Are there any solo Shiina Ringo songs you haven't fully listened to yet?

[so_cold]

I loved Akane on first listen, lol. I can understand it feeling like a loss of momentum after Koufukuron Etsuraku Hen though.

Sometimes listening to the ending of the song gets you into it retroactively. Ishiki was a "don't mind" track until I heard the ending of the rainstorm version in a candlelit cafe through headphones and since then it's been one of my favourite songs. And Gips - I think I'm in the minority really liking that song actually. I originally skipped it (thinking it was a regulation ballad demanded by the record company), then I liked the epic ending/segue into Yami ni, then I liked the whole thing, and now it's quite often the first track I want to listen to on the way home from a night out. I just like the pretty way that song flows, right from "Anata wa...." But then I like Koko de, so what do I know!

I've never heard ZCS Gamble or Onaji Yoru but that's because ZCS CD1 became OOP before I became a fan. I'd probably like them...

EDIT: The ending of Poltergeist has a low-volume sample of a jig or something before Souretsu kicks in, I don't know what it is. It's one of those weird little KSK moments.

[mizer_unmei]

Ringo albums are some of the only albums I can listen to from front to back every time I listen to them. So... no.

Before I would be able to say that about about half of her b-sides, but Watashi to Houden amended that.


And people don't like Gips?!? WTH? That was the one everyone pushed me to get when I first got into her.

[ShinjiPG]

Lol, what's the problem of liking "Koko d"e? I know I do like both "Koko de" and "Gips" and don't feel embarrassed in anyway.
And it's true what you say, about listening to songs in specific environments (like the candlelit cafe). It has worked for me in some songs that didn't feel special.
But most of all, I think one should really dedicate some hours listening to her first three solo albums, start to end. Skipping tracks not only makes you not listen to probably great songs, but also ruins the symmetry of the albums (SS and KZK) which is part of the reason that makes them special. If you care for said symmetry, that is.

[zarya]

Her demos! Never got around to it.

The latest solo-Ringo track I listened to for the first time was Sigma o_o I had seen bits of the pv before but I found it too weird, so I always skipped it on the DVD. I finally put the song on my playlist when I got WtH.

[Tokyo Jihad]

The forums going through a phase of bad taste where they pretend not to like ballads (like Gibbs) for some strange and inane reason.

Gibbs is a great song. You know it, I know it, EMF knows it. Its one of her very best.

[so_cold]

Originally Posted by Tokyo Jihad

The forums going through a phase of bad taste where they pretend not to like ballads (like Gibbs) for some strange and inane reason.

Gibbs is a great song. You know it, I know it, EMF knows it. Its one of her very best.

Yay! I got that impression from the under/overrated thread when it and Koko de get mentioned as overrated a lot... It and Tsumiki are also good for karaoke if your Japanese isn't brilliant and you don't have to look up what every other word in Shiina's lyrics means. "Zutto, zutto, zutto..." Class.

[Glathannus]

I'm not a Gips/Gibbs/whatever hater. I've just never been much of a fan of the studio recording. It's painfully dry plus it seriously drags on, and I've felt this way ever since month #2 of my fandom. Tsumi to Batsu doesn't fit that profile because it's less dry and there's so many more nuances in the guitar-playing. You take away one of those elements of Gips and it would be a much more respectable track (which is why I don't find myself skipping over the Electric Mole version). I hereby opt out of your stereotyping.

Also, I've always been a fan of the Yume no Ato recording in Kyoiku even though the album's recordings/mixes are bad in general. I probably replay that at least ten times as often as I replay studio Gips. At least half the times I revisit studio Gips are to watch the PV, because the audio alone isn't compelling enough for a revisit. You can't go wrong with mad eyes and vivid death/afterlife cinematography.

[Maou]

I like studio Gibs just fine. There's guitar parts that don't make it to any of the lives and Ringo never ever hits that last "Motto" with any sort of passion like in the studio version.

[mizer_unmei]

Originally Posted by Maou

I like studio Gibs just fine. There's guitar parts that don't make it to any of the lives and Ringo never ever hits that last "Motto" with any sort of passion like in the studio version.

THIS.

Studio version Gibs is the bombdizzle. It seriously gives me goosebumps every time I listen to it.

[Osiris12345]

I remember coming into this forum hating Gibs and posting as such. But it really has grown on me after repeated listens. I think what makes it good is the shift between the soft verses and the loud smack-in-the-face choruses. It's really a great contrast. Based on that reason alone, it's very much like a more commercial Mellow. It has a lot more emotion in it than you would get from your generic J-pop song and tiresome power ballads you hear all too often on the radio. It has something more genuine.