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)

Rush Job
椎名林檎 Lyrics

Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴

毎日襲来する強敵電話のベル
追っては平穏なる感度を欲するのさ

高速渋滞とは云っても低速だろう
真理と相反する条理に従服姿勢

何も良いと思えない
余り憤慨もしない

今日は何曜日だった?
然して問題じゃ無いか
嗚呼痛い思いをしたいのに

興味や関心を奪う程合う辻褄
或いは目合いを以て営んでなんて目論で居ないか

操作して頂戴
退屈が忌ま忌ましい
銀座線終電何時?
然して問題じゃ無いか
嗚呼機械になっちゃいたいのに

ねぇ "好き"って何だっけ?
思い出せないよ思い出せないよ

何も良いと思えない
余り憤慨もしない
今日は何曜日だった?
然して問題じゃ無いか

操作して頂戴
退屈が忌ま忌ましい
銀座線終電何時?
然して問題じゃ無いか

何も良いと思えない
何も良いと思えない
何も良いと思えない

ねぇ "好き"って何だっけ?

Overall Meaning

The Japanese song やつつけ仕事, by 椎名林檎 (Sheena Ringo), is a commentary on the mundanity of daily life and the desire to escape it. The recurring sound of a ringing phone serves as a reminder of the daily grind and the obstacles that must be overcome. The opening lyrics, "Every day, the enemy phone bell attacks. I want peace and quiet," convey a sense of exhaustion and the desire for respite.

The song continues with a critical analysis of societal norms, describing the acceptance of slow traffic and illogical conventions as submissiveness. The lyrics "I can't think of anything good. I don't get upset very often. What day is it today? But is that really a problem? Oh, I want to feel pain, even though it hurts," reflect a sense of restlessness and a yearning for a life with more meaning.

The song concludes with a repetition of the question "What is love?" to emphasize how even the most intimate human experiences can seem distant and unattainable in the midst of the chaos of modern life. Overall, やつつけ仕事 serves as a poignant critique of the unfulfilling aspects of contemporary society, urging listeners to reflect on their own lives and strive for something more.

Line by Line Meaning

毎日襲来する強敵電話のベル
The sound of the bell on the phone, a formidable enemy, assaults me every day

追っては平穏なる感度を欲するのさ
And yet, I still long for a peaceful response

高速渋滞とは云っても低速だろう
They call it a high-speed traffic jam, but in reality it is slow

真理と相反する条理に従服姿勢
I obediently comply with a logic that contradicts the truth

何も良いと思えない
I can't seem to find anything good

余り憤慨もしない
But I am not filled with anger

今日は何曜日だった?
What day of the week is it today?

然して問題じゃ無いか
But it doesn't matter, does it?

嗚呼痛い思いをしたいのに
But oh, how I long to feel pain

興味や関心を奪う程合う辻褄
I don't pursue perfect coherence that can claim interest and attention

或いは目合いを以て営んでなんて目論で居ないか
Nor do I scheme to run things smoothly with mere eye-contact as my guide