Respawn Entertainment: Days of Glory

Chapter 952 Old Pan Meets an Old Friend

When the group rushed back to the rehearsal room, they found that the rehearsal for the joystick and the pastoral song had already begun.

While the Goat and his band were preparing, Dili and Huang Kai went to check on the preparations of the two bands.

After learning that both sides had decided to use Bian Lang's new song, Huang Kai laughed and said, "Then tomorrow all five bands will be using Bian Lang's song. I wonder what the media will write when it airs?"

Dili joked, "If Rolling Stone were a listed company, I'd buy in with all my funds by tomorrow night, and I'd definitely make a killing!"

"You've already withdrawn your shares, why are you still thinking about this? I think those who disagree will probably start writing long essays with titles like 'Is there no one left in Chinese rock?'"

Dili smiled noncommittally, then looked at the lyrics and sheet music he had just gotten from the two bands.

"Like a Dream, Free? If this song is given to Lao Zhao, won't Leather Pants be cursing him?"

After thinking for a while, Huang Kai laughed and said, "Then let them compete! There are quite a few songs in Bian Lang's style in the library, and I reckon he can write a lot more, so let them fight it out! It's not a bad thing..."

"It's not necessarily a bad thing. Anyway, once they feel they can't live without Bianlang, then these bands will all become unofficial bands of the Rolling Stones."

Upon hearing Huang Kai's words, Dili glanced at him and said, "Shut up, why are you spouting such obvious truths!"

Faced with this question, Huang Kai deliberately covered his mouth with his hand and nodded to indicate that he understood. Actually, there was no harm in pointing it out. After all, collaborating with Bian Lang once you start, there will be countless more, like an addiction.

According to Dili's thinking, the only way to quit is to leave the circle!
There is no other way!

"Free as a Dream" was a song that Bian Lang put into the music library. The two of them glanced at the song title and lost interest in looking at it further. Instead, they started looking at the control stick.

Upon seeing the title "Space Wanderer," the two became interested, and when they scrolled down to find it was a Mandarin song, their interest grew even stronger.

"A new song, and it's a Chinese song. Do you think Tian Yuan and the others can sing it well?" The main question is that even in the memories of these two old Beijing drifters, the number of times they've sung Chinese songs with the joystick can be counted on one hand, hence the question.

"Who knows, but this guy's arrangement... damn, Wheel has work tomorrow!"

Speaking of Lunzi, when Li Hao found him the morning before yesterday, he was excited but also wanted to curse: "How can you guys play like this? Why didn't you say so earlier? Why did you suddenly ask me to rehearse a new song? How novel is this!"

Li Hao's mouth is definitely much better than Wheel's: "Whether you want to or not, just say it? This might be a novelty for other people, but here at Rolling Stone, Bian Lang comes here every few days. Don't tell me you Wheel has never been summoned before?"

This provocation left Lunzi speechless, unsure how to respond.

What Li Hao said was indeed true, and he was already used to the wheels. Besides, there were still a day or two of rehearsal time, so it wasn't a problem for him. So even though the others were practicing with the joysticks and he felt there were no issues, he was at the lab supporting his girlfriend's performance.

The three sisters, Nuozhen, did not choose new songs for the opening performance because they felt unsure without Bian Lang's guidance, fearing they might ruin the debut of these songs.

However, the opening of "A Calm Mind Brings Coolness" and the ending of "Lanruo Tara", interspersed with their own works that had been polished by Liu Ziyang, still filled the LAB venue with their shouts of Nuozhen!
Old Yao naturally came over here as well. Since he didn't leave, he wanted to see more of the performance capabilities of the Rolling Stone LAB's internal bands.

In the past few days, I've seen punk and grunge, funk and metal, psychedelic and hard rock, and now I've seen this indie music that I don't even know how to define. I feel that no matter how much I overestimated Rolling Stone when I came here, I still underestimated them in the end.

During intermission, he asked Lao Tan bluntly, "How often do the bands within Rolling Stone play their songs on repeat? Don't the audience get tired of it?"

Old Tan is the most convincing person to answer this question: "What's there to be tired of? Kunming is the headquarters of Rolling Stones. It's like old Beijing TV going to the theater for tea. Everyone comes here, just like old Beijing TV goes to the theater for tea."

Upon hearing this, Lao Yao was greatly shocked: "Then, this... that's not right, isn't that..." He was speechless for a moment and didn't know how to express himself.

In his opinion, not all of the Rolling Stones bands are famous domestically, but they are at least well-known within the industry. Some, like Secondhand and Ma Yuan Poet, even have the ability to drive ticket sales. So why does it feel like they're just like any other touring band at Rolling Stones LAB?
"Mr. Yao, don't overthink it. This only works in Kunming; it definitely wouldn't work elsewhere. Of course, if there are special events planned here, then tickets will still be required..."

"How are the tickets selling?"

"So far, whether it's a band from within Rolling Stones or an outside show, there have never been any tickets left over..." Perhaps feeling that his statement wasn't precise enough, Lao Tan added, "Not a single ticket is left. Even when Magic City came, there wasn't an empty stadium..."

Speaking of Magic City, although it hasn't officially signed with Rolling Stone yet, it's already considered part of Rolling Stone.

However, the outside world is unaware of this, so most people in the industry are still thinking about the feud between Magic City and Rolling Stones, but that doesn't stop music fans from listening to their music.

"So, what's your approach to building a community?"

Old Tan was about to speak, but seeing Yang Meng and the others go up, he tugged at Old Yao and said, "Hey, Compass's up there, let's listen to the music first, we'll talk about the rest later..."

After being coached by Bian Lang, Olaf, and Liu Ziyang, Yang Meng, having established her style, really couldn't hold back. She opened with a bombshell: "Happiness is when others can't keep up with your pace, worries and sorrows are long left behind, and all opportunities no longer need to be carefully sought..."

Speaking of this song, we have to mention Luo Qi again. Luo Qi debuted as a singer at the age of 13, and at 16 she ventured to Beijing alone to become the lead singer of the Compass Band. Soon, the Compass Band rose to fame in Beijing's rock scene, and "As You Like It" became popular at that time.

With her genius voice, Luo Qi was known as the number one female voice in Chinese rock music. Then came that incident that even veterans like Jing Ye and the old-timers don't know how to describe.

But Luo Qi did not succumb to despair after losing an eye. That same year, the Compass Band released their first album, "Choose to Be Strong," which achieved great sales in the market.

So this song was recorded after her accident, which shows Luo Qi's talent and dedication to music at the time.

If the same thing happened to someone else today, they probably wouldn't be able to overcome their mental hurdle for at least a year or two. Think about it, what does losing an eye mean to a 20-year-old young woman?
But Luo Qi did not give up on herself. In addition to recording an album, she also served as a guest host for a Chinese program on Channel V for a period of time.

At that time, many people were deeply moved by this girl who chose to be strong, and the image of Luo Qi with her eyes covered in gauze and wearing sunglasses was deeply etched in the minds of many fans. But what happened next became another topic for a talk show.

However, her story didn't end there; she eventually quit drugs and returned. In 2004, an invitation to the China Music Awards gave Luo Qi an opportunity to return to the music scene.

After her performance at the Great Hall of the People, Luo Qi began a nationwide tour. Later, while pregnant, she appeared on the show "Singer," where her song "Come Back" significantly changed many people's perception of the term "rock singer."

Old Yao immediately recognized the vibe of their era, but it still sounded great today, which was quite remarkable: "Bian Lang's talent is truly extraordinary. Once these bands gain more performance opportunities and recognition, they will be a force to be reckoned with, not just in niche circles, but even in the entire entertainment industry."

There's really no way to refute that; the reason why Modern Sky on Earth was so powerful was precisely because of this.

When Bian Lang arrived, Modern Records was a record company in China that could not compare to them in terms of music alone.

Rolling Stone is gradually moving in this direction. It's hard to say what its final size will be, but as it stands now, there are probably very few companies in China that can compete with them in terms of sheer numbers.

Moreover, there are very few pure record companies left.

After listening to the first song, Lao Yao downed a bottle and said to Lao Tan, "Bian Lang managed to put together this band; I, Yao Jiayun, am truly blessed!"

Lao Yao originally planned to treat the girls to a drink after the performance, but in the end, because some people had to rush back to rehearsals, only Yang Meng, the lead singer who was free, stayed behind to chat with Lao Yao about old stories in the rock scene.

As mentioned earlier, the brothers are currently battling Zhu Wen at the Magic City concert. They've signed up for the show and are performing well, but afterwards, the brothers are teaming up with the audience to criticize Magic City's discs.

This feels just like when Lei Zi cursed the organizers in Shenyang back then: "FUCK, if I keep going like this, I'll be completely ruined!"
After appearing on "Singer," Zhao Lei became a national sensation, and he became increasingly busy, appearing in public more and more frequently. Some fans joked, "These days, Zhao Lei is either performing or on his way to a performance." His pressure is mounting, and his smile is no longer what it used to be.

Finally, the Shenyang stop of the tour acted as the last straw, causing him to collapse. And the organizers bear undeniable responsibility for everything that happened!
The monotonous, repetitive labor of day after day prevents artists from making any progress, while the excessive consumption of day after day causes singers to lose themselves. How many once-great musicians have ultimately become tools for making money, and their lives have been ruined by the choices of the times!
Why did Super Band disband after only one year? Musical philosophy wasn't the main issue. The key issue was the sheer number of performances—over 200 shows in that year. These four men, whose combined age is almost 200, would be hard-pressed to say they weren't tired or had any complaints. Who would believe that?

But the organizers are still the ones who make the most money!

Magic Disc is doing just that right now, ignoring the bands' opinions and accepting any stage that pays for exposure. They're doing all sorts of music festivals, big and small, one after another.

As the company's revenue improved, Zhu Wen found himself increasingly helpless with the bands within the company. Everything had been fine when Pan Xiulong was in charge, and he felt that he could manage the bands just as well as Xiulong. But now, it felt like things were completely out of control.

If it weren't for the model of inviting popular young celebrities from the film and television industry to perform at the music festival, which kept the Magic Disc Music Festival going, he felt the entire company would have collapsed. It was precisely because of the innovation of that music festival that the investors behind them saw the hope of making big money again.

But if your music festival doesn't have a rock band, then that's definitely not acceptable!

So he was really in a passive position during this National Day holiday period.

Because during the previous concert, Mo Cheng directly addressed Zhu Wen in front of the fans, saying, "Mr. Zhu, please settle the performance fees for the first half of the year." This was a direct and blatant act of estrangement!
So, of the bands originally slated for the Magic Disc Music Festival this National Day holiday, 80% said they didn't want to go. Wenlong even told Zhu Wen directly that he was going to the Rolling Stones Music Festival to audition for a stage performance!
Music fans don't care about the band or the record company; they're happy as long as they can see a show.

With Shanghai having Blueberry Music Festival and Haikou having Rolling Stones, Shenzhen's Magic Disc Music Festival seems rather pointless. But all the popular young idols have been signed, and their fans have already been exploited; you can't just cancel the event, can you?

So, late at night at Rolling Stone Lab, a weary Zhu Wen walked in, and Pan Jianhu arrived ten minutes later...

Seeing that the lab was still so lively even though it was past midnight, Zhu Wen became increasingly agitated: "If I hadn't signed that Li Yiliang back then, would none of this have happened?"

Before he could even speak, Pan Jianhu handed him a beer: "Let's not talk about the collaboration. Let's just treat it as two old friends having a few drinks and chatting. I have to go to the 'Summer of Bands' show afterwards."

Zhu Wen didn't expect to be turned away before he even opened his mouth, but since he was already here, how could he give up without trying?

But now that the Rolling Stones' approach had been blocked, he had to find another way out: "Tiger, Magic Disc is in trouble. Considering we've worked together to build this empire, please help me out. I don't dare ask for resources from the Rolling Stones, but could you please talk to other bands?"

Pan Jianhu hadn't expected that even after his refusal, Zhu Wen would still say such a thing: "If it weren't for the fact that we used to work together, I wouldn't have come here today. As for the matter you mentioned, I can't help you. Now I'm with Rolling Stone, and the name Pan Jianhu doesn't carry any weight outside of Rolling Stone..."

(End of this chapter)