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)
Vogue
椎名林檎 Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
オレの好みの化粧が邪魔してる
キミの虚ろな素顔を探してる
淡いシャドウの奥の瞳は何色?
答えはいつも玉虫色
イッツ・ショウ・タイム 晒すぜ正体
未知の実りに御招待
特徴なんてこれっぽっちも無い
私の名ならば女
それ以上でも以下でもない
太陽が移ろうより 早い君の調子を喰らい
変貌を遂げてあげる
ハヤッている季節限定
堕落してる またキミはコイに堕落してる
オレの好みの服が隠してる
キミのイビツな曲線 科学してる
まるで素体のままの着せ替え人形
水から水へさまよう人魚
流れたフリして流してる
キミの気配を察してる
もう忘れてしまったんでしょ
剥いだ裸の素材
君が造った女
今じゃ会ったってハヤらない
感傷が誘なうより 早い私の気分を喰らい
代用を仕立て上げて
さようなら名プロデューサー
女の 私に個性は要らない
名前 は一つでいい
これ以上要らない
(Wow, wow, wow, wow)
(On and on and on, on and on and on, on and on and on)
Well, you design the vogue, I just ride
All you think is win, it makes me cry
You play the hero in wars you start
And I shed a tear from one blind eye
While you define the vogue, I just sigh
Immortality's not worth my time
You crave the kisses of idol love
And I shed a tear from one blind eye
川のように flow, flow, flow
風のように blow, blow, blow
それぞれの延長線上 共に flow, flow, flow
川のように flow, flow, flow
風のように blow, blow, blow
交わらぬ平行線上 永遠に flow, flow, flow!
The lyrics of 椎名林檎's song 流行 depict a sense of observation from the singer's perspective. The lyrics reveal the singer's interest in the subject of the song- a person who she is interested in. She is in awe of the subject's voice and is distracted by her makeup. She tries to look beyond the makeup and wants to see the true self of the person behind it.
The singer also observes the subject's behavior and the changes that occur in their lives. The lyrics sometimes take on a critical tone as she comments on the superficiality and the vanity of the subject's choices. The singer doesn't want to be defined by her gender or her name; instead, she wants to be acknowledged for who she is as a human being.
The song is a commentary on the fashion industry and the cult of celebrity that surrounds it. It questions the obsession with beauty and the importance placed on external appearances. The lyrics also talk about the pressure to conform to societal norms and expectations in the pursuit of success and fame.
Line by Line Meaning
谺してる またキミのコエが谺してる
Echoing, your voice echoes once again
オレの好みの化粧が邪魔してる
My preference in makeup is getting in the way
キミの虚ろな素顔を探してる
I'm looking for your hollow face without makeup
淡いシャドウの奥の瞳は何色?
What color are the eyes behind the faint shadow?
答えはいつも玉虫色
The answer is always opalescent
イッツ・ショウ・タイム 晒すぜ正体
It's showtime, revealing the true form
未知の実りに御招待
Invitation to the unknown harvest
きっと憶えらんないでしょ
You probably don't remember
特徴なんてこれっぽっちも無い
There's not even a hint of distinctiveness
私の名ならば女
My name is simply woman
それ以上でも以下でもない
Neither more nor less than that
太陽が移ろうより 早い君の調子を喰らい
I'll devour your quickly changing mood, faster than the sun
変貌を遂げてあげる
I'll make a transformation happen for you
ハヤッている季節限定
A seasonal limited time in haste
堕落してる またキミはコイに堕落してる
You're falling, again, into love that is corrupt
オレの好みの服が隠してる
My preference in clothes is being hidden
キミのイビツな曲線 科学してる
Your distorted curves are being studied
まるで素体のままの着せ替え人形
Like a dress-up doll in its original form
水から水へさまよう人魚
A mermaid wandering from water to water
流れたフリして流してる
Faking to go with the flow and just letting go
キミの気配を察してる
I can sense your presence
もう忘れてしまったんでしょ
You've probably already forgotten
剥いだ裸の素材
The bare, stripped material
君が造った女
The woman you created
今じゃ会ったってハヤらない
Even if we met now, we wouldn't accelerate anymore
感傷が誘なうより 早い私の気分を喰らい
I'll devour my emotions faster than they could be triggered by sentimentality
代用を仕立て上げて
I'll make up a substitute
さようなら名プロデューサー
Goodbye, famous producer
女の 私に個性は要らない
I, as a woman, don't need individuality
名前 は一つでいい
One name is enough
これ以上要らない
I don't need anything else
(Wow, wow, wow, wow)
(Wow, wow, wow, wow)
(On and on and on, on and on and on, on and on and on)
(On and on and on, on and on and on, on and on and on)
Well, you design the vogue, I just ride
You create fashion, I just follow
All you think is win, it makes me cry
You only care about winning and it makes me cry
You play the hero in wars you start
You play the hero in wars that you initiate
And I shed a tear from one blind eye
And I shed a tear from one blind eye
While you define the vogue, I just sigh
While you define fashion, I just sigh
Immortality's not worth my time
Immortality is not worth my time
You crave the kisses of idol love
You crave the kisses of idol love
And I shed a tear from one blind eye
And I shed a tear from one blind eye
川のように flow, flow, flow
Like a river, flow, flow, flow
風のように blow, blow, blow
Like the wind, blow, blow, blow
それぞれの延長線上 共に flow, flow, flow
Together on each respective extension, flow, flow, flow
川のように flow, flow, flow
Like a river, flow, flow, flow
風のように blow, blow, blow
Like the wind, blow, blow, blow
交わらぬ平行線上 永遠に flow, flow, flow!
Eternally flowing parallel lines that don't intersect, flow, flow, flow!
Lyrics © Universal Music Publishing Group
Written by: Daisuke Sakama, Ringo Shiina
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind