Respawn Entertainment: Days of Glory

Chapter 985 The Future of Anxiang Road
The second day's closing act was at No. 1 Anxiang Road, where Bian Lang and the others waited until the very end to watch their rehearsal.

After the song "Crying Fist" was finished, Liu Yao casually asked, "Bian Lang, we haven't decided on an encore song yet. How about you give us a new one?"

"We have the song, but you only have so much time left. We can't rehearse it by tomorrow!"

Bian Lang wasn't joking with them. If he were to release the song "Faith Flying in the Air" now, and have No. 1 Anxiang Road say it could be sung tomorrow, that would be irresponsible towards the work. After Bian Lang understood many things, he stopped worrying about gains and losses.

Unlike before, when it was believed that all classic rock songs had to be first released on their side or originally sung by the Rolling Stones, now Bian Lang wants to use these songs to usher in a great golden age for Chinese rock, as long as they are suitable.

This shouldn't just include bands from the Rolling Stones; it also needs to include bands from Water Blue Star such as "Baojia Street," "Painful Faith," and "The Face," among others...

Liu Yao knew, of course, that Bian Lang wasn't joking, but Qiu Long was getting impatient: "Bian Lang, that's a bit disrespectful of us. Our lineup isn't any worse than Rolling Stones', is it?"

"Brother Long, I didn't mean to belittle you. It's just that you should see for yourselves this song..."

Bian Lang knew that further explanation was pointless; Qiu Long and the others would immediately understand what was going on. He took out his phone and sent the prepared document directly to Liu Yao: "Sent to you, take a look together!"

Liu Yao picked up her phone and sent it directly to the group chat without saying a word.

Before Qiu Long could even finish receiving the file, the keyboard operator spoke up: "This... this really won't work tomorrow!"

Since even his own people said so, Qiu Long accepted Bian Lang's assessment. But he became even more curious: "Just how awesome is he?" Unfortunately, it seemed like the internet was deliberately working against him.

He felt that even if "No Place to Hide" was being presented for the first time, with their skills and experience, they could definitely produce something decent overnight. If they could find a rehearsal room tomorrow and polish it properly, there was a possibility that it could be performed on stage.

"Bian Lang, you need to make this clear, is this song for the band or for me?" After Liu Yao said this again, Qiu Long became even more anxious: "A Yao, give me the phone!"

Without a word, Liu Yao handed the phone to Qiu Long and then asked Bian Lang, "Give it to the band or to me? Give me a straight answer!"

Before Bian Lang could answer, Guo Sichu, who had already grasped the underlying meaning of her best friend's words, replied on Bian Lang's behalf: "Of course it's for the band. You can write your own songs, can't you?"

"I asked Bian Lang, not you. You're not even married into the family yet, and you're already acting like the boss's wife?"

"Is it any of your business? Aren't you being a womanizer?"

Bian Lang didn't quite understand why Guo Sichu said that. In his opinion, it was obviously for Liu Yao. The band hadn't said they definitely wanted to reunite, and Bian Lang and Qiu Long didn't have that much of a relationship with them. Of course, the song should be given to Liu Yao so she could work on it herself.

But since Guo Sichu had said so, Bian Lang certainly couldn't contradict her: "Well, what you mean is what I mean."

At this point, Qiu Long saw half of the lyrics: "This was never the life we ​​wanted, all the pain will eventually fade away, before we can say goodbye in the end, let us follow our faith and soar in the air..."

Hearing the conversation again, she immediately became anxious: "Liu Yao, did you hear that? They said this song is for the band. Stop overthinking things!"

"Then why don't you guys just agree to reform the band? A proper one..."

Upon hearing this, Qiu Long and the others understood that Liu Yao was using this opportunity to finalize the band's reorganization.

The band's current situation is quite delicate. Liu Yao has brought up reorganizing several times, but everyone just says, "Okay, no problem..." but nothing comes of it.

But for shows like The Big Band and the Rolling Stone Music Festival, they wouldn't hesitate to come if Liu Yao called out to them.

Sensing that today was going to be difficult to avoid, Qiu Long, who used to be the most authoritative member of the band, took the lead in stating his position: "I have no problem with a reunion, but A Yao, you have a company, and I'll be frank... We don't think much of your company, but we know you can't leave it..."

Hearing this, Bian Lang finally understood. Then he turned to look at Guo Sichu, who had a mischievous grin on her face, and finally understood a little bit of what was going on.

Guo Sichu brought up this topic not just to help her best friend, but also because she had dragged her best friend into the scheme for Rock Records. Liu Yao wanted to reform the band, but Qiu Long and the others hadn't officially discussed it, which was definitely related to her current company.

Speaking of this, Bian Lang immediately thought of Baojia Street on Earth and was transported into the story.

The situation back then was simple: Warner Music only wanted to sign Wang Banbi but not the band. After failing to reach an agreement with Warner Music, Banbi ultimately chose to sign on his own, and the band disbanded.

Looking back and using various examples, if Wang Banbi and Baojia Street Band had signed together, they would have been heavily criticized and disbanded after one or two albums!

Since they were signed together, Wang Banbi would have to compromise with commercial interests while also facing internal compromises within the band. Therefore, he would most likely not be able to create works that better cater to the market. Their album would definitely be neither underground nor commercial, essentially pleasing neither side.

Moreover, in those days, the overall commercial value of a band was far less than that of an individual, and the opportunities to receive various commercial performances and endorsements were also lower than for an individual. Even if they did receive such opportunities, they would share the profits, and no one could make a lot of money.

Take Dada for example. Back then, Dada was famous, but who knew Peng Tan? And Mayday, they're already incredibly popular, right? But apart from WMLS, how many people actually know the names of the five members?

To put it dramatically, if Wang Banbi had chosen to remain tied to the band, No. 43 Baojia Street would likely have become a thing of the past, never to be repeated. And of course, Wang Banbi's many popular songs would never have existed.

But if you mention No. 43 Baojia Street, then it is absolutely unparalleled, a landmark in the history of Chinese rock music that cannot be bypassed. In 1990, No. 43 Baojia Street, with its academic musical foundation and raw realism, constructed a highly distinctive artistic identity.

In his self-titled debut album, No. 43 Baojia Street, Wang Banbi had not yet fully transformed into the pop-rock singer known to the public. Instead, he used blues rock as his bone and narrative poetry as his soul, engraving the spiritual landscape of the era's upheaval in twelve-track tapes.

The album opens with "I Really Need," a dialogue between the harmonica and electric guitar that tears open the city night, with blues scales creating a wonderful chemical reaction under the permeation of the pentatonic scale.

This technique is repeatedly used in "Nobody Wants Me" and "What Should We Do," revealing the band members' solid academic training. Lead guitarist Long Long's string bending technique maintains a restrained precision throughout, while bassist Wang Lei's walking bass line and drummer Shan Xiaofan's shuffle rhythms together construct a textbook-level blues rock structure.

What truly laid the foundation for the band's aesthetics were two iconic works of the era: "Little Bird" and "Goodnight BJ." The former unfolds with a folk narrative in 4/3 time, while the chorus suddenly shifts to a violent catharsis of hard rock. The sense of tearing apart in the musical structure precisely corresponds to the lyrics' "awkwardness of not being able to fly high" and "difficulty of not being able to fly far."

When Wang Banbi roared out "I wonder if it's just my tomorrow that hasn't gotten better" in the 1996 recording, the gritty feeling produced by the friction of his vocal cords carried a far greater weight of fate than the later rearranged version.

"Goodnight BJ" can be seen as a spiritual requiem for urban youth in the 1990s. The synthesized train roar intertwines with real percussion samples, constructing an auditory metaphor of the mechanical age. The juxtaposition of "the sound of domestic road rollers" and "educated youth" in the lyrics reveals the absurd poetry unique to China during its transition period.

Interestingly, the band incorporated a piano motif from Chopin's "Farewell" into the interlude. This fragmented insertion of classical music aptly suggests the spiritual exile of intellectuals amidst the tide of commerce.

Tracks like "Li Jianguo" on the album, which have a social sketch-like quality, showcase the band's unique perspective on reality. The dark humor wrapped in funky rhythms deconstructs the individual's existence under a grand narrative through trivial slices of life such as "Li Jianguo bought a fountain pen but it was too expensive."

The folk-inspired embellishments of the accordion and harmonica ensure that the album maintains a down-to-earth, everyday feel throughout its blues-rock theme.

Technically, the album's mixing process deliberately preserved a lot of "imperfect" details: slight howling during guitar solos, breath sounds during vocal respirations, and noises from drumsticks accidentally hitting cymbals. These "flaws" condensed into a unique era-defining texture in analog cassette tapes before the digital recording era, resonating with the struggling youth depicted in the songs.

When CD re-releases embellish these details to the point of obliteration, a certain genuine life experience also vanishes.

As the last generation of Chinese bands to receive a complete Western rock music education, No. 43 Baojia Street creatively transformed classic bands like The Doors and Pink Floyd in their album. The two-minute-long stream-of-consciousness guitar solo in "Chasing Dreams" bears the imprint of David Gilmour's space rock style while incorporating the vocal treatment of Peking Opera. This cross-cultural musical experimentation is particularly precious among local rock bands of the 1990s.

In 1997, the three legendary rock bands of Magic Rock had already faded into obscurity, and Tang Dynasty and Black Panther were showing signs of fatigue. The band No. 43 Baojia Street, with this album that combined technical brilliance with humanistic depth, set an unparalleled standard for academic rock.

When we listen to the slight electrical noise at the end of the tape's A side 25 years later, we can still clearly feel the warmth of that era, a time of both anxiety and hope, lingering in the texture of the music.

Bianlang couldn't recreate these things as Rolling Stone could. After all, only Dili was a true witness to that era; the others were too young to explain or understand certain things.

But No. 1 Anxiang Road is an option...

"You two need to talk this over slowly, there are so many staff members waiting right now!" Bian Lang's words eased the somewhat awkward atmosphere.

Liu Yao understood Bian Lang's meaning, and changed the subject jokingly: "Bian Lang, I don't believe you only have one song in your stash. Don't be stingy, release another one!"

He had only intended to change the subject; he hadn't really expected Bian Lang to actually give it to him. After all, the song Bian Lang had just presented was a very good piece that both she and the band greatly appreciated, and she wasn't the kind of person who was oblivious to the quality of the music!

After thinking for a moment, Bian Lang nodded and said, "There really isn't any more in stock, but you can take turns, and I'll write one for you right now!"

Hearing this, Qiu Long, who had originally wanted to bring the matter back to the band's reunion, had nothing more to say: "Okay, then we'll put in line and wait for you!"

Liu Yao, on the other hand, felt a little embarrassed, but considering that her relationship with Bian Lang wasn't bad to begin with, and also the involvement of Guo Sichu, she accepted it calmly. Of course, she would absolutely not let Rolling Stone suffer any financial losses.

After giving her best friend a grateful look, she continued rehearsing diligently with the band.

Guo Sichu and Bian Lang went to the band's rest tent, found a place to sit and watch Bian Lang write a song: "Give me your hand and your waist, let us melt into this rhythm, don't care about yesterday's sad moments, don't pay attention to those unfulfilled promises..."

By the time Liu Yao and the others finished their rehearsals, Bian Lang's band had almost finished their full score, except for the keyboard and bass scores.

Bian Lang gave the guitar and drum tabs to Qiu Long and Xiao Fan, then found a guitar and went on stage: "Please bear with me for a moment longer, I'll give them a demonstration."

As soon as the guitar started playing, Xiao Fan, who had glanced at the drum sheet music, came in. Olaf and Liu Ziyang, who were at the control room, both wearing headphones, laughed in unison: "Bian Lang is still as awesome as ever!"

As for Qiu Long, who listened to the music while looking at the lead guitar tabs, he was truly impressed this time.

Before, no matter who told him, he always felt that Bian Lang's ability to write songs on the spot was a bit unreal, but after experiencing it himself, he was willing to believe it: "There really are geniuses in this world who can write the entire score for a band in one go!"

"Forget sunscreen, forget tax bills, forget last summer's terrible love, forget rose gold, forget fur skirts, forget those drunken sweet lies, let's sway together, let's sway together..."

Bian Lang's voice was like a king's command, making people want to obey without even realizing it!
Compared to "Faith Flies in the Air," "Swaying Together" is indeed much easier. But Liu Yao and the others still went to the rehearsal room and rehearsed all night long...

The next day, as the sun rose, Liu Yao, utterly exhausted, suddenly said, "You guys sign with Rolling Stone under the band's name first. Give me some time to handle things on my end!"

(End of this chapter)