come back because she wasn’t making any progress. But Shiina Ringo is now a successful artiste, and if you feel that she’s nothing more than a “Cosplay Queen”, “poster girl” or “AV star”, then you’ve certainly undermined her talent.

I feel so encouraged to hear about her past 'failures.' T_T I've failed at a lot of things in life too, but to know that she turned out successful like this gives me hope. >_< I think this is the first time I feel like I relate to Ringo, even if our situations are drastically different. I'm so glad she didn't give up, and I love her even more now. ;_; <3333

What's an AV star??

Originally Posted by justriiingo

The ballad (some song, I think it’s Akane blah blah), shows SR’s gentle side.

Hehheh, I can't remember the last words of that song title, either. XD

Originally Posted by justriiingo

and in Stoicism Buffalo Daughter’s Yamamoto Moog created a highly-experimental track of sampled and layered vocals, referencing New Wave and Techno Pop;

Ohh, interesting! I've seen the Buffalo Daughter name before, and I guess one of the guys made "Stoicism." Cool!

[justriiingo]

AV Star = Japanese porn star. If I'm not wrong AV means "Adult Video". lol.