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)
幸先坂
椎名林檎 Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
蝉のこえはあの雲を 千切るほどに焚き付けて
夏が来る
空と陸 抱合う刹那よ
今日は何かいいことがありそう
人はいつも坂の途中 期待を抱え上がり下がり
生きている
夜と昼 泪に暮れても
今日は何かいいことがありそう ありそう
The lyrics in 幸先坂 depict the start of a hot summer day, as the sun rises quietly and the damp earth begins to steam. The sound of cicadas is so loud that it seems to tear apart the nearby clouds. The chorus expresses anticipation for something good to happen today, even though people always climb up and down hills with expectations.
The song emphasizes the fleeting moment of the earth and sky embracing each other at dawn. The heat of the day was implied by mentioning the cicadas and steam. The lyrics remind listeners that life is full of upheavals, but there is always reason to hope for the good things to come. The feeling of the chorus is uplifting and positive, despite the struggles and trials of life.
Line by Line Meaning
陽が静かに昇り詰め 湿った大地を蒸し上げて
The sun quietly rises and steams the damp earth
蝉のこえはあの雲を 千切るほどに焚き付けて
Cicadas' voices set the clouds on fire
夏が来る
Summer is coming
空と陸 抱合う刹那よ
The moment sky and land embrace
今日は何かいいことがありそう
Today, something good is likely to happen
人はいつも坂の途中 期待を抱え上がり下がり
People always go up and down the slope with expectations
生きている
We are alive
夜と昼 泪に暮れても
Even when drowned in tears day and night
今日は何かいいことがありそう ありそう
Today, something good is likely to happen, yes
Lyrics © Universal Music Publishing Group
Written by: Ringo Shiina
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind