椎名林檎 (Shiina Ringo, also sometimes spelled "Sheena Ringo" or "Shéna Ringö")… Read Full Bio ↴椎名林檎 (Shiina Ringo, also sometimes spelled "Sheena Ringo" or "Shéna Ringö"), born November 25, 1978 in Saitama and raised in Fukuoka, is a Japanese singer, songwriter, guitarist, and pianist. Her family name is Shiina (椎名) and she chose to perform as Ringo instead of her birth name Yumiko (裕美子) because - as a shy child - her cheeks would blush red like an apple (the fruit being 'ringo' in Japanese).

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)

Memai
椎名林檎 Lyrics

Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴

あたしがこんなメロディを口ずさむのは
さてどうしてでしょう?
ねぇじっくり考えてみて
あたしがこんな言葉を口走るのは
さてどうしてでしょう?
ねぇちょっぴり考えてみて

何処迄堕ちて行っちゃうの

此の身体は
灰色に遠くなる遠くなる空

其の日は確かに地面が音も立てず
あたしの歩みを妨げ揺れて居た

あたしがこんな涙を流して居るのは
さてどうしてでしょう?
ねぇさっぱり考えてみて

何処迄堕ちて行っちゃうの
此の身体は
灰色に遠くなる遠くなる空

其の日は確かに地面が容赦すらせず
車の暴走を受け入れ騒いで居た

其の日は確かに地面が音も立てず
あたしの歩みを妨げ揺れて居た

Overall Meaning

The lyrics of "眩暈" by 椎名林檎 (Shiina Ringo) convey a sense of confusion and despair. The song begins with the singer questioning why she is humming this particular melody and why she is speaking these words. She invites the listener to think carefully about it as well. The repetition of this questioning suggests a deep introspection and a search for understanding.

The lyrics then describe the singer's body losing its color and becoming distant in a gray, faraway sky. This imagery emphasizes a sense of detachment and fading away. The next lines recall a specific day when the ground was still and made no sound, but it hindered the singer's progress and made her sway. This can be interpreted metaphorically as obstacles or internal struggles that impede her path.

The second verse follows a similar pattern, with the singer questioning why she is shedding tears and urging the listener to think clearly about it. The lyrics again depict the body falling further and further, becoming distant in a gray sky. The lines then describe another day when the ground showed no mercy, accepting the reckless behavior of a car and causing chaos. This can be seen as a metaphor for external forces and events that disrupt the singer's life.

Overall, "眩暈" explores themes of self-reflection, confusion, and the struggle to find meaning and stability amidst chaos and difficulties.

Line by Line Meaning

あたしがこんなメロディを口ずさむのは
Why am I humming this melody?

さてどうしてでしょう?
Now, why could that be?

ねぇじっくり考えてみて
Hey, think about it carefully.

あたしがこんな言葉を口走るのは
Why am I blurting out these words?

さてどうしてでしょう?
Now, why could that be?

ねぇちょっぴり考えてみて
Hey, think about it a bit.

何処迄堕ちて行っちゃうの
How far will I fall?

此の身体は
This body of mine

灰色に遠くなる遠くなる空
Is becoming distant in the gray sky.

其の日は確かに地面が音も立てず
On that day, the ground was surely silent.