keep bleeding, keep, keep bleeding, love D:

whoa, definitely never seen that pic before...looks pre MM-era, with the crown.

I voted EM. It is the true apex of Ringo's career. I mean if you had to erase Ringo's ENTIRE catalogue, and only have one surviving artifact, I'd want it to be Electric Mole. Even the title, the first to really deviate away from the Ecstasy theme, shows you how personal it was, even with the Journey of the Mole videos....as far as much goes, Doppleganger=love so I had to vote for that. Zazen is rock bliss, but Electric Mole is taking KZK and the Jihen boys and just wraps up everything Ringo and eventually Jihen and her entire aesthetic so perfectly. No-contest here. I think people are just voting Zazen right now because they are so starved for old-Ringo and this is such a recent release.

You make good points, and I think your last point is probably true. Watching EM in a month or two, maybe I will change my mind. But the fact that Zazen has invigorated and rejuvenated my Ringo love right now; it has to get my vote which still stands. And while EM may sound better, mean more and ultimately be the better gig I won't change my mind on preferring Shiinas stage presence and the intimate setting of Zazen.

Now that I'm comfortable with Zazen inside and out I'm gonna watch Electric Mole again tonight and see what I prefer for sure.. but as whispa said it's the intimacy of Zazen which is the real win part for me!! and I still think 'My Luxury Night' was incredible! more so than Mr. Wonderful.

Nothing can beat Electric Mole.

we definitely should re-poll in a few weeks after the honeymoon is over and see what we all think.

well they are definitely completely different aesthetically, because knowing the history of Zazen here we are seeing Ringo, who for the first time is embarking on her odyssey, leaving the more eccentric western image behind (the tour outfits, photoshoots, even the previous tour's mannequin during Nippon ni Umarete), and embracing the essence of Japan. Ultimately that culminates with KZK and then the following tour, where in EM we see her at her pinnacle. In Zazen she still has that early MM SS trademark flair about her performance, by EM she has lost that in favor of being the true artist we all associate with KZK and the name Shiina Ringo. So it is like the difference between looking at the diamond in the rough versus the finished diamond ring, each has its own beauty, one is raw potential, the other is cultivated and perfected craftsmanship.

they both bookend an amazing solo career and have their own strong points. but for me, EM is the epitome and end all be all of Ringo, no contest.

almost more interesting, it can be argued, is that period between SS and KZK (utaite myori? hahah) where she went through such transition as a person and a songwriter. how long had KZK-style material been brewing in her head? Really, Zazen is the last we see of her in a lot of ways until around KZK, which is the complete transformation. Utaite Myori, more or less, was released to satisfy her label and was culminated from music she was listening to a lot at that time. Creatively though, we don't get a clear glimpse into her mindset again until KZK though....I wonder where it all stemmed from...I'm sure she must have talked about it in interviews, but I can't recall.

This guy deserves a crown, man!

I think this was the best answer I ever read. Very very good, kuro-san.

Yeah, good post and great arguments. I hope I'm not going to be stoned for asking such a dumb question, but I'm too lazy to look it up now: which was the earlier concert, Zazen or Gekokujo? Some posts have confused me a bit here... thanks :)

Zazen came first! 30th July 2000 and Gekokujyo was 7th December 2000