Shiina Ringo (椎名林檎) / Ringo Sheena, Japan's destroying angel

[tangerinesun]

Basic Shiina Ringo, only... there is no such thing


Look out, John Keats, I've got your belle dame sans merci, right here:

I met a lady in the meads,
Full beautiful, a fairy’s child;
Her hair was long, her foot was light,
And most of the time she was moody at best.



Mercy… I'll check if we have any left.


Ringo Shiina (椎名 林檎, Shiina Ringo) also credited as "Ringo Sheena". 
Real name Yumiko Shiina (椎名 裕美子, Shiina Yumiko).
I can't get myself to call her anything but Shiina Ringo.


Shiina debuted with EMI about 18 years ago in 1998 at the age of 19. She had bands in school,
was an indie notable before she could drive. Her star-power was out of all proportion from the start,
which lets her do about as she wants… not that she could stand it any other way.



A dragon lady in the current Universal promotion


At this point in her history, she can pick and choose her challenges. There's not much she hasn't
already tried and nailed. She formed her own management company just to run her several careers,
which have included being the leading face for Shiseido cosmetics.



2009 alien mermaid look


She's been in around 40 bands, especially Tokyo Jihen ("Tokyo Incidents") 2004–2012
as songwriter and leader of a band of independent concert musicians she had already
taken on tour. She has written and produced for another long list of bands, including
the successful "Hiyori Hime" for Puffy in 2009.



Mermaid comes up at certain intervals, like this chewing gum CM


Ringo, her chosen stage handle, means "apple". She once said that, when she needed
a business name to register her copyrighted works, she reverted to a schoolyard nickname
(ringo, because bashful Shiina blushed apple red). But she's also said she likes the association
to Ringo Starr, and just enjoys the distinction of being called by the word for a tangible object.


10th Anniversary edition of the ringo-logo

Her personal mark is a cartoon apple, sometimes with crossbones or other decorations.
This is how to have the last laugh on those little snots in your class at school. 



Not really sure what's going on with this


The basic origin story is: born on November 25, 1978 in what is now Saitama City, the sensitive
"gifted" younger child of a well-to-do father who loved music and a mother who studied dance.
Ballet and piano lessons from an early age. A brother 4 years older, also musical. The privileged
aesthete scenario was disrupted by a series of operations to correct a congenital defect of the
esophagus. That left her with surgical scars and permanent nerve damage, prompting her
to quit dance around age 10.



She's attempted to make something of the scarring





She compared the scars on her back to places you'd have if you took off an angel's wings.
That sounds like the sort of thing you might tell to a little girl having major surgery. 
There's a theory that her childhood experiences made a fighter of her. She's appeared since
costumed as an angel, and also in various torture and medical/victim scenarios. She's does not
shrink from confrontational material. If you got a handle anywhere, Shiina is one to grab and
pull it, the same as she pulls her own. Shock is one way she makes you take notice.


        
Hooker; nightmare nurse; girl your girlfriend isn't safe around


   
One time, a magazine took wedding-dress photos at locations all over Tokyo. Where'd they find a gun shop?


Details of her current home life are not so documented, but she's not that secretive.
Shiina has had a daughter with the well-known video director Yuichi Kodama (met
on the job in 2009), with whom she lives, collaborates, and also raises the older son
of a prior relationship (a 14-month marriage to guitarist Junji Yakichi). 

There's a checkered tabloid history of irregular associations with men.



"Why him?" None of your affair, people. I think I need a better phrase.




Homies with Perfume


Shiina is the creative chameleon whose fans include all the artists you are a fan of. People with
not much else in common all bow to Shiina. Junior girls and middle-aged women want to be like her.
She appeals to football fans. Opera fans. Dirty nurse fans. TV and Movie directors. Playwrights.
Japanophiles. Japanese nationalists. Artists. Photographers. Lonely hearts. Musicians of all genres —
because she plays in all genres, hip-hop to electro-pop to j-rock to jazz to soundtrack to Western
semi-classical to old-time Japanese enka. 



2001: Retro mannikin with colored contacts and 1/4 pound of ear hardware


Her own description of her style has been "Shinjuku-kei writer/performer". A Shibuya-kei
joke that doesn't really clarify. Shinjuku is Tokyo's commercial and administrative hub, so
Shinjuku Style is explained as pragmatic flexibility in business management.

