After quitting school to enter a musical contest, Shiina was quickly signed to EMI, then promptly left Japan to avoid the trappings of contract work. After returning, she quickly released a series of singles and albums, all self-penned (a relative rarity for Japanese pop artists), and all meeting with great success on the Japanese charts. A hiatus to start a family followed, itself followed (after a divorce) by both a new album and a new side project, the band 東京事変. (Tokyo Jihen - or Tokyo Incidents)
After more success with the band, Shiina returned to a solo career in 2006 as the Music Director for the film 「さくらん」(Sakuran), quickly taking the number one slot on the Oricon charts with the album Heisei Fuuzoku released in tandem with a major soundtrack project. Following was a B-sides album which peaked quickly at the number one Oricon slot. In the years proceeding this, she spent most of her time dedicated to Tokyo Jihen occasionally revisiting her solo work.
Despite being involved in the main Japanese pop scene, Shiina has created a niche for herself based on a much wider musical range than most artists. Where most pop singers develop a basic sound based on contemporary pop aesthetics and throwaway lyrical matter, Shiina builds on a base of jazz, rock, Motown, and even French chanson equally well (the chanson works especially well with her trademark nasal delivery), infusing her projects with a very different aesthetic, and gaining a fan base separate from the core constituents of the Japanese pop apparatus.
Despite the release of album 三毒史 (trivisa-itihasa) in 2019, released after a myriad of singles being majorly included in aforementioned work. In 2020, Ringo and band Tokyo Jihen turned their backs to their past, doing a major reunion, with the drop of a few projects, such as sixth studio album 音楽.
Discography
Singles
幸福論 (Koufukuron)（1998）
歌舞伎町の女王 （1998）
ここでキスして。 (Koko de kisu shite)（1999）
本能 （1999）
幸福論（1999）
ギブス (Gibs)（2000）
罪と罰 （2000）
真夜中は純潔 （2001）
絶頂集 （2000）
茎（STEM）～大名遊ビ編～ （2003）
りんごのうた (Ringo no Uta)（2003）
この世の限り (Kono Yo no Kagiri) (2007） (With Saitou Neko and her brother Shiina Junpei)
ありあまる富 (Ariamaru Tomi)（2009）
カーネーション (Carnation)（2011）
自由へ道連 (Traveling Companion to Freedom) (2012)
いろはにほへと (Les Couleurs Chantent) (2013)
孤独のあかつき (The Solitude of Dawn) (2013)
NIPPON (2014)
至上の人生 (A Life Supreme) (2015)
最果てが見たい (2015)
長く短い祭 (2015)
神様、仏様 (2015)
ジユーダム (2016)
目抜き通り (2017)
獣ゆく細道 (2018)
Albums
無罪モラトリアム (Muzai Moratorium) (1999)
勝訴ストリップ (Shouso Strip)（2000)
加爾基 精液 栗ノ花（Karuki Za-men Kuri no Hana）(2003)
平成風俗 (Heisei Fuuzoku) (2007) (with Neiko Sato)
三文ゴシップ (Sanmon Gossip) (2009)
日出処 (Hi Izuru Tokoro) (2014)
三毒史 (trivisa-itihasa) (2019)
Covers Album
唄ひ手冥利～其ノ壱～ (Utaitemyori Sonoichi)（2002）
逆輸入 ～港湾局～ (Reimports Vol.1) (2014)
逆輸入 〜航空局〜 (Reimport Vol.2 -Civil Bureau Aviation) (2017)
Compilations
私と放電 (Me & Electric Discharge) (2008) - (B-Sides)
ニュートンの林檎 (Apple of Universal Gravity) (2019) - (Overview)
カプチーノ
椎名林檎 Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
あなたを夢中にさせたくて
藻掻くあたしを可愛がってね
今度逢う時はコートも要らないと
そんなに普通に云えちゃうのが理解らない
ミルクの白に茶色が負けている
全て味わって確かめて
イーヴンな関係に成りたい
変わりゆくあたしの温度を許して
もし我が儘が過ぎて居ても
黙って置いて行ったりしないでね
コーヒーの匂いを間に挟んで
