Respawn Entertainment: Days of Glory

Chapter 930 Please welcome our lead singer, Guo Sichu!

The version Bian Lang used at this live performance was a combination of Shui Ye's and Ji Mo Ye's versions. So at the beginning of the performance, a pair of hands in pop art colors appeared on the large screen behind him, appearing on the far left and right sides of the screen respectively. As the performance progressed, these hands slowly began to come together towards the center of the stage.

After the first verse ends, the solo interlude begins, and Bian Lang again blends the versions of the two artists.

Bian Lang's song had just ended when Guo Sichu began humming along with the lead guitar of the Dili guitar. It was like the swaying female harmonies in Shui Ye's version—soft, almost imperceptible, yet indispensable.

Even Thor, who had watched the rehearsals countless times, felt as if his soul was about to leave his body as he listened to and watched the official version. He wanted to fly over the Royal Guard Square to see what the scene was like.
After all, this part was just too beautiful for him to hear...

Without realizing it, as he hummed along to the notes of the chorus and the solo, he thought of an old friend from many years ago. They were driving and stopped at a red light in Los Angeles, and that friend inexplicably said, "Las Vegas is really nice..."

After the 8th summary, Bianlang, who was strumming the strings, joined in: "Na...Na...Na..."

This is the interlude version by Lonely Master. Both express longing for friends, but Lonely Master's version sounds much more intense!

As Bian Lang sang, he thought of a scene from a certain concert:

"Let's turn back time again," the intro begins, and the subtitles recall a conversation Roger and Syd had after someone else's concert in their early years:
“After we go back to London for university, we should form a band,” the vocalist says. After the song ends, the subtitles read: “In Hollywood, LA. Syd says: ‘Las Vegas is great,’ then his face falls, and he utters a single word: ‘People.’”

It seemed that only at this moment did the fans in the audience begin to witness the true power of the Rolling Stones' two lead singers combined.

In the previous tracks, their collaboration might have simply been one plus one equals two. But in this interlude, even though it was just simple singing, everyone present could hear that it was a level where 1+1 was definitely greater than 2.

Both the song arrangement and the collaboration between the two are absolutely perfect.

It was that intimate, intimate feeling between the two voices accompanied by a clean guitar solo, stirring a flutter in the heart of everyone present. And it wasn't about lust, it was just a pure, artistic feeling!
"My God, these are actually two Chinese people!"

"The most unbelievable thing I did this year was to go to Yulin Square to listen to a performance by the Huaxia Band, and then I found out that they are world-class!"

Some of these foreign experts actually commented, "Such an internationally acclaimed band, yet their lead singer is banned in China. Why don't they come to our band instead..."

Although it was just a joke, it left the Chinese music fans next door with mixed feelings.

Ambassador Liu was very close. As he listened, he closed his eyes and shook his head, saying, "I really didn't expect that after so many years of doing foreign affairs, I would still hear such words..." For a moment, he didn't know whether he should be happy or sad.

Just then, Bian Lang's next verse began:

How I wish
How I wish

How I wish you were here
How I wish you were here.

We're just two lost souls swimming in a fish bowl
We are just two lost souls swimming in a fish tank.

Year after year
Year after year

Running over the same old ground
Running wildly across the same weathered land
What have we found?
What did we find?

The same old fears
Only the same vicissitudes of fear

Wish you were here
May you be here…

After his performance, Bian Lang, like the lonely old man of Pompeii, stood under the spotlight and played his final solo. The mournful, almost weeping notes filled the entire venue with a nostalgic and sorrowful atmosphere.

Especially when the hands on the big screen came together, the spotlights on the stage began to shoot beams of light into the crowd, and for a moment everyone felt as if they had traveled through time.

As for Bian Lang himself, listening to this familiar yet unfamiliar melody, the scene in his mind naturally turned into the scene when Pink Floyd finished recording this album.

When Pink Floyd finished producing this album and were listening to the demo dedicated to their former bandmates, someone walked in. Everyone either assumed he was a staff member or a friend of one of the four.

Much later, they realized that it was their former teammate syd, but he had been ravaged by drugs and was no longer recognizable.

syd: "When do we start recording guitar?"

Shuiye: "Sorry, the guitar recording is already finished."

If this story could end here, it wouldn't be so bad.

But Syd, well, he made the same mistake as Cobain, but he lacked the decisiveness of "better to burn brightly than to live a miserable life." So, although he lived several decades longer than Cobain, their fame was vastly different.

However, from a later perspective, considering Pink Floyd's fame or even specifically the song "Wish You Were Here," Syd's contribution is indeed remarkable.

Without him, this song would never have been created.

Perhaps this is the meaning behind "Wish you were here"!
The drone pilots hired on site are the standard team for top European concerts. Before coming, he planned it as a very ordinary job, but at this moment, looking at the screen in his hand, he exclaimed, "So, I'm here!"

Throughout his career, he has filmed thousands of concerts, but today's event felt like one of the few in the top 10. Although the stage design wasn't as dazzling as those super concerts, there were no spectacular light shows or frenetic acrobatic performances; and the band on stage, if ranked according to European standards, would only be considered a second-tier band.

But when this solo came on, he felt that the band was performing at a top-tier level!
"Looks like I'll be able to produce another classic case study this year!"

Looking at the fans in the audience, especially those in the front row, some were already wiping away tears while holding up their phones. This sight moved the Chinese celebrities in the quarantine area to tears.
"This is overseas! And these music fans are all foreigners? I can't believe how Bian Lang did it!"

"How could someone with such a beautiful guitar playing compose such a song?"

"If I... never mind, it's a waste to keep this thing in my hands!" Xia Yuxi would never have thought this way before, but after spending more time at Rolling Stone, this feeling became more and more obvious to him.

Songs by bands like Hedgehog and New Pants are fine, but some songs by Rolling Stone seem to lose their flavor once they're no longer with Rolling Stone and Bianlang.

This song is clearly of this kind. Xia Yuxi felt incredibly awkward just imagining himself singing it, so he couldn't imagine anyone covering it and reaching Bian Lang's level. At least, he couldn't imagine doing it live!
Among those who came were the three sisters from the Nuozhen Band and Zhu Wei, three newcomer girls. Before coming, they were just looking to broaden their horizons.

But they never expected that they would witness an unexpected golden age of rock and roll!
Moreover, what the Rolling Stones were playing on stage at that time was not the kind of rock music that ordinary domestic music lovers generally think of as very energetic, such as punk, metal, hard rock, thrash rock, etc.

Leaving aside the humanistic sentiments in the lyrics, the music and arrangement alone absolutely surpass the Chinese people's inherent understanding of rock music!
When Nuozhen's boss, Xia Ruobing, heard this and compared it with the previous version, she felt that Bian Lang had two completely different angels and devils living inside him.

In fact, Lonely Man and Slash are indeed two very different extremes.

As he aged, Lonely Grandpa resembled a hidden Shaolin monk, an ordinary old foreign man who wouldn't warrant a second glance in a crowd. But Slash, this hat-wearing uncle, still managed to turn heads quite often when he went out.

"Sometimes I just don't understand why Lang Ge, who can write such flawless works, didn't just shelve the previous song or give it to someone else to sing?"

Xia Ruobing was the most upright of the three, so based on the outcome, she felt that Bian Lang's actions were unreasonable.

Who knew that her casual remark, without actually expecting any answers, was immediately interrupted by her younger sister Xia Ruojie: "Sis, you're in the entertainment industry now, not playing rock or independent music. If that's the case, would Lang Ge still have such charisma on stage now?"

Xia Ruoqing chimed in, "Indeed, if Brother Lang were a conventional person, how could he possibly write so many excellent works!"

Although Zhu Wei didn't speak, she silently agreed with her two younger sisters' opinions. She even felt that Bian Lang was already much more restrained; if he were allowed to fully unleash his potential, he would probably be even more formidable than he is now!

Although she came to this last show with the main group, after experiencing that music festival, comparing it to the Rolling Stones live performance made the difference very obvious.

If this song were in China, its two-minute intro and seemingly endless outro would probably be the kind of thing that non-rock music fans would only listen to for 20 seconds before scrolling away. They certainly wouldn't think, "A long intro usually means something is awesome!"

So how would it feel if these people came to this event with a blindly following mentality? Or, if Du Yunxi's fans encountered this kind of song on Douyin, would they immediately start cursing on the spot?
It was like the original Earth Sheep Voice concert; apparently, the singer didn't sing much throughout the entire show, spending the rest of the time DJing. This action directly angered some die-hard fans.

Strictly speaking, the Rolling Stones' second half of the show might actually have had less actual performance time than that other artist. But will the fans at the venue find it boring and stop being fans?

The answer is definitely no. After all, for the group of people like Mianyangyin, who were created by the Super Girl talent show, their personal brand often outweighed their music.

Records like Rolling Stone and The Wave, on the other hand, rose to prominence based entirely on the quality of their work.

Just like countless rock stars on Earth, if they were placed in the domestic system, they would all be regulars in XXX and XXX, how could they still shine in the music scene and have music influence generations?

Syd of Pink Floyd, Lennon of The Bugs, Cobain of Nirvana, and Yasser of Queen—aren't they all avid LSD fans?

But the music they left behind has truly influenced generations... "Wish You Were Here," "Come As You Are," "Hey Jude," "Bohemian Rhapsody"...

If these songs hadn't been sung on Earth for a century, no one on the other side would believe them!

Therefore, Zhu Wei now believes that the banning of Bian Lang is not necessarily a bad thing for Rolling Stone or for Bian Lang's creative work.

"I think Lang Ge really needs a fertile ground like this to allow him to fully unleash his potential. Perhaps, only on this land can he bloom into the most beautiful poppy..."

As for the musicians at DGM, they immediately started discussing how to cover the songs:
"Both versions are amazing! But I managed to completely rip down the previous version, this one..."

"Wave is a fucking genius! I haven't seen such a great live performance on a large outdoor rock stage with just three acoustic guitars in years!"

"I can't believe that after the lyrics were written, this song would actually..."

Just as Ivo was running out of words, Juli added at the opportune moment: "From a piece that every guitarist has to practice, it has become a stunning work of art! I have a feeling that if Wave were willing to produce an entire album for us, we might also receive a piece like this."

Obviously, Juli couldn't possibly know the Zerg's status on Earth. However, if the order is as Bian Lang does, Pink Floyd's status would likely be completely different from their status on Earth.

After all, Bian Lang has no intention of releasing any Pink Floyd songs to the public; he wants to keep them firmly in his own hands.

As for artists like Queen, Nirvana, Led Zeppelin, Oasis, Night Wish, etc., who haven't appeared yet, Bian Lang might have to start thinking about how to gradually bring these songs into the public eye.

Just as Zhu Wei said, the creative environment abroad does indeed give Bian Lang more room to develop his talents.

As the last note faded from the outro of "Wish You Were Here," Bian Lang made a decision in his heart: "After the North American tour, I might as well stay in Europe to create music."

Queen, Nirvana, Led Zeppelin, Oasis, Night Wish... So many amazing bands, if they don't find suitable bands to promote their work, and if the Rolling Stones just sing their songs one by one and record albums one by one, Bian Lang is afraid that their output speed will not be able to keep up with the speed of forgetting.

The continuous applause from the audience brought him back to reality. Bian Lang put down his guitar, stood up, took Guo Sichu's hand, and said to the fans in the audience, "Next, please welcome our lead singer, Guo Sichu!"

(End of this chapter)