Here's a topic for my absolute favorite singer, Shiina Ringo!!
Tokyo Jihen just released their new single, "Shuraba." I do honestly have to say that this single was a disappointment. However, they will be releasing their new album, "OTONA," in January. Shiina released Ringo no Uta as a single version, and changed the format of it for Kyoiku, so let's hope that she does the same for Shuraba.
Here is the track listing for Otona (Adult):
01) Himitsu
02) Kenka joutou
03) Keshou naoshi
04) Superstar
05) Shuraba adult ver.
06) Yukiguni
07) Kabuki
08) Blackout
09) Tasogare naki
10) Toumei ningen
11) Tegami
I'M SO EXCITED ERHJKLEWTH IEYIETA TIAWYT I CAN'T WAIT FOR IT TO COME OUT!!!!!!
If you've never heard of Shiina Ringo/Tokyo Jihen, here are some links to her music videos. Please do check it out.
Shiina Ringo:
Honnou
Ringo no Uta
Gibbs
Yamini Furu Ame
Identity
La Salle de Bain
Sigma
Yattsuke Shigoto
Tsumiki Asobi
Tokyo Jihen:
Sounan
Shuraba
Kurumaya-san
Service
Hmm well people ask me why I like Shiina Ringo so much, and I guess the main reason is because she's so different.
Some interesting facts:
-She rolls her R's
-She has a nasal voice when she sings (I believe she does it on purpose-- on tracks, you can hear her without it)
-To look different, she painted a mole on her face that eventually turned into a real one. She had it surgically removed at the end of her solo career. While it was most likely for medical reasons, it could also be symbolization of the Ringo persona that she was dismissing as she joined Tokyo Jihen, her new band.
-She writes all of her songs (except now in Tokyo Jihen, where she shares credit)
-In her best album, "Karuki Zamen Kuri no Hana" (Chlorine, Semen, Chestnut Flower), she had each track continue into the next. In other words, the album is meant to be listened to as a whole. No song really stops at the end of the track, because the instruments keep playing, connecting each song. Only at the last track does it end (well duh), but it does so with an ABRUPT silence interrupting a chaotic noise of all the instruments playing. The tracks on the album are symmetrical (the first and last songs have the same number characters, the 2nd track and 2nd to last track have the same, etc....) The same tracks that are symmetrical also use the same instruments and focus on the same type of theme. The time to each track is also symmetrical, with a total running time of 44:44.
