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)
孤独のあかつき
椎名林檎 Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
静かな闇の中に聴こえてくる
君の呼吸と小さな君の鼓動
捕まえたなら解き放てよ
走りだせ地球は大きいから
抱き締めろ命は短い
君の涙を夢を愛を待っている
ああ紛らわすな君の痛みを
淋しく押し殺すな醜くとも
苦しくとも重さに挫けようとも
風は吹いている解き放てよ
与えられやがて奪われる
そんな風に僕らは出来ている
込み上げる想いがあるだろう
叫べばいい君は美しい
朝日眩し水面輝き 草木萌えて
花咲き散り夜鷹哭く空 月も冴えて
いとしくて涙があふれて
かなしくて星空見上げて
目映い光に目を瞑ったら
僕らいま夜明け真っ直中
The song La solitude de l'aube by 椎名林檎 is a song that delves into the feeling of loneliness that one experiences when alone in the dark before dawn. The lyrics speak to the listener urging them to close their eyes and block out all the noise around them so that they can hear the sound of their own breathing and heart beating in the quiet darkness. The singer encourages the listener to embrace their fear of the unknown and to run free because the world is vast and there is so much to discover. The lyrics encourage the listener to set their pain free and not to suppress it, no matter how ugly or sad it may be.
The song’s lyrics suggest that it is our resiliency that defines us. The idea that we are “given everything and eventually robbed of it” captures the transience of our existence. The lyrics encourage us to speak out, to share our thoughts so that the beauty we hold inside of us can be heard. Through the chorus, the song paints a vivid picture of a new day and the beauty it brings, making it clear to the listener that the dawn signifies the chance for a fresh start.
Line by Line Meaning
さあまぶた閉じて耳をふさげよ
Now, close your eyes and cover your ears
静かな闇の中に聴こえてくる
You can hear it in the silent darkness
君の呼吸と小さな君の鼓動
Your breath and little heartbeat
捕まえたなら解き放てよ
If you catch them, let them go
走りだせ地球は大きいから
Start running, the planet is big enough
抱き締めろ命は短い
Embrace your life, it's short
君の涙を夢を愛を待っている
Your tears, dreams, and love are waiting
広い世界が待っている
A vast world awaits
ああ紛らわすな君の痛みを
Don't confuse your pain
淋しく押し殺すな醜くとも
Don't suppress it, even if it's ugly and lonely
苦しくとも重さに挫けようとも
Even if it's hard and pressuring, even if you're discouraged
風は吹いている解き放てよ
Let go, the wind is blowing
与えられやがて奪われる
Given and soon taken away
そんな風に僕らは出来ている
We're made up like that
込み上げる想いがあるだろう
Feelings that well up inside, right?
叫べばいい君は美しい
It's okay to shout, you're beautiful
朝日眩し水面輝き 草木萌えて
The bright morning sun, shimmering water, and sprouting plants
花咲き散り夜鷹哭く空 月も冴えて
Flowers blooming and scattering, night hawks crying in the sky, the Moon shining
いとしくて涙があふれて
Overflowing with affection and tears
かなしくて星空見上げて
Sad and looking up at the starry sky
目映い光に目を瞑ったら
If you close your eyes to dazzling light
僕らいま夜明け真っ直中
We're in the middle of dawn right now
Lyrics © Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC
Written by: Ringo Shiina, Aya Watanabe
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind