[mousepod]

Here's the official video of Senkou Shoujo, from one of my favorite singers, Shiina Ringo (and her band, Tokyo Jihen). Neither Ringo nor the rest of the band appears in the video - but the live performance they did on Japanese TV seems to already have been removed from YouTube.

The song doesn't appear on their latest album "Variety," but is rather a bonus track on their new compilation DVD (it also topped the Japanese charts). Also on the DVD is a an audio-only demo version that Ringo sings in English. The English version, "Put Your Camera Down," has great lyrics, which I share with you here:

I am content with taking in this moment caught in time
I'll forget about it soon enough but I don't mind
When thoughts belong to yesterday, the saturation fades
I always am where I'm found

Today this moment deserves the ultimate intensity
I see no need to recharge for tomorrow's happenings
Mistakes we made yesterday, they blur what should be clear
Refocus close on where you are

I am shining in this moment, frame your shot
With your senses open wide
Leave that camera at your side
Let me sparkle in this moment here with you
The only moment that we know is ever true

This very time outshines the bygone moments of my life
I don't care if when tomorrow comes I change my mind
My pulse it pounds. My breath is near, the clarity is clear
While life is certain, why won't you...

Let my shining light illuminate your shot
When it goes out it will be lost
We use up everything we've got
Let me sparkle in this moment here with you
The only moment that we know is ever true

Even if we've met the end I shine with you