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)
Fukou Jiman
椎名林檎 Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
察・学・肌 (check learn color)飛んで降って
大概若い衆酒乱なら酔って吐いて
愛と云う既成の概念断っていい加減失せろ
ハッタリ噛ます余裕を脱モラに投じろよ
不幸自慢
常時お前は被害者に模して喰って
要は若い衆思うならヤッて出して
屈折や冒涜に倚っ懸って芸と呼んで
恰好善いお召し物にポーズ執って演じりゃ良い
不幸自慢
いいたい まあいいたい
あたしは全然関係無い
ファックオフ 死ね
The lyrics to 椎名林檎's song 不幸自慢 explore themes of rebellion, rejection of societal norms, and a desire for authenticity. The first verse describes the singer joining the Air Force and engaging in reckless behavior, alcohol-fueled parties, and a rejection of traditional concepts like love. The repeated phrase "不幸自慢" (fukoujiman), roughly translated as "bragging about misfortune," speaks to the singer's rejection of society's expectations of happiness and success. Instead, they embrace their own struggles and hardships as a way of being true to themselves.
The second verse delves deeper into the singer's rejection of societal norms, encouraging the listener to reject the role of victim and to engage in reckless behavior. The lines "屈折や冒涜に倚懸って芸と呼んで / 恰好善いお召し物にポーズ執って演じりゃ良い" (kussatsu ya botoku ni yorikakatte gei to yonde / kakkou yoi o-meshimono ni pozu totte enjirya ii) speak to the singer's rejection of traditional art forms and the importance of authenticity in self-expression.
The repeated line "ファックオフ 死ね" (fakkufu ofu shine), which translates roughly to "f*ck off and die," serves as a defiant conclusion to the song, emphasizing the singer's rejection of societal expectations and their desire to be true to themselves.
Line by Line Meaning
空軍に入り 察・学・肌 (check learn color)飛んで降って 大概若い衆酒乱なら酔って吐いて
I joined the Air Force, checked on the colors, and flew and landed. The younger crowd usually drinks excessively and vomits.
愛と云う既成の概念断っていい加減失せろ ハッタリ噛ます余裕を脱モラに投じろよ
Get rid of the conventional concept of love and stop pretending. Start living authentically and find some confidence.
不幸自慢
Boasting about misfortunes.
常時お前は被害者に模して喰って 要は若い衆思うならヤッて出して
You constantly imitate the role of the victim to get attention, but in reality, you're just giving in to the desires of the younger crowd.
屈折や冒涜に倚懸って芸と呼んで 恰好善いお召し物にポーズ執って演じりゃ良い
If you rely on distortion and blasphemy to define your art, you might as well pose in your nice outfit and act it out.
不幸自慢
Boasting about misfortunes.
いいたい まあいいたい あたしは全然関係無い
You can say whatever you want, but it has nothing to do with me.
ファックオフ 死ね
F*ck off and die.
Lyrics © Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC
Written by: Ringo Sheena
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind