Text | Linghu Boguang. Looking at Chinese rock music from the mainland, mainland rock music as a whole can beat Hong Kong and Taiwan rock music one round at a time (really). Even if Hong Kong and Taiwan rock music bands only prospered at their peak (commercially speaking), Overal

article | Linghu Boguang

Chinese rock music looks at the mainland. Mainland rock music as a whole is inferior to Hong Kong and Taiwan rock music and can still beat it one round after another (really). Even if the Hong Kong and Taiwan rock music bands only prospered at their peak (commercially) , but overall it cannot be compared with mainland rock (but it is also commercialized) The most superficial problem is the biggest)

Don’t think about this matter too complicated. The modern commercial music industry is like that: Western learning spreads to the east (learning) - practitioners create styles (combined with whether business is prosperous) - because the environment and market continue to develop (or decline).

For example, in the late 1990s, Taiwan's "Folk Song Movement" innovation (cultural industry innovation), coupled with the commercial expansion brought about by the economy at that time (the peak of business), that is, the music styles of Luo Dayou actually declined. As we all know, Tao Zhe , Jay Chou, and Leehom Wang revolutionized the music style and then reached the peak of business in terms of marketization.

There are a large number of musicians in this field, including Godfather Tao Zhe, King Jay Chou, Wang Leehom, JJ Lin, in fact, there are also idols such as Wilber Pan and Luo Zhixiang. Their innovative music styles are Chinese RB, Chinese rap, New Chinese style, and mutual integration. The style then spread to the mainland and influenced a large number of mainland musicians such as Hu Yanbin, Xu Song and Hou Xian.

Hong Kong and Taiwan rock music was earlier and commercialized more successfully. The status of Hong Kong and Taiwan rock music was once very high.

This matter is related to the historical environment and economic development of the two sides of the Taiwan Strait and the three places. The economic development of Hong Kong and Taiwan was much earlier, and urbanization was almost completed in the 1970s. At that time, rock and roll was the mainstream music style in Europe and the United States, and it existed around the 1970s. Hong Kong and Taiwan musicians are doing it.

Hong Kong rock and roll. Hong Kong's first-generation music godfather, Hui Guanjie, played in a rock band in the 1960s, but rock and roll did not cause a sensation in Hong Kong at that time. As Hong Kong's economy develops, its historical mission is not so heavy. Hong Kong has always been more pop-rock, or pop songs with rock elements.

Hong Kong's Beyond, Grasshopper, and Tat Ming can all be considered pop rock bands (the rock music in the era of Beyond's three sons was much more positive). Of course, in the eyes of many people, Wong Ka Kui can be regarded as the number one rock band, and Beyond is the number one Chinese rock band. Even European and American rock bands look down upon one or the other.

The main problem lies in environmental and economic issues. Where will Hong Kong rock music be after 2000?

Hong Kong rock music has no historical mission, no commercial continuation, and no musical style leadership, just like that.

Taiwanese rock: Taiwanese Luo Dayou's "Zhihu Zheye" has some rock elements. From Taiwan's "Folk Song Movement" to Hong Kong's Xu Guanjie bringing Cantonese songs into the music scene, rock and folk songs, like Chinese style, have always been an important part of urban pop in Taiwan. Music style, and because of the development of the music industry chain, popular elements have always been valued.

Earlier Hou Dejian, there was Luo Dayou, there was the pop rock benchmark Wu Bai, there was the lyrical rock Qi Qin and so on.

The 2000s: Taiwan’s rock era ebbs, and the rock bands that reappear are Mayday, Xin Band, Soda Green, etc.

As for Taiwanese rock music, I think it is better than the mainland in two respects. First, the foundation of the previous record industry is still there. Even if they widely pursue popular styles (their market is small, they are highly commercialized, and they are lucky to be small), they still have arrangements, production, and singing. And the packaging is better than that of mainland internet celebrity bands.

Secondly, the 7080 Folk Song Movement laid the foundation for new folk songs and new folk songs. In addition to Luo Dayou's support, it extended to the mainstream music scene. Taiwan's underground music has always been focused on Hokkien folk songs and folk songs. The great gods such as Lin Shengxiang and Chen Yongtao have a large number of new folk songs. Combs has a bit of a taste for eggplant eggs.

This one also has a combination of Western music style, Japanese music style, and local music, which is probably the kind of Colachi. There have been many such Taiwanese bands in recent years.

In the end, if Taiwanese rock music is left, Sunset Speed ​​is the only one that learns Western music styles well and can be regarded as a self-contained one.

Taiwan's rock and roll route should be like this: Hou Dejian, Luo Dayou, Qin Wubai (relatively popular) - Mayday, Xin Band, Soda Green (popular rock after 2000) - Caodong, contemporary film masters, etc. (one vote directly learns from Western and In Japan, some techniques, expressions and singing styles are influenced by Mainland China's Universal Youth Hostel, and some are a fusion of Western, Japanese and local music).

Finally, there are pop groups that do various stylistic elements, which is back to what I said at the beginning, which is supported by the record industry and is a little more refined.

(After 2010, when the economic recession faded and commercialization failed, the strongest background in Taiwan’s music scene was folk songs. The reason is also that it was the “folk song movement” that laid the foundation for popular music in Taiwan, not the rock movement).

Why do Chinese rock music look to the mainland? Breakthroughs in terms of quality, quantity, and style are all surpassed by Hong Kong and Taiwan.

It is recognized that Cui Jian's "Nothing" in 1986 started Chinese rock. The Three Heroes of Magic Rock in the 1990s, Tang Dynasty Band, Black Panther Band, etc., they have brought Chinese rock to Chinese rock. It was pushed to its peak, and then came the "underground decade" period of Chinese rock after 2000. This period gave birth to a large number of Chinese rock, or the origin of Chinese bands, and musicians. Around 2010, with the rise of mainland music festivals and livehuose, Chinese rock bands reached their peak (although they were only the peak of independent music).

It is roughly like this: Cui Jian, the Three Great Masters of Moyan, Tang Dynasty Band, etc. (created) - Xie Tianxiao, Wang Feng, etc. differentiated and expanded (faced with the competition of commercial music from Hong Kong and Taiwan, either mainstream or underground) - after 2010, Wan Qing led an explosion (it was actually the second wave of music marketization). It may not be intuitive to say

, but the situation is probably like this.

. Due to marketization in the late 1990s, commercial music from Hong Kong and Taiwan moved northward. All kinds of popular culture in the mainland were defeated by mature commercial culture. At that time, they all faced two choices, either to go overseas and go commercial into the mainstream (Wang Feng, Da Zhangwei was like this) ), or choose to live underground and live a very difficult life.

This has had an unexpected effect on mainland music, that is, a large number of mainland bands and musicians have begun to localize Western rock music, which is a pioneering style. There are probably three directions in this direction.

Either you directly copy the West (the lyrics are all in English or foreign languages, it depends on your level and ability), or you integrate localization and pursue the so-called expression of the times (whether there is a so-called realistic accusation), or you integrate localization and do not pursue the so-called era. Expression (that is, Chinese songs that are localized in Western music styles).

No matter what, the development of Chinese rock style during the underground decade is definitely the strongest in the Chinese music scene in this era.

For example, the music style of Chinese post-punk bands may have been done in Hong Kong and Taiwan for a long time, such as the electronic music Xu Jingqing's "Yungong Xunyin", but reinvention is to Chinese post-punk bands, just like supermarkets are to Like Chinese electronic bands, they are very representative and are influenced by the environment, economic development, music festival development, etc.

eventually created this creator-music market-band style and music style are inherited in one continuous line. In the end, the biggest feature of this market is the example given at the beginning. There are a large number of outstanding creators with representative works. The music style has also been formed, at least the Chinese rock style.

I took the three routes listed above as examples, and combined them with Chinese post-punk music as an example.

For example, it sings completely in foreign languages: Reinvention - Secret Operation - Berlin Nurse, Ear Recording, etc.