I don't think of her as a rocker first, but as a singer-songwriter first. A fashion-plate second.
Her latest thing sounds like Capsule covering Pizzicato Five, but a previous release ranged
from French chanson to EDM to punk rock.


        

        

       
All the same person, and this is only a fraction. Shiina plays piano, guitar, drums, and whatever else she wants, including samisen.



Shiina Ringo career summary and aggregated gossip with pictures
at Marble, "Adornment For The Fashionable Woman"
topicks.jp/75679

It's Japanese. There's a ton of linked material.
Put Google Translate on it, doesn't come out so badly.



Shiina Ringo at EN Wikipedia
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ringo_Sheena

Shiina Ringo at Discogs.com
discogs.com/artist/2258062-Shiina-Ringo

Shiina Ringo at JpopAsia
jpopasia.com/celebrity/ringoshiina/

Shiina Ringo at Wiki.ThePPN
ppn.wikia.com/wiki/Shiina_Ringo

Shiina Ringo at generasia
generasia.com/wiki/Shiina_Ringo

Shiina Ringo official YouTube Channel
youtube.com/user/ringosheenaofficial

Kronekodow artist management company website (JP)
kronekodow.com

Kronekodow artist page at Facebook (JP)
facebook.com/kronekodow.sheenaringo

Universal Music Japan artist page (JP)
universal-music.co.jp/sheena-ringo/

Shiina Ringo at Recochoku.jp
recochoku.jp/artist/2000000611/

Shiina Ringo at iTunes.com
Sorry, nothing in the US but covers and collaborations


Since she's always been with major labels, there are the usual problems getting to know her work
where you may live. The big guys find Western safe-harbor laws regarding copyright all very unforgivable.

Shiina's own focus seems heavily Japan-first. You can't join her $40/year fan club unless you reside there,
for example. Not even Universal JP is that restrictive.

Her website is deliberately arty and puts small puzzles in front of you, whether you speak English or Japanese.
It purports to belong to the Pussywillow Line of a fictional SR (Shiingo Rail) transit authority… another
in-joke, I guess. She says, "Since 2003, I've Been Working on the Railroad."

Inside, it functions not unlike Tumblr. Apart from things like that, I get the feeling her business sense
is more than sound. Dad worked for a petroleum company.  

[tangerinesun]

Shiina Ringo 2014 hard mode:
Rising Sun Imperial J-rock



Shiina Ringo - "ＮＩＰＰＯＮ"
2014 JUN 09 by 椎名林檎 (02:13)

The song is cut short because it's Universal, but a couple of days later they
posted the second part separately. I guess they felt they had screwed it up
enough to protect sales of the real thing.



Shiina Ringo - "ＮＩＰＰＯＮ" ＜Finally, The Second Half version＞
2014 JUN 11 by 椎名林檎 (01:49)

Shiina Ringo — new single "NIPPON"
2014 NHK football theme
On sale 2014 June 11

Universal Music Store is here:
po.st/vumsringon

DL from the (Japanese) iTunes Store here:
po.st/itunesringon

DL from Rekochoku here:
po.st/recoringo

Shiina Ringo 2014 new single "NIPPON" June 11 release! 

We [Universal/Virgin and Shiina] received a written request to use this work as the
theme music for 2014 NHK football broadcasts, from now on celebrating "game time"
and expressing a strong will to win, finishing full of elation.

Not for sports only, the new song lends a powerful air to various "occasions"
that everyone faces in life.

Introducing the emerging number one football anthem in a World Cup Year!


Yeah... right... NHK TV asked Shiina to give them a theme song for the 2014 FIFA World Cup,
for which Japan's Samurai Blue team was flying to Brazil. The song played repeatedly during
NHK's TV coverage of the events.

It was released at the same time as a single, and later on the album Land of the Rising Sun. 
("Sunny" in English-speaking markets — isn't that cute? Let's forget about 1928–45!) 



Jacket art minus typography. Strong like the song. 


Thoughtful people had real problems with this release from the very start.

Japan was eliminated from World Cup competition early — three straight losses, not quite
unexpected — so all the fanfare looked lame in retrospect. Use of the song for televised 
matches that didn't even include Japan was criticized as idiotically inappropriate.

Others felt that the tone of the lyrics overlooked (or maybe, appealed to) the very unpleasant
recent history of Japanese nationalism, and went contrary to the multi-culturalist ideals of
international sport.

Apologists argued that Shiina always used nostalgic material, and was only strongly
encouraging Japan's patriotic pride.

Given Shiina's attraction to dark subjects and double meanings, you could be excused  
for suspecting fascist themes in her rock sports anthem. 

As happens with SR, there's English in this specifically Japanese song. 

Hooray, hooray, the wind is up
And blowing free on our native home
Cheers, cheers, the sun is up
And shining bright on our native home

Go team. It is a pretty damn good song, and that's the thing about Shiina 
you can never find a way around. Her career achievement silences critics. 


Lyrics translation at JpopAsia (not very good, but there)
jpopasia.com/celebrity/ringoshiina/lyrics/hi-izuru-tokoro/nippon-2014nhk2014::252707.html
Shiina compares sport to battle, how very Japanese... 
Want to know the truth? She sounds more like Hemingway writing about bullfights 
than Yukio Mishima, writing about giving your life for the Emperor. 


Song page at EN Wikipedia
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nippon_(song)


From the Pinky web-aggregation site: 
Topic: Criticism of Shiina Ringo. What kind of person *is* she?
pinky-media.jp/I0001507

Japan criticizes "NIPPON" as right-wing nationalism: don't the lyrics conjure thoughts
of blood purity? What has this crap about a "faint scent of death drawing near"
got to do with football? 

Well, I pored over the lyrics for awhile and I find Shiina not guilty of anything but 
being the existential chick she is. It's true you could use this song to send off a 
flight of kamikaze pilots, but in my ears what she is doing is applying something 
of the same ideal spirit to a ball game, a transcendently great day in your short 
little life. So give it everything, because you come from something magnificent and 
you're going on to something magnificent, and the purity of this moment is forever 
incorruptible. Something like that. I'm not arguing, I'm impressed. Compare that 
to any fight song of your choosing. 

Lighten up guys, don't you hear those vuvuzelas blowing? Although, the mailed glove...
and that posture with the flag... it looks like Japan has its very own volunteer Joan of Arc. 



All good fun in a Minnie Driver wig for the promo photo. She's wearing the flag backdrop, her dress is sewn into it. 

[tangerinesun]

GAMBLE (Demo5)  Shiina Ringo  DEMO 5
2013 SEP 09 by SR8926 (04:39)
Demo 5 (Not Guilty, Etcetera)
08. Gamble

If you asked me, what's the deal with Shiina Ringo anyway? I might pull this out.

The song has had a lot of re-work. When first released, it was more of a rock tune.
Originally recorded around 2001, it got rearranged and re-recorded for the 2007 album,
Heisei Fuuzoku. These are things I can't can't show you.

I can show you a bootleg cassette copy of the original demo tape, though.
Not Guilty, Etcetera is the conventional title for the tape identified as Demo 5. 

The melody got a tuneup and the lyrics were completely re-written
after the demo was made. 



Shiina Ringo GAMBURU – Gamble, Ringo EXPo 08 [Live]
2016 JAN 26 by l ol o o kdo (05:51)

This full production number was recorded from Ringo EXPo 08, an elaborate
concert staged at Saitama Super Arena on November 30, 2008. The YT
video is probably a telecast recorded in Taiwan, or I would expect
Universal to have squashed it.

This has everything, plus the kitchen sink. Full theater orchestra, because
a rock band alone is not enough. Headdress, because head is not enough.

This song is a wrenching fan favorite, which is why it's on the program.
Shiina turns herself inside out over her cheating boyfriend. 

GAMBURU (Gamble)
Words and music by Shiina Ringo
Orchestration by Shiina Ringo and Seiji Kameda

Romaji	English
Anata wa sotto waratte kureru kara	Since you're quietly laughing at me
Akuru asa touni naki yande iru no sa	By morning the weeping's all over with
Kono chiisana wadachi ni "ANATA IKI WO SHITEIRU"	In this little rut "I'm leaving you behind"
Semi ga wameite natsu no tourai o shiru	The cicadas are shrilling, I feel summer coming on
Sono tsudo nazeka urayande iru no sa	For some reason I'm jealous every time this happens
Kono senchi de tsukitara "NANIKASHIRA E NO FUKUJUU"	Exhausted on this battlefield, "I'd surrender to just anything"
Kaeru basho nado doko ni arimashou	Where can there be someplace to come home to?
Douji sugita	I'm beyond upset
Mou tsukareta	I'm worn out by now
Aisubeki hito wa doko ni imashou	Where can there be someone to love?
Tsugou no ii kotae wa shitteiru kedo	Although I know the easy answer
Nakameguro-eki no houmu ni tatte itara	As I was standing on the platform at Nakameguro Station
Dareka ga kyuu ni se o oshita nda hontou sa	Suddenly someone pushed me from behind — it's the truth
Kono shoubu ni maketara "IKITE YUKU SHIKAKU MO NAI"	Now I've lost at this game, "I don't even qualify to go on living"
Kainarasareta neko no manako de	From the viewpoint of a pet pussycat
Naite miyou ka	Should I try purring?
Yatte miyou ka	Should I try to get along?
Aisubeki hito wa doko ni imashou	Where can there be someone to love?
Yotei no chouwa nante youi dakedo	But adjusting expectations is easy
Koe o daseba donata ka miemashou	Someone it seems has raised her voice
Shinjitsu ga nai	Truth there is none
Mou arukenai	I can't keep walking anymore
Hai ni nareba mina yorokobimashou	Everyone would be glad if I were ashes
Aishiteita yo	I loved you
Keisotsu da ne	That was thoughtless
Kaeru basho nado doko ni arimashou	Where can there be someplace to come home to?
Douji sugita	I'm beyond upset
Mou tsukareta	I'm worn out by now
Aisubeki hito wa doko ni imashou	Where can there be someone to love?
Tsugou no ii kotae wa shitteiru kedo	Although I know the easy answer
Shitteiru kedo…	Although I know…

[tangerinesun]

An apple a day



Shiina Ringo – "Spy Story" 〜 "Koroshi-ya Kikiippatsu" (Hit Man Close Call)
2016 MAY 22 by a ko α (05:55)
From the "National Congress Heisei 25 (2013) Kamiyamamachi Convention"

Nice – ending at exactly 5:55 is a slight nod to Shiina's fondness for
number games, alliteration, symmetries and rhymes of all kinds. 

First song is in English, in case you're not sure. It's found on the 2009 
album "Threepenny Gossip" (song lyrics by Jack Brown).

Song lyrics at blog.livedoor.jp/osca_2/archives/4386249.html 

Jack Brown profile at jackbrownmusic.com/bio.html

Backing up the Queen Bee are members of the Tokyo punk jazz 6P 
SOIL & "PIMP" SESSIONS, who recorded the second tune with her
on a 2013 maxi-single.

Also a string quartet and some harp player. 

Notice how all SR needs to do to own the whole stage is: stand there 
in her Chanel scarf, stick her chest out, cut her eyes sideways, and sing. 

A poison-dart eye, and some quicksilver jive
Make all men weak in the knees

[lazybone712]

www.facebook.com/kronekodow.sheenaringo/posts/820942311376561:0

[tangerinesun]

Aug 26, 2016 17:51:10 GMT -5 lazybone712 said:

kronekodow.sheenaringo post at Facebook

"Sorry I made you wait!" Shiina says.


At the link in the Facebook announcement, this is being termed an "emergency release".

The song is "JIYU-DOM!" (Jiyudamu), written as the theme song for "Gatten!" which is an influential
moderator/panelists talk magazine weekly for NHK.

The theme is a jazzy bit of French cabaret with the familiar cutting Ringo vocal.

Released together with "Jiyudamu Hyadain Riririri ☆ Remix", a weird, bouncy,
chiptune remix by Kenichi Yamada.

Those titles are meaningless to me, no clue. Well, re-re-re-re-re-remix, but that's it. 

Available from August 22, but looks like digital download from Rekochoku and JP iTunes only.
You can briefly preview the tunes at Rekochoku without Apple getting in your hair.

◆ iTunes: short url po.st/itringojiyudom
◆ Rekochoku: short url po.st/recoringojiyudom


She asked you please to take note of the production credits, which are a mile long.
It's her regular playmates plus a full studio orchestra! Must be a union thing.
Only in Film and TV Land…





"Jiyudamu" (NHK General TV "Gatten!" theme song)

Vox　 Piano & Vox　 Guitar & Vox　 Bass　 Drums　 Concertmaster　 Violins　 Violas　 Cellos　 Flute　 Vibes, Glockenspiel, Tubular Bells　 Conductor　 Recording & Mix Engineer　 Assistant Engineers

Shiina Ringo　 Kazuha Izawa　 Ukigumo (Ryosuke Nagaoka)　 Seiji Kameda　 Hatato Shiki　 Sakaeda the Great　 Nagisa Kiriyama, Haruko Yano, Kojiro Takizawa, Tatsuo Ogura, Minoru Kuwata, Akiko Maruyama, Ayumi Koshikawa, Yui Kaneko, Hikariri Shimada　 Furukawa Hirohito, Mayu Takashima Yoshihiko Maeda, Erika Makioka　 Hideyo Takakuwa　 Midori Takada　 Neko Saito　 Tadashi "Uni" Inoue　 Hiroyuki Kishimoto, Atsushi Ota (Prime Sound Studio)

"Jiyudamu Hyadain Riririri ☆ Remix"

Composer　 Arranger　 Sound Production　 Mixing Engineer　 Assistant Engineer

Shiina Ringo　 Kenichi Yamada　 Kenichi Yamada　 Tadashi "Uni" Inoue　 Jun Watanabe (Aladdin Lounge)

[tangerinesun]

While we are on the topic of things you can't get, there were a couple of other Shiina Ringo
announcements. Like "JIU-DOM!", these are Japan-only. You don't even see them on the
English-language website.


Number One, the catalog of Tokyo Incidents is now on streaming services. But probably
not yours. Try to hear anything of Shiina Ringo's on Spotify and let me know how you do.


Number Two, this product detail page: kronekodow.com/gaiko/joursaujapon.html




"13 jours au Japon 〜2O2O Summer in Japan〜"
Shiina Ringo is on the 50th anniversary album of France's legendary
label, Editions Saravah (September 28 release). Her participating song
"13 jours au Japon 〜2O2O Summer in Japan〜" is launching early
on August 22 (Monday).

A classic of yesteryear remade in the Shiina Ringo manner, this was
rushed out with thoughts of the 2020 Tokyo Olympic Games as well.



What they rushed was the release of the digital-only single. 




"13 jours au Japon 〜2O2O Summer in Japan〜"
(Read as: TORĒZU JŪRU O JAPON 2020 Summer in Japan)

Lyrics Pierre Barouh   Composer Francis Lai   Japanese lyrics Shiina Ringo

Midorin:  drums
Keisuke Torigoe:  bass
Masaki Hayashi:  piano & wurlitzer
Yoichi Murata:  trombone
Shiina Ringo:  tubular bells

Arrangement:  Shiina Ringo
Recording & Mix Engineer:  Inoue AmeChikashi
Assistant Engineer:  Kondo, Shinya, Wada Yutaro (prime sound studio form)
French pronunciation direction:  Vie Vie

Product page at Amazon.co.jp
amazon.co.jp/13-jours-au-Japon-～２Ｏ２Ｏ日本の夏～-椎名林檎/dp/B01KP2JDD2
You can at least preview 13 seconds (coincidence? not if it's Shiina Ringo,
as fans know) of the title track. Lai's waltz doesn't just lilt, now it swings.


So, about the original… songwriting prodigy Francis Lai teamed up with his 1966 partners
from A Man and a Woman, to do a moneymaking documentary about the 1968 Winter Olympics
at Grenoble in the French Alps. They called it Treize jours en France and it features mediagenic
star athletes Peggy Fleming and Jean-Claude Killy, if you remember back that far.

Kind of a pat song selection on Shiina's part, but appropriate in that Saravah released the original
soundtrack album from Treize jours. The rush was to get this planted in people's minds before
Rio Fever cooled off. Mission accomplished, I guess. EMI/Universal hasn't let sales or marketing
get in the way of intellectual property rights.


If you wanna hear a version with Danielle Licari's soprano on it, this one may be on the movie
soundtrack. But like most of her things, it's voice without words. Presumably there's a version
with a libretto, but I fail to find one.



