I'm currently hooked on 椎名林檎 (Shiina Ringo), aah-gain. This recurring addiction happens from time to time and, for me, always with the same kind of artist: preternaturally gifted, flawed but beautiful ladies with an unconventional way of expressing themselves though the kind of music that appeals to ears hungry for one-of-a-kind singer/song writers-- you know, the Tori/P.J./Bjork/types (I suppose you can replace Tori for Kate if you must). Shiina Ringo is the J pop equivalent to these select "raisin girls" of too-bold-for-Lilith Fair powerhouses of 90's female alt-rock superstardom. Not only has she been compared to each of the above ladies in one respect or another, she has also aroused Courtney Love's attention because of her song "Gips" ("Plaster Cast") in which she sings, "You always want to shrink away/and that makes me happy/because it's like Kurt/and that would make me Courtney;" she's a huge fan of Janis Ian, and many folks mention Shiina Ringo and Alanis Morrisette in the same breath, claiming that her voice sounds Alanis-ish. Though it's obvious that Ms. Shiina embraces all kinds of music -- her tunes vary wildly from the ornately orchestrated classical to slinky jazz to electro-dance to mainstream rock to grungey punk -- it's her vocal eccentricities (she's famous for rolling her "r"s gangsta style) and her thought-provoking, complex lyrics (which often feature sprinklings of archaic language and use of uncommon words/kanji characters) that have made her singularly famous. On top of all that, she's got wicked style, a style so influential that recent J pop starlets have fledged new careers by modeling themselves after Shiina Ringo. Vivienne Westwood has the trendsetting Ms. Shiina to thank for making her wares so sought after in Japan and Japanese culture mavins world wide have Shiina-san's recurring, totally "和" ("old Japan") fashion sensibilities to admire as she so frequently weaves the antiquated with the contemporary when it comes to her visual appearance whether it be in photos, music videos or live stage performances. There has even been a popular manga and film created with an admittedly Ringo-esque main character. Despite all this, my first impression of Shiina Ringo was a somewhat convoluted one given my inability to really "get" everything she was spitting, but --holy moly-- was the music fantastic! And that's all that really mattered at first. Since then I've grown into a comfort pocket with her music that, like so many other of my favorite artists, demands rummaging through on a regular basis. This time I decided to find out more about her; here are some basic facts and interesting nuggets of knowledge about Shiina Ringo -- J pop songstress extraordinaire:

Growing up, my best friend and I were obsessed with reading.  We would spend time together whiling away the summer in the hammock in her yard, voraciously reading through any books that came our way.  My best friend's sister was 5 years older than us.  Although she was basically nerdy too, she was, by age association alone, more advanced and thus cooler than us.  It was through her that I discovered Sassy Magazine at the age of 11.

When I think about the major influences on my life, the bits that I've clung to and that have truly created and informed who I am today, the first thing I think of is The Beatles and the second is Sassy.  Sassy was utterly unique-- a teen girl's magazine that addressed feminism, individuality and intelligence.  Sassy gave voice to ideas I was too young to communicate and also acquainted me with relevant topics I had never read about before.  It bolstered my already- formed beliefs in honesty and creativity, and it gave me a sense of self-esteem in those dreaded middle school years.  It showed me there was a world outside of my preppy high school-- a world where there was more going on than wearing Gap Jeans and driving a Mercedes.

It was written by a small group of young women (and a few men) in their early and mid 20s who had clearly made it out of adolescence and had, in my eyes, made something of themselves.  They embraced the high and the low culturally and taught me to look with an even keener critical eye at popular culture.  They seemed to have complete freedom in their lives and spent their days, as I imagined it, meeting stars and adequately tearing them down or flirting with them, listening to music, gossiping amongst themselves and of course, writing.