Worse Influence
 

Which unfortunate influence in Shiina's musical career makes you grab your forehead in ache the most?

I was almost undecided on this.

I don't inherently disapprove of Saito Neko, but my problem with him is that his arrangements got re-used several times, when what we really wanted was something new. Actually though, his collaborative version of Tsumi to Batsu is win. And... arguably he's better with the violin, than Ukigumo is with the guitar, ontop of the fact that Saito Neko effortlessly interweaves his violin skill, with managing a symphony.

What would make this poll more interesting would be if you compared Kameda influence to Ukigumo influence. Because maybe Tokyo Jihen (or the oldest Shiina Ringo songs) were more indie in their raw compositions, and Kameda simply applied pop-ish curbing before the material went public.

Both are pretty bad* (though I gotta say Uki cuz Variety<HF) but ultimately it's Shiina who should be responsible....you know when people lament over a kid hanging out with a bad crowd.....most people blame the crowd not the kid who probably has been taught better...hence I think the kid should be blamed not the crowd....with Shiina I think that she purposely chose these musicians and if her muscial career is not as interesting anymore that's her fault....either way I love her old stuff and I can find at least one thing to like about her now so I won't just write her off right away...at least she hasn't done anything that makes me hate her (if she decided to turn into Koda Kumi I'd probably stop liking her for instance).<_<

*Don't get me wrong I love Saito Neko and I think Uki is not as bad as the haters make him out to be (though something should be said about his personality>_>) but obviously I don't like how they mix with shiina though in this "Shiina soup" Shiina is the active ingredient they either make it taste bad or generic....I don't know if that makes any sense but it's the only metaphor that comes to mind...

sigh.

I would go with Uki. Saito is fine; people may not like the orchestral direction, but it's a more mature direction for her. If Shiina still released music like she was 18 years old, that'd be akin to those 40 year old mothers who wear tube tops.

I'm sorry, but if Shiina continued releasing music like Muzai Moratorium, Shouso Strip, or even KZK, even though those are fine albums, it would just be stupid. Rock music tends to be whiny or angry -- which is fine if the singer is a teenager or early twenties, but if they're 30 years old.. get over it, ya know? I don't want to see a 30 year old throw temper tantrums, and by that time of their life, they should have their shit together already.

Where's a good "shaking your head" smiley when you need one?

theres a difference between acting young inappropriately (like Madonna) and aging yourself waay too early... Rock music doesnt have to be whiny or angry. And if anything if youre 30, you have more important things to be angry about.

Its not about acting young, its about not being bereft of life. To say someone has to give up their spirit at 30 is a horrible sentiment. 30 is the new 65

But this has nothing to do with the poll. Uki may be a "unconventional at best" rock guitarist, but the guy wrote Fukushuu.
Saitou Neko however really wore out his welcome with BX. It was released, it happened, its over. Ok. But then we got it all over again. Even with "new" arrangements, we still could project what kinda crap we were getting. The only songs he arranged that weren't lifeless were Okonomide and Meisai on BX. While I might be super pumped if Uki were to leave Jihen tomorrow, I would be content if Shiina never subjected her fans to more spiritless orchestral renditions of her songs.

I for the most part agree with this. And to stick to the topic, I think neither is a bad influence at all. Compared to SR's older stuff, I'll take her old stuff in a heart beat, but this is just her natural evolution, and I think it has less to do with other people being an influence and instead is a change in direction in her own mind. Also a cultural angle, 30 for a woman in Asia is "old." I think most of her fans in Japan have no problem with her change either which is who she really performs for. But quite honestly, fuck the fans, music is an art form and art is about expression. If this is how she chooses to express herself, than all we can do is enjoy it or deal with it.

Like it or not, Shiina was never an indie spirit fighting the system. She was always with EMI. It's impossible to tell how much of her younger image was authentic self-expression and how much of it was sly calculation to boost sales.

I'd like to believe that it's always been a mixture of both. That she calculated her image in such a way that she could market an indie spirit without ever having indie "cred." She could speak for rebellious youth from the mantle of a corporate label.

Her current image, if you look at it that way, could almost be the *more* authentic one. As you reach 30, you can't appeal to teenagers the way you did at 20. I'd say, in a musical arena where entire careers can span about four months, her longevity says a lot about her innate talent.

Oh, and: Ukigumo.

Who said she has to give up her spirit at 30? I said that she shouldn't be yelling and screaming her problems like she was 15 now. That's pretty much her MM/SS era. She can still be angry, but only in a way where she's more resolute and is on top of her game; not being a helpless victim. Genjitsu Wo Warau is a good example. I'm not saying adults don't yell and scream when they're angry, but they only do when they've lost control of themselves. They're reverting back to being a 15 year old in those moments.

Correction.. Rock doesn't have to be angry/whiny, but that was pretty much SR's sound in her solo days. It was good then, but she's older now. She has to move on. She can go other directions in rock, yes.. but she went to go more jazz/classical; that was more of her influence growing up anyway.

And this is quite pertinent to the poll, because her musical influences are directly linked to her growth as a human and as a musician. Choosing Saito Neko is part of that growth.

Also, why are we even giving SR grief about going with Saito Neko with BX and HF? One was a concert, and the other was meant more to be a soundtrack for a movie. I mean, it wasn't for Kill Bill. It was for a drama about an oiran. Should it have been all rock?