Respawn Entertainment: Days of Glory

Chapter 969 Some Well-Known Songs

Upon closer examination, Wang Banbi is indeed highly productive, and his works are exceptionally impressive.

Some extreme people say that after Baojia Street, there will never be another Wang Banbi, which also shows the extremely high praise people have for these two albums.

"I Really Need", "Li Jianguo" and "Little Bird" are all classic works, while "Goodnight BJ" is a great song of the times. If we were to use other singers as an analogy, then "Goodnight BJ" and Wang Banbi would probably be like "Nothing to My Name" and Lao Cui.

The 1998 novel "The Storm Is Coming" is full of psychedelic elements and also shows concern and reflection on the world. At that time, Wang Banbi hesitated about which friend's house to go to for his next meal and was desperate about not being able to pay the rent next month. Yet he wrote, "Tomorrow, children will no longer go hungry or cold, and everyone will write their names in their textbooks."

The song "Melancholy Eyes" has a comment on the original QQ Music platform: "Even if Wang Banbi weren't a musician, he would still be a poet—My weary body is covered with strong winds and withered fruit, my melancholy eyes are covered with autumn winds and wildflowers..."

In 2000, the album "Fireworks" was released. It was Wang Banbi's first album with Warner Music, an album with independent arrangement, and the starting point of his solo journey. Many of his classic works are still sung today.

I won't elaborate on "Fireworks," but just look at the lyrics of "Youth," their poetic quality is in no way inferior to Xu Shaonian's:

"It started to drizzle outside. The raindrops drifted gently like my youthful days, and the raindrops covering my face were like a blanket of happiness."

I have nothing in my heart, just as I have no pain. This world has everything, just as everyone possesses everything.

There's also "Orphan of a Beautiful World," which, in Bian Lang's eyes, might be Junzi's true epitaph:
"Don't cry, my dear, I think we will die together."

Don't cry, summer rose, it's all over now...

There's also "Mom": "Mom, can you hear me? Mom, help me..." Life is always a mix of despair and hope.

Many artists' works feature the word "mother," which many people don't understand. Is it really because of a special attachment to one's mother? No, it's probably because when a person is desperate, helpless, and extremely sad, they instinctively think of their mother. She is a person's last bulwark.

In 2002, "Love is a Happy Bullet" was released. This album contained many love songs, such as "The Window Sill," "Love is a Happy Bullet," and "In the Rain." The saying that "Wang Banbi's slow songs are all classics" probably started to be recalled from this album.

On an album dominated by love songs, "Goodbye to the 20th Century" became a favorite among artists like Bian Lang. Indeed, Wang Banbi has never been someone who only sings about love. Sadly, this song seems to have been forgotten, but perhaps being forgotten isn't such a bad thing:
"There is still a little time to reminisce, a little time to weep. Kind people walk in the painful wilderness, the horns of prayer come from the streets, the dreams crumble and the smoke of dawn breaks, clouds and fog obscure my eyes. It is a beautiful ending, without danger or fear."

Some even believe that "Goodbye 20th Century" and "Goodnight BJ" are both epic works that Wang Jianlin will never return to.

In 04, "Laughing and Crying" was released, with "Flying Higher" as the main single, which was well received upon its release.

At that time, Shenzhou V spacecraft was successfully launched. Domestic media reported on it and unanimously used "Fly Higher" as background music. The song became a household name, and the name Wang Banbi became known to more people.

It was from this point that some voices of doubt began to emerge. Some people said that the song "Fly Higher" did not conform to the spirit of "rock and roll," perhaps because it was too positive and inspirational, perhaps because it was too mainstream and popular, or perhaps because it made Wang Banbi some money.

Wang Banbi ignored these things and focused on writing songs. In 05, he released "Blooming Life". The songs "Blooming Life" and "I Love You China" on this album reignited the doubts of those who had questioned him. They felt that rock and roll shouldn't be like that, that rock and roll shouldn't have these words, or at least you shouldn't sing them, because you were different from others.