13 Days in France - Danièle Licari (Francis Lai)
2011 NOV 05 by baroqer2010 (02:47)

Thirteen Days in France
Composer: Francis Lai
Lyrics: Pierre Barouh
Performer: Danielle Licari

The Romantic World of Francis Lai - baroqer 2010


Francis Lai is an interesting guy. Vagabond accordion player
hitches a ride from Marseilles to Paris, hits the bigtime.
francis-lai.com/en/biography.html

[tangerinesun]

Although I didn't see anything in the news, it seems Shiina's already had a work chosen as the
official song of the 2020 Tokyo Games. And, it's a pretty terrible, sappy arrangement with lyrics like
"When thoughts belong to yesterday, the saturation fades / I always am where I'm found."

See how smart Naoko is to stick with animals and foodstuffs in English?
The message is, seize the moment, we're amazing, give it your best, don't live life through a camera preview.

At this point, Shiina Ringo is the un-official official songwriter for international sport at NHK.



Tokyo 2020 Official Song Shiina Ringo
2016 AUG 18 by Seki Gahara (04:12)


I am content with taking in this moment caught in time
I'll forget about it soon enough but I don't mind
When thoughts belong to yesterday, the saturation fades
I always am where I'm found

Today this moment deserves the ultimate intensity
I see no need to recharge for tomorrow's happenings
Mistakes we made yesterday, they blur what should be clear
Refocus close on where you are

I am shining in this moment, frame your shot
With your senses open wide
Leave that camera at your side
Let me sparkle in this moment here with you
The only moment that we know is ever true

This very time outshines the bygone moments of my life
I don't care if when tomorrow comes I change my mind
My pulse it pounds. My breath is near, the clarity is clear
While life is certain, why won't you...

Let my shining light illuminate your shot
When it goes out it will be lost
We use up everything we've got
Let me sparkle in this moment here with you
The only moment that we know is ever true

Even if we've met the end I'll shine with you


〜GANBAROUZO〜

[lazybone712]

www.facebook.com/LandOfRisingSound/posts/1167237310000750

[lazybone712]

instagram.com/p/BS9jOMeDySo/

[lazybone712]

aramajapan.com/news/music/spend-the-night-with-shiina-ringos-shining-new-dvdblu-ray/76014/

[tangerinesun]

Jun 3, 2017 22:22:39 GMT -5 lazybone712 said:

aramajapan.com/news/music/spend-the-night-with-shiina-ringos-shining-new-dvdblu-ray/76014/

Arama! screencap

The taster from the Shiina Ringo official channel at YT,
linked from a comment in the Arama! review. A deliberate
Brazilian act of exaggerated Auto-Tune public pandering.

Yasutaka Nakata of Capsule and Perfume fame arranged and
produced, so your immediate assumption was dead right. 

Very tempting to join the crowd that says Shiina is all done 
with pure artistic expression, and is only interested in projects
that tend to maximize her career income potential. That's just 
the tier of hugeness she inhabits at this point. 



Shiina Ringo – "Nagaku Mijikai Matsuri (The Long Short Festival,
a.k.a Summer of a Woman’s Life)" from Night Parade of 100 Demons
2017 APR 27 by 椎名林檎 (04:14)

Publishing a live clip of "Nagaku Mijikai Matsuri" from the DVD/Blu-ray,
Shiina Ringo and Aitsura ga Yuku, Night Parade of 100 Demons 2015!

Sheena Ringo Live Blu-ray/DVD
Sheena Ringo & Aitsura ga Yuku: Night Parade of 100 Demons 2015
UPXH-20053/4（2xBD): ¥6,500 excluding tax
UPBH-20186/7（2xDVD): ¥5,500 excluding tax
On sale 31 May, 2017

"Aitsura ga Yuku" was the name of her tour band.
I'd translate that as "They Come and Go."
A bit harsh.

Recorded on 2015 December 09 at the Kanagawa Prefectural Hall.

〜〜〜

There's a deliberately screwed-up version of this (literal!)
Coca-Cola commercial theme music from 2015 on YouTube;
with super-awkward translated English lyrics.
youtu.be/MC9Pc38biqo


And on Vimeo, another clip from TV broadcast the same month. 
Shiina's duetting with Ukigumo, the guitarist from her old band
Tokyo Jihen. (The dude with the hand mic, in the cute little hat
reclining on the riser behind.)



"Nagaku Mijikai Matsuri" — Is This Heaven or Hell?
(NHK TV Red and White New Year's Eve telecast,
2015 December 31).

[tangerinesun]

Shiina Ringo – "Kamisama, Hotokesama (God, Nor Buddha)"
from Night Parade of 100 Demons
2017 APR 27 by 椎名林檎 (03:53)


The flip side of the 2015 Matusri single release, from the same
DVD as above. Looks like this number closed the show.

〜〜〜〜

And again on the Rid Incidents channel at Vimeo.




This is what it looks like to have more ability and star status
than you know what to do with, or is even good for you.

From TV Asahi’s Fifth Anniversary Dream Festival 2015 telecast
from Tokyo at Yoyogi National Gymnasium, 2015 November 23.
18 acts performed over three consecutive days.

[tangerinesun]

While we're in a concert video watching mood: 



Shiina Ringo - "Netsuai Hakkakuchuu (Discovering Passion Within,
a.k.a J'ai trouvé l'amour) from Night Parade
2017 APR 27 by 椎名林檎 (03:01)

Dangerous Sexy Nurse time, for no special reason.





Shiina Ringo - "Tsumitobachi (Crime And Punishment)"
from Night Parade
2017 APR 27 by 椎名林檎 (04:28)

The huge chart hit for Toshiba EMI from 2000 (4th ranked single in the
cumulative Oricon, according to JP Wikipedia).

Shiina wrote this in 1999 when she was confined at home with acute
suppurative cellulitis, a disfiguring and dangerous infection you don't
want but can get from everyday skin bacteria in the wrong place.

At the time, she looked at it as punishment for her raging emotional life. 
She's the star of every episode in her own story.

It's her story, right?

[tangerinesun]

One more from 2016, from In Praise of Shadows
(the second disk of the 2-disk set from Universal).

And that wraps up what's recent on her YT channel except for
a 9-minute Japanese Q&A talk-to-the-customers clip.

As usual for those, she appears thoughtful, unguarded and reserved.
Very different from the stage animal.




Shiina Ringo – "Ariamaru tomi (Exceeding Riches, a.k.a The Invaluable)"
from In Praise of Shadows
2017 APR 27 by 椎名林檎 (06:04)

Sheena Ringo and Kyatsura ga Iku, Hyakkiyagyou 2015 Universal Music JP


〜〜〜

The title "In Praise of Shadows" is lifted from a short 1933 essay
on traditional Japanese aesthetics by Jun'ichirou Tanizaki. 

There's an English translation by Harper/Seidensticker, ©1977 Leete's Island Books.

For sale for a couple of bucks at Amazon: 
www.amazon.com/Praise-Shadows-Junichiro-Tanizaki/dp/0918172020

Also a PDF of the text for nothing: 
dcrit.sva.edu/wp-content/uploads/2010/10/In-Praise-of-Shadows-Junichiro-Tanizaki.pdf

And a scanned facsimile PDF, with front matter and translator's afterword:
wwwedu.artcenter.edu/mertzel/spatial_scenography_1/Class%20Files/resources/In%20Praise%20of%20Shadows.pdf


You may find it dry, weird, and a little obsessive. It's Japanese aesthetic philosophy, so. 

It was written at a time when architects and home builders in Japan were wrestling 
with what to do about a tidal wave of ugly Western engineering advances. The 
answer turned out to be, give up and go with it tenfold but better. In 1933 you 
find Tanizaki worrying about the superiority of paper lanterns over light bulbs. 


“If light is scarce then light is scarce; we will immerse ourselves
in the darkness and there discover its own particular beauty.”


"Anyone with a taste for traditional architecture must agree that
the Japanese toilet is perfection."

Perfection of interior design, not hygiene. An awful white porcelain flush toilet
is preferred for the latter,

"…though at the price of destroying all affinity with
'good taste' and the 'beauties of nature'.”


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Arama! Japan article on the YT and video disk releases:
aramajapan.com/news/music/musicvideo/shiina-ringo-releases-6-videos-ahead-of-her-new-live-dvd-blu-ray/74487/