Did you think that Shiina Ringo's voice was atrocious, at first?

[ShinjiPG]

At first, Ringo's voice wasn't such a big thing for me. It was ok. More "screaming" than usual for me, but ok.
What annoyed me where the sound-rich songs, full of GITAAA, loudness and craziness.
That was by the first time I heard her main discography, after I found and loved Heisei Fuuzoku and started searching for more things by her. I listened and I dismissed it.

After a while I grabbed Kyoiku and Adult and I was more pleased with the stuff. Killer Tune after OSCA, leading to Variety... by that time, I already listened to Ringo in a different way than the first time and grabbed her solo discography again. Insta-love <3 Listening with real attention does great things.

After listening more and more, I'm now at that state you mention, where lives > recordings.
Well, not really exact like that, but sure, I recognize all the greatness that DO brought to the Kyoiku tracks, for example, and Ringo's capacity to ever-change and express her album tracks in inventive and powerful live performances.
A capacity that has been failing a lot...

But sure, her voice is not something that most people can really appreciate at the first time. And I think it's not something that grows either, in the normal sense of "growing". You have to listen to many other things, expand your musical universe and taste. Only after that could I really understand the greatness of her works. And I feel like I'm still learning to appreciate it better. I say this because it felt like that for me, since 2007 (the year I started listening to Ringo) was such an instructive and "experience-gaining" year for me.

[Silverrime]

Originally Posted by Ringo~Bingo

most people I know are the same! though it's mostly narrow mindness when they say rubbish 'Chinese Music' when they full know that she is in fact Japanese some people just won't be converted or at the very least allow themselves to understand that songs are sung in more languages than just English.

it really pisses me off

Yeah, the two most common reasons Ringo gets written off when I try to share her stuff with people is "the voice is weird/grating", or like you "well she doesn't sing in English, so I don't like it."

I wasn't the biggest fan of her voice at first, though it got to me more in some songs than others. I thought it fit best on the MM songs, and thus, that was the first album of hers I got into.

Now, I totally dig the voice - pleasure spiked with pain. Although, I think her vocals took a slide ever since EM.

[Tokyo Jihad]

For years I've listened to Liam Gallagher and Billy Corgan at their most grating.

Shiina never bothered me a bit.

[Mr Sands]

I loved Ringo's voice from the moment I heard it.
I like "screaming" though, hell AC/DC are one of my favourite bands.
Screaming is good.

[RollOverHobo]

Shiina's voice isn't bad I don't know what people are talking about....but then again if your frame of reference is small than I'd probably agree...but most of the people I recomend her to are anime fans and though Shiina sounds nothing like the cutesy anime theme songs the pitches are near enough that you would think they wouldn't bother people but they do....(I'm especially frustrated at my friend who dislikes shiina's voice...and she thinks I'm stubborn >.>)

But on to topic, no I did not think her voice was attrocious and the first thing I heard from her was Karisome Otome. I would have taken longer to find something to dislike about her voice (yea I would have found it eventually) if people hadn't pointed it out...

[Nimh]

Her ability to remain on key, open-throated *and* closed-nasal simultaneously is her most captivating feature. People can be forgiven for not hearing it at first, likening it to Kate Bush (who is more open-throated), Tori Amos (ditto), or Alanis Morissette (heavy on the nasal).

[frecklegirl]

Her voice has never bothered me. But when I'm in the car with my sister and I put her on, my sister talks about how grating and nasal her voice is. I'm always like ????

[HEDOfloe]

^ Yea, it seems that to "bystanders" her voice comes off as just bad. I personally never had a problem with it. I love her squeals in Koufukuron (the album version). But, I think I had a nice transition into her, though. First song was Stem on the Casshern Soundtrack and then I heard La Salle de Bain where she does some weird things with her voice that are not necessarily grating but very unique. I was captivated by that.

[Tokyo Jihad]

She can totally be grating. It just "works" or it doesn't. The end of Tegami for example. Tell me it's not grating. I think it works tho.

[Ringo~Bingo]

I've never felt that she's ever been grating to the point that it's just plain uncomfortable ? I like what she does with her voice 99% of the time! although I don't like her voice in 'Fly Me To The Moon' on the Dai Ikkai DVD