For example, localization has been criticized by the times: p.k.14, Hai Pengsen, Underground Baby, Nezha, Crazy Doctor, Fake Notes, etc.

For example, localization has nothing to criticize from the times: Mercader, White Paper, Fuzz, Lonely Leary, Snapline, Jumping Goat, Wisdom Teeth, Tomorrow's Salt, Group Image Band, Brain Trouble, Mi Sandao, Penthouse Circus, etc.

The most important thing is that during this period, rock, electronic bands, punk, post-rock, punk, British, jazz, psychedelic rock, etc. began to appear in large numbers, and each music style had such a number of outstanding bands and musicians. A representative work, and at the same time, the level is quite good.

For example, mainland post-rock bands: Wang Wen, Zaoxi, Wenque, Anisia, Shiguoxiamo, Nogishankan, Huaxi, Hualun, Jingdezhen Renaissance, etc.

For example, mainland rock bands: Pain Yang, Xin Pants, hedgehogs, five people, sound fragments, sound toys, island mood, tour group, escape plan, etc. (in fact, they are all popular, and the market has also exploded).

Because the territory is relatively vast, there are many regions and ethnic groups, and there are a large number of local rock bands, such as Jiubao, Hanggai Yipiao, Inner Mongolia rock band, and Northeast Secondhand Rose. There are many such rock bands in various regions, including have even reached the world.

One more thing, it’s not that Hong Kong and Taiwan don’t have bands with these musical styles. The main problem is still that: there aren’t that many, they don’t play that well, and the music style isn’t that distinctive and unique. For example, there are very niche death bands and core bands in mainland China.

Death metal: battle axe, underworld, corpse, carrion, operating table, purgatory, vomiting, suffocation, killing, internal rot, slaying, cleavage, straight line, December, door of meditation, moss

Brutal death metal: cuntshredder , Ling Chi, bloody climax, capital crime, cause of death, gathering gangs, etc.

Melodic death metal: Righteousness on the spot, Frost's Eve, Yu et al.

Black metal: Teaching Day, Heresy, Death Cause Pond, Red Flag, Evil Thorn, etc.

Industrial noise: subtle, soothing, autumn bugs

Industrial metal: democracy, ak-47, shaman

Dark goth/core black gold: darkness over depth, Yaya's Ark, Three Movements, dengel

New metal/hard Core: Yaksha, Chrysalis, Painful Faith, Twisted Machine, Asura, T9, Collapse, Ordnance Station, etc.

Compared with mainland rock, where does Taiwanese rock fail?

Do you think there are no bands playing these music styles in Taiwan? Of course there is, but the music is not that outstanding, the number of outstanding bands and musicians is not that many, and whether they directly learn from foreign countries (singing foreign languages) or integrate localization, their music style is not that distinctive and they do not lead the music market. .

Taiwanese rock band, in my opinion, there are really four main situations.

The first one is Luo Dayou, Wu Bai and Mayday’s pop bands (rock is getting less and less, the folk songs are better), the second one is Caodong rock band (has been influenced by the Mainland Universal Youth Hotel), the third one is directly learning from Western and The Japanese one (the one represented by Sunset Speed ​​​​and Taiwanese post-rock bands are also good), followed by the fusion of Western + Japanese + Hokkien local styles.

In the end, the most pop songs and pop bands with various musical elements, many Taiwanese bands can be classified into this category. Exquisite, good-sounding, popular, petty bourgeoisie, they also have the largest audience. In fact, they are very similar to mainland Internet celebrity bands, but due to various reasons, netizens have very polarized opinions.

That means that mainland Internet celebrity bands are rubbish (evaluated by the historical positioning of mainland rock), and Taiwanese bands are inferior to the mainland (evaluated by popular pop, who listens to mainland rock).

No matter what, in the end, due to the market environment, market, population size and geographical breadth, mainland rock music is actually far from being comparable to mainland rock music in terms of the number of musicians, the quality of works, the depth and breadth of music.

Because the article is already too long, I won’t write about the issue of mainland rock here. I’ll write about it next time!