優位の笑みを隠し切れない様子で居る
苦いだけじゃ未だ中庸が取れない
梅の散る午後にもちゃんと二人は
今日と同じ様に人混みを
擦り抜けられるかしら
それぞれが只忙しくして居たら
引く手の加減も曖昧に
忘れちゃいそうで不安なのに
あなたが此処に居る約束など
1つも交わして居ない
何時の間にか淡色が当たり前に香り
二人を支配しそう
誰よりもあたしをちゃんと見透かして
口の悪さや強がりは"精一杯"の証拠だって
何よりもあなたに逢って触れたいの
全て味わって確かめて
イーヴンな関係に成りたい
変わりゆくあたしの温度を許して
もし我が儘が過ぎて居ても
黙って置いて行ったりしないでね
The lyrics to 椎名林檎's song カプチーノ express the singer's desire for a deeper and more equal relationship with their lover. The singer wants to be loved and appreciated for who they are, even as they change and grow. They ask their lover to be patient with them and to accept their flaws and quirks. The singer also longs to intimately connect with their lover on both a physical and emotional level, wanting to taste and savor every moment with them. However, the singer is also aware that their relationship is not without its struggles and difficulties, and they fear being left behind or forgotten by their lover.
The song is filled with powerful imagery and metaphors, including references to coffee and cappuccinos, and the changing colors of the seasons. The lyrics also showcase 椎名林檎's unique style and poetic voice, with many lines that are left open to interpretation and reflection.
Overall, "カプチーノ" is a powerful and introspective exploration of love, desire, and personal growth, set to a haunting and beautiful melody.
Line by Line Meaning
あと少しあたしの成長を待って
Please wait for me to mature just a little bit more
あなたを夢中にさせたくて
I want to make you love me
藻掻くあたしを可愛がってね
Please be affectionate towards me when I am struggling
今度逢う時はコートも要らないと
I don't need a coat the next time we meet
そんなに普通に云えちゃうのが理解らない
I don't understand why I can say something like that so easily
ミルクの白に茶色が負けている
Brown is losing to the whiteness of the milk
何よりもあなたに逢って触れたいの
More than anything, I want to see you and touch you
全て味わって確かめて
I want to experience it all and make sure
イーヴンな関係に成りたい
I want to have an equal relationship
変わりゆくあたしの温度を許して
Please allow for my changing emotions
もし我が儘が過ぎて居ても
Even if I become a spoiled brat
黙って置いて行ったりしないでね
Please don't just leave me behind without saying a word
コーヒーの匂いを間に挟んで
Sitting between us is the aroma of coffee
優位の笑みを隠し切れない様子で居る
Unable to hide my dominant smile
苦いだけじゃ未だ中庸が取れない
Just being bitter doesn't make a balance
梅の散る午後にもちゃんと二人は
We'll make sure to get through crowds, even when the plum blossoms scatter in the afternoon
今日と同じ様に人混みを
Just like we did today
擦り抜けられるかしら
I wonder if we can smoothly get through them
それぞれが只忙しくして居たら
If each of us is just busy with our own things
引く手の加減も曖昧に
Our balance will be vague as well
忘れちゃいそうで不安なのに
I feel uneasy as if we might forget
あなたが此処に居る約束など
There's no promise that you'll be here
1つも交わして居ない
We haven't made a single one
何時の間にか淡色が当たり前に香り
Before we know it, the scent of paleness will become normal for us
二人を支配しそう
It seems like it will dominate us
誰よりもあたしをちゃんと見透かして
See through me better than anybody
口の悪さや強がりは"精一杯"の証拠だって
My bad mouth and my bluffing are proof of me giving it my all
もし我が儘が過ぎて居ても
Even if I become a spoiled brat
黙って置いて行ったりしないでね
Please don't just leave me behind without saying a word
Lyrics © Universal Music Publishing Group
Written by: Ringo Shiina
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind