Ringo Shiina & Atarashii Gakko no Leaders -- Dora Ichi Dokusou（ドラ1独走）

 

I was away from the computer for all of yesterday since I met up with friends which culminated in the annual dinner at Shinta, the Japanese BBQ place up north. The photo above is actually from my very first visit to the restaurant back in 2023 but yep, that's what I've been engorging myself on every visit for the past few years.

Getting the whole day off on Sunday has become quite rare in the past several years so it was nice to step away from things, including "Kayo Kyoku Plus", to refresh myself. But getting back behind the keyboard once more, I can tackle like this follow-up of sorts to Ringo Shiina's（椎名林檎）"Hobo Mizu no Awa"（ほぼ水の泡）, just one of the many tracks on her most recent album "Hojoya"（放生会...Carnival） from May 2024.

"Hojoya" is smack dab filled with collaborations between Shiina and other artists, and with "Hobo Mizu no Awa", I was surprised and delighted that Momo of accordion-accompanied sister act Charan-Po-Rantan（チャラン・ポ・ランタン）was one of the collaborators. However, discovering that the song-and-dance act Atarashii Gakko no Leaders（新しい学校のリーダーズ）was also in on the fun didn't surprise me at all. I had figured that one day AGL would be working with Shiina since the two of them both possessed that anarchically appealing side, and even seeing Wild Child Suzuka behind the guitar in the music video above convinced me that if she ever went solo, she would be an heir apparent of sorts to Shiina.

Their song together is "Dora Ichi Dokusou" and I have to admit that I don't really know what to make of that title or the official English one which is simply "FRDP". Noticing the baseball theme in the video, I was wondering whether an acceptable direct translation would be "One Solo Run for the (Chunichi) Dragons", although Shiina's lyrics don't make any mention at all of the Japanese major league baseball team. Incidentally, the lyrics refer to someone going through internal hell as they think about their next tactic or grand strategy ought to be. It could refer to sports, baseball or politics but they seem to be heading into a nervous breakdown as the music goes rock and funky at the same time.