Although no one had ever defined rock and roll before! Sometimes people choose to ignore the naked truth, while at other times they are devoted to simple lies.

Words like "commercial," "popular," and "fake rock" were on the lips of a group of people criticizing Wang Banbi, while he continued to bury himself in writing songs and releasing albums, maintaining a pace of releasing one album every 1-2 years, handling all aspects of the songwriting, composition, and vocals.

In 2007, a year before the Olympics, "Brave Heart" was released, and "BJBJ" became a hit song everywhere. This album was slightly different from his previous albums. People felt that Wang Banbi, who was sharp and critical, had returned, in a more mature and powerful manner.

One day in October 2007, Wang Banbi was performing in Lijiang. He was very happy and felt that he was in excellent condition that day. However, after going offstage, he received a call from his mother saying that his father had suffered a sudden heart attack and had passed away.

When his father was alive, he always wanted to go abroad to see the world, but he never got the chance. Wang Banbi asked the crematorium staff to keep some of his ashes for him. After that, whenever he went abroad, to places like New York, London, and Sydney, he would go to the beach there and scatter his father's ashes into the sea.

Before they could reconcile, my father left in a hurry. Later, I heard from my mother that my father always wanted to go to his concerts, but he was too proud to go, so he always asked my mother to go and tell him when she got back. After Wang Banbi left home, he couldn't make ends meet and borrowed money from my mother, which my father specifically asked my mother to give him.

That's how the song "Dad" came about:

"Dad, I've always carried you with me and never forgotten you."
In BJ, New York, London, and Sydney,
I'll scatter you into every beautiful harbor.

I'll melt you into the surging waves.

In 2009, "Fear Is Blowing in the Air" was released. Those who know him will know from the title that it is a tribute to his idol Bob Dylan's "Blowin' in the Wind".

This album drove Wang Banbi's fans crazy. Why? Because this album is amazing. So amazing that even many of his previous critics had to reluctantly listen to "Faith Flying in the Air."
"This is not the light we wanted; all the pain remains here."
Just before the final goodbye,
Let us soar through the air with our faith…

In this album, Wang Banbi is like someone who dares to bring up the most sensitive topics. He must have known that the songs "Vanity Fair" and "Is It Interesting?" would not be big hits, but it is precisely this attitude that makes this album shine. "Broken Ballads" makes people feel as if they can see Wang Banbi at No. 43 Baojia Street, carrying a guitar and shouting wildly on the stage.

He relentlessly mocked Vanity Fair, repeatedly asking if the life you love is meaningful, and used magical words to depict a helpless, realistic, cruel, and chaotic "City Without a Master".

Some people say that I despise Wang Banbi because he is in the entertainment industry, yet he sings songs about fame and fortune, which makes him seem so contradictory.

But Wang Banbi said when the album was released that he wouldn't have written such direct songs as "Vanity Fair" a few years ago. In fact, in these two songs, I even wrote about myself, mocked and shattered myself, because I am in the entertainment industry myself.

In 2011, Wang Banbi released "Nothing to Ask For in Life" at the age of 40, giving the feeling that he hadn't had enough of the previous album and was now releasing a double album to satisfy his cravings.

In a sense, it was from 09 to 11 that he gained more fans. These fans had one thing in common: they weren't very fond of "Light" and "Existence".

But they were captivated by these songs: "Too Late," "A Million Tons of Faith," "An Unacceptable Fact," "What a Perfect Life," "Waiting," "Mortgaging My Soul," and "Some Things We Can Never Control." As for what these songs are all about, you'll know once you listen to them.

In the 2013 Spring Festival Gala, Wang Banbi sang "I Love You, China".

After the Spring Festival Gala ended, not only netizens questioned the performance, but some peers also expressed their contempt. Some people felt that rock music could be performed on the Spring Festival Gala, and that rock music could do anything, but it couldn't make money!
We're all poor, so why are you so arrogant?
There is never a standard answer to rock music. When countless people criticized him as a "fake rocker," he would still sing "Fly Higher." He said, "Fly Higher will always be a song that I can only give a 70 out of 100, but I can't stop singing it just because it became popular. Would that make me a rocker? Does standing on the Spring Festival Gala stage mean I'm not a rocker?"

Bian Lang agrees with the first part of the statement, but not so much with the second part. If lip-syncing on stage is absolutely necessary for the sake of effect, then forget it. It's not like what Da Zhangwei said, that people are listening for free, so why should they sing live? It's just three words: "Why bother?"

Especially now, even the two top agents at Rolling Stone might think, "Why bother?" when they hear that Bian Lang is going to appear on the Spring Festival Gala!

After watching so many albums, it's clear that Wang Banbi had a clear plan before each album was released, including the proportion of each type of song. This is because the most famous song on each album, which is also the one that is most likely to become ubiquitous, is almost never the best song on the album.

Indeed, whether something is excellent or not is too subjective, but as Wang Banbi said, "Fly Higher" is a 70-point work. It was probably written in a few hours, but it became a common song... He wrote "Faith Flying in the Air" for many years, rewriting the lyrics many times, but very few people know this song.

Some people find Wang Banbi's albums awkward because they often don't have a single theme, but rather multiple themes and genres, including gentle love songs, sharp and sensitive rock songs, and monologues that are hard to understand.

After arriving on Aquamarine and thinking things through, Bian Lang concluded that this was actually Wang Banbi's cleverness: instead of relentlessly working on each album, he released a small number of songs that catered to the market at the right time with each album.

He knew very well that most of the rock musicians of his generation were working themselves to the bone, and in the end, they all burned themselves out. Indeed, very few 90s rock musicians are still active today.

Is pandering to the market shameful? No. "Fly Higher" and "Life in Full Bloom" are works that pander to the market, but without these few works, he might not have any influence to this day. His truly amazing works might be piling up at home but he could never release them.

In this sense, it's somewhat like taking a roundabout approach to achieve one's goals. Because of environmental and other factors, when one path is blocked, one doesn't necessarily suffer heavy losses, but rather opens up a new one.

In 15, "The River" was released. The biggest feeling this album gives people is that it is less restless and critical, and more romantic and joyful.

After marrying Zhang Zi in 2013, Yi lived a very happy life, and at the end of 15, he had a lovely daughter. During this period, he was naturally happy, and the music he created revealed a sense of peace.

As for those who demand that a rock singer or musician constantly rebel and shout, and then curse at them the moment they stop shouting, that's pure hooliganism.

He has indeed been very busy these past few years, holding concerts, participating in variety shows as a mentor, creating an original music platform, creating a musician radio station, creating the FIIL headphone brand... He is very busy, but few people know that he writes songs every day without interruption. Since he is so busy, where does he find the time?
Wang Banbi said, "I make plans for myself when I write songs. For example, if I want to start writing on May 15th, then I will start writing from that day and write every day for 10 months. I will definitely write every day, no matter how busy I am."

Music critic Deng Ke once mentioned on Weibo: "For a long time, Wang Banbi wrote songs every morning without fail, no matter how late he drank the night before. In this respect, 95% of singers in the entertainment industry can't compare."

The reason for his success is simple: Wang Banbi is hard work. He has been writing songs for twenty years without fail. How many people in the current Chinese music scene can do that?

In December 2017, coinciding with the 20th anniversary of the release of his first album, Wang Banbi's 12th original album, "No. 29, Guoling Lane," was officially released. The number 12 carries a sense of reincarnation, so the album's name is also interestingly similar to "No. 43, Baojia Street." All the music on this album was arranged by Wang Banbi himself.

In this album, we see Wang Banbi quietly lost in thought. What is he pondering? About the times, about the world, about humanity, about dignity, about love, about…

In 17, you would feel that Wang Banbi was no longer a star, but more like a thinker, using music to record this era where cruelty and hope coexist, and using album after album to record the changes in the world over the past twenty years.

One day, Bian Lang will also be dissected like this on the planet Blue Sky, either with monuments erected in his honor or with accusations of being a shameless bastard...

(End of this chapter)